By looking at “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July” in terms of the struggle of African American slaves, we can see that the Fourth of July was viewed as a mockery of their lack of freedom by enslaved Africans. This is important because white Americans viewed the Fourth of July as a celebration of their freedom and self-rule. Having these opposing viewpoints made the holiday stand for freedom in the eyes of white people and a terrible mockery in the eyes of slaves. The idea that Independence Day was making fun of the Africans enslavement was shared by Frederick Douglass. Douglass was not an enslaved African American however; he was raised in slavery. Frederick Douglass’s childhood enslavement impacted every part of his life, especially in how he viewed America and the Fourth of July.

The Fourth of July is an America holiday that celebrates America winning its freedom from Great Britain. Until 1865, millions of enslaved Africans had to watch their white masters celebrate their freedom while they were enslaved. Enslaved Africans viewed the Fourth of July as a mockery of their enslavement. It was this viewpoint that led Douglass to state that “This Fourth of July is yours, not mine.” (Douglass 262) During the times of slavery in America, hypocrisy was apparent in American culture. The book “American Slavery, American Freedom” by Edmund Morgan really goes into detail discussing the hypocrisy in America all the way back to the colonial age. During the colonial age in America, numerous wars were fought to decide which country and religion would control the North American continent. The American colonists were scared that they would lose these wars and be turned into slaves. This is especially apparent during the French and Indian War. During the French and Indian War, the American colonists were scared that “they would be overrun by the French papists and turned into slaves.” (Morgan 7) They colonists were scared of being turned into slaves and yet they themselves held others in captivity. A few years later, the United States of America would fight the Revolutionary War, to gain independence and freedom from Great Britain. “To win the American Revolutionary War, the Americans needed help from the French. To get the French to help them, Americans traded tobacco with the French. This tobacco, had been grown on plantations in the American south using slave labor.” (Morgan 15-17) America getting its independence from Great Britain is the reason that the Fourth of July is celebrated. Without the work of the enslaved Africans, this victory would never have happened. That is why, Douglass states that the American slave viewed the Independence Day celebrations as “bombast, fraud, deception, impiety and hypocrisy.” (Douglass 265) Douglass further addressed the hypocrisy in the Fourth of July and America as a whole when he stated “for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without rival.” (Douglass 265)

Douglass’s childhood enslavement impacted his view on life and what it means to be an American. Douglass knew first hand of how terrible slavery was, this evident when he states “to me the American slave-trade is a terrible reality.” (Douglass 266). According to his autobiography “The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass”, Douglass was born in February of 1818 in Baltimore, Maryland. It was there in Maryland, that Douglass would experience some of the worst treatment ever given to a slave. “In 1834 Douglass was sent to a slave breaker named Edward Covely. It was Covely’s job to break Douglass of his insolence. During his time with Covely, Douglass would sustain beatings night and day.” (Douglass 41-42) It was during these dark days of his enslavement, that Douglass began to understand that slavery goes against nature. Douglass speaks of this in “The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass”, Douglass states that “nature never intended that men and women should be either slaves or slaveholders.” (Douglass 51) These beliefs, made Frederick Douglass work to become one of the most famous African American writers, speakers and abolitionists in history.

By looking at “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July” in terms of the struggle of African Americans slaves, we can see how the slaves and free people had opposing views of the holiday. To the free white people, the national celebration was viewed as a celebration of their freedom. To the African American slave, the celebration was viewed as mocking their enslavement and lack of freedom. This was especially harsh, because the slaves knew that without the tobacco grown on southern plantations using their labor that the Americans would not have beaten Great Britain in the Revolutionary War and would not be free. No one understood this mockery better than the famous African American writer, speaker and abolitionist Frederick Douglass. 