Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in 1818, his exact birthday is unknown.  As a slave, he was not expected to or really allowed to read or write.  However, as a young slave he taught himself to read secretly, and this caused him to realize that he could think at the same level as a free man.  He realized he could think on the same level as a white man, giving him great amount of authority.  In this speech, he sang about how the 4th of July is a holiday to celebrate them and not him because he was not free and did not have the same freedom as them. The historical context shown in The Road to Freedom, MLK’s speech, and Uncle Tom’s Cabin, helps to shape What to a Slave is the Fourth of July.  By looking at these 3 outside sources we can see the argument made by Frederick Douglass that slaves are not treated equal strengthened.

The people that founded this country, founded this country on the principles of freedom and that all men are created equal.  Slavery though, something our country was also founded with tells us differently though.  This is because not all children are given the same opportunities. As a child, Douglass was not taught how to read and write like the white kids, instead he taught himself.  Douglass found a way to overcome this obstacle like he proceeded to do with every obstacle he came across.  Even then, while having better English skills than most children he was still treated as an imbecile.  Frederick Douglass grew up and decided to use his self-taught English skills for good use and give speeches to stand up for him and his fellow African Americans. Douglass’ childhood shows his inequality but also his hidden opportunity.

In Frederick Douglass’ speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July”, he addressed the point that the Fourth of July is not a holiday meant for him or African Americans in general during in this time.  This is ironic because the Fourth of July is a national holiday to celebrate our freedom and certain people feel as if it is not meant for them.  As Americans, we overlook the fact that people are not all treated equally and that although we have all these holidays to celebrate our freedom as Americans, not all Americans are able to rejoice in their freedom.  This overall realization leads us to the pressing topic of whether America’s values are founded and respected by people, of the people, and for the people.

In The Road to Freedom by Catherine Clinton we can see how slaves were treated without respect or even as humans in addition to Frederick Douglass’ story.  In this biographical journal, she describes Harriet Tubman’s life as a slave and life on the underground railroad. “Clinton accepts 1825, although some sources place it ten years earlier” (Clinton 216).  This quote is discussing her birthday and how the date it is unknown and different in different places.  This shows how they were treated with the respect level of much lower than they deserve as they do not even know what year her birthday was.  White people in this time though would never have forgotten when their birthday was.  Birthdays are a big celebration to most Americans as it celebrates your coming into the world.  I interpret this act as a slap in the face towards the black community that means we do not care when your birthday is because we do not care when you were brought into this world.  This is a perfect example of how African Americans were not treated with an ounce of respect.

Both Douglass and Tubman were both revolutionary in their era.  Tubman made dozens of trips back to the south to help hundreds of slaves escape while Douglass gave inspiring speeches and wrote moving pieces of work.  Tubman also nursed soldiers during the Civil War.  This is the lifestyle they chose, they could have chosen to not stand up for themselves or to help anyone else but they decided to be greater than that.  Douglass and Tubman were doing great things for mankind all while the majority of America was disrespecting them, and looking at them as though they were stupid because of their skin color.

Fifty years after Tubman passed due to pneumonia, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his infamous “I Have a Dream Speech”, in this speech he said, “One hundred years later the life of the Negro is still badly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.”  This quote addresses that one hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed African Americans were still treated with the same meaning as they were during slavery, during Douglass and Tubman’s time. Years after slaves were granted freedom to slaves in Confederate states, they still felt as though they were not “free”.  You can tell someone they are free and equal but unless you treat them as if they are free and equal they will not feel free and equal.

King also says, “One hundred years later the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land.”  This quote shows in 1963 during King’s speech, one hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation, how blacks may feel the same way as they did towards their own country in the 1960’s as they did in the 1800s and early 1900s.  Douglass gave his speech in 1952 about the Fourth of July and how African Americans then felt towards the country is similar as to how they felt in 1963.

Another example of how inhumane and unfair slaves were treated can be seen in Uncle Tom’s Cabin.  While discussing the trading of slaves, this man calls himself humane for letting Tom use his hands.  “Then he thought of himself, and how humane he was, that whereas other men chained their "niggers" hand and foot both, he only put fetters on the feet, and left Tom the use of his hands, as long as he behaved well…” (Stowe. 193).  Uncle Tom’s Cabin was originally published in 1852, and was a very influential abolitionist novel.  This was very influential because it showed the impact slavery had on families, and it helped readers empathize over characters.  This example from the novel furthers Douglass’ argument of how poorly slaves were treated during Douglass’ time. Allowing someone to use their hands but chain their feet together should not be looked at as humane.

In conclusion, Douglass’ speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July”, should wake us up and teach us something about our history as a country and the feelings that people may have even today. Just because we say we are free does not mean everybody has the same opportunities and feels free.  As we can see through the examples in Road to Freedom, MLK’s speech, and Uncle Tom’s Cabin slaves were not “free” even if they were said to be so. The Fourth of July is a holiday that all United States citizens should feel comfortable celebrating as they are a citizen of this country and are free.  Freedom should not be based upon the color of your skin.  This even branches out to religion as well. Just because someone believes in something different than you does not mean that they are any less free than you.
