Frederick Douglass's "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?"

Frederick Douglass's speech was delivered on July 5th, 1852 in New York.  It was a meeting of the Rochester Ladies' Antislavery Society of Rochester.  At this meeting, he read the original Declaration before his speech, which was well received.  In 1852, there were million of slaves in the United States. Although the import of slaves was banned in 1808, internal trade was active for decades.  For additional context, in 1850 the Fugitive Slave Act was passed.  Fines and punishments for hiding slaves were made more harsh, and not only escaped slaves but also freed blacks were vulnerable to being thrown back into slavery.  Another interesting detail is that in July of 1848, Douglass was at the Seneca Falls convention.  After the speech was delivered, it was published in pamphlet form, with hundreds of pamphlets distributed.  

Now let's consider different genres of speech.  Aristotle is known for defining these three categories of speech:  epideictic (ceremonial), forensic (legal) and deliberative (political).  Epideictic speeches are commemorative of an event or entity in order to confirm group values.  They are about the present.  Forensic speeches includes issues of past crimes and wrongs.  Deliberative speeches are future-oriented and concern policy changes.  Given these categories, ask which (or which combination) best fits Douglass's speech.   

Douglass's speech seems to overturn what people might expect from a speech on the 4th of July. One might expect a celebration of the nation's "birthday" or a personal narrative of his struggle. Instead, he refuses to give Americans as much credit as they might want for the revolution.  He also refuses to identify himself as an American.  He also refuses to argue for abolition, claiming that biting admonishment is more appropriate.  

The structure of the speech is as follows.   He starts with the introduction.  Then he describes the present situation before going into detail about slave trade in America.  He also talks about the church in terms of religious liberty and the responsibility of the church for slavery.  Then he talks about his hope for the future.

An important point of contrast is that whereas other authors and rhetoricians of the time focused in principles and abstract ideals, Douglass himself focuses on discussing people and their actions.  When talking about the development of the country and its future, he uses the metaphor of flowing water, but criticizes the current state as if we are a ship out at sea during a storm.  He switches over from a epideictic speech and the speech becomes more deliberative.  He boldly claims that slaves are men (humans), believing that formal argument for such a thing is unnecessary.  He criticizes religion as an empty practice if slavery is allowed, but ends on a hopeful note.