In the speech “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” given by Frederick Douglass, the hypocrisies of the American government at the time were exposed with regard to slavery. Throughout the speech, Douglass mirrors the positon of the African slaves with that of the colonists under British rule.  While condemning slavery and criticizing the founding fathers, he includes a testament to their good character, and explains that he is hopeful for the future of the nation, as it is still a young one. When delving into the extensive historical context of this text, such as the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, and the Wilmot Proviso, its significance becomes overwhelmingly clear as one of the most influential anti-slavery orations of all time.

Slavery was widely accepted in the United States from about 1619 to 1808, 157 of those years being  before the Union even existed. After 189 years of injustice, the people finally started an attempt to abolish slavery; such attempts were negatively viewed upon as the slave trade was an integral part of the southern economy. For example, during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 the three-fifths compromise was proposed, suggesting that a slave be counted as three-fifths of a white person. This was a ploy to increase the population of southern states, so slave owners could have more representation in government. When anti-slavery acts began to be drafted, state representatives inevitably found cheap loopholes to temporarily appease the secessionists. Among the first of these loopholes was found in the act prohibiting the importation of slaves into the United States of America. While this act banned the income of new slaves, it did not abolish or prohibit the slave trade. The practice of slavery was still accepted, and instead of importing new slaves, plantation owners bred them. After this began the division of slave states from free states, which was just furthering the loopholes that southern representatives managed to find. This process was repeated after the Mexican-American war, when new territories were acquired, causing debate as to which states would be labeled free, and slave; this became known as the Compromise of 1850(History.com). In the same compromise was the Fugitive Slave Act, which required escaped slaves to be returned(History.com). The final attempt at abolishing slavery before the Civil War was the Wilmot Proviso, which was a proposal to ban slavery in any territory acquired from the Mexican-American war(History.com). For about 45 years prior to Frederick Douglass’ speech there were countless attempts to abolish slavery through law that were foiled through technicality loopholes found by southern representatives; the entirety of the abolition attempt prior to the Civil War was simply one massive compromise. This massive compromise is the precise reason why Douglass, and people like him, were inspired to end the injustice. 

The significance of this extensive historical context is evident in the temperament that Douglass displays during the speech. The man endured the effects of the three-fifths compromise, being counted as literally less than human. He was directly affected by the Fugitive Slave Act, and had to relocate from New York to Massachusetts as he was in danger of being caught and re-enslaved. It may escape one’s mind when thinking about such a topic that when a slave escaped, he or she was not able to live life with ease. The possibility of being enslaved for a second time was very real, so the word “free” did not accurately describe escaped slaves; they were free from slavery, not from its effects. Although Douglass did experience the aftermath of his enslavement, he associated himself with white folk, and was adopted by their anti-slavery organizations. This is an important piece of information to take into account as it demonstrates that Frederick Douglass was able to gain both the perspective of a slave, and a white man. This speech came at a time where tensions between the north and south were high, the United States was only nine years away from a civil war. Taking this into account, a speech from someone who had experienced the plight of a slave, and also the life of a free man was an extremely influential thing. It was because of these two perspectives that Douglass was able to essentially sympathize with the founding fathers by calling them great men. With his outside view, he is able to pick apart the hypocrisies of the American government, and how they celebrate “Independence Day” and their escape from a tyrannical government while they themselves enslave innocent people. 

Aside from the significance of what was happening on the legal side of America, was the social dynamic of the north. Although escaped slaves were welcome, they were not seen as equals. He was a well-educated black man who was giving anti-slavery speeches to white people who were seen as above him. An African-American escaped slave, giving a speech about the hypocrisies of the American government to white people was seen as a condescending insult. What the people in Douglass’ organization wanted was for him to simply depict his experience as a slave, they did not anticipate for him to give intelligent insights because he was seen as uneducated. 

Without the knowledge of the historical context of this speech, it can still be seen as controversial, the accusations made toward the government can attest to this. For example, his implications of comparing Britain to America, “They went so far in their excitement as to pronounce the measures of government unjust, unreasonable, and oppressive, and altogether such as ought not to be quietly submitted to. I scarcely need say, fellow-citizens, that my opinion of those measures fully accords with that of your fathers. Such a declaration of agreement on my part would not be worth much to anybody.” (Douglass 257). This man is blatantly comparing himself to that of the oppressed colonists, the same colonists who turned into the founding fathers. Douglass presents an argument that cannot be ignored, the Americans were oppressing the slaves in the exact same way the British had oppressed them. Such exposure of hypocrisy cannot even be argued, which is why it was so persuasive, evident in the fact that the Civil War started only nine years following the speech. Given the circumstances, nine years is a relatively short amount of time. Back in the 1800s transportation was not nearly as efficient as it is today, thus making it difficult to spread news by word of mouth. Additionally, considering the fact that the slaves had been oppressed since the 1600s, nine years is quite a short amount of time. 

The quote exposing the American’s hypocrisy is a significant one without any historical context, when given the historical context provided earlier in this essay, the speech becomes far more controversial. A black man previously enslaved, speaking to educated white people about the hypocrisies of the government is potentially the most controversial event of the abolition movement. This text truly puts the era into perspective as it helps us to better understand life as an escaped slave, and where the country was in terms of social progress. Aside from the perspective it gives, the speech also offers relevant criticisms to modern day America. Millions of people from different backgrounds are being oppressed by a country who rejoices their escape from systematic oppression, which is exactly what Frederick Douglass was speaking of. America is essentially on the verge of a second civil rights movement, and if we handle the opposing side the same way in which Frederick Douglass did, with respect and composure, change will come. 
