What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Frederick Douglass was invited to give this speech at an anti-slavery event. However, he was already an accomplished speaker and knew his words would reach beyond the walls of the lecture hall.

• How does Douglass’s understanding of his wider audience influence the content of his speech and the rhetoric he employs? (topic sentence)
• In the body of your essay, include 3-4 examples of points Douglass makes, the types of appeals they are, and what his choices say about his audience.
• In your conclusion, consider how Douglass’s speech might have been written differently if his audience were only those who already agreed with his position.

2. The opening to Douglass’s speech is generally described as positive, respectful, and inviting to make his audience comfortable.