What is the Fourth of July to slaves?
Introduction
“What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” is a famous speech given by an African American slave fugitive at the time by the name Frederick Douglas, which was delivered on the Fifth of July, the day after the day of independence, in 1852. The speech highlighted the plight of the African Americans who were discriminated by the white population. The speech describes the Fourth of July as a paradox since the independence given to the African Americans was paradoxical. To the African American, the fourth of July was a day when the White continued to enjoy freedom and rights while the African Americans continued to be treated as second class citizens.
The speech by Douglas has received various criticism over the years. A day that was meant to represent freedom is portrayed as a day in which part of the society were denied constitutional rights on the basis of their race. He uses references from other books which are associated with the law to describe the various rights which the blacks are denied. These sources include the Bible, the declaration of independence and the constitution. He describes the system as discriminative and depriving the blacks of liberty and humanity. A rationalistic approach is used by the author in the 2500 words speech to drive his ideologies home. The speech has since then received various criticism arguing that while the speech was effective, it crossed certain psychosocial boundaries. While some of these claims are justified other are baseless and biased.
In the article “"Recollection, Regret, and Foreboding in Frederick's Douglass's Fourth of July Orations of 1852 and 1875," the author highlights the great importance which is donned on the fourth of July. This importance is evident in the carefully planned speeches which are often delivered by people with moral authority in the society. The importance donned on the fourth of July is evident in the article which highlights various speeches which were delivered on the fourth of July. Speakers who are ideally people with a certain moral authority in the society take extended periods of time preparing for these speeches. “As the speech unfolds, Douglass deliberately violates the norms of the occasion, but it is hard to believe that his invitees might not have expected as much from the fiery thirty ¬four-year-old abolitionists (Duffy and Besel 7).” The article supports the speech by explaining the context within which the speech was delivered; by a slave fugitive who was on the run.
The article by Sarah Pickett, “Is Slavery Really Over” is a comparison of two articles which both shun slavery in the society. The article addresses the approach which was used by Douglas to represent the inequality with which the White continued to treat the Blacks, both those who were free and those who were still is slavery. “I think that the more negative angle Douglass used to spread awareness about racial discrimination was very effective for his time, but I agree with Obama that today the people of America need to be united for the country to establish racial equality (Prickett).” The article also supports the view that the approach used in the speech was harsh and even though it worked at the time, there is a slim chance that it might work in other contexts.
The article by Cameron, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? And African Secularism “is mentioned as a great ploy by an active abolitionist. The article mentions how the article criticizes the American system. The religious take by Douglas on the issues affecting the blacks is analyzed in the article. “Douglass notes first that because American churches support the Fugitive Slave Act (Cameron).” Secularism was common among the blacks at the time which the speech was delivered. Religion is a highly controversial issue in the society, and this article proceeds to demonstrate how the speech violates the right to worship, by using religion to show how the Fugitive Act violated the rights of the blacks.
Discussion
The fourth of July is a day which was marked by many Abolitionist, who took the chance to the platform to fight for their cause (Duffy and Besel 5). Frederick followed suit in the steps of his predecessors and added a little drama to the speech. He had been requested to speak by the women who were strongly against slavery on the fourth of July. As a dramatic turn of events, he refused to deliver the speech on the fourth of July and instead offered it the day after the Independence Day. The article shows how Douglas used the constitution to show how the rights of the fellow blacks were violated by the Constitution and the Fugitive law. The declaration of independence which emphasizes on the need for nations to be united is used by Douglas to demonstrate how the day of independence failed the blacks and only favored the white population (Duffy and Besel 11).
The article highlighted the intention of Frederick Douglas when he took to writing the speech. He highlighted issues which affected the blacks, both those who were in slavery and those who were in freedom (Prickett). The harsh language used in the speech is quoted on various occasions. The speech is believed by most critics to have crossed multiple lines in the norms of the society. According to the article, Douglas refers the expectation by the white population that blacks should join them in the temple to celebrate the Independence Day with them as a mockery of the black community (Prickett). He further describes the great cruelty of America in their barbaric and shameless acts which allowed for slavery to continue taking place while they stood and did nothing. The speech is compared with the current approach to the subject of discrimination against the blacks which is a more gentle approach. The author proceeds to claim that the speech and the methods used by Douglas would not work in the present day (Prickett).
The speech by Douglas is utilized in the article to demonstrate the secularism which was common among the blacks at the time when the speech was delivered. The American Civil religion is criticized in the speech when he mentions that while the White celebrate, he is forced by circumstance to mourn (Cameron). This is an utter mockery of the American Civil Religion. He continues to accuse the Christians of failing to abide by the principles upon which they lay their faith. He describes the system as a void ceremony in which the participants failed to abide by significant principles such as benevolence, justice and love (Cameron). By failing to fight for the rights of the slaves, the religion was accused of siding with the oppressor. He continues to claim that the elements in the society which the church considered evil such as infidelity and atheism sounded more appealing to him than the religion. African American secularism was used by the blacks to fight for their freedom from slavery (Cameron). He claims that the plight of the blacks had forced them to embrace the blackest atheism which the Church was strongly opposed to. He continues to claim that God manifests himself to him through those individuals who were committed to ensuring the welfare of all people (Cameron).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the speech “What is to the Slave the fourth of July” by Douglas has faced many criticisms over the years. The language used in the speech is considered by most critics as harsh and overstepping on various ground such as religion. Most critics, however, agree that the context in which the article was written and delivered was befitting. These critics are also of the firm opinion that it is unlikely that the speech would work in the current society. Politicians are taking on to a more gentle approach on the issue, which is considered as a more efficient approach. Most critics also agree that no other approach would have been as effective as the harsh approach used by Douglas. Context is a critical factor to consider when choosing the method to use in conveying a language.
Works Cited
Cameron, Chris. “What To The Slave Is The Fourth Of July?” And African American Secularism. % July 2014. Web. 10 MAy 2016. <http://www.aaihs.org/what-to-the-slave-is-the-fourth-of-july-and-african-american-secularism/>.
Duffy, Bernard K and Richard D. Besel. "Recollection, Regret, and Foreboding in Frederick's douglass's Fourth of July Orations of 1852 and 1875." Making Connections (1879): 1-12. Web.
Prickett, Sarah. "Is Racism Really Over in America." Havard Educational Review (2009). Web. <http://hepg.org/her-home/issues/harvard-educational-review-volume-79-issue-2/herarticle/is-racism-really-over-in-america-_713>.
