What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Which type of argument/appeal is least emphasized in Douglass’s speech?

A) Logos, or appeals to logic and reason

B) Pathos, or appeals to emotion

C) Ethos, or appeals to morality and character

D) Political arguments rooted in an understanding of the law

2. Which statement best summarizes the thesis of Douglass’s argument?

A) “This, for the purpose of this celebration, is the 4th of July. It is the birthday of your National Independence, and of your political freedom. [...] It carries your minds back to the day, and to the act of your great deliverance.”

B) “I remember, also, that, as a people, Americans are remarkably familiar with all facts which make in their own favor. This is esteemed by some as a national trait—perhaps a national weakness.”

C) “To [the enslaved], your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license [...] There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices, more shocking and bloody, than are the people of these United States, at this very hour.”

D) “My subject, then, fellow-citizens, is AMERICAN SLAVERY. I shall see, this day, and its popular characteristics, from the slave’s point of view.”

3. Which statement represents a major shift in Douglass’s tone and rhetoric during the address?