LAD #16: Frederick Douglass' "5th of July" Speech

"What to a slave is the 4th of July?"  This was the centerpiece to Frederick Douglass's "5th of July Speech" taken place in Rochester, NY in 1852.  Deciding to speak with his enslaved brothers of the South, he expresses his dislike for the practices of slavery within the United States and illustrates that these feelings are only magnified by Americans' celebration of Independence day -- their sovereignty and liberation from the British tyranny.  However, he also finds it essential to remind the country that amongst their joyous festivities, the forgotten and neglected African Americans feel that much more adamant about the injustices of America.  To take away one's right to freedom, to strip them of their inalienable rights, to beat, whip, burn, and/or starve them into obedience, to separate them from their family, etc., exemplifies the idea that African Americans are less than their fellow men. Yet Douglass reminds America, such a notion is ridiculous being just as successful as their white counterparts.  Occupations such as, "erecting houses, constructing bridges...capturing the whale in the Pacific, feeding sheep and cattle on the hillside, living, moving, acting, thinking, planning, living in families as husbands, wives, and children, and above all, confessing and worshiping the Christian's God." Lastly, Douglass puts forth that while no other nation in history has made such noble claims for independence there is no other country on Earth that has allowed the injustices on human lives (slaves) compared with this free and independent America.