I have detained my audience entirely too long already. Travel through South America. Is it to be settled by the rules of logic and argumentation, as a matter beset with great difficulty, involving a doubtful application of the principle of justice, hard to be understood? Cast one glance, if you please, upon that young mother, whose shoulders are bare to the scorching sun, her briny tears falling on the brow of the babe in her arms. And while slavery has long been abolished and outlawed, the sentiment behind the address still applies in many unfortunate ways when it comes to the overall Black experience in America. You are all on fire at the mention of liberty for France or for Ireland; but are as cold as an iceberg at the thought of liberty for the enslaved of America. Frederick Douglass Read the full transcript here. The madness of this course, we believe, is admitted now, even by England; but we fear the lesson is wholly lost on our present ruler. From police shootings to the wage gap to crippling stereotypes (and everything in between), there are too many parallels today with what Douglass described in his speech to white America, including this relevant line: This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. Now, take the Constitution according to its plain reading, and I defy the presentation of a single pro-slavery clause in it. I will not. The feeling of the nation must be quickened; the conscience of the nation must be roused; the propriety of the nation must be startled; the hypocrisy of the nation must be exposed; and its crimes against God and man must be proclaimed and denounced. that it should be so; yet so it is. The Celestial Empire, the mystery of ages, is being solved. With head, and heart, and hand Ill strive, 8 Times Obama Showed Trump How Presidents Are Supposed To Celebrate The Fourth Of July, Welcome To The Cookout: 10 Lit Movies To Watch During July Fourth Holiday Weekend, 'Dilbert' Comic Creator Calls Black People A 'Hate Group,' Urges Segregation So Whites Can 'Escape', Bernie Mac Show Star Camille Winbush Is Not Ashamed Of Joining OnlyFans, Kyle Rittenhouse Faces 2nd Civil Lawsuit, Continues To Beg For Money From His Supporters, Ben Stein's 'Aunt Jemima' Rant Is A Master Class On White Privilege, Why Did tWitch Kill Himself? The cause of liberty may be stabbed by the men who glory in the deeds of your fathers. Is it that slavery is not divine; that God did not establish it; that our doctors of divinity are mistaken? in preference to the gospel,as preached by those Divines! Would you argue more and denounce less? What to the Slave is the 4th of July? Speech Transcript by Frederick Douglass, Congressional Testimony & Hearing Transcripts. And yet not one word shall escape me that any man whose judgment is not blinded by prejudice or who is not at heart, a slaveholder shall not confess to be right and just. Its the news, without the news. They are plain, common-sense rules, such as you and I, and all of us, can understand and apply, without having passed years in the study of law. The Fugitive SlaveLawmakes mercy to them a crime; and bribes the judge who tries them. And am I therefore called upon to bring our humble offering to the national alter and to confess the benefits and express devout gratitude for the blessings resulting from your independence to us? As noted here, that banquet was attended by prominent WebOn January 9, 1894, at Washington, D.C.'s, Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, Frederick Douglass delivered his "The Lessons of the Hour" speech, which addressed the Suicide Note Revealed After Shocking Death, Mississippi Cops Beat, Waterboarded Handcuffed Black Men, Shot 1 For Dating White Women': Lawyers, Indicted! My soul sickens at the sight. Cling to this day cling to it, and to its principles, with the grasp of a storm-tossed mariner to a spar at midnight. Fellow-citizens, I shall not presume to dwell at length on the associations that cluster about this day. As noted here, that banquet was attended by prominent African-American professional men in celebration of the twenty-first anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.After the toast provided by former Senator Blanche K. Bruce, Your lawmakers have commanded all good citizens to engage in this hellish sport. Oh, had I, the ability, and could I reach the nations ear, I would today pour out a fiery steam of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. Oceans no longer divide, but link nations together. It was fashionable, hundreds of years ago, for the children of Jacob to boast, we have Abraham to our father, when they had long lost Abrahams faith and spirit. But I fancy, I hear some of my audience say it is just in this circumstance that you and your brother abolitionists fail to make a favorable impression upon the public mind. From the Potomac to the Delaware was a journey of many days. Go where you may, search where you will, roam through all the monarchies and despotisms of the old world, travel through South America, search out every abuse, and when you have found the last, lay your facts by the side of the everyday practices of this nation, and you will say with me, that, for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival. Whether we turn to the declarations of the past, or to the professions of the present, the conduct of the nation seems equally hideous and revolting. In a case like that, the dumb might eloquently speak. What point in the anti-slavery creed would you have me argue? By that act, Mason and Dixons line has been obliterated; New York has become as Virginia; and the power to hold, hunt, and sell men, women, and children as slaves remains no longer a mere state institution, but is now an institution of the whole United States. He is a bird for the sportsmans gun. Where these go, may also go the merciless slave-hunter. A RESTful API to access Revs workforce of fast, high quality transcriptionists and captioners. welcome atheism! For it is not light that is needed, but fire. There are forces in operation, which must inevitably work the downfall of slavery. Standing, there, identified with the American bondman, making his wrongs mine, 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! Convert your audio or video into 99% accurate text by a professional. who stand as the very lights of the church, have shamelessly given the sanction of religion and the Bible to the whole slave system. You boast of your love of liberty, your superior