What do Frederick Douglass' words "America reigns without a rival" mean?
Answer (3)
He meant that Americans were the biggest hypocrites in the world. You have to read his entire statement. Kind of hard to understand!
These words were taken from Frederick Douglas’ “Fourth of July” speech. He was an African American abolitionist; the full sentence is “for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival.” He’s basically saying nobody does slavery as horribly as the United States; his other words in the same speech are “There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour.”
Frederick Douglass' phrase "America reigns without a rival" critiques the extreme hypocrisy of the United States in the context of slavery, as stated in his 1852 speech. He highlights the moral failures of a nation celebrating freedom while allowing slavery to persist. This statement underscores the irony of American ideals versus the reality of oppression faced by enslaved people.
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