Douglass gave this speech in 1852, almost a decade before the outbreak of the Civil War and in a period before the Emancipation Proclamation. While Douglass himself was no longer a slave, he was very conscious, as he says at the beginning of the speech, of the great distance between that plantation and the hall in which he was now being granted a platform—and of the difficulties he had faced in moving from one to the other.
He begins the speech by noting that the United States, at seventy six years of age, is still a young nation, in the "impressible" stage of its existence, and suggests a hope that this means it can still be changed. In reference to the Revolutionary War, he describes how "your fathers" "went so far in their excitement as to pronounce the measures of government unjust, unreasonable, and oppressive, and altogether such as ought not to be quietly submitted to. I scarcely need say, fellow-citizens, that my opinion of those measures fully accords with that of your fathers." Throughout the speech, Douglass is sure to maintain this distinction between "us" and "you," reminding his audience that the freedom fought for by "their" fathers has not been passed on equally to Douglass and his people.
"Oppression makes a wise man mad," Douglass says. He reminds the audience that the Revolutionary War was not, at one point in time, universally popular and that the idea of breaking from England "tried men's souls," while today the "sovereignty" of the nation is a source of pride for all. He is indicating that times, and beliefs, change. Those who opposed the revolution, he says, are the same people who have always existed and who hate all kinds of change except "silver, gold and copper change." Today, their opposition is seen as unpatriotic.
Douglass expresses his personal respect for the signers of the Declaration of Independence, describing them as "brave men" and stating that it is natural for "you," the audience, to want to celebrate the rewards now being reaped because of the signers' actions. For a time, Douglass elaborates upon the bravery of those who were driven to revolution and his own admiration of, and understanding of, their reasons. He then states:
We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the present and to the future.
At this point, Douglass makes explicit what has been implied in the speech to this point: the fact that the same oppression against which the early Americans fought is still being visited upon blacks in America. He notes, "Sydney Smith tells us that men seldom eulogize the wisdom and virtues of their fathers, but to excuse some folly or wickedness of their own." Douglass reminds his audience of "the disparity between us," and states:
I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us.
Wondering why he has been called upon to give this speech today, Douglass describes the invitation as tantamount to "inhuman mockery." He has been brought "in fetters" into the "illuminated temple of liberty" and asked to extol its virtues when, in fact, those virtues are not espoused in the behavior of white America towards the black man. The soul of the nation, Douglass states, "never looked blacker to me than on this fourth of July," in the knowledge that the "wail of millions" rises above, and is mocked by, the joy of those celebrating ideals that are actually hypocritical. Americans have already declared, he says, that a man is entitled to his own body and his own liberty; black men have already proved, Douglas says, that they are men. And yet, the one concept somehow does not connect to the other, and the celebration of American liberty and justice is a cruel and inhumane one for as long as that liberty and justice are held away from a significant proportion of the country's inhabitants. Douglass reminds his audience that the American slave trade is alive and well, and extremely prosperous, and that this is conveniently put out of the minds of those who believe America to be a forward-thinking and free nation.
In summarizing his complaints against America's inconsistencies, Douglass also notes that the "gospel" preached in America is itself not free of hypocrisy, such that even atheism would be better than it:
The existence of slavery in this country brands your republicanism as a sham, your humanity as a base pretense, and your Christianity as a lie. It destroys your moral power abroad: it corrupts your politicians at home.
For as long as the USA allows slavery, Douglass says, it will not really be the land of liberty "your fathers" once envisioned, but a sham of itself.
Douglass's purpose in writing and delivering the speech was to illustrate that black people did not have any cause to rejoice in the anniversary of America's independence from Britain when they had not been granted freedom and independence on American soil. To illustrate this point, he offered the following rhetorical questions:
Fellow-citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here to-day? What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us? and am I, therefore, called upon to bring our humble offering to the national altar, and to confess the benefits and express devout gratitude for the blessings resulting from your independence to us?
In the last statement, there is a tone of both absurdity and irony. In historical context, it was not unusual for white slave owners to believe that slaves should have been grateful to their masters for clothing them, feeding them, and delivering them from a dark, heathen land. Douglass likely may have been alluding to that particular attitude.
Black people, he asserts, have nothing to do with "your independence." That is, those who are slaves cannot take part because they cannot identify with the nation's celebration of liberation.
The tone of speech becomes more indignant. He claims that no nation on earth is guilty of crimes "more shocking and bloody" than the United States. He says its "celebration is a sham" and its "shouts of liberty and equality" are "hollow mockery." Thus, in the speech, he not only ridicules the idea that black people should take part in Fourth of July celebrations, but ridicules white America's participation in the ritual; for they are failing to live up to their own promises and ideals.
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