For who is there so cold, that a nation's sympathy could not warm him? Africa must rise and put on her yet unwoven garment. Interview was lightly edited for clarity and length. In doing so he sets the stage to distinguish the holiday for his audience and establishes the gulf between those in his audience and those who remain in bondage. In the early 1850s, tensions over slavery were high across the county. The wet plate ambrotype plates are housed in a folding leather case with tooled gilt oval mat. No nation can now shut itself up from the surrounding world, and trot round in the same old path of its fathers without interference. For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder, he said. In that instrument I hold there is neither warrant, license, nor sanction of the hateful thing; but, interpreted as it ought to be interpreted, the Constitution is a GLORIOUS LIBERTY DOCUMENT. On July 4th, 1852, he gave a speech to citizens of the United States. No! Throughout this speech, as well as his life, Douglass advocated equal justice and rights, as well as citizenship, for blacks. Oppression makes a wise man mad. When the Ladies Anti-Slavery Society of Rochester, N.Y., invited Douglass to give a July 4 speech in 1852, Douglass opted to speak on July 5 instead. This, to you, is what the Passover was to the emancipated people of God. Thats a tough one for me. It is the birthday of your National Independence, and of your political freedom. "For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder," he said. What will this years event be like? The speech was originally delivered at a moment when the country was fiercely locked in debate over the question of slavery, but theres a reason why it has remained famous more than 150 years after emancipation, says David Blight, author of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize winning biography Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom. When the dogs in your streets, when the fowls of the air, when the cattle on your hills, when the fish of the sea, and the reptiles that crawl, shall be unable to distinguish the slave from a brute, then will I argue with you that the slave is a man! Seventy-six years, though a good old age for a man, is but a mere speck in the life of a nation. Sign up for daily emails to get the latest Harvardnews. THAT HOUR WILL, COME, to each, to all, Before you read the speech you can follow these links to learn more about Douglasss life and the evolution of his thought in this period. The fiat of the Almighty, "Let there be Light," has not yet spent its force. A black-and-white photograph of Frederick Douglass wearing a jacket, waistcoat, and bowtie. "My subject, then fellow citizens," says Douglass, "is American slavery ." I scout the idea that the question of the constitutionality or unconstitutionality of slavery is not a question for the people. You have already declared it. What, am I to argue that it is wrong to make men brutes, to rob them of their liberty, to work them without wages, to keep them ignorant of their relations to their fellow men, to beat them with sticks, to flay their flesh with the lash, to load their limbs with irons, to hunt them with dogs, to sell them at auction, to sunder their families, to knock out their teeth, to burn their flesh, to starve them into obedience and submission to their masters? Mock said that Douglass has been a constant presence throughout her life. ': The History of Frederick Douglass' Searing Independence Day Oration. Friends and citizens, I need not enter further into the causes which led to this anniversary. He had it printed immediately after delivering it and then went out on the road and sold it for 50 cents a copy or $6 for a hundred. The above audio (11:35) can be used with the following section of Frederick Douglass's speech. What was the purpose of Frederick Douglass's slave narrative Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass An American Slave? The people who came to America were surprised by its history. America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to the future. Do you think Douglass would be surprised to learn that Americans are reciting his words nearly 170 years later? America has been working to fully live up to the ideals laid out in the Declaration of Independence ever since the document was printed on July 4, 1776. Standing with God and the crushed and bleeding slave on this occasion, I will, in the name of humanity which is outraged, in the name of liberty which is fettered, in the name of the constitution and the Bible which are disregarded and trampled upon, dare to call in question and to denounce, with all the emphasis I can command, everything that serves to perpetuate slavery the great sin and shame of America! But it is answered in reply to all this, that precisely what I have now denounced is, in fact, guaranteed and sanctioned by the Constitution of the United States; that the right to hold and to hunt slaves is a part of that Constitution framed by the illustrious Fathers of this Republic. The feeling of the nation must be quickened; the conscience of the nation must be roused; the propriety of the nation must be startled; the hypocrisy of the nation must be exposed; and its crimes against God and man must be proclaimed and denounced. With them, justice, liberty and humanity were "final;" not slavery and oppression. Throughout this speech, as well as his life, Douglass advocated equal justice and rights, as well as citizenship, for blacks. In a case like that, the dumb might eloquently speak, and the 'lame man leap as an hart. ", Citizens, your fathers made good that resolution. But I fancy I hear some one of my audience say, it is just in