Frederick Douglass’s “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” is a speech given to the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society. This speech addresses what he experienced through being a slave and being around slaves. What stands out from this speech is the tone Douglass uses. Throughout his speech, he talks as if he is lesser than his audience and that he feels excluded from the country he is apart of. This is seen frequently through many pieces of literature that connect African American slaves and the rest of the United States. 

Douglass’s speech begins with him addressing the crowd, and even though he is not a slave anymore he does not feel apart of the United States. When Douglass talks to his audience, his main subject is what our country’s birthday means to a slave. Douglass’s tone is very somber and informative to the crowd; it is as if he does not feel that he belongs to the celebration of the holiday. The message he is trying to get across is that every race should be equal, and have the same rights, such as voting and property rights. Because the slaves were labeled as property, their self-confidence was lowered and made it difficult for them to be incorporated back into society. 

The Problem of Slavery in the Age of Emancipation written by David Davis addresses the same problems seen in Douglass’s speech. For example, Davis says the problem of slavery is when men are turned into objects. This atrocity does not accomplish the unity and equality expected in the United States. It is important for the African Americans to be seen as people, rather than objects. The inclusion of everyone provides the environment people search for in the United States. Davis and Douglass would both agree that even after slavery, former slaves were still treated as if they were slaves. And according to Davis, getting rid of the notion that blacks are objects breaks the barrier between slaves and the rest of the country. 

Philip G Altbach’s “Black Power and the US Civil Rights Movement” news article puts emphasis on the need for civil rights. In this article, Altbach writes that civil rights are necessary for African Americans to have “more opportunities for education and employment (Altbach 233).” When slaves gain better educational and employment opportunities, the sense of community in the United States can become stronger. The main point Altbach is trying to get across is that equal rights are required for union among everyone in the country. Once again, this can be traced back to Douglass’s speech when he speaks as if he is lesser than the audience. 

These different historical works of literature all show the same thing, a need for equality. The tone used by Douglass can also be seen by Davis and Altbach. All the slave writers writing slave literature use a serious tone because they feel as if they are property, not people. This is a pressing issue for them, hence the reason for their similar tone. They are writing or speaking for the most important thing in their lives, freedom. The events all the similar slaves experienced provides experience as to what people will do when they are passionate about something in their lives.
