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"It is," he declares, "the birthday of your National Independence, and of your political freedom." 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. The Compromise of 1850 had failed to resolve the controversy over the admission of new slaveholding states to the Union. My subject, then fellow-citizens, is AMERICAN SLAVERY. We have a precise date for that first, momentous vote, which set the pattern of exclusion with which we still live, but no such precision marks the arrival of 50 captive Africans sometime in August, 1619. That first year, 2009, was also President Obamas first year in office. I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. Hisspeech, given at an event commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence, was held at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York. At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. Although it has also facilitated the spread of hateful ideas and untruths, I suspect Douglass, who understood perhaps better than anyone in the 19th century the power of images, would have reveled in our ability to capture and convey video of events. "The arm of the Lord is not shortened," and the doom of slavery is certain. He implored the Rochester, N.Y., audience to think about the ongoing oppression of Black Americans during a holiday celebrating freedom. Douglass' 1845 autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, described his time as an enslaved worker in Maryland. What was the main point of Frederick Douglass speech? What is their most significant accomplishment? At the time Douglass spoke, Blight says, the opportunity was ripe for a lecture on the moral crisis. Stand by those principles, be true to them on all occasions, in all places, against all foes, and at whatever cost. If so, there is a parallel to your conduct. Must I argue that a system thus marked with blood, and stained with pollution, is wrong? The wide world oer We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake., Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter. Your fathers staked their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor, on the cause of their country. What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? 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. What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? They were quiet men; but they did not shrink from agitating against oppression. 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. From Boston to London is now a holiday excursion. 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. speech was delivered on July 5, 1852 as an address to the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society in Rochester, New York. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital What is now known as the "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" The principles contained in that instrument are saving principles. Thoughts expressed on one side of the Atlantic are, distinctly heard on the other.. Your fathers were wise men, and if they did not go mad, they became restive under this treatment. Why, then, did Douglass speak as harshly as he did? What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July? My subject, then, fellow-citizens, is American slavery. I have detained my audience entirely too long already. He took action to raise the voices of others and to aid their work on the national stage, especially that of two Black women in the last half of the 19th century. One of his famous speeches, called "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro," was given on July 5, 1852, in Rochester, New York, at an event in the Corinthian Hall. What is the main message of Douglass's speech? | Similar Answers Its future might be shrouded in gloom, and the hope of its prophets go out in sorrow. It is the antagonistic force in your government, the only thing that seriously disturbs and endangers your Union. 838 Words. we wept when we remembered Zion. The main message of Douglass's speech is 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. Frederick Douglass delivered 'best Fourth of July speech in American and am I, therefore, called upon to bring our humble offering to the national altar, and to confess the benefits and express devout gratitude for the blessings resulting from your independence to us? 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. A black-and-white photograph of Frederick Douglass wearing a jacket, waistcoat, and bowtie. In the fervent aspirations of William Lloyd Garrison, I say, and let every heart join in saying it: God speed the year of jubilee ", Citizens, your fathers made good that resolution. Members of the public will take turns reading parts of the speech until theyve read all of it, together. Throughout this speech, as well as his life, Douglass advocated equal justice and rights, as well as citizenship, for blacks. To what other elements in the American political tradition does he appeal? I trust the people of America," Harris said to the crowd. Douglass repeatedly uses the pronouns you and your (rather than our and ours) throughout this section. There are forces in operation, which must inevitably work the downfall of slavery. 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. Why Frederick Douglass Matters - History In 1881, Douglass published his third autobiography, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, which took a long view of his life's work, the nation's progress, and the work left to do. Reading to explore the resonance of Douglass' famous speech I am also hosting a summer reading and discussion series called Race, Fragility, and Anti-Racism through the Somerville Museum and the City on a Hill network of local churches. Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us? 11th annual public reading of What to the slave is the Fourth of July? takes place on July 2nd at noon on Boston Common, Photo via the Harvard Gazette David Harris, managing director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race & Justice at Harvard Law School. A Brief History of the S'more, America's Favorite Campfire Snack, The 25 Defining Works of the Black Renaissance. Do you think that section has any lessons for us today? We would be well advised to ponder Douglasss speech as we frame this conversation. Fellow citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here today? Were the nation older, the patriots heart might be sadder, and the reformers brow heavier. Were not only going to be reading books like White Fragility, and Divided by Faith, but were also going to read and watch a number of speeches by Martin Luther King Jr., and documentaries like 13th and King in the Wilderness, as we try to get at the root of racial division so we can come together to remove it. Read the address in full onPBS. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. Sign up for daily emails to get the latest Harvardnews. There is blasphemy in the thought. I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! 