what is the main message of douglass's speech?

Has the public reading of the speech each year on Boston Commonor the experience or meaning of itchanged over the years? You may rejoice, I must mourn.. Until that year, day, hour, arrive,With head, and heart, and hand Ill strive,To break the rod, and rend the gyve,The spoiler of his prey deprive So witness Heaven!And never from my chosen post,Whateer the peril or the cost. There are seventy-two crimes in the State of Virginia which, if committed by a black man (no matter how ignorant he be), subject him to the punishment of death; while only two of the same crimes will subject a white man to the like punishment. Must we allow symbols of racism on public land? Cambridge, MA 02138, 2022 The President and Fellows of Harvard College, International Legal Studies & Opportunities, Syllabi, Exam and Course Evaluation Archive, Sign Up for the Harvard Law Today Newsletter, Consumer Information (ABA Required Disclosures). That assembly, which represented property-owning men, took place on July 30, 1619. 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. On top of his federal work, Douglass kept a vigorous speaking tour schedule. From what point of view does he look at it? What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? 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. I shall see this day and its popular characteristics from the slave's point of view. What is their most significant accomplishment? Identify these elements. 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. A Brief History of the S'more, America's Favorite Campfire Snack, The 25 Defining Works of the Black Renaissance. The report is remembered for its conclusion that: Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one whiteseparate and unequal.. 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. I can to-day take up the plaintive lament of a peeled and woe-smitten people! Harvard Law Today recently interviewed David Harris, managing director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race & Justice at Harvard Law School, the events cosponsor, about the public reading and the continued relevance of Douglass words. The existence of slavery in this country brands your republicanism as a sham, your humanity as a base pretense, and your Christianity as a lie. Thats a tough one for me. That year will come, and freedoms reign, "Resolved, That these united colonies are, and of right, ought to be free and Independent States; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown; and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, dissolved. God speed the hour, the glorious hour, Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. In every clime be understood, Then would my task be light, and my burden easy and delightful. I shall see this day and its popular characteristics from the slave's point of view," (52-54). Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us? Can you tell me about the origins of the Reading Frederick Douglas Together project? The story of most nations is difficult to catalogue. GAZETTE: What is the historical setting for this speech, and why did Douglass focus on the Fourth of July? That which is inhuman, cannot be divine! I take it, therefore, that it is not presumption in a private citizen to form an opinion of that instrument. But all to manhoods stature tower, He implored the Rochester, N.Y., audience to think about the ongoing oppression of Black Americans during a holiday celebrating freedom. One of his famous speeches, called "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro," was given on July 5, 1852, in Rochester, New York, at an event in the Corinthian Hall. And instead of being the honest men I have before declared them to be, they were the veriest imposters that ever practiced on mankind. I have better employment for my time and strength than such arguments would imply. Douglass printed the speech in his newspaper, Frederick Douglass' Paper, and published 700 copies of it in pamphlet form. Next, Douglass presents a picture of American slavery. America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to the future. In some ways, the first part of the speech is a traditional patriotic speech. Across the country, people were thinking and arguing about slavery, abolitionism, and the future of the nation. Go forth. How circumspect, exact and proportionate were all their movements! The sunlight that brought light and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. Then would my task be light, and my burden easy and delightful. Throughout this speech, as well as his life, Douglass advocated equal justice and rights, as well as citizenship, for blacks. The 4th of July is the first great fact in your nations historythe very ring-bolt in the chain of your yet undeveloped destiny. Noting the rapid changes in transportation and communication he insists that Space is comparatively annihilated. Must I argue that a system thus marked with blood, and stained with pollution, is wrong? They believed in order; but not in the order of tyranny. 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. They acknowledge it when they punish disobedience on the part of the slave. It is a slander upon their memory, at least, so I believe. Is it at the gateway? It is actually quite longwe use an abridged version for our readingsbut despite its length it is at once riveting and concise. They were quiet men; but they did not shrink from agitating against oppression. To drag a man in fetters into the grand illuminated temple of liberty, and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems, were inhuman mockery and sacrilegious irony. That day will come all feuds to end. Everyone is welcome to read; this event is free and open to the public. What would be thought of an instrument, drawn up, legally drawn up, for the purpose of entitling the city of Rochester to a track of land, in which no mention of land was made? Keidrick Roy, the host of the virtual reading event. God speed the day when human blood It is, he declares, the birthday of your National Independence, and of your political freedom.. I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. Nor