History displays our past, but ultimately points towards our future. When one mentions the history of the United States, one dark topic inevitably rises to the surface: slavery. Although slavery occurred across the globe, the tragedy of inhumane conditions and the degradation of an entire people group continue to stain the reputation of this great nation. Like the age-old cliché, if we do not study our history, we will ultimately repeat it. In Frederick Douglass’s famous speech, “What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?,” one can see the incredible strength of African-Americans through their fight for freedom and equality despite the hypocrisy of an entire nation. This is important because to truly understand a part of our past, one must understand the other pieces that make up the big picture. 

In the speech “What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?,” Frederick Douglass criticizes Americans for celebrating a day of liberation from their British oppressors, when they themselves would not extend the same freedom to African-Americans. He begins his speech by recounting the glorious beginning of the United States: the liberty that was sought, the battle that was fought, and the victory that was bought by the lives of its countrymen. He then compares the history of America to its current age and notes the inconsistencies. He states, “You can bare your bosom to the storm of British artillery to throw off a threepenny tax on tea; and yet wring the last hard-earned farthing from the grasp of the black laborers of your country.” (Douglass). As Douglass’s contemporary, William Lloyd Garrison, states, “This is the time-honored, wine-honored, toast-drinking, powder-wasting, tyrant-killing, fourth of July— consecrated, for the last sixty years, to bombast, to falsehood, to impudence, to hypocrisy. It is the great carnival of republican despotism and Christian impiety, famous the world over!” (Garrison). Bigots within government positions exercised their power in ways that directly contradicted both their constitution and their religious ties. How could one celebrate the birth of a nation who catered to one race and dealt injustice to another? Douglass declares, “America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to the future.” (Douglass). Americans wanted to romanticize the valiant efforts of their founding fathers, yet the opportunity to fight for the betterment of humanity was upon their doorstep and they turned a blind eye. Douglass points out how slave-owners would not allow their slaves to be educated; by denying them this right, they were wishing to reject the humanity of their slaves. He satirically indicates that perhaps slaves are not considered to be included in the “all men are created equal” clause due to the fact that they are denied the recognition of being themselves homo-sapiens (Douglass). Douglass’s contrast between America’s past and its present illustrates the hypocrisy that all African-Americans faced. 

Douglass speaks of the weighty significance that the Fourth of July holds for African-Americans in his well-known Independence Day speech. He states, “What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim.” (Douglass). While Douglass and Garrison argued for abolition every day, they did so even more on Independence Day. The Fourth of July was not just a matter of rest for slaves, it was a matter of principle: why should they not be considered equals on the birthday of a country which claimed all men were created equal? As Douglass eloquently asserts, “This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn.” (Douglass). Prior to the end of the Civil War, slaves labored daily from sunrise to sunset except for two special occasions: Independence Day and Christmas. Slaves particularly looked forward to “July Day,” a day when they were able to rest from their toils, commune with family and friends, and ponder how freedom would feel when it was finally extended to them (Strickland 96). African-Americans did not call America’s birthday “Independence Day” because, to them, it was not a day of freedom— it was a day reminding them of their lack of independence. African-Americans longed to be considered citizens or, at least, human beings. For this reason, blacks across the nation celebrated every July, just like the white man. After the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, blacks were no longer bound to their masters, but racial animosity remained nevertheless. This, however, did not stop African-Americans from enjoying their newfound freedom. 

 Once African-Americans had been freed, the Fourth of July held even greater significance for their race. Strickland discusses the evolution of African-American celebrations based on the historical timeline of emancipation in the United States. Although Emancipation Day was important, the Fourth of July was the ultimate holiday event of the year. With reference to an article by Jeffery Strickland, strong contextual evidence is provided for the importance of Independence Day to a slave both before and after the Emancipation Proclamation. In 1865, African-Americans from all over the South paraded the streets of South Carolina singing, dancing, and performing scenes from their recent, yet dark past. Thousands gathered to watch the event and follow the procession; there is power in numbers, and the black population in the United States was certainly a force to be reckoned with (Strickland 100). This ritual continued until 1876, with African-Americans—the minority— making up the majority of Independence Day partiers (Strickland 103). After facing oppression for so long, African-Americans rejoiced in even the smallest improvement of their circumstances. Although it would be a long road to true freedom, African-Americans celebrated the Fourth of July with vigor because it was representative of all they had worked for and strived to achieve. The value of this holiday held great value to an entire race because it was kept from them— how much more would a slave appreciate freedom than someone who enjoys that freedom daily? While African-Americans were condemned for their black skin tone, Douglass turns America’s derogatory categorization on itself: “I do not hesitate to declare, with all my soul, that the character and conduct of this nation never looked blacker to me than on this 4th of July!” (Douglass). Douglass ironically implies that there is a different kind of blackness plaguing America—a blackness not defined by race, but by the state of the heart. He refers to the kind of blackness that emerges from the lack of light; known as one of the darkest periods in America's history, its hypocrisy is illumined. By understanding how African-Americans valued the Fourth of July, Frederick Douglass’s address becomes more powerful than ever before. 

With the aid of historical and cultural context, Frederick Douglass’s speech, “What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?,” illustrates the extreme significance of equality for all. People wanted Douglass to talk about the greatness of America, yet by asking this of him, they were asking him to forget his family, his friends, and his own identity. As a former slave, Douglass knew the hardships of slavery first-hand and used his speaking engagements as another platform to persuade Americans of their sin.  If its constitution calls for fair treatment of all men, why should he neglect to mention the evil of slavery? (Douglass). By examining the celebratory routines of African-Americans, the discrimination they faced is overshadowed by the valiancy they showed throughout all of their difficult, heartbreaking circumstances. Douglass proves the hypocrisy of the United States throughout the entirety of his speech. He argues that justification cannot be found in its legislation or in its religious affiliation. The remedy, he suggests, lies in tracing back to America’s roots and evoking change, not the kind that deals with dollars and cents, but change that brings peace and relief from suffering (Douglass). If African-Americans could celebrate in hardship, reform is possible. Employing knowledge of the past in combination with aspirations for the future, hope is at hand. In his famous words, “We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the present and to the future.” (Douglass). 