this circumstance that you and your brother abolitionists fail to make a favorable impression on the public mind. Open Document. Many historians consider this effort to be Douglass's finest oration, and arguably one of the most powerful American political speeches ever written. One person who felt that way was Douglass, the famous abolitionist, who was himself born into slavery. Whether we turn to the declarations of the past, or to the professions of the present, the conduct of the nation seems equally hideous and revolting. The signers of the Declaration of Independence were brave men. "We need the. Indeed, his speech, which warns that Your republican politics, not less than your republican religion, are flagrantly inconsistent, should be required reading for any such commission. The main message of Douglass's speechis that it is hypocritical to celebrate the Fourth of July as a day of freedom and independence while slaves are not independent nor do they have freedom. 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. Read the address in full onPBS. But I fancy I hear some one of my audience say, "It is just in this circumstance that you and your brother abolitionists fail to make a favorable impression on the public mind. What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?, Watch: A Conversation with Ta-Nehisi Coates, Oprah Winfrey, Media Mogul and Philanthropist, National Museum of African American History & Culture, A Nation's Story: What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?. Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. What is this but the acknowledgment that the slave is a moral, intellectual, and responsible being? It is a slander upon their memory, at least, so I believe. The Celestial Empire, the mystery of ages, is being solved. In the late 1840s and into the 1850s, his finances were tight, and he was struggling to sustain the newspaper he founded, The North Star. Fellow-citizens, above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the mournful wail of millions! Whateer the peril or the cost, No! The time for such argument is passed. More than 150 years later, Keidrick Roy, a doctoral student in American Studies at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and a U.S. Air Force veteran, will host a virtual community reading and discussion of the storied speech at the Somerville Museum on Thursday as part of the annual state-wide MassHumanities program Reading Frederick Douglass Together.. Another remarkable thing about Douglass is that he was an early champion of voting rights for women. For the present, it is enough to affirm the equal manhood of the Negro race. An edited version of Douglasss speech is provided below. Frederick Douglass was a freed slave in the 1800's who was famous for his ability to read and write, uncommon of a black man at the time. They showed forbearance; but that they knew its limits. How should I look to-day, in the presence of Americans, dividing, and subdividing a discourse, to show that men have a natural right to freedom? Is slavery among them? Throughout this speech, as well as his life, Douglass advocated equal justice and rights, as well as citizenship, for blacks.He begins his speech by modestly apologizing for being nervous in front of the crowd and recognizes that he has come a long way since his escape from slavery. You may rejoice, I must mourn.. In the fervent aspirations of William Lloyd Garrison, I say, and let every heart join in saying it: God speed the year of jubilee There is blasphemy in the thought. -douglas was trying to to reach to people who didn't agree with slavery, but never did anything to fight against it How does the struggle for freedom change with history? We unveiled the first 10 members of the FD200 today, on the 166th anniversary of Douglasss speech. speaking of it relatively and positively, negatively and affirmatively. had I the ability, and could reach the nation's ear, I would, to-day, pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. In the second part of the speech, Douglass turns to the present and his own feelings about the 4th of July celebration. Fellow Citizens, I am not wanting in respect for the fathers of this republic. Although the . As with rivers so with nations. This Fourth July is yours, not mine. What is now known as the "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" On the other hand it will be found to contain principles and purposes, entirely hostile to the existence of slavery. or is it in the temple? The arm of commerce has borne away the gates of the strong city. In this speech, he called out the "hypocrisy of the nation" (Douglass), questioning the nation's . Americans! The Fugitive Slave Act passed by Congress as part of this compromise was bitterly resented by the Northern states. To what other elements in the American political tradition does he appeal? The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. They that can, may; I cannot. Hard-hit sectors are recovering rapidly - tourism and hospitality establishments are back in business. Heavy billows, like mountains in the distance, disclose to the leeward huge forms of flinty rocks! You may rejoice, I must mourn. Paul Marcus, then the director of Community Change, and I contacted another colleague, David Tebaldi, then executive director of the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities (now MassHumanities) about sponsoring a public reading. We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the present and to the future. The wide world oer Cling to this daycling to it, and to its principles, with the grasp of a storm-tossed mariner to a spar at midnight. With them, justice, liberty and humanity were