what is the main message of douglass's speech?

What are these? 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! To man his plundered fights again It is neither. In short, it gave the federal government an active role in maintaining the Souths system of slavery. They were great in their day and generation. SOURCE FORMAT: Public speech (excerpt) WORD COUNT: 1,660 words Excerpt from Frederick Douglass's "Fifth of July" Speech (1852). See answers Advertisement bhawsarsakshi4 What is his opinion of the American Founders? Wells, which was incorporated into the preface of her 1892 pamphlet Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases.. 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. I attended in 2008 and was deeply moved by the experience. "We need the. Understanding contradictions such as this is critical for honest conversation. Douglass praises and respects the signers of the Declaration of Independence, people who put the interests of a country above their own. What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July? It fetters your progress; it is the enemy of improvement, the deadly foe of education; it fosters pride; it breeds insolence; it promotes vice; it shelters crime; it is a curse to the earth that supports it; and yet, you cling to it, as if it were the sheet anchor of all your hopes. Frederick Douglass "What to the Slave" - Lesson Plan | Learning to It is the birthday of your National Independence, and of your political freedom. Walled cities and empires have become unfashionable. What is Frederick Douglass's overall claim in The Narrative of the Life Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The time was when such could be done. The headings in brackets have been supplied by the editor to guide your reading as have the questions after each section. 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. This celebration also marks the beginning of another year of your national life; and reminds you that the Republic of America is now 76 years old. On July 4, 1862 with the war underway he addressed an audience of about 2,000 in Himrods Corner, N.Y.; Blight argues that his shift then from addressing simply you to discussing the Revolution as something undertaken by your fathers, and my fathers indicates he believed emancipation will happen more than he did a decade earlier. Read by Ava Yuninger, Music by Ava Yuninger 00:00 00:00 Harriet Beecher Stowes novel about slavery, Uncle Toms Cabin: Or Life among the Lowly had been published a few months before and unexpectedly became a national bestseller. A Nation's Story: "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak today? 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. He who will, intelligently, lay down his life for his country, is a man whom it is not in human nature to despise. 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. [Throughout the speech] Douglass looks at the contradictions between the reality of slavery and the lofty claims of a just society outlined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Frederick Douglass's, "What To the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? An edited version of Douglasss speech is provided below. If I do forget, if I do not faithfully remember those bleeding children of sorrow this day, "may my right hand forget her cunning, and may my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth!" She can speak not only to Douglass' historical importance but to the urgency and relevancy of his message in today's . Next, Douglass presents a picture of American slavery. But a change has now come over the affairs of mankind. Why, then, did Douglass speak as harshly as he did? "The arm of the Lord is not shortened," and the doom of slavery is certain. GAZETTE: What is the historical setting for this speech, and why did Douglass focus on the Fourth of July? 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. The wet plate ambrotype plates are housed in a folding leather case with tooled gilt oval mat. I am also hosting a summer reading and discussion series called Race, Fragility, and Anti-Racism through the Somerville Museum and the City on a Hill network of local churches. Yea! The subject has been handled with masterly power by Lysander Spooner, Esq., by William Goodell, by Samuel E. Sewall, Esq., and last, though not least, by Gerritt Smith, Esq. 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. Oh! 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! "[L]et 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.". Their statesmanship looked beyond the passing moment, and stretched away in strength into the distant future. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. Be driven. The fight for independence was a long, hard battle. Is it at the gateway? They did so in the form of a resolution; and as we seldom hit upon resolutions, drawn up in our day whose transparency is at all equal to this, it may refresh your minds and help my story if I read it. All rights reserved. This power fuels modern abolition movements, whether of human trafficking, prison or police. This, for the purpose of this celebration, is the 4th of July. Whether we turn to the declarations of the past, or to the professions of the present, the conduct of the nation seems equally hideous and revolting. May he not hope that high lessons of wisdom, of justice and of truth, will yet give direction to her destiny? Although primarily remembered for pointing out the hypocrisy of Independence Day in a nation that condoned the enslavement of millions of people, the speech also includes an interesting passage on the impact of globalization. Whether we turn to the declarations of the past, or to the professions of the present, the conduct of the nation seems equally hideous and revolting. It saps the foundation of religion; it makes your name a hissing, and a byword to a mocking earth. 