Question

are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that declaration of independence, extended to us? and am i, therefore, called upon to express devout gratitude for the blessings resulting from your independence to us? ... but such is not the state of the case. i say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. i am not included within the circle of the glorious anniversary! your independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. the blessings in which you rejoice are not enjoyed by us. the rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, passed down by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. this fourth july is yours, not mine. you may rejoice, i must mourn. fellow - citizens, above your national, tumultuous joy, i hear the mournful cry of millions! whose chains, heavy and grievous yesterday, are, today, rendered more intolerable by the joyous shouts that reach them. my subject, then, fellow - citizens, is american slavery. ... what, to the american slave, is your 4th of july? i answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. adapted from frederick douglass, \the meaning of the fourth of july to a negro\ based on the excerpt, what is the purpose of frederick douglasss speech? to criticize the fourth of july celebrations to celebrate freedom and equality for all americans to convince the audience to pity enslaved people

Explanation:

Frederick Douglass's excerpt highlights that the Fourth of July's freedoms and prosperity are denied to enslaved people. He contrasts the audience's celebration with the ongoing injustice of slavery, framing the holiday as a reminder of the cruelty enslaved people endure daily. This directly critiques the hypocrisy of the Fourth of July celebrations for excluding enslaved Americans.

Answer:

to criticize the Fourth of July celebrations