I have better employments for my time and strength. They succeeded; and to-day you reap the fruits of their success. Fellow-citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here to-day? Sign up for daily emails to get the latest Harvardnews. But, I submit, where all is plain there is nothing to be argued. Now, take the constitution according to its plain reading, and I defy the presentation of a single pro-slavery clause in it. They loved their country better than their own private interests; and, though this is not the highest form of human excellence, all will concede that it is a rare virtue, and that when it is exhibited, it ought to command respect. It does not often happen to a nation to raise, at one time, such a number of truly great men. Fellow citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here today? For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. Nor in a tyrants presence cower; Be warned! That assembly, which represented property-owning men, took place on July 30, 1619. I, therefore, leave off where I began, with hope. You have reached your limit of free articles. Fellow-citizens! An edited version of Douglasss speech is provided below. The sunlight that brought light and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. You may rejoice, I must mourn. In Douglass's case, he was in a room with people who supported the ending of slavery. Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. If youre not a person of color, its one thing to go to a couple of events or protests, or to read a few articles and move on. 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. Like brutes no more. Butin doing so he brings awareness to the hypocrisy of their ideals by the existence of slavery on American soil. To what other elements in the American political tradition does he appeal? The slaveholders themselves acknowledge it in the enactment of laws for their government. Hed had a breakdown in the early 1850s, and was having trouble supporting his family. They were great men, too, great enough to give frame to a great age. "I will not equivocate; I will not excuse"; I will use the severest language I can command; and yet not one word shall escape me that any man, whose judgment is not blinded by prejudice, or who is not at heart a slaveholder, shall not confess to be right and just. His speeches continued to agitate for racial equality and women's rights. I will not. Senator Berrien tell us that the Constitution is the fundamental law, that which controls all others. This is the inevitable conclusion, and from it there is no escape. 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. The subject has been handled with masterly power by Lysander Spooner, Esq., by William Goodell, by Samuel E. Sewall, Esq., and last, though not least, by Gerritt Smith, Esq. The report is remembered for its conclusion that: Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one whiteseparate and unequal.. 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 . 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. I take it, therefore, that it is not presumption in a private citizen to form an opinion of that instrument. Go forth. ROY:One of the things that Douglass writings shows us is that he believed in amplifying a variety of voices. Standing with God and the crushed and bleeding slave on this occasion, I will, in the name of humanity which is outraged, in the name of liberty which is fettered, in the name of the constitution and the Bible, which are disregarded and trampled upon, dare to call in question and to denounce, with all the emphasis I can command, everything that serves to perpetuate slavery the great sin and shame of America! He follows this observation by closing with words from William Lloyd Garrison, suggesting the new reach of the great abolitionist across the ocean as part of a global abolition movement. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour. "For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder," he said. Douglass's voluminous writings and speeches reveal a man who believed fiercely in the ideals on which America was founded, but understoodwith the scars to prove itthat democracy would . 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! The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. 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. The wet plate ambrotype plates are housed in a folding leather case with tooled gilt oval mat. What is the main message of Douglass's speech? 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. Our ability to communicate has led to much greater organizing and mobilization. America, by its nature, is never quite fulfilling all of those promises.. What, then, remains to be argued? With them, nothing was settled that was not right. It is a slander upon their memory, at least, so I believe. Would to God, both for your sakes and ours, that an affirmative answer could be truthfully returned to these questions! Next, Douglass presents a picture of American slavery. 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. 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. I trust the people of America," Harris said to the crowd. Oppression makes a wise man mad. And the contradiction of Americas just ideals and unjust realities endures, too. No abuse, no outrage whether in taste, sport or avarice, can now hide itself from the all-pervading light. The people who came to America were surprised by its history. It was a turbulent time for Douglass personally, too. The Nativist party is rising. speech was delivered on July 5, 1852 as an address to the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society in Rochester, New York. And it also imposed severe penalties on anyone who helped enslaved people to escape. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices, more shocking and bloody, than are the people of these United States, at this very hour. 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. My business, if I have any here today, is with the present. At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. I shall see this day and its popular characteristics from the slave's point of view," (52-54). We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. 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 Fugitive Slave Act passed by Congress as part of this compromise was bitterly resented by the Northern states. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour. Cling to this daycling to it, and to its principles, with the grasp of a storm-tossed mariner to a spar at midnight. -douglas was trying to to reach to people who didn't agree with slavery, but never did anything to fight against it How does the struggle for freedom change with history? But a change has now come over the affairs of mankind. What is surprising about this appeal? Convicted terrorists will be banned from taking a leading role in religious services and face more rigorous checks for extremist literature. In some ways, the first part of the speech is a traditional patriotic speech. The arm of commerce has borne away the gates of the strong city. 838 Words. Must we allow symbols of racism on public land? I shall not presume to dwell at length on the associations that cluster about this day. May he not hope that high lessons of wisdom, of justice and of truth, will yet give direction to her destiny? Many of you understand them better than I do. How does he show that everyone in America, North and South, views enslaved Africans as human beings. 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. Your fathers staked their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor, on the cause of their country. Douglass states, "My subject, then, fellow-citizens, is AMERICAN SLAVERY. This year is pretty challenging in the wake of COVID-19, and the event is going to be held online instead of before a live audience like we did last year. You may well cherish the memory of such men. 