Final answer:
Frederick Douglass's speech centralises on the contradiction of the Fourth of July celebrations in the context of slavery, using rhetorical devices to bring awareness to the enslaved people's perspectives and to advocate for abolition.
Step-by-step explanation:
The central idea of Frederick Douglass’s speech is the glaring contradiction between the values celebrated on the Fourth of July and the ongoing existence of slavery in America, which denied those very ideals to a significant portion of the population.
He uses powerful rhetoric to convey a vivid depiction of this hypocrisy, helping his audience empathize with the plight of enslaved individuals. Douglass’s message to the audience is that the celebration of liberty and justice is hollow and mocking so long as slavery persists, as it stands in stark opposition to the principles of freedom that the day commemorates.
Applying TAG (Title, Author, Genre), we might say "Frederick Douglass, a former enslaved man turned abolitionist, delivers a potent and persuasive speech that not only criticizes American slavery but also articulates the depth of the horrors experienced by slaves, their humanity, and their unyielding desire for freedom."
Douglass highlights the psychological impact of slavery on both slaves and slaveholders, revealing the deep moral and societal degradation it causes. His employment of rhetorical devices, such as pathos to evoke emotions, ethos to establish credibility, and logos to reason with the audience, intensifies his appeal for the immediacy of abolition.