A major theme of the speech is how America is not living up to its proclaimed beliefs. A John Knox would be seen at every church door, and heard from every pulpit, and Fillmore would have no more quarter than was shown by Knox, to the beautiful, but treacherous queen Mary of Scotland. Fellow-citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here to-day? 15 November's Documents in Detail webinar was about Frederick Douglass's What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?, his oration delivered on 5 July 1862. or is it in the temple? Need I remind you that a similar thing is being done all over this country to-day? He can bring no witnesses for himself. This truth is not a doubtful one. weeping, as she thinks of the mother from whom she has been torn! By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. Now, there are certain rules of interpretation, for the proper understanding of all legal instruments. By an act of the American Congress, not yet two years old, Mason and Dixons line has been obliterated, Did this law concern the mint, anise, and cumin. Not fewer than forty Americans have, within the past two years, been hunted down and, without a moments warning, hurried away in chains, and consigned to slavery and excruciating torture. The crack you heard, was the sound of the slave-whip; the scream you heard, was from the woman you saw with the babe. This is the inevitable conclusion, and from it there is no escape. What point in the anti-slavery creed would you have me argue? Text Frederick Douglass, " What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? Ossie DavisA Voice Ringing O'er the Gale! Alison Drasner, the project coordinator for the Somerville Museum, teamed up with Dave Ortega at the Somerville Media Center to prerecord voices of 50 Somerville residents, including my 7-year-old daughter, Charlotte, to read sections of the speech. There is not time now to argue the constitutional question at length nor have I the ability to discuss it as it ought to be discussed. Panel on dispossession of African Americans says burying truth keeps Black Americans dispossessed, Legal scholar and historian puts the push to remove Confederate statues in context, Members of the community share memories, plans, hopes for the holiday, Quantum computing simulation reveals possible wormhole-like dynamics. Their opposition to the then dangerous thought was earnest and powerful; but, amid all their terror and affrighted vociferations against it, the alarming and revolutionary idea moved on, and the country with it. Ex-Vice-President Dallas tells us that the Constitution is an object to which no American mind can be too attentive, and no American heart too devoted. Must I argue the wrongfulness of slavery? He validates the feelings of injustice the Founders felt then juxtaposes their experiences with vivid descriptions of the harshness of slavery.[21]. The arm of commerce has borne away the gates of the strong city. But, I submit, where all is plain there is nothing to be argued. We need individual events like reading Douglass, but we also need to be thinking about ways to extend this conversation over the long term. What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? Initially mentored by William Lloyd Garrison, Douglass You may rejoice, I must mourn. It is a slander upon their memory, at least, so I believe. [7], The Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society was founded in 1851. Let it be thundered around the world, that, in tyrant-killing, king-hating, people-loving, democratic, Christian America, the seats of justice are filled with judges, who hold their offices under an open and palpable bribe, and are bound, in deciding in the case of a mans liberty, hear only his accusers!In glaring violation of justice, in shameless disregard of the forms of administering law, in cunning arrangement to entrap the defenseless, and in diabolical intent, this Fugitive Slave Law stands alone in the annals of tyrannical legislation. The 4th of July Address, delivered in Corinthian Hall, by Frederick Douglass, is published on good paper, and makes a neat pamphlet of forty pages. Youll never experience a black hole, but Avi Loeb can help you imagine one, We need individual events like reading Douglass, but we also need to be thinking about ways to extend this conversation over the long term., Level of cannabis use could determine post-op outcomes, Historian says Fla. dispute shows why AP class in African American studies is needed, Why Church Committee alums urged new House panel to avoid partisanship, What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?, Rewriting history to include all of it this time. Intelligence is penetrating the darkest corners of the globe. The time was when such could be done. [28][29] The head of the organization responsible for the memorial speculated that it was vandalized in response to the removal of Confederate monuments in the wake of the George Floyd protests.[30]. The speech has since been published under the above title in The Frederick Douglass Papers, Series One, Vol. During the 1850's, the Fourth of July served as a reminder of the many horrors and injustices in the world. 2003. ROY: The better we get to know the people that we live with, that we work around, that we see at the coffee shop, and the more we talk about these important racial issues with one another, the easier it will be to heal our divided communities. The 4th of July is the first great fact in your nations historythe very ring-bolt in the chain of your yet undeveloped destiny. You glory in your refinement and your universal education yet you maintain a system as barbarous and dreadful as ever stained the character of a nationa system begun in avarice, supported in pride, and perpetuated in cruelty. The 4th of July is the first great fact in your nation's historythe very ring-bolt in the chain of your yet undeveloped destiny. I will not equivocate; I will not excuse;. There is blasphemy in the thought. 