On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass gave a keynote address at an Independence Day celebration and asked, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Douglass was a powerful orator, often traveling six months out of the year to give lectures on abolition. The Declaration of Independence More Declaration Resources "What to the Slave is the 4th of July?" by Frederick Douglass, July 5, 1852 Fellow Citizens, I am not wanting in respect for the fathers of this republic. The signers of the Declaration of Independence were brave men. They were great men, too — great enough to give frame to a great age. On Monday, July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass gave a speech to the “ Ladies of the Rochester Anti-Slavery Sewing Society, ” which arguably became his most famous public oration. Rather than a celebration of the Independence Day holiday, Douglass asked an obvious, simple and damning question: What, to the slave, is the Fourth of July? What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelly to which he is the constant victim. Over the course of five lessons, students will read, analyze, and gain a clear understanding of the speech Frederick Douglass delivered on July 5, 1852, in which he asked, “What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July?” The first four lessons require students to read excerpts from the speech “like a detective.” Through summary organizers, practice, and discussion, they will master One person who felt that way was Douglass, the famous abolitionist, who was himself born into slavery. When the Ladies Anti-Slavery Society of Rochester, N.Y., invited Douglass to give a July Frederick Douglass: “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” From PBS.com and Scholar-Griot Dr. Fran Kaplan On July 5, 1852, abolitionist and ex-slave Frederick Douglass gave a speech at an event commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence, held at Rochester, New York's Corinthian Hall. This, for the purpose of this celebration, is the 4th of July. It is the birthday of your National Independence, and of your political freedom. This, to you, is what the Passover was to the emancipated people of God. It carries your minds back to the day, and to the act of your great deliverance. In 1852, abolitionist Frederick Douglass delivered his speech “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro,” on July 5 at an event commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Rochester, New York. Douglass’ words resonate today. Frederick Douglass (c. 1818–1895) was born a slave. As a child, he received some instruction but largely taught himself to read. After escaping to freedom in the North, Douglass quickly became a renowned orator and fierce critic of slavery. Douglass delivered this speech to the Ladies’ Antislavery Society of Rochester, New York, on the meaning and significance of the Fourth of July to the Over 200 years after Frederick Douglass questioned “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” in an act of resistance to Independence Day, Black Americans are still grappling with how to This, for the purpose of this celebration, is the 4th of July. It is the birthday of your National Independence, and of your political freedom. This, to you, is what the Passover was to the emancipated people of God. This, for the purpose of this celebration, is the 4th of July. It is the birthday of your National Independence, and of your political freedom. This, to you, is what the Passover was to the emancipated people of God. It carries your minds back to the day, and to the act of your great deliverance. This, for the purpose of this celebration, is the Fourth of July. It is the birthday of your National Independence, and of your political freedom. This, to you, is what the Passover was to the emancipated people of God. Frederick Douglass was a fiery orator and his speeches were often published in various abolitionist newspapers. Among his well-known speeches is "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro," presented in Rochester, New York, on July 5, 1852, a version of which he published as a booklet. It is often studied in literature classes today. Douglass moved to Rochester in 1847, when he became the This means that Douglass was only thirty-four years old when he delivered one of the greatest political speeches in American history. It was July 5, 1852. What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? " [1][2] was a speech delivered by Frederick Douglass on July 5, 1852, at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York, at a meeting organized by the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society. [3] In the address, Douglass states that positive statements about perceived American values, such as liberty, citizenship, and Frederick Douglass was born an enslaved person in Maryland, later escaping into freedom and emerging as one of the leading abolitionist voices in the nineteenth century. In June 1852, he delivered this Independence Day address to the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society. The 4th of July is the first great fact in your nation’s history—the very ring-bolt in the chain of your yet undeveloped destiny Pride and patriotism, not less than gratitude, prompt you to celebrate and to hold it in perpetual remembrance. “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” Speech given by Frederick Douglass on the 4th July 1852. Summary of Speech Douglass criticises the Fourth of July Celebrations because the ideals of the American Revolution – freedom, equality, dignitiy and pursuit of happiness were denied to African Americans.
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