Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was a former slave who become a famous abolitionist during his lifetime. In his speech delivered on July 5, 1852, Douglass humbly acknowledges that he is less eloquent and learned than some of the people to whom he speaks. He then goes on to deliver what is now considered one of the most artful orations in American history, quoting figures of literature and history throughout.
In the speech, Douglass toes a delicate line between pride and contempt for the United States. He praises the founding fathers for their vision, passion, and patriotism, and uses this praise to implore his audience to consider the hypocrisy of the American slave trade. Douglass also continually refers to America as "your" country and the fourth of July as "your" celebration of independence, suggesting throughout his speech that, as a black man and former slave, he is not in actuality part of America.
American Citizens
Frederick Douglass was invited by the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society to speak on July 4, 1852, but declined because he did not perceive Independence Day as commonly shared among all people. Instead, he spoke to an audience of 500-600 people on July 5. While his audience was made up of abolitionists, his focus in the speech acknowledges how even such an audience does not realize the full extent of American hypocrisy, highlighting how the notion of Independence Day and American citizenry itself only applies to white people.
Founding Fathers
Douglass begins his speech by reflecting on the founding fathers of the United States. He praises them for their tenacity, strength and vision of freedom, referring frequently to the Declaration of Independence (which was read just before Douglass delivered his lecture). Douglas uses the founding fathers as a model for the fight for liberty, and shows how America's simultaneous celebration of the founding fathers alongside the continued existence of slavery is incongruous, illogical, and hypocritical.
Thomas Paine
Douglass refers to Thomas Paine's work as an example of how at one point in American history, it was dangerous to express anti-English sentiment, and how those who did were often persecuted for their beliefs. Paine was an activist and revolutionary who argued for the colonies' separation from England.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet who, at the time of Douglass's speech, was a contemporary voice in American literature. Douglass quotes Longfellow's poem "A Psalm of Life" when he declares that his point of concern is neither past or future, but present action that can be taken to further the cause of liberty.
George Washington
George Washington was the general of the rebel army during the American Revolution. He eventually became the first president of the United States and was widely considered a hero for the American people. Douglass refers to Washington's moral legacy when he explains that Washington's will stipulated his slaves would be freed upon his wife's death.
William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison was a prominent American abolitionist, suffragist, poet, journalist, and reformer. He is best known for his anti-slavery newspaper The Liberator, from which Douglass quotes in his speech. Douglass ends the lecture with a poem of Garrison's that appeared in The Liberator in 1845. The poem imagines a world where all people are truly free and tyranny is no more.
Thomas Hart Benton
Thomas Hart Benton was an American senator from Missouri from 1821-1851. Douglass refers to Benton as an example of how pro-slavery politicians attached American prosperity to the continuation of slavery. At the time Douglass delivered his speech, Benton argued that the price of men was at an all-time high, a declaration that Douglass interprets as Benton's acknowledgment of slavery as integral to American wealth.
The Christian Church
Douglass highlights the Christian Church as an institution that enables the existence of slavery in the United States. He says that the Church has become an apologist for slavery when the Bible itself runs counter to its existence. For Douglass, while the Church has failed thus far to promote the word of God and Jesus Christ, it still has the power to abolish slavery by teaching Christians accurate scripture.
Politicians
Throughout his speech, Douglass alludes to a number of politicians—both abolitionists and pro-slavery representatives—in order to showcase the fraught nature of the United States regarding the slave trade. He disproves the logic of the pro-slavery politicians by comparing their stances to the actual words of the United States constitution. He draws on the abolitionist politicians for inspiration and support in arguing that the constitution is not a document that endorses or upholds the existence of slavery.
