What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?

Nonfiction | Essay / Speech | Adult | Published in 1852

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Themes

Celebrating and Acknowledging History’s Legacy

Much of Douglass’ speech focuses on the ways that history relates to his present moment; he indicts Americans who cling to their “rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence” (7) while still supporting the evils of slavery. Though at first Douglass uses the past as a rhetorical tool to engender emotional and philosophical investment from his listeners, he soon shifts the meaning to push his argument that “America is false to the past” (7).

Douglass praises the forefathers of the country while arguing that current injustices are a blatant form of hypocrisy, challenging people who say they value the liberty that was a core value of the past while not valuing liberty in the present. In one particularly explicit moment, Douglass asks, “Is this the land your Fathers loved, The freedom which they toiled to win… Are these the graves they slumber in?” (11). By continuing to poetically reference the strong values of U.S. historical figures, Douglass pushes the listener to see the pretense of saying that they value equality without believing that all people should be free.

To a large extent, Douglass’ focus on U.S. history and historical figures is itself a critique of American society. He references this in his more strident conclusion when he describes that instead of the forefathers “being the honest men [he had] before declared them to be, they were the veriest imposters that ever practiced on mankind” (16). It is important that Douglass saves this for his conclusion: Earlier, he celebrated America’s “destiny” (4) and the forefathers’ belief in “justice, liberty and humanity” (5); now, Douglass turns this analysis on its head to reveal that all of American history points to the same moral failings that are present in 1852. This rhetorical move makes it more likely that his listeners will be able to hear his argument and to understand the convoluted nature of American society.

The Appropriate Response to Oppression

In many moments in the speech, Douglass describes and argues at length about what the appropriate response to oppression is. These references vary in whom they are directed at: In some places, Douglass speaks in general, ethical terms, while in other moments he directly addresses his audience or discusses a specific group, like the church. Though many aspects of Douglass’ speech could be considered integral to its overall argument and structure, his points about how a person or group of people should respond to oppression are perhaps the most vital to his thesis.

In order to convince his audience that slavery should be completely abolished, Douglass must justify his parallel between the ideals on which America is said to be built and the urgent need to end slavery. Douglass builds this argument carefully over the course of his speech, starting with more philosophical approaches, like “oppression makes a wise man mad” (3), and his description of the forefathers who “did not shrink from agitating against oppression” (5). In these low-intensity statements, Douglass says things he knows his audience will agree with and appeals to their values and belief systems.

Later in the speech, after moving towards a more explicit argument, Douglass describes the irony in U.S. society, which invites “fugitives of oppression from abroad… but the fugitives in your own land you advertise, hunt, arrest, shoot, and kill” (15). It is vital that Douglass presents this specific angle: that there is oppression happening in the United States and that it is against the country’s supposed “love of liberty” (15). By naming the system of slavery as a system of oppression, Douglass is able to support several of his arguments: that people who have been enslaved have a right to be free, that murdering or enslaving free people is oppression, and that the United States acts hypocritically given its stated values.

The Idea of America as a Child

Although much of the introductory sections of Douglass’ speech are framed in a humbler narrative style, he introduces one key metaphor that is important to the rest of the speech. It appears innocent at first, but it becomes clear later on that Douglass had a critical intent all along. In his opening paragraphs, Douglass refers to America as “lingering in the period of childhood” (1), adding that he is “glad this is so” (1). This foundational metaphor serves a core purpose to Douglass’s overarching arguments: if America is still in its childhood, then its people can still learn, mature, and shift their values and behaviors. By introducing this in a subtle way in the introduction, Douglass lays important groundwork for his later arguments that America must break free from the system of slavery.

In the middle of the speech, Douglass challenges his audience, again using the metaphor of a child-parent relationship. He suggests that the U.S. citizens of 1852 are trying to “enjoy a child’s share in the labor of [their] fathers” (6) without examining their values and doing some of the hard work of building the country. Again, Douglass’s use of the metaphor invites his audience into a growth-oriented mindset, assuring Americans that they are able to grow out of their current state.