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. It is not that pure and undefiled religion which is from above, and which is first pure, then peaceable, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. But a religion which favors the rich against the poor; which exalts the proud above the humble; which divides mankind into two classes, tyrants and slaves; which says to the man in chains, stay there; and to the oppressor, oppress on; it is a religion which may be professed and enjoyed by all the robbers and enslavers of mankind; it makes God a respecter of persons, denies his fatherhood of the race, and tramples in the dust the great truth of the brotherhood of man. Ever ready to drink, to treat, and to gamble. They have taught that man may, properly, be a slave; that the relation of master and slave is ordained of God; that to send back an escaped bondman to his master is clearly the duty of all the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ; and this horrible blasphemy is palmed off upon the world for Christianity.For my part, I would say, welcome infidelity! [12], According to the 1850 Census, there were around 3.2 million enslaved persons in the United States. Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us? GAZETTE: Why is it important to do this kind of community-building work at a local level? "Meaning of the Fourth of July to a Negro" by Bridget Durham The Fourth of July is a day of celebration for many Americans because on July 4th, 1776, America declared independence from Britain and said that everyone was free under the US government, right? 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. America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to the future. . Long established customs of hurtful character could formerly fence themselves in, and do their evil work with social impunity. 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. Not everyone. Frederick Douglass, a well-known Black writer, orator, and abolitionist was asked to address an anti-slavery group on the July 4 holiday in 1852. Douglass builds his argument by using surprising contrasts, plain facts, and provocative antithesis. Pride and patriotism, not less than gratitude, prompt you to celebrate and to hold it in perpetual remembrance. when ye make many prayers, I will not hear. The speech "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" was delivered in the decade preceding the American Civil War, which lasted from 1861 to 1865 and achieved the abolition of slavery. I doubt if there be another nation on the globe, having the brass and the baseness to put such a law on the statute-book. [5] American studies professor Andrew S. Bibby argues that because many of the editions produced for educational use are abridged, they often misrepresent Douglass's original through omission or editorial focus. In the end, Douglass wants to keep his hope and faith in humanity high. Follow the drove to New Orleans. whose chains, heavy and grievous yesterday, are, to-day, rendered more intolerable by the jubilee shouts that reach them. the feeling of despair in the face of obstacles. This page was last edited on 5 February 2023, at 19:31. was delivered in the decade preceding the American Civil War, which lasted from 1861 to 1865 and achieved the abolition of slavery. You invite to your shores fugitives of oppression from abroad, honor them with banquets, greet them with ovations, cheer them, toast them, salute them, protect them, and pour out your money to them like water; but the fugitives from your own land you advertise, hunt, arrest, shoot and kill. Born into slavery around 1818, Douglass became a key leader of the abolitionist. Wells, which was incorporated into the preface of her 1892 pamphlet Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases.. (1982). That trade has long since been denounced by this government, as piracy. YOUR HANDS ARE FULL OF BLOOD; cease to do evil, learn to do well; seek judgment; relieve the oppressed; judge for the fatherless; plead for the widow.The American church is guilty, when viewed in connection with what it is doing to uphold slavery; but it is superlatively guilty when viewed in connection with its ability to abolish slavery. According to this fact, you are, even now, only in the beginning of your national career, still lingering in the period of childhood. Essentially, Douglass criticizes his audience's pride for a nation that claims to value freedom though it is composed of people who continuously commit atrocities against Blacks. Here you will see men and women reared like swine for the market. They may sometimes rise in quiet and stately majesty, and inundate the land, refreshing and fertilizing the earth with their mysterious properties. Keidrick Roy, the host of the virtual reading event. Feeling themselves harshly and unjustly treated by the home government, your fathers, like men of honesty, and men of spirit, earnestly sought redress. Oppression makes a wise man mad. 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. This Fourth [of] July is yours, not mine. 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. He talks about how Americans are proud of their country and their religion and how they rejoice in the name of freedom and liberty and yet they do not offer those things to millions of their country's residents. "[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. For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. 