In 1852 Frederick Douglass, the famed escaped slave who became one of the greatest orators in American history, was invited by the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society to deliver a very important speech to commemorate the Fourth of July. Please read the transcript of his speech below, then answer the following questions in a 600-word MLA-style essay: What are the three most important points that Douglass wants his audience to understand? In what ways does he believe slavery contradicts American values? Finally, do you think the meaning of the Fourth of July would have changed for Douglass after the Civil War and Reconstruction?

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