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. What was the purpose of Frederick Douglass's slave narrative Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass An American Slave? If youre not a person of color, its one thing to go to a couple of events or protests, or to read a few articles and move on. In this speech, he called out the "hypocrisy of the nation" (Douglass), questioning the nation's . Frederick Douglass's 4th of July speech still burns with his spirit For more information on this event visit CharlesHamiltonHouston.org. The above audio reading by actor Ossie Davis can be used alongside the full text of Frederick Douglass's speech delivered on July 5, 1852 at Corinthian Hall to the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society in Rochester, New York. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. Although the . Harvard Law School provides unparalleled opportunities to study law with extraordinary colleagues in a rigorous, vibrant, and collaborative environment. What is this but the acknowledgment that the slave is a moral, intellectual, and responsible being? Next, Douglass presents a picture of American slavery. 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. Fellow-citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here to-day? You may well cherish the memory of such men. Frederick Douglas's Speech In What To The Slave Is The | Bartleby And change into a faithful friend The country was in the midst of crises over fugitive slave rescues in the wake of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Read its preamble, consider its purposes. Would you argue more, and denounce less; would you persuade more, and rebuke less; your cause would be much more likely to succeed." Host called senior colleague a C-word in text message obtained by lawyers as part of Dominion lawsuit Tucker Carlson's firing from Fox News came after he used vulgar language to describe a . It does not often happen to a nation to raise, at one time, such a number of truly great men. The purpose of the event was to celebrate America's signing of the Declaration of Independence, 76 years before. speaking of it relatively and positively, negatively and affirmatively. Frederick Douglass, America's most famous anti-slavery activist and fugitive slave, saw no ground to celebrate: he saw the octopus arms of slavery stretched everywhere, exposing the hollowness. How does he show that everyone in America, North and South, views enslaved Africans as human beings. I am glad, fellow-citizens, that your nation is so young. They seized upon eternal principles, and set a glorious example in their defense. I shall not presume to dwell at length on the associations that cluster about this day. In the early 2000s Community Change started a tradition of reading the Douglass speech in its library. The far off and almost fabulous Pacific rolls in grandeur at our feet. 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 denunciations 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. The manhood of the slave is conceded. 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. 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. God speed the hour, the glorious hour,When none on earthShall exercise a lordly power,Nor in a tyrants presence cower;But all to manhoods stature tower,By equal birth!That hour will come, to each, to all,And from his prison-house, the thrallGo forth. Is it at the gateway? Is it not astonishing that, while we are ploughing, planting, and reaping, using all kinds of mechanical tools, erecting houses, constructing bridges, building ships, working in metals of brass, iron, copper, silver and gold; that, while we are reading, writing and ciphering, acting as clerks, merchants and secretaries, having among us lawyers, doctors, ministers, poets, authors, editors, orators and teachers; that, while we are engaged in all manner of enterprises common to other men, digging gold in California, capturing the whale in the Pacific, feeding sheep and cattle on the hill-side, living, moving, acting, thinking, planning, living in families as husbands, wives and children, and, above all, confessing and worshipping the Christian's God, and looking hopefully for life and immortality beyond the grave, we are called upon to prove that we are men! Throughout this speech, as well as his life, Douglass advocated equal justice and rights, as well as citizenship, for blacks. From poetry, novels, and memoirs to journalism, crime writing, and science fiction, the more than 300 volumes published by Library of America are widely . 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? During the Civil War he worked tirelessly for the emancipation ofenslaved African Americans and duringthe decades followingthe war, he was arguably the most influential African American leader in the nation. The sunlight that brought life and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. 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! These gentlemen have, as I think, fully and clearly vindicated the Constitution from any design to support slavery for an hour. It saps the foundation of religion; it makes your name a hissing, and a byword to a mocking earth. We need individual events like reading Douglass, but we also need to be thinking about ways to extend this conversation over the long term. One person who felt that way was Douglass, the famous abolitionist, who was himself born into slavery. It seems that every year we have marked some anniversary with the reading, whether civil rights movement or Civil War related. Harvard Law Today recently interviewed David Harris, managing director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race & Justice at Harvard Law School, the events cosponsor, about the public reading and the continued relevance of Douglass words. You could instruct me in regard to them. I shall see this day and its popular characteristics from the slave's point of view. In Douglass's case, he was in a room with people who supported the ending of slavery. GAZETTE: Why is it important to do this kind of community-building work at a local level? GAZETTE: This is your second year as host of Reading Frederick Douglass Together in Somerville. Its also an election year; the 1852 presidential election was heating up that summer. Their solid manhood stands out the more as we contrast it with these degenerate times. It destroys your moral power abroad; it corrupts your politicians at home. He follows this observation by closing with words from William Lloyd Garrison, suggesting the new reach of the great abolitionist across the ocean as part of a global abolition movement. Frederick Douglass' Fourth of July speech, then and now: A Q&A with Douglass printed the speech in his newspaper, Frederick Douglass' Paper, and published 700 copies of it in pamphlet form. What is his opinion of the American Founders? What point in the anti-slavery creed would you have me argue? The people who came to America were surprised by its history. 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. or is it in the temple? This power fuels modern abolition movements, whether of human trafficking, prison or police. "I will not equivocate; I will not excuse"; I will use the severest language I can command; and yet not one word shall escape me that any man, whose judgment is not blinded by prejudice, or who is not at heart a slaveholder, shall not confess to be right and just. This is the inevitable conclusion, and from it there is no escape. