Answer:
To persuade readers about the unjust treatment of the African Americans.
Explanation:
"What to the Slaves is the Fourth of July?" is a speech given by Frederick Douglass on the occasion of July 5th, 1852 in Rochester, New York. In it, he emphasized on the American independence celebration which grips the whole nation but the African American community (slaves) did not actually have a cause for celebration. They are still chained and bounded to their initial status and have not experienced any form of freedom.
Douglass was also a former slave but earned his freedom and got an education, later becoming an abolitionist and worked for the freedom of his people. He delivered this speech during the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society's meeting. In it, he called upon the injustice that the slaves are facing, while the nation is celebrating "its" freedom. Though the label "nation" includes each and everyone living in the country, and that that freedom is for all, the slaves are still bounded to their position and no one seems to care. His anti-slavery speech became one of the most important works for the abolitionist, including his autobiography. To him, it is ironic that America is celebrating her independence from being under the colonialist rule of Britain, a form of slavery but at the same time, still kept slaves themselves. The slavery system that was still prevalent and in practice even after the independence was what made him question the American people. The one reason/ purpose he most likely wrote this speech was to persuade the readers (audience) about the unjust treatment of the African Americans.
