Question

the hypocrisy of american slavery
by frederick douglass (excerpt)
fellow citizens, above your national, tumultuous joy, i hear the mournful wail of millions, whose chains, heavy and grievous yesterday, are today rendered more intolerable by the jubilant shouts that reach them. if i do not forget, if i do not remember those bleeding children of sorrow this day, \may my right hand forget her cunning, and may my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth!\
to forget them, to pass lightly over their wrongs, and to chime in with the popular theme would be treason most scandalous and shocking, and would make me a reproach before god and the world.
my subject, then, fellow citizens, is \american slavery.\ i shall see this day and its popular characteristics from the slave’s point of view. standing here, identified with the american bondman, making his wrongs mine, i do not hesitate to declare, with all my soul, that the character and conduct of this nation never looked blacker to me than on this fourth of july.
whether we turn to the declarations of the past, or to the professions of the present, the conduct of the nation seems equally hideous and revolting. america is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to the future. standing with god and the crushed and bleeding slave on this occasion, i will, in the name of humanity, which is outraged, in the name of liberty, which is fettered, in the name of the constitution and the bible, which are disregarded and trampled upon, dare to call in question and to denounce, with all the emphasis i can command, everything that serves to perpetuate slavery — the great sin and shame of america! \i will not equivocate — i will not excuse — i will use the severest language i can command, and yet not one word shall escape me that any man, whose judgment is not blinded by prejudice, and who is not at heart a slave-holder, shall not confess to be right and just.
24
select the correct answer.
what is most likely the speaker’s intent in this excerpt from the speech?
a. to convey the horrors and barbarity faced by millions of slaves due to the oppressive laws of the state
b. to criticize the white population for celebrating liberty while enforcing slavery on the black population
c. to mock the white population’s arrogance about their race compared to the black slaves
d. to question the beliefs and principles on which the us constitution was formed
e. to criticize the nation for not allowing the black slaves to participate in their celebration of independence day

Explanation:

This is an excerpt from Frederick Douglass's speech, where he highlights that white Americans celebrate liberty on Independence Day while enslaved Black people remain oppressed. He critiques the nation's hypocrisy of excluding enslaved people from the freedom the holiday represents, rather than just describing horrors, mocking, or questioning founding principles alone.

Answer:

E. to criticize the nation for not allowing the black slaves to participate in their celebration of Independence Day