Jeremiah Knox: "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?"

I think that Douglas spends so much time telling his audience what points don't need to be argued because he feels that these points, which Douglas argues that these points should be known by all, are not actually viewed by all. I think that he spends so much time on these points because he is trying to point out that these liberties are not viewed with respect by all. This speech takes place during the international slave trade in the United States. During this time, many people did not appeal to the idea of slaves being equal to themselves, especially people in the south. Douglas is emphasizing the point that at this juncture in time, the slaves were not treated as men and the irony and hypocrisy of the phrase in the Declaration of Independence, "All men are created equal."