final; not slavery and oppression. The time was when such could be done. We need individual events like reading Douglass, but we also need to be thinking about ways to extend this conversation over the long term. His message was well-received because they believed in what he was standing up for. GAZETTE: This is your second year as host of Reading Frederick Douglass Together in Somerville. Magazines, Digital Would you have me argue that man is entitled to liberty? Allow me to say, in conclusion, notwithstanding the dark picture I have this day presented of the state of the nation, I do not despair of this country. I take it, therefore, that it is not presumption in a private citizen to form an opinion of that instrument. He point-by-point counters a. They were peace men; but they preferred revolution to peaceful submission to bondage. Indeed, in one of the most timeless passages in the speech, Douglass insists that the character and conduct of this nation never looked blacker to me than on this 4th of July, adding as if speaking today, Whether we turn to the declarations of the past, or to the professions of the present, the conduct of the nation seems equally hideous and revolting. Douglass' speech also foreshadowed the bloody reckoning to come: Civil War. In Douglass' speech, his tone mainly appeals to emotions. To break the rod, and rend the gyve, That which is inhuman, cannot be divine! Whether we turn to the declarations of the past, or to the professions of the present, the conduct of the nation seems equally hideous and revolting. All rights reserved. This is a particularly difficult time for any such return, given the lack of civility and acceptance of intolerance that characterize our public discourse starting with the president. The Compromise of 1850 had failed to resolve the controversy over the admission of new slaveholding states to the Union. Harvard Law Today: Can you tell me a little bit about Douglass speech? My subject, then, fellow-citizens, is American slavery. Butin doing so he brings awareness to the hypocrisy of their ideals by the existence of slavery on American soil. As with any great oration, Douglass builds to his point, which is to distinguish between the spirit of celebration typically surrounding the holiday and the misery suffered by enslaved people on that day and every day. There are forces in operation, which must inevitably work The downfall of slavery. 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; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are, to Him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. It is the birthday of your National Independence, and of your political freedom. We feel the pain and anguish ever more severely and it is much harder to find hope for the future. According to this fact, you are, even now, only in the beginning of your national career, still lingering in the period of childhood. To some, celebrations of American independence on July 4 are a reminder of the countrys hypocrisy on the matter of freedom, as slavery played a key role in the nations history; even today, Americas history of racism is still being written, while other forms of modern-day slavery persist in the U.S. and around the world. Ex-Vice-President Dallas tells us that the constitution is an object to which no American mind can be too attentive, and no American heart too devoted. Douglass stated that the nation's founders were great men for their ideals of freedom. On top of his federal work, Douglass kept a vigorous speaking tour schedule. Somehow I often find myself reading this paragraph and Im always struck by its prescience. But I differ from those who charge this baseness on the framers of the Constitution of the United States. Everyone is welcome to read; this event is free and open to the public. With them, nothing was "settled" that was not right. What is the main message of Douglass's speech? What is his opinion of the American Founders? Why does he do this? The far off and almost fabulous Pacific rolls in grandeur at our feet. From Boston to London is now a holiday excursion. But for me, the hope is in the very fact of gathering, of reading the speech in community, renewing the bonds with others who share a determination to change, and committing to act accordingly. Uncle Toms Cabin had just been published that spring and was taking the country by storm. So, all these years later, our massive system of incarceration echoes Douglasss charge that, There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices, more shocking and bloody, than are the people of these United States, at this very hour. This is not to say there are not tyrannical regimes elsewhere in the world or that other nations do not abuse human rights, but it is the self-righteousness of our celebration in the midst of ongoing injustice that continues to resonate today. Magazines, 4,000 African Americans paraded down Broadway in New York City, Or create a free account to access more articles, 'What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? What is the main message of Douglass's speech? . Th oppressd shall vilely bend the knee, I have been thinking a lot about these two and have discovered that it is also the 400th anniversary of the first instance of representative government in Jamestown. They were statesmen, patriots and heroes, and for the good they did, and the principles they contended for, I will unite with you to honor their memory. The eye of the reformer is met with angry flashes, portending disastrous times; but his heart may well beat lighter at the thought that America is young, and that she is still in the impressible stage of her existence.

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