They 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. To all inspiring motives, to noble deeds which can be gained from the past, we are welcome. who stand as the very lights of the church, have shamelessly given the sanction of religion and the Bible to the whole slave system. The message of Frederick Douglasss 1852 speech on the contradiction of Americas just ideals and unjust realities endures. Without this right, the liberty of an American citizen would be as insecure as that of a Frenchman. They, however, gradually flow back to the same old channel, and flow on as serenely as ever. It is a fact, that whatever makes for the wealth or for the reputation of Americans, and can be had cheap! Oh, had I, the ability, and could I reach the nations ear, I would today pour out a fiery steam of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice embodied in that Declaration of Independence extended to us? 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. I shall see this day and its popular characteristics from the slaves point of view. They that can, may; I cannot. But, such is not the state of the case.
Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass: (08:30) He rose from the shackles of slavery to become an author, newspaper publisher, and respected abolitionist. Suicide Note Revealed After Shocking Death, Mississippi Cops Beat, Waterboarded Handcuffed Black Men, Shot 1 For Dating White Women': Lawyers, Indicted! This truth is not a doubtful one. How unlike the politicians of an hour! Heat and sorrow have nearly consumed their strength; suddenly you hear a quick snap, like the discharge of a rifle; the fetters clank, and the chain rattles simultaneously; your ears are saluted with a scream, that seems to have torn its way to the center of your soul! And let me warn you that it is dangerous to copy the example of a nation whose crimes, lowering up to heaven, were thrown down by the breath of the Almighty, burying that nation in irrecoverable ruin! Space is comparatively annihilated. Section 107, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. This, for the purpose of this celebration, is the 4th of July. Descendants of Frederick Douglass read excerpts from one of his most famous speeches: What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? I shall see, this day, and its popular characteristics, from the slaves point of view. In the deep still darkness of midnight, I have been often aroused by the dead heavy footsteps, and the piteous cries of the chained gangs that passed our door. The population of the country, at the time, stood at the insignificant number of three millions. We need the storm. The hypocrisy of the nation must be exposed and its crimes against God and man must be denounced. See, too, that girl of thirteen, weeping, yes! There is blasphemy in the thought. Nations do not now stand in the same relation to each other that they did ages ago. With brave men there is always a remedy for oppression. They acknowledge it when they punish disobedience on the part of the slave.
Frederick Douglass But it is answered in reply to all this, that precisely what I have now denounced is, in fact, guaranteed and sanctioned by the Constitution of the United States; that the right to hold and to hunt slaves is a part of that Constitution framed by the illustrious Fathers of this Republic. Frederick Douglass, circa 1879. Difference between Rittenhouse and McMichael-Bryan verdicts? 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. 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! WebOn 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 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. VIDEO: Frederick Douglass' descendants deliver his 'Fourth of July' speech. Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak to-day? For who is there so cold, that a nations sympathy could not warm him? To him, your celebration is a sham, your boasted Liberty, an unholy license, your national greatness, swelling vanity. Sign up for NewsOne's email newsletter! Your fathers staked their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor, on the cause of their country. And the lame man leap as an heart, but such is not the case. And instead of being the honest men I have before declared them to be, they were the veriest imposters that ever practiced on mankind. That trade has long since been denounced by this government, as piracy. I was glad to find one who sympathized with me in my horror. In a final celebratory post for Black History Month 2023, it is worth returning to the 1883 Douglass Banquet.
Community Reading: Frederick Douglass's "What Allow me to say, in conclusion, notwithstanding the dark picture I have this day presented of the state of the nation, I do not despair of this country. Frederick Douglass thought that such rationalizations were crap, and he had the right to think so. No nation can now shut itself up from the surrounding world, and trot round in the same old path of its fathers without interference. These men were generally well dressed men, and very captivating in their manners. Would you have me argue that man is entitled to Liberty, that he is the rightful owner of his body? Behold the practical operation of this internal slave-trade, the American slave-trade, sustained by American politics and America religion. Great streams are not easily turned from channels, worn deep in the course of ages. On what branch of the subject do the people of this country need light? The fiat of the Almighty, Let there be Light, has not yet spent its force. Must I argue the wrongfulness of slavery?
Our Composite Nation: Frederick Douglass America What to the American slave is your 4th of July? They form the staple of your national poetry and eloquence. But, besides general considerations, there were peculiar circumstances which make the advent of this republic an event of special attractiveness. WebDescription. that gash on her shoulder tells her to move on. Full transcript of the famous speech What to the Slave is the 4th of July? by Frederick Douglass. A feeling has crept over me, quite unfavorable to the exercise of my limited powers of speech. Who so stolid and selfish that would not give his voice to swell the hallelujahs of a nations Jubilee when the chains of servitude have been torn from his limbs? Read the full text below of the sage words from one of the greatest orators of all time. If so, there is a parallel to your conduct. Nobody doubts it. In the language of Isaiah, the American church might be well addressed, Bring no more vain ablations; incense is an abomination unto me: the new moons and Sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity even the solemn meeting. here lies the merit, and the one which, of all others, seems unfashionable in our day. They may also rise in wrath and fury, and bear away, on their angry waves, the accumulated wealth of years of toil and hardship. Need I remind you that a similar thing is being done all over this country to-day? They seized upon eternal principles, and set a glorious example in their defense. The Best Speech-to-Text Solution for Your Business Learn how Rev fits into your businesses workflow. In a case like that, the dumb might eloquently speak, and the lame man leap as an hart.. Must I undertake to prove that the slave is a man? Just here, the idea of a total separation of the colonies from the crown was born! With little experience and with less learning, I have been able to throw my thoughts hastily and imperfectly together; and trusting to your patient and generous indulgence, I will proceed to lay them before you. Neither steam nor lightning had then been reduced to order and discipline. Mr. President, Friends and Fellow Citizens: He who No abuse, no outrage whether in taste, sport or avarice, can now hide itself from the all-pervading light. The far off and almost fabulous Pacific rolls in grandeur at our feet. Is it not astonishing that while we are plowing, planting and reaping, using all kinds of mechanical tools, erecting houses, constructing bridges, building ships, working in metal 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 we are engaged in all the enterprises, common to other men, digging gold in California, capturing the whale in the Pacific feeding sheep and cattle on the hillside, living, moving, acting, thinking, planting, living in families as husbands, wives, and children, and above all confessing and worshiping the Christian God and looking hopefully for life and immortality beyond the grave. Transcript Descendants of Frederick Douglass read excerpts from one of his most famous speeches: What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? WebFrederick Douglass speech Historical Document "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" 1852 Resource Bank Contents Click here for the text of this historical document. It is the birthday of your National Independence, and of your political freedom. Is that a question for Republicans? These gentlemen have, as I think, fully and clearly vindicated the Constitution from any design to support slavery for an hour. What point in the anti-slavery creed would you have me argue? Fromwhat quarter, I beg to know, has proceeded a fire so deadly upon our ranks, during the last two years, as from the Northern pulpit? They are plain, common-sense rules, such as you and I, and all of us, can understand and apply, without having passed years in the study of law.
Oration by Frederick Douglass, delivered on the occasion of the They were peace men; but they preferred revolution to peaceful submission to bondage. The country was poor in the munitions of war.
Frederick Douglass You may well cherish the memory of such men. WebBoth anniversaries remind us that the fight for independence and equality did not end in the 18th century - a theme highlighted in Douglass speech.