in a tyrants presence cower; 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. The country was in the midst of crises over fugitive slave rescues in the wake of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. The slaveholders themselves acknowledge it in the enactment of laws for their government. To do so, would be to make myself ridiculous, and to offer an insult to your understanding. At the time of the delivery of this speech, Douglass had been living in Rochester, New York for several years editing a weekly abolitionist newspaper. O! The time was when such could be done. "My subject, then fellow citizens," says Douglass, "is American slavery ." The claims of human brotherhood, What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July? No abuse, no outrage whether in taste, sport or avarice, can now hide itself from the all-pervading light. I trust the people of America," Harris said to the crowd. The arm of commerce has borne away the gates of the strong city. But I fancy I hear some one of my audience say, it is just in this circumstance that you and your brother abolitionists fail to make a favorable impression on the public mind. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. Thoughts expressed on one side of the Atlantic are, distinctly heard on the other.. 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. For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. I will use the severest language I can command; and yet not one word shall escape me that any man, whose judgment is not blinded by prejudice, or who is not at heart a slaveholder, shall not confess to be right and just. As I mentioned earlier, the first reading was designed to the think about race in the Age of Obama. I remember that first year, looking out at the crowd I was filled with the kind of hope Douglass expressed at the end of his speech. You have reached your limit of free articles. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital This Fourth July is yours, not mine. Overseers announce new president, vice chair. -douglas was trying to to reach to people who didn't agree with slavery, but never did anything to fight against it How does the struggle for freedom change with history? "I will not equivocate; I will not excuse"; I will use the severest language I can command; and yet not one word shall escape me that any man, whose judgment is not blinded by prejudice, or who is not at heart a slaveholder, shall not confess to be right and just. 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 time for such argument is passed. "The arm of the Lord is not shortened," and the doom of slavery is certain. Must I argue the wrongfulness of slavery? So while the U.S. tends to go all out celebrating freedom on the Fourth of July, alternate independence commemorations held a day later often draw attention to a different side of that story, with readings of the Frederick Douglass speech best known today as What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?. With them, nothing was "settled" that was not right. From poetry, novels, and memoirs to journalism, crime writing, and science fiction, the more than 300 volumes published by Library of America are widely . Why does he do this? we wept when we remembered Zion. Wells, which was incorporated into the preface of her 1892 pamphlet Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases.. 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. For there, they that carried us away captive, required of us a song; and they who wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. The manhood of the slave is conceded. 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. Fellow Citizens, I am not wanting in respect for the fathers of this republic. At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?, Watch: A Conversation with Ta-Nehisi Coates, Oprah Winfrey, Media Mogul and Philanthropist, National Museum of African American History & Culture, A Nation's Story: What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?. Douglass's own sons, Lewis and Charles, became two of the first to volunteer for the 54th, which ultimately comprised more than 1,000 men from 15 Northern states. America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to the future. An edited version of Douglasss speech is provided below. What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? We would be well advised to ponder Douglasss speech as we frame this conversation. Writing before slaves were freed in the United States, Douglass' main objective in the Narrative is to dispel any notion that slavery is good for those enslaved. 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. I scout the idea that the question of the constitutionality or unconstitutionality of slavery is not a question for the people. Cling to this daycling to it, and to its principles, with the grasp of a storm-tossed mariner to a spar at midnight. You may well cherish the memory of such men. We were all giddy with the reality of a black president who had been willing to talk about race during the campaign. There should be no shoulder that does not bear the burden of the government. He had a prophetic vision for the future that he was always trying to work toward. I think he would look at the ongoing gulf between our ideals and reality and might refer back to some of his own analysis to understand the current contradictions. Heavy billows, like mountains in the distance, disclose to the leeward huge forms of flinty rocks! The new rules are part of a government plan to crack . The fact of slavery ruins the celebrations of the Fourth of July. They, however, gradually flow back to the same old channel, and flow on as serenely as ever. GAZETTE: Why is it important to do this kind of community-building work at a local level? [Under the Act] it became illegal not to arrest and return runaway slaves. Cling to this day cling to it, and to its principles, with the grasp of a storm-tossed mariner to a spar at midnight. It destroys your moral power abroad; it corrupts your politicians at home. Read by Ava Yuninger, Music by Ava Yuninger 00:00 00:00 They may sometimes rise in quiet and stately majesty, and inundate the land, refreshing and fertilizing the earth with their mysterious properties. The headings in brackets have been supplied by the editor to guide your reading as have the questions after each section. With them, justice, liberty and humanity were "final;" not slavery and oppression. Although the . It occurred to me that it would be of interest to many others if they knew about it. There is blasphemy in the thought. They that can, may; I cannot. 