'It should be here in Rochester.' Fundraising underway for Frederick Frederick Douglass - Frederick Douglass National Historic Site (U.S The message of Frederick Douglasss 1852 speech on the contradiction of Americas just ideals and unjust realities endures. Who so obdurate and dead to the claims of gratitude, that would not thankfully acknowledge such priceless benefits? The sunlight that brought light and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. More than 150 years later, Keidrick Roy, a doctoral student in American Studies at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and a U.S. Air Force veteran, will host a virtual community reading and discussion of the storied speech at the Somerville Museum on Thursday as part of the annual state-wide MassHumanities program Reading Frederick Douglass Together.. 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. Frederick Douglass' Fourth of July speech, then and now: A Q&A with The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. God speed the day when human blood 3 Lessons From Frederick Douglass About Finding the Courage to Speak Up Fellow-citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here to-day? If so, there is a parallel to your conduct. You may rejoice, I must mourn. Who so obdurate and dead to the claims of gratitude, that would not thankfully acknowledge such priceless benefits? One of the parts of the speech that resonates with me the most is when Douglass says: What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? What, am I to argue that it is wrong to make men brutes, to rob them of their liberty, to work them without wages, to keep them ignorant of their relations to their fellow men, to beat them with sticks, to flay their flesh with the lash, to load their limbs with irons, to hunt them with dogs, to sell them at auction, to sunder their families, to knock out their teeth, to burn their flesh, to starve them into obedience and submission to their masters? And it also imposed severe penalties on anyone who helped enslaved people to escape. In this speech, he called out the "hypocrisy of the nation" (Douglass), questioning the nation's . what is the main message of douglass's speech? Had I the ability, and could I reach the nations ear, I would, today, pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. What will this years event be like? Both critiques seek true fidelity to those principles we fail to keep. GAZETTE: Why is it important to do this kind of community-building work at a local level? By equal birth! To drag a man in fetters into the grand illuminated temple of liberty and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems, is inhuman mockery. What is the main message of Douglass's speech? | Similar Answers They were peace men; but they preferred revolution to peaceful submission to bondage. there is no matter in respect to which, the people of the North have allowed themselves to be so ruinously imposed upon, as that of the pro-slavery character of the Constitution. Politics latest updates: NHS 'on the brink' says nursing union; 10% Fredrick Douglas Flashcards | Quizlet The political party system was beginning to tear itself asunder over the expansion of slavery, he says. Magazines, 4,000 African Americans paraded down Broadway in New York City, Or create a free account to access more articles, 'What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? Hard-hit sectors are recovering rapidly - tourism and hospitality establishments are back in business. America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to the future.. I will not. That annihilation of space has allowed for real time reporting of events, which in turn has led to considerable change around the world. ', But such is not the state of the case. It destroys your moral power abroad; it corrupts your politicians at home. we wept when we remembered Zion. Sign up for daily emails to get the latest Harvardnews. 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? The eye of the reformer is met with angry flashes, portending disastrous times; but his heart may well beat lighter at the thought that America is young, and that she is still in the impressible stage of her existence. Douglass' speech also foreshadowed the bloody reckoning to come: Civil War. I will not. ", Citizens, your fathers made good that resolution. This Fourth July is yours, not mine. He implored the Rochester, N.Y., audience to think about the ongoing oppression of Black Americans during a holiday celebrating freedom. It was a turbulent time for Douglass personally, too. The charter of our liberties, which every citizen has a personal interest in understanding thoroughly. In the fervent aspirations of William Lloyd Garrison, I say, and let every heart join in saying it: God speed the year of jubilee The Act also denied suspected slaves trial by jury or even the ability to testify on their own behalf in court. Long established customs of hurtful character could formerly fence themselves in, and do their evil work with social impunity. He had it printed immediately after delivering it and then went out on the road and sold it for 50 cents a copy or $6 for a hundred. 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. My subject, then, fellow-citizens, is American slavery. I have better employments for my time and strength. They were quiet men; but they did not shrink from agitating against oppression.

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