Frederick Douglass's Speech On This Fourth Of July Oration

During the speech of Frederick Douglas, “Fourth of July Oration”, many points were made about the freedom of the Blacks. The Declaration of Independence was established in the year of 1776 and in this declaration; it stated that all men are created equal. This day was supposed to be a day in which our nation celebrates the birth of independence as a whole. Within this speech we were able to acknowledge that even though freedom was declared, it was only the freedom of the whites. How is it that all men are created equal when slavery still exists? Aren’t the blacks human beings too? Weren’t they men? Although this speech was called the “Fourth of July Oration”, it wasn’t made on the fourth of July. Frederick made his speech the day after because

“This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn. Character and conduct of this nation never looked blacker to me than on this 4th of July” (Douglas, 265). From this, we understand that Douglas is mourning that even after seventy six years of freedom; slaves still do not have theirs. From these details, we can agree that slaves weren’t part of the “all men are created equal” group. Let’s have this question be asked, How is it “all men are created equal” when there are individuals who are still served under masters? Why is the word freedom used when one is treated like an animal? Well, let’s have it answered. Freedom didn’t exist as long as slaves were present. During this period of time, Blacks received fewer rights. If a black man was disobeying their master, the “crime” that they have committed would lead to the punishment of death. This crime of being ignorant was the same as the crime of a white man murdering someone. Within this fact, it can already be proven that they were treated differently. How can slave be proven to be men? With the fact that if the slave throws a stick and the dog runs after it to give it back to him. This has already given us an idea that even an animal considered slaves to be a human being, why can’t ones who have a brain think of

Even if independence was established and “all men are created equal” is mentioned, it is not freedom if race changes the way people look at you and behave around you. Near the end of the speech, Douglas states that he is tired of speaking about the government because he felt that the nation itself was very hypocritical. How can one declare independence when there are individuals who treated like an item, like they are nothing but a piece of property that can be separated from their families and be transported from place to place? There was a reason why Douglas made the speech on the fifth of July and not the fourth. It was because everyone celebrated the birth of independence on that day and not everyone gained their freedom on the day of July 4, 1852. The speech that he proposed informed us that there are many changes throughout history. Some changes may reflect the way we act in society and other changes may just have no effects. Douglas’s speech have shown us that Americans brag about their love for liberty and strong civilization but behind it all, we hide millions of men who were supposed to be free based off of the Declaration of Independence. To be independent and free is to not be judged based off of your