I am glad, fellow-citizens, that your nation is so young. But, I submit, where all is plain there is nothing to be argued. I doubt even Douglass could have anticipated the technology we have or its uses. What is the main message of Douglass's speech? 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. As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, our economy continues to recover. Its future might be shrouded in gloom, and the hope of its prophets go out in sorrow. Throughout this speech, as well as his life, Douglass advocated equal justice and rights, as well as citizenship, for blacks. That which is inhuman, cannot be divine! The point from which I am compelled to view them is not, certainly, the most favorable; and yet I cannot contemplate their great deeds with less than admiration. Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. And that is one of the truly special elements, the combination of a core group of readers and the accidental attendees who happen by and hear bits and pieces of this incredible speech. What would be thought of an instrument, drawn up, legally drawn up, for the purpose of entitling the city of Rochester to a track of land, in which no mention of land was made? It saps the foundation of religion; it makes your name a hissing, and a byword to a mocking earth. What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? What, then, remains to be argued? What is the main message of Douglass's speech? What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? Harriet Beecher Stowes novel about slavery, Uncle Toms Cabin: Or Life among the Lowly had been published a few months before and unexpectedly became a national bestseller. Would you argue more, and denounce less; would you persuade more, and rebuke less; your cause would be much more likely to succeed." "My subject, then fellow citizens," says Douglass, "is American slavery ." I, therefore, leave off where I began, with hope. I am not that man. Fellow-citizens, above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the mournful wail of millions! 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. 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? Thoughts expressed on one side of the Atlantic are, distinctly heard on the other.. Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak today? Sign up for daily emails to get the latest Harvardnews. I recall seeing a group of young blonde-haired children standing at the wall overlooking the reading as a group of late adolescents and young men sat on the adjacent steps on a lunch break from their work with YouthBuild. Based on what I know of his writings, however, I think he would have very mixed feelings about the progress we have made. Why do you think he delivered the speech on the 5th rather than the 4th of July? To drag a man in fetters into the grand illuminated temple of liberty and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems, is inhuman mockery. He concedes, however, that the main purpose of his speech is not to give praise and thanks to these men, for he says that the deeds of those patriots are well known. Why does Douglass appeal to the Constitution in the last section of the speech? In an Independence Day address in 1852, abolitionist movement leader Frederick Douglass famously asked a gathering in Rochester, New York What to the slave is the Fourth of July?Answering his own question, it is a day, he said, 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 speech laid bare the hypocrisy of American ideals of freedom at a time when millions were living in Constitutionally-sanctioned bondage across the United States. Douglass continued to add to the speech in the years that followed. What characteristics does he praise about them? Neither group had any idea what would be going on when they happened by and I was truly heartened that both groups seemed to be intrigued and listening closely. Your republican politics are flagrantly inconsistent. 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. He implored the Rochester, N.Y., audience to think about the ongoing oppression of Black Americans during a holiday celebrating freedom. Douglass continues to interrogate the meaning of the Declaration of Independence, to enslaved African Americans experiencinggrave inequality and injustice: Fellow-citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here to-day? For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. To break the rod, and rend the gyve, While drawing encouragement from the Declaration of Independence, the great principles it contains, and the genius of American Institutions, my spirit is also cheered by the obvious tendencies of the age. His message was well-received because they believed in what he was standing up for. To what other elements in the American political tradition does he appeal? At the same time, we need to be studying the history of slavery and racism in this country so we can build policies, practices, and procedures that address the present problems with those historical inequities in mind. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. 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. Chan School of Public Health celebrates opening of $25M Thich Nhat Hanh Center for research, approaches to mindfulness, Women who suppressed emotions had less diverse microbiomes in study that also found specific bacterial link to happiness, Tenn. lawmaker Justin Pearson, Parkland survivor David Hogg 23 talk about tighter gun control, GOP attempts to restrict voting rights, importance of local politics, Dangers involved in rise of neurotechnology that allows for tracking of thoughts, feelings examined at webinar, 2023 The President and Fellows of Harvard College, Photo courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration, By Manisha Aggarwal-Schifellite Harvard Staff Writer, Frederick Douglass delivered his famous speech What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? in 1852, drawing parallels between the Revolutionary War and the fight to abolish slavery. To forget them, to pass lightly over their wrongs, and to chime in with the popular theme, would be treason most scandalous and shocking, and would make me a reproach before God and the world. According to this fact, you are, even now, only in the beginning of your national career, still lingering in the period of childhood. By equal birth! It is admitted in the fact that Southern statute books are covered with enactments forbidding, under severe fines and penalties, the teaching of the slave to read or to write. I said then and throughout his presidency that rather than freeing us from talking about race, his election freed us to talk about it; and we entitled that first event: Reading Frederick Douglass in the Age of Obama.. Must we allow symbols of racism on public land? Well, we have all come to understand that while on its face this amendment appeared to outlaw forever slavery and involuntary servitude, its exception for those serving a punishment for crime left open the door for what Douglas Blackmon has called Slavery by Another Name and Ana DuVernays so painfully rendered film, 13th, revealed as continued oppression in the 21st century. 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? It does not often happen to a nation to raise, at one time, such a number of truly great men. Be driven. 