Discussion of Frederick Douglass’ speech “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” reveals forces which he implicated in the alienation and subjugation of African-Americans. His perspective allows determining why he felt like a foreigner even when he was born in the US. Douglass considered hypocrisy, sham, and inequality in the celebration of the Fourth of July since none of the benefits of the Declaration of Independence applied to him.
Even though the importation of slaves was prohibited in 1808, slavery was canceled much later. Thus, for almost a hundred years after the proclamation of independence, African-Americans remained slaves. Thanks to his exceptional education and oratory skills, Douglass conveyed all the pain and sadness of slaves to explain how ridiculous, offensive, and unfair Independence Day was for African-Americans. The Declaration was intended to promote and spread rights such as freedom, equality, prosperity, and the pursuit of happiness. However, slaves had no chance to appreciate these rights for several decades even if they were born in the US; Douglass rightly noted: “shared by you, not by me” (421). The Fourth of July seemed to emphasize the inequality of the population and fostered increased alienation, which Douglass had not once emphasized in his speech.
Douglass did not diminish the importance of Independence Day but highlighted the impossibility of celebrating it for slaves because freedom did not belong to them. While all white people rejoiced, celebrated, and congratulated each other, African-Americans were restricted in rights. They were dependent, constrained, deprived, and had no opportunities to live prosperous life. Douglass explains why this is someone else’s holiday, why it cannot be related to slaves. Despite birthplace, people with different skin colors were oppressed and slavish, and there was no liberty and independence celebration applicable for them.
Moreover, the overarching nature of the Independence Day celebrations made the fourth of July the most depressing and frustrating day for African-Americans. Douglass lamented, “Fellow-citizens, above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the mournful wail of millions! whose chains, heavy and grievous yesterday, are, to-day, rendered more intolerable by the jubilee shouts that reach them” (422). In his speech, he tried to convey the gap between the populations: “The sunlight that brought light and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me” (Douglass 421). Enslaved African-Americans were limited in rights; they belonged to white people and were considered property. These people served all their lives, performed hard work, and endured terrible punishments up to the death sentence. Douglass claimed that a black man might be subjected to the punishment of death if he committed seventy-two crimes, “while only two of the same crimes will subject a white man to the like punishment” (422). Thus, the celebration of independence underlined injustice, violence, and distance between two populations in one country.
The US citizens were highly proud of the country’s independence, freedom, and justice. Nonetheless, slavery and poor treatment of African-Americans did not correspond with those values, and there was no equality for all the US residents. Douglass’s speech emphasized the controversy and explained why the Fourth of July was a day of sorrow for African-Americans. Douglass’s lifelong activity constantly addressed the fight against slavery and the struggle for the rights of the Black people. He tried to spread the fair opinion that African-Americans deserve equal rights, liberty, and equity as any other US citizen. In the context of Independence Day, Douglass contributed to the recognition that many people could not participate in the Fourth of July celebrations because notions of liberty and independence were not relevant for them.
Work Cited
Douglass, Frederick. “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” Ideal and Ideologies: A Reader, edited by Terence Bell et al., 10th ed., Routledge, 2016, pp. 420-425.