Beginning in 1818, Frederick Douglas was born.  He was born into slavery and he escaped the clenched fists of the horrid practice.  Once he escaped, he became one of the leading abolitionists in the movement to expunge slavery and acquire equal rights for everybody, no matter the color of their skin.  Slavery was a heinous tradition that was passed down from generation to generation of white men.  It goes all the way back to Europe and it carried across the Atlantic when the United States of America was created.  This speech given by Douglass is one of the most important speeches given by an abolitionist at the time.  This speech very much opened up the eyes of the vast majority of the American population into what it is actually like to be a slave.  The historical and cultural impact that this speech had on America was profound, as in 1865 slavery was abolished and African Americans were free.

Frederick Douglass was a great man in history and he was not born into this position of history.  He was born into slavery, he escaped his slavery in Maryland and became a leader on the national level for the abolitionist movement.  He became very educated and was a proficient writer, orator, and a politician. He gained a strong national leadership position as an abolitionist through his ravishing and resplendent oratory skills.  He is a great example, that an African American can be educated and be on the same intellectual level as a white man, which was deemed to be not true by white slaveholders, who stated the inferiority of the African American slave.  Douglass accomplished many feats in his life as he broke the glass ceiling and became the first African American to be nominated as a Vice Presidential candidate.  So in 1852, Douglass gave one of his most famous speeches in Rochester, New York, “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro.”  Douglass endured all kinds of struggles and turbulent tribulations leading up to this speech, but none of that deterred him from delivering a masterpiece that is still read on its anniversary year after year.  This speech was not delivered out of randomness either, it is too powerful to not have a reason to not be delivered.

In the early 1850s slavery was still around and the abolitionist movement was growing.  More and more people were joining the movement and the southern whites did not like it at all.  Somehow, legislation was passed in 1850 by Henry Clay.  It was known as the compromise of 1850 and this was mainly all about land and territories that the US was acquiring, except there was another law squeezed in.  The new fugitive slave act was passed, and it made the federal government responsible and liable in states where slavery was abolished to return escaped slaves to their plantation/slave owners (Scanlan).  This new law being passed had to have infuriated Douglass and every other abolitionist, because it meant a major step-back in the movement to ban slavery from America.  This act would prove to be very detrimental towards the escaped slaves that were just trying to make a life for themselves in a free world.  Slave hunters became a job profession because of this act and they were very cruel and mean to escaped slaves and would sometimes even return a slave dead.   Even during the civil war, escaped slaves were still being caught and returned back to their owners.  Many citizens, especially from the south did not frown upon this at all.

For some odd reason, the mindsets of these white southerners were extremely backwards.  Douglass says in his speech, “It is, however, a notable fact that, while so much execration is poured out by Americans upon those engaged in the foreign slave-trade, the men engaged in the slave-trade between the states pass without condemnation, and their business is deemed honorable” (265).  What Douglass means from this quote is that Americans will denounce slave trade that is between two different countries or across the world, but if it’s slave trade between states in the US, then its ok.  This is a highly hypocritical point that Douglass pointed out about America and how they are extremely quick to judge other nations, but they will not judge themselves.  So, by him giving this speech and showing what it’s like to actually be a slave, Douglass hoped to accomplish that the hearts of the American citizens will understand the hardships and oppression that they have dealt out to African Americans.  He states that the media says “internal” slave trade is very profitable and there is no negatives associated or affiliated with it.  He is pointing out the manipulation of the media for capital gain.  The internal slave trade is profitable, yes, but it is inhuman and it is opposite to the rules of God and the conscience of man.  It de-humanizes people in order for the top 1% to make profits from it and help further their greed.  This speech helps the common-white man who hasn’t gone through slavery understand it better.

Douglass uses this speech as a literary tool to appeal to the audience’s conscience and naturally good natured soul and help citizens nationally understand the horrid act of slavery better. The Wall Street Journal published an article regarding Douglass’s speech and in this article the author describes in detail a lot of the various meanings in the speech.  He points out all of the words that Douglass uses and how they leave an impact on the audience that is lasting.  For example when the author says, “Despite his fiery rhetoric, Douglass was neither despairing nor cynical about his country,” he is saying that even though Douglass is using some words that you would see in the book of revelations, he is not trying to cast everybody who owned a slave into hell (Bibby).  He is just expressing his point in one of the more effective ways that he can.  This helps the reader understand Douglass’ speech better because now the reader cannot be so scared by all of the apocalyptic words and just understand that Douglass is attempting to express the cruelties that slavery has done.  So he uses words with the scary connotations to show and try and connect with the audience so that they will put themselves in the shoes of an African American and understand the travesties done against them.  This speech helps people understand the time period a lot better as well.

This text written by Douglass gives a great account of the time period that he was living through at the time.  He compiled his speech in such a way, that the reader would be able to feel as if they were embodied in a slave.  It gave a different perspective that opened the eyes to a lot of the non-slave citizens of America at the time.  It helped spur reform and incite the abolitionist movement even more in the hearts of Americans.  This speech was designed to stir up a range of emotions within the readers.  It did just that, not only does it appeal to the compassionate and more sympathetic side of the reader, but it also incites an anger inside.  It evokes an anger that wants to seek justice for those wronged by the actions perpetrated by the oppressors.  This was a very fiery speech that connected the famous historical holiday of the United States with the historical travesty being committed by the United States.

Frederick Douglass was an amazing man.  In his lifetime he accomplished numerous feats and brought forth all of the wrongdoings about slavery without caring about what may happen to him.  He stood up for what is right in this world and he got something done about it.  He didn’t sit idly by and just let his people go oppressed.  Instead he wrote one of the most famous speeches in American history, and opened the eyes to countless Americans.  Because of Frederick Douglass, America became a much better country in her growth.  If there were more people today like Frederick Douglass, instead of people like Donald Trump, America would be the best country on planet earth.
