Famous Quotes: Frederick Douglass [Persuasive]
American Writer Frederick Douglass (Image)
In an eventful speech, What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? (1852), Douglass states
"Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The
blessings in which you this day rejoice are not enjoyed in common. The rich inheritance of
justice, liberty, prosperity, and independence bequeathed by your fathers is shared by
you, not by me. . . . This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must
mourn." Douglass speaks of the state of slaves before the Civil War and emancipation.
Think about the relevance of the statement today. Write a persuasive essay in which you
agree or disagree with its relevance to the conditions of peoples around the world. Be sure
to defend your position with examples.