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 cruelty to which he is the constant victim. He was invited to give a fourth of July speech by the Ladies Anti-Slavery Society of Rochester. In the early 1850s, tensions over slavery were high across the county. The Compromise of 1850 had failed to resolve the controversy over the admission of new slaveholding states to the Union. 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 With clarity and courage, he asked the question that still resonates today: “What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July?” His words, thundered with righteous clarity—and they still do today. Speaking that day before the mostly white audience gathered under the auspices of the Rochester Ladies Anti-Slavery Society, Douglass delivered a Fourth of July oration that still has much to 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; and to the signs, and to the wonders, associated with that act that day. Why would Douglass want to deliver this speech on July fifth instead of the fourth? What is the meaning and significance of the Fourth of July, from the slave’s point of view? Why is slavery a violation of the Founders’ principles from the Declaration of Independence, according to Douglass, and why does he call the Founders “statesmen, patriots and heroes”? Does Douglass believe that Yet through 1865, the continued enslavement of more than three million Americans undermined the United States’ pride in itself as a beacon of liberty. For opponents of slavery, especially Black abolitionists like Frederick Douglass, the July 4 celebration underscored such hypocrisy. What does the 4th of July have to do with slavery? To some, celebrations of American independence on July 4 are a reminder of the country’s hypocrisy on the matter of freedom, as slavery played a key role in the nation’s history; even today, America’s history of racism is still being written, while other forms of modern-day slavery persist in the U.S. and around the After the Civil War, African Americans in the South transformed Independence Day into a celebration of their newly won freedom. “What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July?” Famed black The 4th of July is a federal holiday in the United States that commemorates the Continental Congress’s signing of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. Why would Douglass want to deliver this speech on July fifth instead of the fourth? What are the meaning and significance of the Fourth of July from the slave’s point of view? Why did Douglass call slavery a violation of the principles of the Declaration of Independence, and why did he call the Founders “statesmen, patriots and heroes”? Throughout the 1800s, Black Americans used the July Fourth to argue for emancipation and full citizenship, making the case that Black citizens – free and enslaved – had as much right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as white people. Many Black Americans can not seem to forget this historical trauma of slavery, which has somehow shaped how they perceive and experience the 4th of July, even decades after emancipation. 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. 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 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. His speech, given at an event commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence, was held at Corinthian Hall in Rochester In July of 1852, Frederick Douglass delivered a speech titled “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?,” a call for the promise of liberty be applied equally to all Americans. 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 cruelty to which he is the constant victim. . . . I will not enlarge further on your national inconsistencies. What does the 4th of July have to do with slavery? 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 cruelty to which he is the constant victim. What does July 4th symbolize?
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