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. In the early 1850s, tensions over slavery were high across the county. Fellow-citizens! Africa must rise and put on her yet unwoven garment. From poetry, novels, and memoirs to journalism, crime writing, and science fiction, the more than 300 volumes published by Library of America are widely . Do you think Douglass would be surprised to learn that Americans are reciting his words nearly 170 years later? In February, Mock announced that the FDFI would undertake the effort to launch the Frederick Douglass Museum Center in a building they are purchasing at 140 East Main St. in Rochester. (modern), Frederick Douglas addressing an English audience during his visit to London in 1846., Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America. That holiday, he delivered the greatest anti-slavery speech in American history. This Fourth July is yours, not mine. This power fuels modern abolition movements, whether of human trafficking, prison or police. Fellow citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here today? 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. GAZETTE: What is the historical setting for this speech, and why did Douglass focus on the Fourth of July? In some ways, the first part of the speech is a traditional patriotic speech. I generally try to avoid speculating about current or historical figures I dont know. "For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder," he said. As the project scholar, my role is to advise the process as it rolls out, to give a talk that provides contemporary and historical context and to facilitate the community discussion around the speech against the backdrop of other relevant issues. Open Document. He point-by-point counters a. Douglass' 1845 autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, described his time as an enslaved worker in Maryland. I am not included within the pale of glorious anniversary! They were great men, too, great enough to give frame to a great age. Your fathers staked their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor, on the cause of their country. Douglass speech also foreshadowed the bloody reckoning to come: Civil War. We may finally be thinking about creating a commission to study the possibility of reparationsas with all deliberate speed, the American way of tackling a problem takes so much time and patienceand for this we can be thankful. The arm of the Lord is not shortened, and the doom of slavery is certain. Although primarily remembered for pointing out the hypocrisy of Independence Day in a nation that condoned the enslavement of millions of people, the speech also includes an interesting passage on the impact of globalization. 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. This, for the purpose of this celebration, is the 4th of July. God speed the day when human bloodShall cease to flow!In every clime be understood,The claims of human brotherhood,And each return for evil, good,Not blow for blow;That day will come all feuds to end.And change into a faithful friendEach foe. They were great in their day and generation. 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. In a case like that, the dumb might eloquently speak, and the "lame man leap as an hart." With them, nothing was "settled" that was not right. 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 . 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! If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. 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. The above audio (11:35) can be used with the following section of Frederick Douglass's speech. Crowd of men and women during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Washington, D.C., Aug.28, 1963, Get the latest information about timed passes and tips for planning your visit, Search the collection and explore our exhibitions, centers, and digital initiatives, Online resources for educators, students, and families, Engage with us and support the Museum from wherever you are, Find our upcoming and past public and educational programs, Learn more about the Museum and view recent news, National Archives and Records Administration, Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. They did so in the form of a resolution; and as we seldom hit upon resolutions, drawn up in our day whose transparency is at all equal to this, it may refresh your minds and help my story if I read it. The Celestial Empire, the mystery of ages, is being solved. He also wrote a letter to Ida B. How circumspect, exact and proportionate were all their movements! America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to the future. It occurred to me that it would be of interest to many others if they knew about it. For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. No! He further says, the Constitution, in its words, is plain and intelligible, and is meant for the home-bred, unsophisticated understandings of our fellow-citizens. This speech is now remembered as oneof Douglass' most poignant. What will this years event be like? So witness Heaven! On the other hand it will be found to contain principles and purposes, entirely hostile to the existence of slavery. The far off and almost fabulous Pacific rolls in grandeur at our feet. For there, they that carried us away captive, required of us a song; and they who wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. He was invited to give a fourth of July speech by the Ladies Anti-Slavery Society of Rochester. 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. 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. Nations do not now stand in the same relation to each other that they did ages ago. 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. It fetters your progress; it is the enemy of improvement, the deadly foe of education; it fosters pride; it breeds insolence; it promotes vice; it shelters crime; it is a curse to the earth that supports it; and yet, you cling to it, as if it were the sheet anchor of all your hopes. 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.. No nation can now shut itself up from the surrounding world, and trot round in the same old path of its fathers without interference. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. In Douglass's case, he was in a room with people who supported the ending of slavery. Without this fight, the liberty of an American citizen would be as insecure as that of a Frenchman. One person who felt that way was Douglass, the famous abolitionist, who was himself born into slavery. Toward the end of the Civil War he delivered a speech, "What the Black Man Wants," discussing what the nation should do to help the newly freed . This Fourth July is yours, not mine. At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. For more information on this event visit CharlesHamiltonHouston.org. Fellow Citizens, I am not wanting in respect for the fathers of this republic. You could instruct me in regard to them. Nobody doubts it. The testimony of Senator Breese, Lewis Cass, and many others that might be named, who are everywhere esteemed as sound lawyers, so regard the constitution. Hed had a breakdown in the early 1850s, and was having trouble supporting his family. Formerly . They seized upon eternal principles, and set a glorious example in their defense. They, however, gradually flow back to the same old channel, and flow on as serenely as ever. Had I the ability, and could I reach the nations ear, I would, today, pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. For who is there so cold, that a nations sympathy could not warm him? Must I argue that a system thus marked with blood, and stained with pollution, is wrong? Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us? I scout the idea that the question of the constitutionality or unconstitutionality of slavery is not a question for the people. 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. In the orations most famous passages, Douglass discussed what it felt like to see such festivities and to know independence was not a given for people like him: What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence?