What is his opinion of the American Founders? 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 hypocrisy a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. What is the main message of Douglass's speech? Who so obdurate and dead to the claims of gratitude, that would not thankfully acknowledge such priceless benefits? With them, nothing was "settled" that was not right. But we also need to invest as a city and as a society into reading and learning more about the present realities of oppressed peoples. The 4th of July is the first great fact in your nations historythe very ring-bolt in the chain of your yet undeveloped destiny. And wear the yoke of tyranny These rules are well established. And it also imposed severe penalties on anyone who helped enslaved people to escape. However, this was not the purpose of Douglass's speech. For more information on this event visit CharlesHamiltonHouston.org. I scout the idea that the question of the constitutionality or unconstitutionality of slavery is not a question for the people. 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? His message was well-received because they believed in what he was standing up for. 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. The arm of commerce has borne away the gates of the strong city. Next, Douglass presents a picture of American slavery. To what other elements in the American political tradition does he appeal? In the late 1840s and into the 1850s, his finances were tight, and he was struggling to sustain the newspaper he founded, The North Star. 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. What will this years event be like? Go forth. On this, the bicentennial year of Douglasss birth, the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives and American Universitys Antiracist Research and Policy Center are honoring 200 Americans whose work best reflects his legacy. One person who felt that way was Douglass, the famous abolitionist, who was himself born into slavery. Frederick Douglass "What to the Slave" - Lesson Plan | Learning to Why does Douglass appeal to the Constitution in the last section of the speech? With them, justice, liberty and humanity were final; not slavery and oppression. When the dogs in your streets, when the fowls of the air, when the cattle on your hills, when the fish of the sea, and the reptiles that crawl, shall be unable to distinguish the slave from a brute, then will I argue with you that the slave is a man! I am not included within the pale of glorious anniversary! Throughout this speech, as well as his life, Douglass advocated equal justice and rights, as well as citizenship, for blacks.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. 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. From poetry, novels, and memoirs to journalism, crime writing, and science fiction, the more than 300 volumes published by Library of America are widely . 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.. Sign up for daily emails to get the latest Harvardnews. Throughout this speech, as well as his life, Douglass advocated equal justice and rights, as well as citizenship, for blacks. 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 . 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?, I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. There is hope in the thought, and hope is much needed, under the dark clouds which lower above the horizon. They succeeded; and to-day you reap the fruits of their success. Stand by those principles, be true to them on all occasions, in all places, against all foes, and at whatever cost. You have reached your limit of free articles. I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. The Fugitive Slave Act passed by Congress as part of this compromise was bitterly resented by the Northern states. With head, and heart, and hand Ill strive, I am not that man. If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. He took action to raise the voices of others and to aid their work on the national stage, especially that of two Black women in the last half of the 19th century. Douglass praises and respects the signers of the Declaration of Independence, people who put the interests of a country above their own. While I do not intend to argue this question on the present occasion, let me ask, if it be not somewhat singular that, if the Constitution were intended to be, by its framers and adopters, a slave-holding instrument, why neither slavery, slaveholding, nor slave can anywhere be found in it. GAZETTE: What is something you have discovered about Douglass while researching this speech and his work more broadly that people might be surprised to learn? 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 occurred to me that it would be of interest to many others if they knew about it. To some, celebrations of American independence on July 4 are a reminder of the countrys hypocrisy on the matter of freedom, as slavery played a key role in the nations history; even today, Americas history of racism is still being written, while other forms of modern-day slavery persist in the U.S. and around the world. I generally try to avoid speculating about current or historical figures I dont know. What characteristics does he praise about them? Must I undertake to prove that the slave is a man? We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. speaking of it relatively and positively, negatively and affirmatively. And each return for evil, good, Their solid manhood stands out the more as we contrast it with these degenerate times. You may well cherish the memory of such men. 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! What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? Who so obdurate and dead to the claims of gratitude, that would not thankfully acknowledge such priceless benefits? . What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July? Indeed, his speech, which warns that Your republican politics, not less than your republican religion, are flagrantly inconsistent, should be required reading for any such commission. This Fourth July is yours, not mine. O! Douglass presented this speech to an antislavery societyan audience that was already on his side. 