In “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July,” Frederick Douglas argues how racism and slavery was inhumane even though it was viewed as a normalcy during this time period. Frederick had an advantage over almost every other slave; he was lucky enough to learn how to read and write. Without this talent, Douglas could have been blinded to the horrors of slavery and how badly he was being taken advantage of. Since he had the ability to read and write like a free man, he wanted to be treated like a free man; therefore, Douglas escaped his master and fled to New York. While in New York, he was a free man who had equal rights as a white man. As a man who had lived through the darkness of slavery and knowing how poor the conditions are, he began to willingly criticize slavery. By analyzing his speech in New York, we can better understand the cultural and historical contexts which make the story more relatable. With this knowledge, we can better understand the engagements and circumstances that Douglas had to live through after being born into slavery. By comprehending the horrors and depressions of slavery in the early 1800’s, we can understand why Frederick Douglas was so against the oppression of his race. He is able to do this after living through slavery and truly understanding how dark and evil slavery is. 

In “The Anti-Slavery Project: Linking the Historical and Contemporary,” Joel Quirk reveals some of the horrors that Douglas was exposed to. Quirk explains how slaves had terrible living conditions, were over-worked, and poorly fed. Unfortunately for Douglas, children weren’t even spared from the horrors of slavery. Owners treated children just as harsh as they treated the adults. Children worked the same hours and jobs as adults. They were also often sold, prostituted, and used in pornography. In addition, they were also used for illegal activities such as drug trafficking. They were forced to carry arms and were taught to defend the smuggles with their lives. Owners would often use children for their own sexual purposes and to breed new slaves as well. Douglas may not have dealt with all of these circumstances, but some of them were realities for him. Even after he escaped, Douglas still suffered from a slow desegregation movement. He had to leave his family and friends behind and start new in an incredibly different environment. This was a very difficult thing for a man born into slavery to do, but he was able to learn how to read and write. In today’s view, the circumstances that Douglas had lived through are almost unheard of. In 1818, when Douglas was born, slavery was viewed as a normal concept in society. Joel Quirk effectively shows his reader the horrors of slavery that Douglas had escaped from (Quirk, 565-570). 

In “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July,” Douglas believed the meaning of the Fourth of July is altered by the circumstances he was forced to live through.  He addressed how differently the Fourth of July could be viewed either as a white man or as a slave. The Fourth of July was a day of celebration of the white man’s independence from the British. The white man believed the British were taking advantage of them so they fought for their freedom. Even though slaves had helped them fight for their liberation, only the white men had earned their freedom on July 4th, 1776. The white man also went to great lengths to prevent slaves from uniting and gaining the ability to rebel for their freedom. Whenever the Fourth of July came around, slaves were often confused about what they had to celebrate. They were reminded of how the white men were able to fight for their independence, but were unable to grant them theirs. We are able to better understand why Douglas was so strong in his opposition against slavery because of the horrors we saw in “In “The Anti-Slavery Project: Linking the Historical and Contemporary.” He believes slavery was horrific enough to diminish the meaning of The Fourth of July (Quirk, 565-570). 

Reverend Thomas Scales’ “Paper Presented to the General Anti-Slavery Convention” shows how Douglas wasn’t alone in his fight against slavery. Thomas Scales was given the task to approach the Anti-Slavery Convention and persuade them to aid in the fight against slavery.  Scales believed that it was of “utmost importance that we understand each other” and that they stay “uniform and consistent.” He knew if they were going to fight the evils of slavery, they would need to be as strong and unified as possible. There was enough of a population that was against slavery to form an Anti-Slavery Convention. There were elected officials whose jobs were to help the desegregation movement. The aim of Scales’ paper was to rationalize the inhumane conditions and relations that slaves faced. Unfortunately, Scales’ paper was not enough to defeat slavery and it took another 25 years to abolish slavery in 1865. Even then, desegregation didn’t finish until 1964 when the Civil Rights Act was officially put into legislation. It is easy to understand why it took so much time to fully desegregate after analyzing the inhumane and immoral living conditions slaves faced (Scales, 1).

Reverend Thomas Scales’ “Paper Presented to the General Anti-Slavery Convention” has very similar views as Douglas. In today’s society, we never hear of a convention designated to fight a movement as large as slavery. By being exposed to Scales’ paper and Douglas’ speech we have a much clearer view of how bad slavery was. The country was split between the pro-slavery movement and the anti-slavery movement. There were people who strongly believed that African American’s had a lesser value than a normal human. The opposing side believed that they were equal to themselves and deserved to be treated like so. This made Douglas’ speech more relatable because it is easier see that there is a choice between two sides. After that, one is then able to choose a side and be biased towards that side. By understanding the horrors that Douglas had to deal with, one can follow Douglas in his anti-slavery movements.

With the information from the “Paper Presented to the General Anti-Slavery Convention” by Reverend Thomas Scales and “John Adam’s Views of Slavery” by John R. Howe, one could defend Douglas’ belief that slavery was so horrid that it was worth putting down one’s life for. It is also possible to realize how difficult it was for Frederick to learn how to fully comprehend the horrible circumstances he faced. As a child, he overcame the intense labor hours and poor living conditions and still managed to learn how to read and write. Even though there was such a large population that supported it, the anti-slavery movement took decades to fully develop. The movement wasn’t only in America, slavery was prominent enough worldwide that Anti-Slavery Conventions formed in towns such as Leeds, England as well. Without these facts, interpreting Frederick’s story would be much more difficult because these facts defend his argument that the Fourth of July isn’t necessarily a celebration for all Americans. The holiday reminds African Americans that they eventually did achieve their freedom, but it also reminds them that their freedom was harder to obtain than the white man’s. They are also reminded how their circumstances were much harsher than the white mans. Since Frederick Douglas was born into slavery himself, he can truly understand the darkness that is slavery.  After analyzing the circumstances and time period in which Douglas wrote his speech, it is easier to understand why Frederick Douglas was so strong in his opposition against slavery.