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. Yale historian David Blight analyzes Douglass's speech and discusses its historical context in an episode ofthe podcastBackStory with the American History Guys (scroll down to the episode "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?"). In the fervent aspirations of William Lloyd Garrison, I say, and let every heart join in saying it: God speed the year of jubilee Above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the mournful wail of millions whose chains, heavy and grievous yesterday, are, today, rendered more intolerable by the jubilee shouts that reach them. 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. What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? What is the main message of Douglass's speech? It seems that every year we have marked some anniversary with the reading, whether civil rights movement or Civil War related. 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! I shall see this day and its popular characteristics from the slave's point of view. ", Citizens, your fathers made good that resolution. Its the birth of American Independence, the birth of a nation, and what the speech is saying is you must destroy first what you created and remake it, or it will be destroyed and you with it, says Blight. Hard-hit sectors are recovering rapidly - tourism and hospitality establishments are back in business. Its also an election year; the 1852 presidential election was heating up that summer. He engages the listeners emotionally by stating his opinion over the topic of slavery. If so, there is a parallel to your conduct. I am also hosting a summer reading and discussion series called Race, Fragility, and Anti-Racism through the Somerville Museum and the City on a Hill network of local churches. Has the public reading of the speech each year on Boston Commonor the experience or meaning of itchanged over the years? One person who felt that way was Douglass, the famous abolitionist, who was himself born into slavery. This Fourth July is yours, not mine. 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 denunciation 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. It makes its pathway over and under the sea, as well as on the earth. The sunlight that brought light and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. Fellow-citizens, above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the mournful wail of millions! 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. Frederick Douglass, Americas 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 of Americas freedom values. 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. GAZETTE: Why is it important to do this kind of community-building work at a local level? 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. With them, justice, liberty and humanity were final; not slavery and oppression. Read each part and answer the questions at the end of that part. Everyone is welcome to read; this event is free and open to the public. We were all giddy with the reality of a black president who had been willing to talk about race during the campaign. During the Civil War he worked tirelessly for the emancipation ofenslaved African Americans and duringthe decades followingthe war, he was arguably the most influential African American leader in the nation. Formerly . Paul Marcus, then the director of Community Change, and I contacted another colleague, David Tebaldi, then executive director of the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities (now MassHumanities) about sponsoring a public reading. Inches "What to the Slave Can the Fourth of July?" Frederick Duplex seeking not only to persuades my of the wrongfulness starting slavery but also to make abolition find acceptable for Northern whites. 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. I have detained my audience entirely too long already. The fact of slavery ruins the celebrations of the Fourth of July. No! I have said that the Declaration of Independence is the ring-bolt to the chain of your nations destiny; so, indeed, I regard it. Must I argue that a system thus marked with blood, and stained with pollution, is wrong? That which is inhuman, cannot be divine! I doubt even Douglass could have anticipated the technology we have or its uses. Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us? I, therefore, leave off where I began, with hope. They seized upon eternal principles, and set a glorious example in their defense. This is a particularly difficult time for any such return, given the lack of civility and acceptance of intolerance that characterize our public discourse starting with the president. For the present, it is enough to affirm the equal manhood of the Negro race. Throughout this speech, as well as his life, Douglass advocated equal justice and rights, as well as citizenship, for blacks. But, he said, speaking more than a decade before slavery was ended nationally, a lot of work still needed to be done so that all citizens can enjoy life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Above your national, tumultuous joy the July 4th celebrations of white Americans were the mournful wails of millions whose heavy chains are, today, rendered more intolerable by the jubilee shouts that reach them.. 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. I think he would look at the ongoing gulf between our ideals and reality and might refer back to some of his own analysis to understand the current contradictions. 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. They, however, gradually flow back to the same old channel, and flow on as serenely as ever. With them, justice, liberty and humanity were "final;" not slavery and oppression. His friend Julia Griffith, the treasurer of the Rochester group that invited him to give the 1852 speech, was one of the people helping him fund-raise to keep the paper alive. They were great men toogreat enough to give fame to a great age. Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. You have already declared it. 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? 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.. Why do you think he delivered the speech on the 5th rather than the 4th of July? You could instruct me in regard to them. A horrible reptile is coiled up in your nations bosom; the venomous creature is nursing at the tender breast of your youthful republic; for the love of God, tear away, and fling from you the hideous monster, and let the weight of twenty millions crush and destroy it forever! EDSITEment is a project of theNational Endowment for the Humanities, Uncle Toms Cabin: Or Life among the Lowly, From Courage to Freedom: Frederick Douglass's 1845 Autobiography. All rights reserved. Until that year, day, hour, arrive,With head, and heart, and hand Ill strive,To break the rod, and rend the gyve,The spoiler of his prey deprive So witness Heaven!And never from my chosen post,Whateer the peril or the cost. The spoiler of his prey deprive A Brief History of the S'more, America's Favorite Campfire Snack, The 25 Defining Works of the Black Renaissance. This Fourth July is yours, not mine. THAT HOUR WILL, COME, to each, to all, Many historians consider this effort to be Douglass's finest oration, and arguably one of the most powerful American political speeches ever written. According to this fact, you are, even now, only in the beginning of your national career, still lingering in the period of childhood. On July 2nd, people from across Massachusetts will gather at noon on Boston Common near the State House for the 11th annual public reading of Douglasss historic address. Across the country, people were thinking and arguing about slavery, abolitionism, and the future of the nation.
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