A. mere gossip
the quote is "when our lives cease to be inward and privatem cinversation degenerates into mere gossip"
Answer: forceful, angry
Explanation: the reason he speaks in a forceful and angry tone is because he was asked to speak on the Fourth of July, but he feels that himself as well as other African Americans cannot celebrate Independence Day because they are not free. This was a time when slavery was still legal in the United States and Douglass believed that the holiday only applied to white people because they were the ones who were truly free in the United States.