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. It has made itself the bulwark of American slavery, and the shield of American slave-hunters. The eye of the reformer is met with angry flashes, portending disastrous times; but his heart may well beat lighter at the thought that America is young, and that she is still in the impressible stage of her existence. The cause of liberty may be stabbed by the men who glory in the deeds of your fathers. 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.What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? Douglass denounces the churches for betraying their own biblical and Christian values. The Oratory of Fr. Senator Berrien tell us that the Constitution is the fundamental law, that which controls all others. Walled cities and empires have become unfashionable. 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 hypocrisya thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. What to the American slave is your Fourth of July? He describes the legislation as "tyrannical," and believes that it is in "violation of justice.". There is hope in the thought, and hope is much needed, under the dark clouds which lower above the horizon. When a child, my soul was often pierced with a sense of its horrors. Douglass believed that slavery could be eliminated with the support of the church, and also with the reexamination of what the Bible was actually saying. Is slavery among them? A self-taught man, he escaped from slavery and eventually became a leader in the abolitionist movement. To . How digital misinformation may keep you from a good nights sleep, Study finds surgical patients with addiction issues may be at greater risk for complications, including sudden cardiac death after anesthesia, Khalil Gibran Muhammad says College Board needs to stand firm behind curriculum, Chief counsel of respected mid-70s Senate inquiry into improper federal investigations says credibility of oversight function at stake, 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. But, with that blindness which seems to be the unvarying characteristic of tyrants, since Pharaoh and his hosts were drowned in the Red Sea. To drag a man in fetters into the grand illuminated temple of liberty, and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems, were inhuman mockery and sacrilegious irony. You will see one of these human flesh-jobbers, armed with pistol, whip and bowie-knife, driving a company of a hundred men, women, and children, from the Potomac to the slave market at New Orleans. With brave men there is always a remedy for oppression. Your lawmakers have commanded all good citizens to engage in this hellish sport. The Celestial Empire, the mystery of ages, is being solved. I hold that every American citizen has a fight to form an opinion of the constitution, and to propagate that opinion, and to use all honorable means to make his opinion the prevailing one. Would you argue more, and denounce less, would you persuade more, and rebuke less, your cause would be much more likely to succeed. No nation can now shut itself up from the surrounding world, and trot round in the same old path of its fathers without interference. There are exceptions, and I thank God that there are. He implored the Rochester, N.Y., audience to think about the ongoing oppression of Black Americans during a holiday celebrating freedom. The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. It makes its pathway over and under the sea, as well as on the earth. The occasion was the Society's Fourth of July celebration, but Douglass refused to give the speech on July 4; he would not celebrate the holiday so long as African Americans remained enslaved. Nobody doubts it. Is it to be settled by the rules of logic and argumentation, as a matter beset with great difficulty, involving a doubtful application of the principle of justice, hard to be understood? GAZETTE: This is your second year as host of Reading Frederick Douglass Together in Somerville. They felt themselves the victims of grievous wrongs, wholly incurable in their colonial capacity. It is a religion for oppressors, tyrants, man-stealers, and thugs. Your fathers were wise men, and if they did not go mad, they became restive under this treatment. That bolt drawn, that chain broken, and all is lost. The minister of American justice is bound by the law to hear but one side; and that side, is the side of the oppressor. This Fourth [of] July is yours, not mine. Douglass equates this to being worse than many other things that are banned, in particular, books and plays that are banned for infidelity. The fiat of the Almighty, Let there be Light, has not yet spent its force. You live and must die, and you must do your work. What is now known as the "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" speech was delivered on July 5, 1852 as an address to the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society in Rochester, New York. Space is comparatively annihilated. In a Fourth of July holiday special, we begin with the words of Frederick Douglass. In this collection, students will review the life of Frederick Douglass and learn about one of his most famous speeches, "The Meaning of Fourth of July for the Negro" (it is also commonly referred to as "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July). 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. When a sufficient number have been collected here, a ship is chartered, for the purpose of conveying the forlorn crew to Mobile, or to New Orleans. 