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? American abolitionist Frederick Douglass, circa 1855. The purpose of Douglass' message was to inform abolitions of the inhumane treatment of slaves and to continue making progress in freeing slaves. This year is pretty challenging in the wake of COVID-19, and the event is going to be held online instead of before a live audience like we did last year. 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. 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. Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us? Senator Berrien tell us that the Constitution is the fundamental law, that which controls all others. What is the main message of Douglass's speech? Do you think that section has any lessons for us today? On the 2nd of July, 1776, the old Continental Congress, to the dismay of the lovers of ease, and the worshipers of property, clothed that dreadful idea [i.e., the idea of total separation of the colonies from the crown] with all the authority of national sanction. How does he show that everyone in America, North and South, views enslaved Africans as human beings. What, then, remains to be argued? Who so stolid and selfish, that would not give his voice to swell the hallelujahs of a nation's jubilee, when the chains of servitude had been torn from his limbs? On the other hand it will be found to contain principles and purposes, entirely hostile to the existence of 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. Oh! See answers Advertisement bhawsarsakshi4 Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak to-day? To man his plundered fights again Fellow-citizens, above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the mournful wail of millions! Thoughts expressed on one side of the Atlantic are, distinctly heard on the other. When from their galling chains set free, They were great men toogreat enough to give fame to a great age. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. He who will, intelligently, lay down his life for his country, is a man whom it is not in human nature to despise. "[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.". America, by its nature, is never quite fulfilling all of those promises.. What characteristics does he praise about them? What is his opinion of the American Founders? During the Civil War he worked tirelessly for the emancipation ofenslaved African Americans and duringthe decades followingthe war, he was arguably the most influential African American leader in the nation. 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 . So witness Heaven! Formerly . whose chains, heavy and grievous yesterday, are, to-day, rendered more intolerable by the jubilee shouts that reach them. What did he say and in what context? 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. You may well cherish the memory of such men. Is that a question for Republicans? Fully appreciating the hardship to be encountered, firmly believing in the right of their cause, honorably inviting the scrutiny of an on-looking world, reverently appealing to heaven to attest their sincerity, soundly comprehending the solemn responsibility they were about to assume, wisely measuring the terrible odds against them, your fathers, the fathers of this republic, did, most deliberately, under the inspiration of a glorious patriotism, and with a sublime faith in the great principles of justice and freedom, lay deep the corner-stone of the national superstructure, which has risen and still rises in grandeur around you. As with rivers so with nations. ROY: Douglass wrote the speech in the wake of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which effectively extended the reach of slave power in the South throughout the rest of the country. You may rejoice, I must mourn. In this speech, he called out the "hypocrisy of the nation" (Douglass), questioning the nation's . THAT HOUR WILL, COME, to each, to all, Fellow-citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here to-day? All Rights Reserved. This project began in the library of an organization called Community Change, which was founded by Horace Seldon in 1968 to address the white problem at the root of American inequality revealed by the Kerner Report. Must I argue that a system thus marked with blood, and stained with pollution, is wrong? 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? 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? We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. This, to you, is what the Passover was to the emancipated people of God. Knowledge was then confined and enjoyed by the privileged few, and the multitude walked on in mental darkness. The wet plate ambrotype plates are housed in a folding leather case with tooled gilt oval mat. or is it in the temple? What is this but the acknowledgment that the slave is a moral, intellectual, and responsible being? It does not often happen to a nation to raise, at one time, such a number of truly great men. Now, take the constitution according to its plain reading, and I defy the presentation of a single pro-slavery clause in it. "It is," he declares, "the birthday of your National Independence, and of your political freedom." 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. Friends and citizens, I need not enter further into the causes which led to this anniversary. Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The iron shoe, and crippled foot of China must be seen, in contrast with nature. The Celestial Empire, the mystery of ages, is being solved. 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. Americans! 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! 