No one likes a hypocrite. In society, people find it immensely difficult to accept those who practice such contradictory actions. All throughout history, there have been countless cases of this unjust action, where people of power have acted against their own preaching. One of the greatest examples of hypocrisy in the history of the United States was the debate over slavery. During this time, the people of the United States were fighting for absolute freedom from British rule, while simultaneously forcing African Americans into slavery. In the shadows of a newfound independence in America, many blacks recognized this forceful, involuntary servitude as an extreme example of hypocrisy. Confused, angered, and motivated, many abolitionists spoke out on this controversial topic in effort to end this racial prejudice. One African American abolitionist, by the name of Fredrick Douglass, gave numerous speeches highlighting the discrimination faced by blacks at that point in American history. Most notable of all his speeches was his declamation against the Fourth of July, in which he declared its celebration to be mere irony and mockery. In this speech, he explains how the Pre-Revolutionary, Post-Revolutionary, and Post-Emancipation eras play a role in defining his opinions. Throughout Fredrick Douglass’s, What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July, background information on the history of slavery in the United States allows the readers to comprehend and understand Douglass’s negative viewpoint on the Fourth of July in respect to the African American journey to freedom.

In the beginning of Fredrick Douglass’s speech, addressing the validity of the Fourth of July in eyes of African Americans, he discusses the United States under the rule of the British crown. Similar to what African Americans felt during the Pre-Emancipation Era, Douglass explains how the colonies hated being ruled by Britain. America hated the tyrannous state that they were forced to live under. They complained of hardships such as heavy taxes and no say in government (Katz). Eventually, the United States grew very tired of the unfair treatment they received from Britain. Thus, a group of men named the Second Continental Congress came together to write a doctrine declaring their independence from England. What they developed on July 4th, 1776 was a document called the Declaration of Independence, and eventually all the American colonies were free (Foner). The Fourth of July was a monumental point in history for the white majority of America, but not for African Americans. Even though the United States had fought so hard for freedom within the states, and still takes great pride in July Fourth today, the African Americans were still enslaved. In Douglass’s speech, he questions how a nation that desired freedom so badly, could continue to enslave a large percent of its population. The new national holiday that America celebrated greatly mocked those still stuck in shackles. By definition, mockery is any teasing language or behavior direct towards an individual or group in society. Given the current historical events of the time, one could say that America had taunted slaves for creating a national day of freedom, while many of its men were anything but free. Therefore, he explains that the Fourth of July is not the same holiday for African Americans, as it is for the rest of the country. Fredrick Douglass spoke on behalf of the black population in America to address this hidden mockery within such an important, patriotic holiday. Douglass strongly believed that the entire nation should be aware of such hypocrisy. In his efforts, Douglass hoped to spark a change in society that would grant freedom for the African American race. Based upon background information from the Post-Revolutionary Era, Douglass hoped to open the eyes of America, so they could see the irony behind July Fourth as slavery continued strong in the new, free world.

Although the United States were finally freed from the British crown, African Americans still had a long journey ahead until they saw the light of freedom. Many years passed and many more celebrations of the American Independence Day continued to mock those in America still detained by slavery. At the time, the United States government was drafting the Constitution, a document that would set the principles and precedents of the America for many years to come. In his speech, Douglass goes on to explain how nowhere within the Constitution does it declare slavery as legal or even mention such peculiar institution. Therefore, the practice of slavery was recognized as an unconstitutional act and needed to be terminated. Eventually, the 13th and 14th Amendments of the Bill of Rights were passed, abolishing slavery and giving equal rights to all, respectively. As a result, slaves were finally freed on the date of September 22, 1862 (Katz). Despite this, all Americans, white or black, were still expected to celebrate their Independence Day as July Fourth. Many people, such as Fredrick Douglass, saw great irony within this, as Americans celebrated a day that disregarded the African American race and the enslavement they faced for 86 years in a “free” land. Douglass was puzzled at how a country so keen about freedom could enslave so many people for such a long time, even after the country was finally the land of the free. Through his speech, he asks society to question their morals as they stood watch while millions of men and women were entrapped by enslavement. For this reason, Douglass hoped people would understand where his negative views on the Fourth of July derived from, and that the realization of this mockery would generate a change.

Long after the emancipation of slaves in America, the discrimination blacks faced did not reach its endpoint, and the national day of freedom remained the same. As Douglass notes, slavery did not exist, but the ideology behind racial prejudice survived, and still does to an extent today. The white population in the United States made life for free African Americans very undesirable. Fredrick Douglass explained how slavery, although illegal, theoretically continued by discussing newly enacted laws called the Black Codes. This set of laws controlled the lives of blacks to an extent that it seemed like slavery was still in existence. The Black Codes worked to limit the newfound freedom of the African American community through laws such as the prohibition of black voting, denying the right to learn to read and write, and setting the wage for blacks at unfavorable low levels (Foner). With such harsh laws, free blacks barely recognized their actual date of freedom. To most African Americans, the date they were freed, September 22, 1862, did not even seem to be their own personal Independence Day, let alone the Fourth of July. In the eyes of African Americans, they did not wish to celebrate either date for freedom, given that even after emancipation, they still were not completely free. To most African Americans, and especially Fredrick Douglass, this was very ironic, and perhaps mockery, to celebrate the day of freedom in the United States on July 4th, when at that time, blacks were anything but free. When further applied to the date of September 22nd, no African Americans wish to celebrate this date for freedom, as prejudice faced by blacks still occurs to this day. Until all discrimination and racism is gone from society, Douglass expresses that no date commencing their freedom will be celebrated. By understanding the journey taken by African Americans to reach freedom, readers can understand why Fredrick Douglass feels so negatively about the celebration of the Fourth of July.

To best understand the context of Fredrick Douglass’s speech, What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July, the reader must incorporate historical references and analysis. Throughout his speech, Douglass presents how the Fourth of July is both ironic and a form of mockery to African Americans is the United States. He questions the meaning of July Fourth to the black population of America by explaining the Pre-Revolutionary, Post-Revolutionary, and Post-Emancipation eras. By taking the reader through the journey that African Americans followed to finally achieve freedom, the readers can see how satirical it is for ex-slaves to celebrate a holiday that wholeheartedly excluded their entire race. Buried deep within Fredrick Douglass’s speech were many references to the detailed past of the United States. By incorporating such important historical references into his speech, Douglass takes his ideology against July Fourth and illustrates it for all people, present and future, to visualize and understand in perfect context.