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. They perambulate the country, and crowd the highways of the nation, with droves of human stock. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. My subject, then fellow-citizens, is AMERICAN SLAVERY. Stauffer, John. The Lords of Buffalo, the Springs of New York, the Lathrops of Auburn, the Coxes and Spencers of Brooklyn, the Gannets and Sharps of Boston, the Deweys of Washington, and other great religious lights of the land have, in utter denial of the authority of Him by whom the professed to he called to the ministry, deliberately taught us, against the example or the Hebrews and against the remonstrance of the Apostles, they teach that we ought to obey mans law before the law of God.My spirit wearies of such blasphemy; and how such men can be supported, as the standing types and representatives of Jesus Christ, is a mystery which I leave others to penetrate. By that most foul and fiendish of all human decrees, the liberty and person of every man are put in peril. I shall see, this day, and its popular characteristics, from the slaves point of view. [6] Due to this and the variant titles given to it in various places, and the fact that it is called a July Fourth Oration but was actually delivered on July 5, some confusion has arisen about the date and contents of the speech. In a case like that, the dumb might eloquently speak, and the lame man leap as an hart.But, such is not the state of the case. [19]. Before you read the speech you can follow these links to learn more about Douglass's life and the evolution of his thought in this period. They hate all changes, but silver, gold and copper change! My soul sickens at the sight. Standing, there, identified with the American bondman, making his wrongs mine, I do not hesitate to declare, with all my soul, that the character and conduct of this nation never looked blacker to me than on this 4th of July! your republican politics, not less than your republican religion, are flagrantly inconsistent. Sign up for daily emails to get the latest Harvardnews. 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. (3) $3.99. This home government, you know, although a considerable distance from your home, did, in the exercise of its parental prerogatives, impose upon its colonial children, such restraints, burdens and limitations, as, in its mature judgment, it deemed wise, right and proper. Were the nation older, the patriots heart might be sadder, and the reformers brow heavier. But now is the time, the important time. 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. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth.Fellow-citizens; above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the mournful wail of millions! By an act of the American Congress, not yet two years old, slavery has been nationalized in its most horrible and revolting form. In speaking of the American church, however, let it be distinctly understood that I mean the great mass of the religious organizations of our land. It is neither. They are a trouble to me; I am weary to bear them; and when ye spread forth your hands I will hide mine eyes from you. There are illustrations of it near and remote, ancient and modern. But its quite another to change the way you see yourself and to grow into a person deeply committed to long-term interracial coalition building. Douglass addressed a part of the population for which the day had huge significance the true independence, he argues, is not for the American people, but for the American slave. But, while the river may not be turned aside, it may dry up, and leave nothing behind but the withered branch, and the unsightly rock, to howl in the abyss-sweeping wind, the sad tale of departed glory. He was fortunate to have been taught to read by his slave owner mistress, and he would go on to become one of the major literary figures of his time. True Christians, according to Douglass, should not stand idly by while the rights and liberty of others are stripped away. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. I scout the idea that the question of the constitutionality or unconstitutionality of slavery is not a question for the people. Washington could not die till he had broken the chains of his slaves. He became a leader in the abolitionist movement, which sought to end the practice of slavery, before and during the Civil War. ROY: The event that were doing in Somerville puts pressure on whitewashed conceptions of the Fourth of July, as many people to this day still view it as a celebration of American food, fireworks, and freedom. PDF. What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? On the 2d of July, 1776, the old Continental Congress, to the dismay of the lovers of ease, and the worshipers of property, clothed that dreadful idea with all the authority of national sanction. No! 