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. Be warned! I generally try to avoid speculating about current or historical figures I dont know. The message of Frederick Douglasss 1852 speech on the contradiction of Americas just ideals and unjust realities endures. Interview was lightly edited for clarity and length. Both critiques seek true fidelity to those principles we fail to keep. 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. In their admiration of liberty, they lost sight of all other interests. Write to Olivia B. Waxman at olivia.waxman@time.com. Seventy-six years, though a good old age for a man, is but a mere speck in the life of a nation. Great streams are not easily turned from channels, worn deep in the course of ages. It is the birthday of your National Independence, and of your political freedom. In February, Mock announced that the FDFI would undertake the effort to launch the Frederick Douglass Museum Center in a building they are purchasing at 140 East Main St. in Rochester. On July 5, 1875, as Reconstruction brought its own fears, like violence from the Ku Klux Klan, Douglass shifted his speech for the day, asking, If war among the whites brought peace and liberty to the blacks, what will peace among the whites bring? But the 1852 What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? speech remains the best known of his addresses on the occasion, especially as it became even more widely read in the late-20th century, with events like the public readings sponsored by the Vermont Humanities Council and a powerful reading by James Earl Jones in 2004. I shall not presume to dwell at length on the associations that cluster about this day. ', But such is not the state of the case. What feelings is he appealing to in his audience in this section? This Fourth July is yours, not mine. I dont know what kind of person he was or how he thought of himself. Fellow-citizens! The far off and almost fabulous Pacific rolls in grandeur at our feet. Restore. His speeches continued to agitate for racial equality and women's rights. Douglass' speech also foreshadowed the bloody reckoning to come: Civil War. There are forces in operation, which must inevitably work the downfall of slavery. Nations do not now stand in the same relation to each other that they did ages ago. Addressing an audience of about 600 at the newly constructed Corinthian Hall, he started out by acknowledging that the signers of the Declaration of Independence were brave and great men, and that the way they wanted the Republic to look was in the right spirit. Douglass' 1845 autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, described his time as an enslaved worker in Maryland. 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. Who so stolid and selfish, that would not give his voice to swell the hallelujahs of a nations jubilee, when the chains of servitude had been torn from his limbs? Understanding contradictions such as this is critical for honest conversation. In Douglass' speech, his tone mainly appeals to emotions. Why does he call his own time degenerate? That holiday, he delivered the greatest anti-slavery speech in American history. I am glad, fellow-citizens, that your nation is so young. Many historians consider this effort to be Douglass's finest oration, and arguably one of the most powerful American political speeches ever written. Its future might be shrouded in gloom, and the hope of its prophets go out in sorrow. I am not that man. Would you argue more, and denounce less; would you persuade more, and rebuke less; your cause would be much more likely to succeed." 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. GAZETTE: This is your second year as host of Reading Frederick Douglass Together in Somerville. Jim Wallace, Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of James H Wallace Jr. I doubt even Douglass could have anticipated the technology we have or its uses. ': The History of Frederick Douglass' Searing Independence Day Oration. The freedom gained is yours; and you, therefore, may properly celebrate this anniversary. Uncle Toms Cabin had just been published that spring and was taking the country by storm. Mark them! It makes its pathway over and under the sea, as well as on the earth. According to this fact, you are, even now, only in the beginning of your national career, still lingering in the period of childhood. This speech is now remembered as oneof Douglass' most poignant. 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. God speed the hour, the glorious hour,When none on earthShall exercise a lordly power,Nor in a tyrants presence cower;But all to manhoods stature tower,By equal birth!That hour will come, to each, to all,And from his prison-house, the thrallGo forth. What is the main message of Douglass's speech? I hold that every American citizen has a fight to form an opinion of the constitution, and to propagate that opinion, and to use all honorable means to make his opinion the prevailing one. Their statesmanship looked beyond the passing moment, and stretched away in strength into the distant future. 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. Harvard Law School provides unparalleled opportunities to study law with extraordinary colleagues in a rigorous, vibrant, and collaborative environment. To forget them, to pass lightly over their wrongs, and to chime in with the popular theme, would be treason most scandalous and shocking, and would make me a reproach before God and the world. 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. There is hope in the thought, and hope is much needed, under the dark clouds which lower above the horizon. We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the present and to the future. Throughout this speech, as well as his life, Douglass advocated equal justice and rights, as well as citizenship, for blacks. In Douglass's case, he was in a room with people who supported the ending of slavery. But a change has now come over the affairs of mankind. 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!
Traceland Ashley Homes, Malicious Wounding West Virginia, Articles W