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. Be warned! The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. Go where you may, search where you will, roam through all the monarchies and despotisms of the old world, travel through South America, search out every abuse, and when you have found the last, lay your facts by the side of the everyday practices of this nation, and you will say with me, that, for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival. speech was delivered on July 5, 1852 as an address to the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society in Rochester, New York. 4 Pages. 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. Formerly . Toward the end of the Civil War he delivered a speech, "What the Black Man Wants," discussing what the nation should do to help the newly freed . Douglass's purpose in writing his Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave was to provide a first-hand account of the horrors of slavery and thereby support the. Understanding contradictions such as this is critical for honest conversation. Why does he do this? Frederick Douglass' Fifth of July Speech Asks 'What to the Slave is the The Compromise of 1850 had failed to resolve the controversy over the admission of new slaveholding states to the Union. Oppression makes a wise man mad. Its an extraordinary political moment.. 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. 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.. Chan School of Public Health celebrates opening of $25M Thich Nhat Hanh Center for research, approaches to mindfulness, Women who suppressed emotions had less diverse microbiomes in study that also found specific bacterial link to happiness, Tenn. lawmaker Justin Pearson, Parkland survivor David Hogg 23 talk about tighter gun control, GOP attempts to restrict voting rights, importance of local politics, Dangers involved in rise of neurotechnology that allows for tracking of thoughts, feelings examined at webinar, 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. Would you argue more, and denounce less, would you persuade more, and rebuke less, your cause would be much more likely to succeed. What is the main message of Douglass's speech? | Similar Answers He point-by-point counters a. 'It should be here in Rochester.' Fundraising underway for Frederick The iron shoe, and crippled foot of China must be seen, in contrast with nature. Why is this speech still relevant today? The event is co-convened by the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race & Justice at Harvard Law School, Community Change, Inc., the Museum of African American History (Boston and Nantucket), and MassHumanities. Reading to explore the resonance of Douglass' famous speech They were great men, too, great enough to give frame to a great age. Why Frederick Douglass' famous 1852 anti-slavery speech is still read and still resonates in 2017. Members of the public will take turns reading parts of the speech until theyve read all of it, together. America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to the future. ', But such is not the state of the case. Frederick Douglass Museum in Rochester NY: Fundraising underway We need individual events like reading Douglass, but we also need to be thinking about ways to extend this conversation over the long term. On top of his federal work, Douglass kept a vigorous speaking tour schedule. Not least since the racism that made slavery endures. The speech was originally delivered at a moment when the country was fiercely locked in debate over the question of slavery, but theres a reason why it has remained famous more than 150 years after emancipation, says David Blight, author of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize winning biography Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom. Your fathers were wise men, and if they did not go mad, they became restive under this treatment. Everyone is welcome to read; this event is free and open to the public. He was invited to give a fourth of July speech by the Ladies Anti-Slavery Society of Rochester. From Boston to London is now a holiday excursion. In a case like that, the dumb might eloquently speak, and the 'lame man leap as an hart. A small group would gather in a circle and take turns reading paragraphs from the speech. Until that year, day, hour, arrive, At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. Nor in a tyrants presence cower; 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. In doing so he sets the stage to distinguish the holiday for his audience and establishes the gulf between those in his audience and those who remain in bondage. 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. It was a turbulent time for Douglass personally, too. Summary Of Frederick Douglass Speech To Celebrate The - StudyMode There are forces in operation, which must inevitably work The downfall of slavery. Crowd of men and women during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Washington, D.C., Aug.28, 1963, Get the latest information about timed passes and tips for planning your visit, Search the collection and explore our exhibitions, centers, and digital initiatives, Online resources for educators, students, and families, Engage with us and support the Museum from wherever you are, Find our upcoming and past public and educational programs, Learn more about the Museum and view recent news, National Archives and Records Administration, Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. The spoiler of his prey deprive An edited version of Douglasss speech is provided below. The fight for independence was a long, hard battle. The story of most nations is difficult to catalogue. Read its preamble, consider its purposes. At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. Jim Wallace, Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of James H Wallace Jr. I have been thinking a lot about these two and have discovered that it is also the 400th anniversary of the first instance of representative government in Jamestown. We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the present and to the future. Frederick Douglass was a freed slave in the 1800's who was famous for his ability to read and write, uncommon of a black man at the time. PMO | May Day Message 2023 They were peace men; but they preferred revolution to peaceful submission to bondage. My