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Must I argue the wrongfulness of slavery? 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! When from their galling chains set free, He point-by-point counters a. This Fourth July is yours, not mine. 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. Douglass's voluminous writings and speeches reveal a man who believed fiercely in the ideals on which America was founded, but understoodwith the scars to prove itthat democracy would . Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. "Resolved, That these united colonies are, and of right, ought to be free and Independent States; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown; and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, dissolved. See answers Advertisement bhawsarsakshi4 and am I, therefore, called upon to bring our humble offering to the national altar, and to confess the benefits and express devout gratitude for the blessings resulting from your independence to us?, Would to God, both for your sakes and ours, that an affirmative answer could be truthfully returned to these questions! Inches "What to the Slave Can the Fourth of July?" Frederick Duplex seeking not only to persuades my of the wrongfulness starting slavery but also to make abolition find acceptable for Northern whites. Each foe. Within twenty years Douglass was the one of the most famous men in the United Statesauthor of two widely read memoirs and an orator who commanded among the highest speaking fees in the nation. The sunlight that brought light and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. 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. The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. Summary Of Frederick Douglass Speech To Celebrate The - StudyMode It was one of five autobiographies he penned,. I am not included within the pale of glorious anniversary! Understanding contradictions such as this is critical for honest conversation. In a case like that, the dumb might eloquently speak, and the 'lame man leap as an hart. That year will come, and freedoms reign, President Lincoln did issue the Emancipation Proclamation six months later but even after the wars end, Douglass continued to use the Fifth of July to draw attention to the nations track record on the idea celebrated on the Fourth. 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 fact of slavery ruins the celebrations of the Fourth of July. That holiday, he delivered the greatest anti-slavery speech in American history. At the time of the delivery of this speech, Douglass had been living in Rochester, New York for several years editing a weekly abolitionist newspaper. But a change has now come over the affairs of mankind. On the 2nd of July, 1776, the old Continental Congress, to the dismay of the lovers of ease, and the worshipers of property, clothed that dreadful idea [i.e., the idea of total separation of the colonies from the crown] with all the authority of national sanction. If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. Knowledge was then confined and enjoyed by the privileged few, and the multitude walked on in mental darkness. Douglass stated that the nation's founders were great men for their ideals of freedom. What is the main message of Douglass's speech? The fight for independence was a long, hard battle. Is it that slavery is not divine; that God did not establish it; that our doctors of divinity are mistaken? That day will come all feuds to end. Cambridge, MA 02138, 2022 The President and Fellows of Harvard College, International Legal Studies & Opportunities, Syllabi, Exam and Course Evaluation Archive, Sign Up for the Harvard Law Today Newsletter, Consumer Information (ABA Required Disclosures). ROY: Douglass wrote the speech in the wake of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which effectively extended the reach of slave power in the South throughout the rest of the country. There are seventy-two crimes in the State of Virginia which, if committed by a black man (no matter how ignorant he be), subject him to the punishment of death; while only two of the same crimes will subject a white man to the like punishment. The wet plate ambrotype plates are housed in a folding leather case with tooled gilt oval mat. The iron shoe, and crippled foot of China must be seen, in contrast with nature. An edited version of Douglasss speech is provided below. 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. What are some of Frederick Douglass's most famous writings and speeches What is the main message of Douglass's speech? The Celestial Empire, the mystery of ages, is being solved. One of the biggest challenges we face in our present moment is building sustainable movements that fundamentally change peoples minds about race and racism. Read by Ava Yuninger, Music by Ava Yuninger 00:00 00:00 Fredrick Douglas Flashcards | Quizlet Its the birth of American Independence, the birth of a nation, and what the speech is saying is you must destroy first what you created and remake it, or it will be destroyed and you with it, says Blight. Why Frederick Douglass Is Important? - FAQS Clear We convened a group of interested parties, met a few times over a couple of months, and decided to launch an event on the Common. Everyone is welcome to read; this event is free and open to the public. Has the public reading of the speech each year on Boston Commonor the experience or meaning of itchanged over the years? The arm of the Lord is not shortened, and the doom of slavery is certain. Is that a question for Republicans? Who so stolid and selfish, that would not give his voice to swell the hallelujahs of a nation's jubilee, when the chains of servitude had been torn from his limbs? The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. Oceans no longer divide, but link nations together. This Fourth July is yours, not mine. At some future period I will gladly avail myself of an opportunity to give this subject a full and fair discussion. 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. No nation can now shut itself up from the surrounding world, and trot round in the same old path of its fathers without interference. 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. Many historians consider this effort to be Douglass's finest oration, and arguably one of the most powerful American political speeches ever written. He wrote a glowing letter of encouragement to Harriet Tubman, which served as the preface to Sarah Bradfords 1869 biography about Tubmans life. 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. [Throughout the speech] Douglass looks at the contradictions between the reality of slavery and the lofty claims of a just society outlined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. 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. Douglass made the speech nearly a decade before the American Civil War, a conflict that ultimately led to the adoption of the 13th amendment, which ended slavery. Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak to-day? Douglass message about America struggling to live up to the lofty goals it set for itself at the founding continues to be relevant, says Blight.