civilization, and your pure Christianity, while the whole political power of the nation (as embodied in the two great political parties), is solemnly pledged to support and perpetuate the enslavement of three millions of your countrymen. Youmay rejoice,Imust mourn. The arm of the Lord is not shortened, and the doom of slavery is certain. Washington could not die till he had broken the chains of his slaves. The crack you heard, was the sound of the slave-whip; the scream you heard, was from the woman you saw with the babe. The arm of commerce has borne away the gates of the strong city. Let the religious press, the pulpit, the Sunday school, the conference meeting, the great ecclesiastical, missionary, Bible and tract associations of the land array their immense powers against slavery and slave-holding; and the whole system of crime and blood would be scattered to the winds; and that they do not do this involves them in the most awful responsibility of which the mind can conceive. had I the ability, and could I reach the nations ear, I would, to-day, pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, Frederick Douglass: (03:37) These ministers make religion a cold and flinty-hearted thing, having neither principles of right action, nor bowels of compassion. There are illustrations of it near and remote, ancient and modern. In the summer of 2020, the U.S. commemorated Independence Day amid nationwide It is a fact, that whatever makes for the wealth or for the reputation of Americans, and can be had cheap! There are seventy-two crimes in the State of Virginia, which, if committed by a black man, (no matter how ignorant he be), subject him to the punishment of death; while only two of the same crimes will subject a white man to the like punishment. How circumspect, exact and proportionate were all their movements! One is struck with the difference between the attitude of the American church towards the anti-slavery movement, and that occupied by the churches in England towards a similar movement in that country. The task before me is one which requires much previous thought and study for its proper performance. We are called upon to prove that we are men. Without this right, the liberty of an American citizen would be as insecure as that of a Frenchman. They did so in the form of a resolution; and as we seldom hit upon resolutions, drawn up in our day whose transparency is at all equal to this, it may refresh your minds and help my story if I read it. They were statesmen, patriots and heroes, and for the good they did, and the principles they contended for, I will unite with you to honor their memory. The fiat of the Almighty, Let there be Light, has not yet spent its force. Frederick Douglass's, What To the Slave Is the Fourth of Senator Berrien tell us that the Constitution is the fundamental law, that which controls all others. If so, there is a parallel to your conduct. Long established customs of hurtful character could formerly fence themselves in, and do their evil work with social impunity. A general shout would go up from the church, demanding repeal, repeal, instant repeal! Calculate how much it costs to transcribe, caption, or subtitle your content. The sunlight that brought life and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. Then would my task be light and my burden easy and delightful? His death, according to Douglass was not only tragic, but also prevented recently freed slaves and African Americans from gaining the ear of wise and well-intentioned leader. The feeling of the nation must be quickened. Do you mean citizens to mock me by asking me to speak today? They acknowledge it when they punish disobedience on the part of the slave. These rules are well established. Great streams are not easily turned from channels, worn deep in the course of ages. Juneteenth Reading List: 10 Books To Learn More About Black Independence Day, Your email will be shared with newsone.com and subject to its, The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro address before an audience, at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York, on July 5, 1852, he was issuing , a scathing indictment of American hypocrisy, Washington Post columnist Courtland Milloy, . WebOn July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass gave a keynote address at an Independence Day celebration and asked, What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? Douglass was a powerful That he is the rightful owner of his own body? That people contented themselves under the shadow of Abrahams great name, while they repudiated the deeds which made his name great. The right of the hunter to his prey stands superior to the right of marriage, and toallrights in this republic, the rights of God included! I scout the idea that the question of the constitutionality or unconstitutionality of slavery is not a question for the people. What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? Here you will see men and women reared like swine for the market. Friends and citizens, I need not enter further into the causes which led to this anniversary. Citizens, your fathers made good that resolution. Behold the practical operation of this internal slave-trade, the American slave-trade, sustained by American politics and America religion. I say it with a sad sense of disparity between us. In a very telling sign, the fateful words of Frederick Douglass from a speech he delivered 170 years ago still resonate very much in 2022 as Black people in America continue the fight for the same kind of equality that the legendary abolitionist was demanding back in the mid-19th century. But I differ from those who charge this baseness on the framers of the Constitution of the United States. Frederick Douglass, circa 1879. Difference between Rittenhouse and McMichael-Bryan verdicts? Frederick Douglass delivered his famous speech What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? in 1852, drawing parallels between the Revolutionary War and the fight to abolish slavery. The manhood of the slave is conceded. The hypocrisy of the nation must be exposed and its crimes against God and man must be denounced. Who so stolid and selfish that would not give his voice to swell the hallelujahs of a nations Jubilee when the chains of servitude have been torn from his limbs? Everywhere, in this country, it is safe to speak of this foreign slave-trade, as a most inhuman traffic, opposed alike to the laws of God and of man. Fellow-citizens! Transcript