"You will not, therefore, be surprised, if in what I have to say, I evince no elaborate preparation, nor grace my speech with any high sounding exordium. With little experience and with less learning, I have been able to throw my thoughts hastily and imperfectly together, and trusting your patient and generous indulgence, I will proceed to lay them before you" (58).
Douglass introduces his speech with humility and modesty, acknowledging that as a former slave, he is less learned than others in the room. However, this notion of Douglass's inferior intellectualism is short-lived, as his speech becomes a thorough, well-researched, well-organized, and eloquent challenge to the existence of slavery in the United States. It is now known as one of the best orations in American history, and Douglass's purporting to be less skilled than his audience is in one way a form of flattery and, in another, a form of mockery.
"The principles contained in that instrument are saving principles. Stand by those principles, be true to them on all occasions, in all places, against all foes, and at whatever cost" (62).
Douglass refers to the Declaration of Independence as the "ring-bolt to the chain of your nation's destiny" (62). He sees it, as the founding fathers themselves did, as a foundation document for the development of the United States. As such, Douglass encourages his audience to uphold the Declaration of Independence consistently and fully, suggesting that to do so would be to logically oppose the existence of slavery in America.
"This fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn. To drag a man in fetters into the grand illuminated temple of liberty, and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems, were inhuman mockery and sacrilegious irony" (68).
About halfway through his speech, Douglass reaches his most straightforward argument about American independence: it is a sham. He addresses his audience directly—most of whom were, themselves, abolitionists—and shames them for their perception that a former slave could enjoy the Fourth of July the same way they could, simply because he was free. Douglass here raises the stakes of his speech, declaring that he is not speaking to an echo chamber but is, indeed, challenging the entire notion of liberty that Americans hold so dear.
"At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed" (71).
Douglass addresses his critics by laying out a series of arguments he would be expected to make to refute the existence of slavery. After briefly addressing (and dismantling) each one, Douglass concludes that the existence of slavery is fundamentally illogical and incongruous with American values. As such, he declares that in order to abolish slavery, one must point out the continual hypocrisy among Americans rather than engage in petty arguments that are so easily refuted.
"For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake" (72).
After humoring his audience by refuting each small argument his opponents might leverage against him, Douglass declares that these small victories are inconsequential. Instead, he here argues that the abolition of slavery requires loud, disruptive, revolutionary words and behavior, similar to that on display during the American Revolution.
"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" (72).
Here, in a crescendo to the first half of the speech, Douglass compares the daily abuses in America to centuries-old tyrannical behavior of empires. He entreats his audience to recognize that the existence of slavery is both an ongoing violation of human rights and straightforward, incontrovertible evidence that what America purports to be is not actually what it is.
"In glaring violation of justice, in shameless disregard of the forms of administering law, in cunning arrangement to entrap the defenseless, and in diabolical intent, this Fugitive Slave Law stands alone in the annals of tyrannical legislation" (77).
Here, Douglass refers to the Fugitive Slave Act, a law passed in 1850, just two years before Douglass delivered his speech. This law made it illegal for northerners to aid runaway slaves or help them procure their freedom. It also fined northern officials who refused to aid in the return of fugitive slaves to the south. Douglass sees this law as the ultimate act of tyranny and inhumanity, as it not only preys on the innocent but seeks to turn men against one another for the benefit of slave masters.
"The American church is guilty, when viewed in connection with what it is doing to uphold slavery; but it is superlatively guilty when viewed in connection with its ability to abolish slavery" (81).
Douglass accuses the American Christian Church of enabling the existence of slavery, but is even more critical of the Church because of its failure to execute its unparalleled influence to abolish it. Douglass argues that the Church's sin is "one of omission as well as commission" (81), suggesting that the Church alone has the power to bring about the end of slavery but instead chooses to remain silent and neutral. This neutrality, Douglass argues, is complicity.
"The existence of slavery in this country brands your republicanism as a sham, your humanity as a base pretense, and your Christianity as a lie" (86).
In a passionate and direct confrontation with his audience, Douglass here frames slavery as the force that actually endangers the prosperity of America. He argues that the existence of slavery will make the United States a mockery on the global stage, and that it will sever connections among citizens domestically. For Douglass, the abolition of slavery is necessary for the very continuation of America as a sovereign nation.
"The far-off and almost fabulous Pacific rolls in grandeur at our feet. The Celestial Empire, the mystery of ages, is being solved. The fiat of the Almighty, “Let there be Light,” has not yet spent its force. No abuse, no outrage whether in taste, sport or avarice, can now hide itself from the all-pervading light" (90-91).
In the conclusion of his speech, Douglass asserts that despite all of his sadness and frustration over the current state of America, he is hopeful. He declares that the abolition of slavery is inevitable, and celebrates the fact that the world is becoming increasingly more connected. For Douglass, this global awareness is paramount because it means evil can no longer take place in secret. The United States, Douglass argues, will be held accountable for the atrocities it commits, ushering in true liberty for all people.