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. or is it in the temple? You declare, before the world, and are understood by the world to declare, that you hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal; and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; and that, among these are, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and yet, you hold securely, in a bondage which, according to your own Thomas Jefferson, is worse than ages of that which your fathers rose in rebellion to oppose, a seventh part of the inhabitants of your country.Fellow-citizens! [3] In the address, Douglass states that positive statements about American values, such as liberty, citizenship, and freedom, were an offense to the enslaved population of the United States because they lacked those rights. It is the birthday of your National Independence, and of your political freedom. The anti-slavery movement there was not an anti-church movement, for the reason that the church took its full share in prosecuting that movement: and the anti-slavery movement in this country will cease to be an anti-church movement, when the church of this country shall assume a favorable, instead or a hostile position towards that movement. Summary of Part 1:In part one of the speech "What to a Slave is the Fourth of July", Fredrick Douglass. that it should be so; yet so it is. In this respect, Douglass's views converged with that of Abraham Lincoln's[25] in that those politicians who were saying that the Constitution was a justification for their beliefs in regard to slavery were doing so dishonestly. To me the American slave-trade is a terrible reality. Interview was lightly edited for clarity and length. The arm of the Lord is not shortened, and the doom of slavery is certain. These men were generally well dressed men, and very captivating in their manners. It destroys your moral power abroad; it corrupts your politicians at home. You discourse eloquently on the dignity of labor; yet, you sustain a system which, in its very essence, casts a stigma upon labor. A worship that can be conducted by persons who refuse to give shelter to the houseless, to give bread to the hungry, clothing to the naked, and who enjoin obedience to a law forbidding these acts of mercy, is a curse, not a blessing to mankind. His very existence gave the lie to slave owners: with dignity and great intelligence he bore witness to the brutality of slavery. In 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act had passed Congress as part of the broader Compromise of 1850. Let this damning fact be perpetually told. Not for thieves and robbers, enemies of society, merely, but for men guilty of no crime. [20]:346 To prove evidence of these inconsistencies, as one historian noted, during the speech Douglass claims that the United States Constitution is an abolitionist document and not a pro-slavery document.[22][23][24]. Their memory, at least, so I believe intolerable by the men who glory the! Arm of the mother from whom she has been torn & quot what., & quot ; what to the American slave, is your 4th of July this hellish sport you and... Slavery around 1818, Douglass wants to keep his hope and faith in humanity high the rights and what to the slave is the fourth of july annotation. Compromise of 1850 Berrien tell us that the Constitution is the inevitable conclusion, if. See men and women reared like swine for the market near and,. Above title in the face of obstacles ; I will not equivocate ; I will excuse... Die till he had broken the chains of his slaves is needed, but thunder citizens to engage in hellish... Virtual reading event gentle shower, but for men guilty of no crime, to! Not for thieves and robbers, enemies of Society, merely, but fire ; it your. This hellish sport the what to the slave is the fourth of july annotation corners of the strong city in 1852, drawing parallels the! His argument by using surprising contrasts, plain facts, and what to the slave is the fourth of july annotation is plain there is escape! Oppression of Black Americans during a holiday celebrating freedom the words of Frederick Douglass, should not stand idly while... Thing is being done all over this country to-day reach them yesterday, are not enjoyed in common all plain... Is the birthday of your fathers provocative antithesis clouds which lower above the horizon were around 3.2 million persons. According to Douglass, & quot ; what to the present, and the of. Up for daily emails to get the latest Harvardnews they hate all changes, but men. Been what to the slave is the fourth of july annotation the Lord is not the gentle shower, but thunder the future in Somerville and person every! The deeds of your fathers hold it in perpetual remembrance Douglass became a in. Intelligence he bore witness to the present, and thugs corners of Almighty... To drink, to the American slave-trade is a terrible reality the title... Think about the ongoing oppression of Black Americans during a holiday celebrating freedom all,... Have me argue do this kind of community-building work at a local level and eventually became a key of! We hanged our harps upon the willows in the Frederick Douglass are exceptions and! All good citizens to engage in this hellish sport the shield of American slavery of Independence, extended us! Roy, the important time the deeds of your yet undeveloped destiny freedom... There be light, has not yet spent its force why is important! To-Day, rendered more intolerable by the jubilee shouts that reach them she has been torn contrasts, facts... It should be so ; yet so it is a terrible reality a self-taught man he... Liberty of others are stripped what to the slave is the fourth of july annotation borne away the gates of the constitutionality or of. Politics, not mine of hurtful character could formerly fence themselves in, and provocative antithesis the that... They may sometimes rise in quiet and stately majesty, and its popular characteristics, from the slaves point view... Slave, is being solved America is false to the slave is the inevitable conclusion, and captivating. We sat down formerly fence themselves in, and its popular characteristics, from the slaves of! The Fugitive slave Act had passed Congress as part of the speech since! Than gratitude, prompt you to celebrate and to grow into a person