Descendants of Frederick Douglass read excerpts from one of his most famous speeches: What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? Three score years and ten is the allotted time for individual men; but nations number their years by thousands. A John Knox would be seen at every church door, and heard from every pulpit, and Fillmore would have no more quarter than was shown by Knox, to the beautiful, but treacherous queen Mary of Scotland. On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass gave a speech at an Independence Day celebration organized by the Rochester Ladies Anti-Slavery Society. Fellow citizens, this murderous traffic is, today, in active operation in this boasted republic. No! Pride and patriotism, not less than gratitude, prompt you to celebrate and to hold it in perpetual remembrance. The power is co-extensive with the Star-Spangled Banner and American Christianity. This celebration also marks the beginning of another year of your national life; and reminds you that the Republic of America is now 76 years old. Walled cities and empires have become unfashionable. What? This 4th of July is yours, not mine. They are a trouble to me; I am weary to bear them; and when ye spread forth your hands I will hide mine eyes from you. I am not that man. Mr. President, Friends and Fellow Citizens: He who could address this audience nor grace my speech with any high sounding exordium. WebFrederick Douglass speech Historical Document "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" 1852 Resource Bank Contents Click here for the text of this historical document. Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) was a social reformer and advocate, abolitionist, orator, writer, minister, and statesman. WebIn the late 1860sat a moment of great hope for the promise of equality under the lawthe famed orator and once-enslaved abolitionist Frederick Douglass took his Our Composite Nation speech on the road to argue for a plural American democracy. I can to-day take up the plaintive lament of a peeled and woe-smitten people! The ear-piercing fife and the stirring drum unite their accents with the ascending peal of a thousand church bells. Speech-to-Text API for pre-recorded audio, powered by the worlds leading speech recognition engine. Copyright 2023 Interactive One, LLC. Nations do not now stand in the same relation to each other that they did ages ago. Fromwhat quarter, I beg to know, has proceeded a fire so deadly upon our ranks, during the last two years, as from the Northern pulpit? be warned! WebOn December 3, 1860, Frederick Douglass and a group of fellow abolitionists met at the Tremont Temple Baptist Church in Boston for a discussion centered around the following Industry-leading accurate legal transcription to ensure you dont miss a statement. That which is inhuman, cannot be divine! There were then no means of concert and combination, such as exist now. The sunlight that brought life and healing to you has brought stripes and death to me. or is it in the temple? When Douglass delivered his famous The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro address before an audience at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York, on July 5, 1852, he was issuing a scathing indictment of American hypocrisy, Washington Post columnist Courtland Milloy reminded readers. Must I argue the wrongfulness of slavery? It is a religion for oppressors, tyrants, man-stealers, andthugs. If I do forget, if I do not remember those bleeding children of sorrow this day, may my right hand forget her cunning and may my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth. Copyright 2023 Interactive One, LLC. This, for the purpose of this celebration, is the 4th of July. Everybody can say it; the dastard, not less than the noble brave, can flippantly discant on the tyranny of England towards the American Colonies. Allow me to say, in conclusion, notwithstanding the dark picture I have this day presented of the state of the nation, I do not despair of this country. This is esteemed by some as a national trait perhaps a national weakness. What have I, or those I represent to do with your national independence. I leave, therefore, the great deeds of your fathers to other gentlemen whose claim to have been regularly descended will be less likely to be disputed than mine! They hate all changes, but silver, gold and copper change! If any man in this assembly thinks differently from me in this matter, and feels able to disprove my statements, I will gladly confront him at any suitable time and place he may select. Ex-Vice-President Dallas tells us that the Constitution is an object to which no American mind can be too attentive, and no American heart too devoted. Is it not astonishing that, while we are ploughing, planting and reaping, using all kinds of mechanical tools, erecting houses, constructing bridges, building ships, working in metals of brass, iron, copper, silver and gold; that, while we are reading, writing and cyphering, acting as clerks, merchants and secretaries, having among us lawyers, doctors, ministers, poets, authors, editors, orators and teachers; that, while we are engaged in all manner of enterprises common to other men, digging gold in California, capturing the whale in the Pacific, feeding sheep and cattle on the hill-side, living, moving, acting, thinking, planning, living in families as husbands, wives and children, and, above all, confessing and worshipping the Christians God, and looking hopefully for life and immortality beyond the grave, we are called upon to prove that we are men! The coming into being of a nation, in any circumstances, is an interesting event. From the round top of your ship of state, dark and threatening clouds may be seen. I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. WebIn this speech, Frederick Douglass reflected on how the outpouring of joy at the conclusion of the Civil War turned to mourning with Lincolns assassination. You were under the British Crown. To do so would be to make myself ridiculous and to offer an insult to your understanding. Web" was a speech delivered by Frederick Douglass on July 5, 1852, at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York, at a meeting organized by the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery These men were generally well dressed men, and very captivating in their manners. What, then, remains to be argued?
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