The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro

“The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” Fredrick Douglass

1. Why does Douglass say he is willing to speak and gather at this event? 2. Why does he think he is the wrong person to be the speaker? 3. According to Douglass, how is he different from his audience? 4. What mood does Douglass create? 5. Allusion is the reference to other literature or works of art for impact. To what other literature does Douglass refer? 6. Describe some of the images he creates. 7. Where does Douglass use repetition to make his point? 8. Douglass uses parallelism in paragraph 7. Explain. 9. Douglass presents the opposition’s arguments and then explains why they are wrong. What are these arguments? 10. At the end of his speech, Douglass adds a poem by William Lloyd Garrison. How does the poem support his point? 11. How does this speech answer the unit questions:  What is true freedom?  What are the paths to freedom?  What are the responsibilities of freedom?