Selection Test from "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?"

What best summarizes Douglass's judgment of the "conduct of this nation" in his Fourth of July speech?

By engaging in slavery, the United States disgraces itself, violating the principles of independence it celebrates.

Part A: In his Fourth of July speech, Douglass asks, "Must I undertake to prove that the slave is a man?" Why does he reject the idea that he must give this proof?

He believes that even those who support slavery already admit that slaves are people.

Part A In his Fourth of July speech, Douglass imagines someone in the audience who believes he should "argue" and "persuade" more and criticize less in order to serve his cause more effectively. Which answer choice best summarizes Douglass's response to this individual?

He claims that the reasons to oppose slavery are so obvious that no argument is needed.

In his Fourth of July speech, why does Douglass say to his audience that "The Fourth of July is yours, not mine"?

He contends that the liberty affirmed by the holiday has been denied to African Americans such as himself.

Part B In what way does the strategy identified in Part A help Douglass to effectively achieve his purpose?

He helps listeners see the contradiction in thinking of enslaved persons as property, leading listeners to adopt his point of view.

Part A What is the main way in which Douglass supports his argument in his Fourth of July speech?

He lists various arguments made in defense of slavery, showing each to be without merit, even ridiculous.

If there is a disparity between Mia's grades this year and her grades last year, which of the following must be true?

Mia's grades this year are different than they were last year.

Part B Which quotation from the speech gives Douglass's response to the counterclaim identified in Part A?

That which is inhuman, cannot be divine! Who can reason on such a proposition? They that can, may; I cannot. The time for such argument is passed.

Part B: In which quotation from the speech does Douglass offer evidence to support his point in Part A?

The manhood of the slave is conceded. It is admitted in the fact that Southern statute books are covered with enactments forbidding ... the teaching of the slave to read or to write.

Part B Which section of the passage best supports the answer to Part A?

[D]rawing encouragement from "the Declaration of Independence," ... [and] American Institutions, my spirit is also cheered by the obvious tendencies of the age.

Which of the following is the best definition of denounce?

criticize harshly

Select the answer choice that correctly identifies a verb phrase in this sentence. Douglass, the fiery abolitionist, believed that slavery should be abolished immediately and also that slaves should have been freed long ago.

should have been freed

The word obstinate is derived from the Latin prefix ob- and a word root meaning "stand." Based on this information and your knowledge of the prefix ob-, choose the most likely meaning of the word obstinate in the following sentence.

stubborn; in a way that "stands against"

In his Fourth of July speech, Douglass says that "above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the wail of millions." To what is he referring?

the extensive sufferings of enslaved African Americans

. The word obstructions is derived from the Latin prefix ob- and a word root meaning "pile up." Based on this information and your knowledge of the prefix ob-, choose the most likely meaning of the word obstructions in the following sentence.

things that block and are "piled up against"

Select the answer choice that correctly identifies a noun phrase in this sentence from Douglass's Fourth of July speech. 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

treason most scandalous and shocking

A synonym is a word that means nearly the same as another word. Which of the following words are synonyms of stolid? Choose three options.

unemotional, expressionless, and unexcitable

Part B In which quotation from the speech does Douglass most clearly present the claim identified in Part A?

"...I will, ... 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 ... everything that serves to perpetuate slavery..."

Part B Which passage from the speech best supports the answer to Part A?

But, I submit, where all is plain, there is nothing to be argued.

Select the answer choice that correctly identifies a noun phrase in this sentence. Douglass's fierce, impassioned speech vehemently denounced the notion of celebrating liberty in a nation where many were enslaved.

Douglass's fierce, impassioned speech

In which of the following quotations from Douglass's Fourth of July speech does Douglass offer evidence to support his claim that enslaved persons are human beings, not brutes?

Is it not astonishing that, while we are ploughing, planting, and reaping, using all kinds of mechanical tools, erecting houses, constructing bridges ... and looking hopefully for life and immortality beyond the grave, we are called upon to prove that we are men!

In which of the following situations has a person most clearly conceded something? Choose based on your knowledge of the meaning of conceded.

Sid finally accepted the truth and logic of Sara's argument.

Part A Which of the following is a main or central claim that Douglass argues in his Fourth of July speech?

Slavery is an evil that goes against American values.

Part A Which of the following is a counterclaim addressed by Douglass in his Fourth of July speech?

Slavery was established by religious law.

Part A Read the following quotation from Douglass's Fourth of July speech. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of these United States, at this very hour. ... [However,] I do not despair ... "The arm of the Lord is not shortened," and the doom of slavery is certain. I, therefore, leave off where I began, with hope. While drawing encouragement from "the Declaration of Independence," the great principles it contains, and the genius of American Institutions, my spirit is also cheered by the obvious tendencies of the age. Which answer choice best summarizes the view of the future expressed in the quotation?

Slavery will eventually come to an end due to the nation's principles and the antislavery movement.

In which sentence is a verb phrase underlined?

The white planners of the Fourth of July celebration must have been hoping Douglass would deliver a different type of speech.