Question

what, to the american slave, is your fourth of july? i answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. to him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants, brass - fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery. —frederick douglass identify the claim in the passage. the holiday insults enslaved people. complete identify the type of reasoning. deductive inductive

Explanation:

To determine the type of reasoning, we analyze the passage. Deductive reasoning starts with a general principle and applies it to a specific case, while inductive uses specific observations to form a general conclusion. Here, the author (Frederick Douglass) presents a general claim (the Fourth of July is insulting to slaves) and then provides specific examples (sham celebration, unholy liberty, etc.) that support this claim, which is characteristic of deductive reasoning (starting with a general idea and then giving specific instances to back it up). Wait, actually, inductive reasoning is from specific to general, but here the structure is: the main claim (general) is supported by specific details. Wait, no—deductive reasoning is when you have a major premise, minor premise, and conclusion. But in this case, the author is making a claim (the holiday insults slaves) and then using specific examples (how the celebration is a sham, liberty is unholy, etc.) to support it. However, inductive reasoning is drawing a general conclusion from specific observations. Wait, maybe I got it wrong. Let's re-express: the claim is "the holiday insults enslaved people" (general), and the evidence is specific details (celebration is a sham, liberty is unholy, etc.). So this is deductive? Wait, no—deductive is top-down (general to specific), inductive is bottom-up (specific to general). So if the author starts with the claim (general) and then gives specific examples, that's deductive? Or is it inductive because the examples are specific and the claim is general? Wait, no—inductive is when you observe specific cases and then make a general conclusion. Here, the author is making a general claim and then providing specific reasons (the examples) to support it, which is more like deductive (using specific instances to support a general claim, which is part of deductive reasoning's structure: major premise (claim) + minor premises (examples) = conclusion). So the type of reasoning is deductive? Wait, no, maybe I'm confused. Let's check definitions: Deductive reasoning: starts with a general statement or hypothesis and examines the possibilities to reach a specific, logical conclusion. Inductive reasoning: makes broad generalizations from specific observations. In this passage, the author's main claim is general ("the holiday insults enslaved people"), and then he gives specific examples (how the celebration is a sham, liberty is unholy, etc.) to support that claim. So this is deductive because he's using specific details to support a general claim (which is the conclusion). Alternatively, if he had observed many Fourth of July celebrations and then concluded that it insults slaves, that would be inductive. But here, he's stating the claim first and then providing evidence, which is deductive reasoning (the claim is the conclusion, and the evidence is the premises). So the correct type is deductive? Wait, no, maybe I'm mixing up. Wait, the question is "Identify the type of reasoning." Let's re-express the passage: Claim: The Fourth of July insults enslaved people. Evidence: 1. Celebration is a sham. 2. Boasted liberty is unholy license. 3. National greatness is swelling vanity. Etc. So the structure is: Conclusion (claim) + premises (evidence). This is deductive reasoning because the conclusion is stated, and then premises are given to support it (general to specific application). So the type of reasoning is deductive.

Answer:

deductive