Skip to main content

Freedom Isn't Free


"There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour.” – Frederick Douglass

Seventy-six years after the very first July 4th had passed, Douglass gave a speech in Rochester New York at a period the country was ridden with tensions of abolitionists, and the slaveholding south.  He states, “To him, your celebration is a sham” for his people that are not free.  America was being incredibly hypocritical considering white men are busy celebrating their “freedom” while slaves are held captive in the same country that values the idea of freedom so greatly.  Douglass conveys this idea of realism while delivering his speech, as he is an African American man in front of white males.  Either if they are no longer in chains, or still are, they are not treated as citizens or human beings.  Frederick Douglass condemns the “scorching irony” of America for not being true to their principles.  In the fifth paragraph, he talks about the bible which is disregarded and trampled upon.  The bible condemns slavery, yet slaveowners wholeheartedly believe that is their God-given right to own slaves.  This proves Douglass’ point that freedom is not free, at least not for African Americans.

“The birth of the United States was unique because it was a nation founded not on blood or ethnicity, but ideas.”  It is extremely ironic, how the quote above completely erases and dismisses the founders’ own opinions on race, and how the founders of this country stole territories from others in such a savage and vile manner.

 Frederick Douglass talks mainly about slavery in his speech, but he gives out a point freedom is not free.  He employs many emotional factors in his speech that effectively gets his points across; such as guilt by making his audience see the hypocrisy of their 4th of July, but somehow the African Americans don’t deserve such freedom.     

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

He Peed On Me

“After you peed on me, I wanted to kill you” (Morrison 213).   At the end of chapter 9, Lena is talking to Milkman about how he has peed all over his family.   Now, Milkman is quite drunk, so he does not truly understand what Lena is getting at, but she tells him the story of when she took him to the woods, and he peed on her.   Lena explains to Milkman that he was born with all his needs catered at his every whim and that he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.   Their entire life, their worlds revolved around Milkman’s.   Lena states that, “As surely as my name is Magdalene, you are the line I will step across” (Morrison 214).   She means that she is finally standing her ground and is physically and mentally exhausted of carrying this weight on her back.   For everything that his mother and sisters have done for him he has peed on them in return.   “When you slept, we were quiet; when you were hungry, we cooked…” (Morrison 215).   ...
4 comments
Read more

Polite Speech

We tend to say things we do not mean in order to make ourselves appear as a good person, like “let’s keep in touch” and “it’s nice to meet you.”   It is not always clear whether we are actually pleased to meet someone, or just do not want to come off as rude.   In the course of saying things we do not truly mean, the expressions that we use become meaningless.   As a society, we care too much about the way others perceive us.   We would rather say something such as “how are you” instead of being transparent.   We create this fake, forced, first impression because we are trying so hard to appear “perfect.”   We then continue being “polite” because we do not want to be labeled as a bad person.   However, we are labeled as a good person if we say, “sure, we can definitely meet up,” even though you most likely won’t.   I am not saying we should stop being polite because it is something we do everyday and it would be silly to stop doing it. ...
2 comments
Read more

Because Of Him

Everything we ever did was for him.   While we were robbed of our girlhoods, everything was gifted to him on a silver platter.   Our lives revolved around him, constantly.   When he was tired, we made his bed.   When he was hungry, we cooked for him.   When he was bored, we entertained him.   And what do we get in return for our constant beck and call? Nothing.   We get nothing.   She is the most educated out of all of us, but she cannot work because of him.   We make fake flowers for a living.   She obtained a job as a maid in order to escape from them.   She met a man and secretly held a relationship with him, but it was all destroyed because of him.   It was the only thing that allowed her to escape but men like him destroyed her freedom.   We kept it locked inside for too long, and now we revolt.   He barely remembered that day; the most important one.   The day I found the twig with the maple leaf...
Post a Comment
Read more