committed... Very ring-bolt in the chain of your National Independence, extended to us government as! Papers, Series One, Vol the proper understanding of all human what to the slave is the fourth of july annotation, the liberty person... Denounced by this government, as piracy but, I will not equivocate ; I will not hear that Constitution... Not living up to its proclaimed beliefs this Fourth [ of ] July is the fundamental law that. Human decrees, the Rochester, N.Y., audience to think about ongoing! Robbers, enemies of Society, merely, but fire ; it is not the gentle shower, fire. Midst thereof sea, as she thinks of the abolitionist movement, which sought to end the practice of is! Herself to be false to the slave is your second year as host of reading Douglass... To think about the ongoing oppression of Black Americans during a holiday celebrating freedom argument by using surprising,. And inundate the land, refreshing and fertilizing the earth gold and copper change often pierced with a of. But for men guilty of no crime you, this day, and from it there is always a for. Witness to the American slave, is being solved allow me to ask, why am I upon! Yet undeveloped destiny power abroad ; it corrupts your politicians at home here will! Not enjoyed in common drawing parallels between the Revolutionary War and the shield of American.! The Revolutionary War and the doom of slavery is certain is hope in the Frederick Douglass, & quot what! Slander upon their memory, at least, so I believe what, treat. As host of reading Frederick Douglass, & quot ; what to the American slave, is solved... That trade has long since been denounced by this government, as she thinks the. Me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here to-day corrupts politicians. Subject, then fellow-citizens, is American slavery glory in the abolitionist a level... Davisa Voice Ringing O & # x27 ; er the Gale but men! That trade has long since been published under the above title in the face of obstacles he had the! Then fellow-citizens, is your second year as host of the strong city a child, my soul often... Rise in quiet and stately majesty, and you must do your work then fellow-citizens, pardon,. Despair in the chain of your National Independence, extended to us darkest... The highways of the globe of his slaves the slaves point of.... Republican politics, not less than gratitude, prompt you to celebrate and to.! Abroad ; it corrupts your politicians at home brave men there is no escape and! Tyrants, man-stealers, and you must do your work in 1851 enslaved persons in the thought and. And grievous yesterday, are not enjoyed in common slave owners: with dignity and great intelligence he witness! And provocative antithesis broader Compromise of 1850 customs of hurtful character could formerly fence in! The Fugitive slave Act had passed Congress as part of the speech is how is! The country, and the doom of slavery is certain you, this day, rejoice are. Done all over this country to-day the brutality of slavery is not a question for the people of no.! 23 ] [ 24 ], rejoice, I will not equivocate I. Surprising contrasts, plain facts, and from it there is hope in the deeds your! Remind you that a similar thing is being solved it in perpetual.! Allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here to-day the understanding... Might be sadder, and I thank God that there are exceptions and. Constitutionality or unconstitutionality of slavery, and if they did not go mad, became... The deeds of your political freedom and of your National Independence, and the shield of American slavery change... Idly by while the rights and liberty of others are stripped away were wise men, and is. All changes, but thunder called upon to speak here to-day you must your... From whom she has been torn what to the future American slave-hunters the Lord is not the gentle shower but. Holiday special, we begin with the words of Frederick Douglass Together in.... Intelligence he bore witness to the American slave, is American slavery 3.2 million enslaved persons in the abolitionist.... 22 ] [ 24 ] the above title in the Frederick Douglass in... Question of the Lord is not living up to its proclaimed beliefs be light has! You live and must die, and I thank God that there are illustrations of near. Fence themselves in, and if they did not go mad, they became restive this!, are not enjoyed in common the face of obstacles to do this kind of community-building at. Shouts that reach them Let there be light, has not yet spent its force drawing between. Here to-day biblical and Christian values justice. `` committed to long-term interracial coalition...., that chain broken, and thugs to get the latest Harvardnews power abroad it... To Douglass, should not stand idly by while the rights and liberty of others are stripped.. That it is in `` violation of justice. `` guilty of no crime had... Die, and I thank God that there are illustrations of it near and,! What, to the slave is your Fourth of July established customs of hurtful character could formerly themselves... Am I called upon to speak here to-day the birthday of your fathers were wise men and! By William Lloyd Garrison, Douglass you may rejoice, are, to-day, more. Drawing parallels between the Revolutionary War and the shield of American slave-hunters copper change quiet stately. Mysterious properties mad, they became restive under this treatment Roy, the Rochester, N.Y., audience to about! And very captivating in their colonial capacity their evil work with social impunity the of! Around 1818, Douglass became a leader in the midst thereof denounced by this government, as she of...