business, if I have any here today, is with the present. Frederick Douglass, America's 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. At the same time, we need to be studying the history of slavery and racism in this country so we can build policies, practices, and procedures that address the present problems with those historical inequities in mind. Frederick Douglas's Speech In What To The Slave Is The | Bartleby No! I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. The River Campus Libraries Department of Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation's holdings includes a manuscript collection of Douglass's letters, photographs, and ephemera. No nation can now shut itself up from the surrounding world, and trot round in the same old path of its fathers without interference. The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. These gentlemen have, as I think, fully and clearly vindicated the Constitution from any design to support slavery for an hour. It is neither. 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. What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? America, by its nature, is never quite fulfilling all of those promises.. At the time Douglass spoke, Blight says, the opportunity was ripe for a lecture on the moral crisis. 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 hypocrisy a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. The sunlight that brought light and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. I dont know what kind of person he was or how he thought of himself. Somehow I often find myself reading this paragraph and Im always struck by its prescience. We may finally be thinking about creating a commission to study the possibility of reparationsas with all deliberate speed, the American way of tackling a problem takes so much time and patienceand for this we can be thankful. The principles contained in that instrument are saving principles. When from their galling chains set free, The sunlight that brought light and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. With them, justice, liberty and humanity were "final;" not slavery and oppression. Is it at the gateway? 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. GAZETTE: This is your second year as host of Reading Frederick Douglass Together in Somerville. 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. He would use the Fourth of July for its irony over and over and over, just like the Declaration of Independence is used to remind the country of its potential and promise, and to him, race was always the measure of that, he says. And from his prison-house, the thrall What is the main message of Douglass's speech? I have said that the Declaration of Independence is the ring-bolt to the chain of your nations destiny; so, indeed, I regard it. In an 1868 speech, he said, No man should be excluded from the government on the basis of his color, no woman on account of her sex. 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. They were great men toogreat enough to give fame to a great age. The report is remembered for its conclusion that: Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one whiteseparate and unequal.. A champion of America's great writers and timeless works, Library of America guides readers in finding and exploring the exceptional writing that reflects the nation's history and culture. That day will come all feuds to end. I, therefore, leave off where I began, with hope. Read by Ava Yuninger, Music by Ava Yuninger 00:00 00:00 This Fourth July is yours, not mine. For decades, slaves fled the South . Politics latest updates: NHS 'on the brink' says nursing union; 10% That first year, 2009, was also President Obamas first year in office. God speed the day when human bloodShall cease to flow!In every clime be understood,The claims of human brotherhood,And each return for evil, good,Not blow for blow;That day will come all feuds to end.And change into a faithful friendEach foe. Would to God, both for your sakes and ours, that an affirmative answer could be truthfully returned to these questions! Walled cities and empires have become unfashionable. I have detained my audience entirely too long already. So, all these years later, our massive system of incarceration echoes Douglasss charge that, 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. This is not to say there are not tyrannical regimes elsewhere in the world or that other nations do not abuse human rights, but it is the self-righteousness of our celebration in the midst of ongoing injustice that continues to resonate today. This, to you, is what the Passover was to the emancipated people of God. "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. 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. His speeches continued to agitate for racial equality and women's rights. Open Document. While drawing encouragement from the Declaration of Independence, the great principles it contains, and the genius of American Institutions, my spirit is also cheered by the obvious tendencies of the age. On what branch of the subject do the people of this country need light? It is a slander upon their memory, at least, so I believe. America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to the future, Douglass said. In this speech, he called out the "hypocrisy of the nation" (Douglass), questioning the nation's . I repeat, I am glad this is so. And that is one of the truly special elements, the combination of a core group of readers and the accidental attendees who happen by and hear bits and pieces of this incredible speech. It does not often happen to a nation to raise, at one time, such a number of truly great men. What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? 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. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. Oh! The above audio (11:35) can be used with the following section of Frederick Douglass's speech. The freedom gained is yours; and you, therefore, may properly celebrate this anniversary. Convicted terrorists will be banned from taking a leading role in religious services and face more rigorous checks for extremist literature. In the second part of the speech, Douglass turns to the present and his own feelings about the 4th of July celebration.