LAD #19- Frederick Douglass' "5th of July" Speech

Frederick Douglass' Independence Day Speech
Rochester, NY.
1852

Summary:

Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in 1818 and as such felt little reason to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday in the same manner the white men of the United States did. He felt that this anniversary only annually exemplified the differences between the races, as whites celebrated the freedoms and independence they had been granted after years of struggle, whereas the slaves and other black populations faced discrimination and prejudice. The Fourth of July was ironic really, because it honored freedom in a country where not all of its residents were free due to the use of slavery. "This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn."

"What, to an American slave, is your Fourth of July?" To many slaves, this day represented the injustices they faced and the gross irony of their situation. The United States was not the open-minded, free nation it thought it was, as it was the leading nation allowing the practice of slavery to be used within its borders, and a hypocrite in itself.