Text Analysis Introduction (‘Exordium’): Paragraphs 1–3ġ. His speech gives ample evidence of knowledge of rhetoric, history, literature, religion, economics, poetry, music, law, even advances in technology. Douglass tries to dispel these notions through an impressive display of liberal learning. In 1852 many, if not most, white Americans believed that African Americans were inferior, indeed, less than fully human.

He also sought to change minds about the abilities and intelligence of African Americans. In this Independence Day oration, Douglass sought to persuade those people to embrace what was then considered the extreme position of abolition. They simply did not want to slavery to spread to areas where it did not exist. Many were content to let Southerners continue to hold slaves, a right they believed was upheld by the Constitution. Even Northerners who were anti-slavery were not necessarily pro-abolition. A newspaper noted that when he sat down, “there was a universal burst of applause.” Nonetheless, many who read his speech would not have been so enthusiastic. The 500 to 600 people who heard Douglass speak were generally sympathetic to his remarks. It was reported and reprinted in Northern newspapers and was published and sold as a forty-page pamphlet within weeks of its delivery. We recommend dividing students into groups and assigning each group a set of paragraphs to analyze.Īt the invitation of the Rochester Ladies Anti-Slavery Society, Frederick Douglass delivered this speech on July 5, 1852, at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York. The student worksheet also includes links to the activities, indicated by this icon. Terms that appear in blue are defined on hover and in a printable glossary on the last page of the classroom version. The classroom version, a printable worksheet for use with students, omits those responses and this “Teaching the Text” note.

The version below, designed for teachers, provides responses to those questions in the “Text Analysis” section. For close reading we have analyzed eighteen of the speech’s seventy-one paragraphs through fine-grained questions, most of them text-dependent, that will enable students to explore rhetorical strategies and significant themes. The third focuses on his use of syllogistic reasoning, while the fourth examines how he makes his case through emotion and the fifth through analogy.

The second challenges students to determine how Douglass supports his thesis. The first explores the subtle way in which Douglass compares the patriots of 1776 with the abolitionists of 1852. This lesson features five interactive activities, which can be accessed by clicking on this icon. We have included notes that explain the function of each section as well as questions that invite discussion of the ways in which Douglass deploys rhetoric to make his case.

paragraphs 30–70: arguments and counter-arguments ( confirmatio and refutatio).

paragraphs 4–29: narrative or statement of fact ( narratio).

paragraphs 1–3: introduction ( exordium).

This division follows the classic structure of argumentative writing: We have divided the address into four sections according to the function of each one. In addition to making historical points about nineteenth-century attitudes toward slavery, race, and abolition, you can use this speech to teach formal rhetoric.

Reading nonfiction…to give students opportunities to identify and explain an author’s use of rhetorical strategies and techniques.

Developing…the ability to evaluate…primary…sources.

Key Concept 5.2 (I-B) (Abolitionists…mounted a highly visible campaign against slavery…)Īdvanced Placement Language and Composition.

ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.5 (Analyze in detail how a complex primary source is structured…).

Declaration of independence snap art