What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?, by Frederick Douglass, illustrates how the Fourth of July celebration in America is exclusive of the African American population. During this time of slavery, the white men of The United States still reigned as the superiors of the country. Even with the Constitution of United States of America, African Americans still had no rights. Everything applied only to the white population; all men are created equal, except African Americans. Frederick Douglass conveys the idea that the Fourth of July is misleading. He reveals how it’s a celebration for freedom and democracy, when in their own country there isn’t true freedom and in some aspects, true democracy. America fought against tyrants across the ocean and won their freedom. Important officials created a government suited for their needs, but not for the ones in shackles. The government was structured so all people gained the rights, but slaves were left out. America fought against oppression in other countries, but still domestically oppressed an entire race. Douglass used religion to further prove his point. Religious figures should have denounced slavery, but did the opposite. The external links associated with this speech further prove and give reason for why Frederick Douglass’ speech is shaped as it is. 

Before the Constitution and the creation of the United States of America, a foreign country controlled most of modern day North America. Great Britain suppressed vast amounts of land during that era. The more land a country controlled, the more powerful they were. With the best navy in the world, Great Britain was hard to defend against. In the, Overview of the American Revolutionary War: Forging a Nation, Robert Dunkerly expressed how Great Britain began to oppress the American Colonies. Great Britain controlled the Colonies in order to increase their wealth. At first, the relationship between the two was great. The Colonies supplied raw materials and other goods, while Great Britain contributed with finished goods. Eventually, England began to treat the Colonies unfairly. Robert Dunkerly said, “From 1763 to 1776, Parliament, King George III, royal governors, and colonists clashed over regulations of trade, representation, and taxation” (Dunkerly). The creation of the Tea Act, the Townshend Act, and the Sugar Act, all contributed to the unreasonable occurrences. Great Britain was making maximum profit off of the Thirteen Colonies. The Thirteen Colonies tried to reason with Great Britain, but change wasn’t an option. Finally, the colonists clashed with England until the Revolutionary War began. The colonists fought against oppression. Outnumbered and outgunned, they persevered and won their freedom. The colonists then created their own government and Constitution. 

Frederick Douglass started off his speech talking about Great Britain and the Thirteen Colonies. Douglass spoke on how our great nation became once released from England’s grip. Douglass expressed, “Oppression makes a wise man mad. Your fathers were wise men, and if they did not go mad, they became restive under this treatment” (Douglass 258). Many of these “fathers” hated slavery, but still owned many slaves. One of Douglass’ main points was how a foreign country can oppress another country, and still domestically oppress an entire race. By the time the Revolutionary War was over, many cash crops became less valuable, making the demand for slaves less. The North began to stop slavery, while the South thought slaves were imperative for their success. 

Religion has always been a huge factor in society. The church had an immense pull in government activity during in the 18th and 19th centuries. One of Frederick Douglass’ main arguments in his speech involved the church. He believed that the church didn’t do enough to end slavery. Actually, the southern churches didn’t do anything to end slavery. In, A House Divided, by Terry Mathews, the article gave support for why the church did not condemn slavery. Dr. Terry Mathew’s expressed that slavery was deemed God’s divine plan in the South, but was seen as an evil in the North. Everything seemed to be split between the two regions. The South grew crops, while the North specialized in shipbuilding and other industries. The terrain of the two territories were dissimilar. The South possessed vast farmland, while the North contained an abundance of forests and mountain ranges. The Southerners believed that slaves were needed for a more profitable harvest. Slavery created the South’s prosperity because the use of free labor helped create more profit within the farming industry. The abolitionists of the North created anger in South that caused an uprising. They argued that slavery went against the Bible and Christianity as a whole. In retaliation, the Bishops of the Episcopal Methodist Church commanded the preachers “to abstain from all abolition movements and associations, and to refrain from patronizing any of their publications” (Mathews). Eventually, the Southern religious leaders rendered slavery as God’s word. The southern clergy even cited parts of the Bible to prove that it was God’s plan. Taking away slavery would go against God’s word in their depiction of the Bible. In turn, one would be committing a sinful crime. Certain religious figures considered the rejection of slavery to be sinful.  As the abolitionist movement gained strength, the church started to defend the truthfulness of the Bible. Rumors began circulating whether or not the Bible is literally true. Now the South felt it was absolutely imperative to protect the Bible’s truth. If the Bible became less favorable, then the best defense for having slaves would be gone sooner rather than later. 

Frederick Douglass used his knowledge of religion to help shape his speech. He stated, “But the church of this country is not only indifferent to the wrongs of the slave, it actually takes sides with the oppressors” (Douglass 269). Douglass spoke about how churches in other countries have denounced slavery and deemed it sinful, while America is the exact opposite. The article from above is significant to the speech because it gives background to one of Douglass’ points. The point is that the church should be denouncing slavery. If one was a devout Christian and truly understood the word of God, then the clergy in America wouldn’t be pro-slavery. In the article, it expressed the fact that the churches did everything in their power to continue slavery. This just furthers Douglass’ argument. He believes that the churches and clergy should be mirroring what European countries have done. Frederick Douglass believed that the churches are not only guilty in upholding slavery, but also guilty in not attempting to abolish it. Although most churches upheld slavery, there were still exceptions. The article expressed how there were northern clergy that wanted slavery abolished. Frederick Douglass pointed out some in his speech. Henry Ward Beecher, Samuel Jay Ma, and many others were included in Douglass’ recognition. Given the facts from the article above, one can understand some of Douglass’ exasperation.

The external articles associated with this essay, help give reason for why Frederick Douglass created his speech in such a way. The articles also help improve his main idea, which is that the Constitution and what America stands for is misleading. Douglass used America’s revolutionary past time and the churches view on slavery to further improve his argument.
