Douglass's purpose in the speech "The Hypocrisy of American Slavery” (Given July 4, 1852) is to shame the American people specifically the people of Rochester, NY who have asked him- a former slave- to give a speech on a day of celebration of American freedom.
Douglass reveals his purpose to the reader through literary and persuasive techniques such as: rhetorical questions, ethos (ethics), pathos (pity), logos (logic), and anecdotes (stories).
“Fellow citizens, pardon me, and allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here today? What have I or those I represent to do with your national independence?” (Douglass, Paragraph 1)
“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.“ (Douglass, Paragraph 4)
