What To The Slave Is The Fourth Of July Summary

Frederick Douglas speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July,” was one of the most memorable and moving speeches of the Douglass’s career. On July 5, 1852, Douglass was invited to Rochester, New York to speak on behalf of the African American community on their thoughts of the fourth of July. Independence Day was supposed to be a celebration of freedom for the United States but, as the speech detailed, this day was and still is a mockery to the slave or African American citizen. When Frederick Douglas spoke on behalf of the slave on that memorable day, he really explained the condition on the African Americans during those times, which still holds true throughout society today.
In his speech, Douglas starts off by expressing the nervousness that he experienced while standing in front of the crowd, and the gratitude that he felt for the opportunity to speak in front of people whom he had had the pleasure of meeting before. Once he expressed his appreciation and hopes that the crowd would be patient and understanding of his thoughts and the manner that they were put together, he went into the topic in which he was invited to upon. He began to go into the history of the American Revolutionaries'

fight for freedom against the British, and how he agreed with the actions of the revolutionaries. Douglass expressing his thoughts towards the revolutionaries would allow him to perfectly transition to the defense of the slaves later in his speech. He praised the founding fathers for their actions in bringing democracy to America but did not want to deal in their victory, but urging the listeners to continue in the acts of those men. Then the intensity of the speech begins, Douglass begin with the fierce and famous statement, “The Fourth of July is Yours not Mines.” Everything that Douglas would say after that statement applied to the American slave during his generation, as well as the generation today.
As Douglass would mention in his speech, the celebration of the Fourth of July was mere mockery to the American slave. During the 1800s, the American slaves were in harsh bondage to white American citizens, even on the day of their independence. Douglass mention in one point of his speech, that no person on the entire earth would subject their selves to the conditions that they were providing for the slaves. So how could they impose such conditions on someone who they clearly would not want for themselves or their loved ones? Slaves were in the field in harsh weather working for a little of nothing, if they received wages at all. As Douglass stated, “The sun that brought you joy and peace, brought me stripes and death.” This statement could have meant many things to Douglass during those times. While the white community was celebrating their independence, black men, women, and children were in the fields working. At times that they would work with no food or water, to the point of death, whether by the harsh weather, or, by being beaten by the very same people who were boasting of their independence. When he explained how, no other country other than America at that time had such a bloody and horrific past as America he was correct. No one other people would no other people would know how it felt to suffer at the hands of those Americans, as the American slaves. So considering the bondage that they were under during those times, to even have them aware of the Fourth of July celebration and what it meant was in insult to the slave as a human. As he mentioned, “their high independence on revealed the immeasurable distance between the two.
Even though African American citizens has gained some prominence in the country today, the condition of the people overall, still show the division that was expressed in Douglass’s speech. He spoke about the hypocrisy that the Fourth of July expressed overall, and also the hypocrisy of the people who celebrated it. In one particular part, Douglass stated, “Fellow citizens, above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the mournful wail of million!” This statement couldn’t be more fitting during today’s society. During Douglass’s generation he could have been talking about many different things including the cries of the slaves, while being whipped by them ones who were celebrating their independence, or maybe even just the cries from bodies being broken down from heavy fetters. In today’s society, while the white’s society celebrates their many accomplishments throughout history, including Independence Day; the African American society still cries out as their men, women and children are slaughtered in the streets. The clear division Douglass spoke about in his speech that was taking place during those time, is also still well in place today. For example, an African American can commit the same crime as a white American and receive a harsher punishment that the white American. These are just a few of the parallels that the generation experienced to that Douglass spoke about in his speech.
Overall, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July,” is one of the most powerful Independence Day speeches ever given.

Frederick Douglass was intense and unapologetically true with many of the things that he spoke about in his speech on July 5, 1852. And whether they are popular today or not, they still serve as true statements on society today. Celebrating Independence Day while another group of people are suffering harsh conditions is not just hypocrisy; it is an insult to that group of people’s intelligence. Frederick Douglass in his moving, but perfectly spoken speech, showed how at that time, America had such a long way to go as a nation; and even though there has been some progression, still has a long way to go as far as people being treated with their due

respect.