On July 5, 1852, the Ladies Antislavery Society of Rochester requested that the emancipated slave, Fredrick Douglass, speak in celebration of the national independence of the United States. Douglass accepted this request and presented a powerful speech explaining and arguing his true beliefs and feelings regarding this event. He considered their decision to ask him to speak that day to be a mockery of his past and the current status of black people as slaves in America at the time. Nevertheless, Douglass skillfully constructed his speech using various methods that forced his audience to take him seriously and think twice about the issue of slavery in America. His passion for the subject, his ability to captivate his audience, and his persuasive skills combine to form a clearly effective speech that continues to be studied to this day. Douglass warmed his audience by saluting the moral and patriotic excellence of their ancestors. He then delivered the argument for his speech which skillfully criticized the hypocrisy of the institution of slavery and those who tolerated or supported it. Yet, to conclude his speech, Douglass asserts that there is still hope for the young nation so as not to leave the audience completely discouraged. The manner in which Douglass constructed and delivered this speech had a lasting impact and left his audience with an effectively argued point to consider. In his speech, Frederick Douglass made it clear that he believed that the continued toleration and support of slavery from both a religious and legal perspective was utterly absurd when considering the ideals and principles upheld by America's forefathers. He began by praising the American framers of the Constitution, a...... middle of paper ......hout his speech making for a powerful argument overall. The effectiveness and excellent structure of Frederick Douglass' July 4th speech is apparent. His rhetorical arguments served as powerful rebuttals to opposing claims and forced his audience to consider the undeniable error of their country's policy and approach to slavery. Douglass also made his audience take his words seriously by establishing credibility, acknowledging his audience, and skillfully constructing and executing his speech. The end product of his efforts became a provocative speech at the time and a historic speech in the future. Douglass managed to deliver a speech that clearly and effectively demonstrated the absurdity of the institution of slavery in America, leaving his audience to consider their position and decide for themselves how to act in the future..