Frederick Douglass speech - PBS No nation can now shut itself up from the surrounding world, and trot round in the same old path of its fathers without interference. The Bible addresses all such persons as scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites, who pay tithe ofmint, anise,andcumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy and faith.. And instead of being the honest men I have before declared them to be, they were the veriest imposters that ever practiced on mankind. Stand by those principles, be true to them on all occasions, in all places, against all foes, and at whatever cost. A worship that can be conducted by persons who refuse to give shelter to the houseless, to give bread to the hungry, clothing to the naked, and who enjoin obedience to a law forbidding these acts of mercy, is a curse, not a blessing to mankind. The oath of any two villains is sufficient, under this hell-black enactment, to send the most pious and exemplary black man into the remorseless jaws of slavery! Industry-leading accurate legal transcription to ensure you dont miss a statement. The flesh-mongers gather up their victims by dozens, and drive them, chained, to the general depot at Baltimore. I repeat, I am glad this is so. What, to the American Slave, Is Your welcome anything! But, while the river may not be turned aside, it may dry up, and leave nothing behind but the withered branch, and the unsightly rock, to howl in the abyss-sweeping wind, the sad tale of departed glory. My subject, then fellow-citizens, is AMERICAN SLAVERY. The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. That people contented themselves under the shadow of Abrahams great name, while they repudiated the deeds which made his name great. For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. You hurl your anathemas at the crowned headed tyrants of Russia and Austria, and pride yourselves on your Democratic institutions, while you yourselves consent to be the meretoolsand body-guardsof the tyrants of Virginia and Carolina. I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! But, besides general considerations, there were peculiar circumstances which make the advent of this republic an event of special attractiveness. Frederick Douglass Read the full transcript here. The population of the country, at the time, stood at the insignificant number of three millions. What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? - Wikipedia Frederick Douglass thought that such rationalizations were crap, and he had the right to think so. WebBoth anniversaries remind us that the fight for independence and equality did not end in the 18th century - a theme highlighted in Douglass speech. What, am I to argue that it is wrong to make men brutes, to rob them of their liberty, to work them without wages, to keep them ignorant of their relations to their fellow men, to beat them with sticks, to flay their flesh with the lash, to load their limbs with irons, to hunt them with dogs, to sell them at auction, to sunder their families, to knock out their teeth, to burn their flesh, to starve them into obedience and submission to their masters? What is this but the acknowledgement that the slave is a moral, intellectual and responsible being? These men were generally well dressed men, and very captivating in their manners. R. R. Raymond) on the platform, are shining examples; and let me say further, that upon these men lies the duty to inspire our ranks with high religious faith and zeal, and to cheer us on in the great mission of the slaves redemption from his chains. Easily integrate Rev using our robust APIs to start building your product quickly. be warned! They felt themselves the victims of grievous wrongs, wholly incurable in their colonial capacity. 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, There is not time now to argue the constitutional question at length nor have I the ability to discuss it as it ought to be discussed. But I differ from those who charge this baseness on the framers of the Constitution of the United States. The slaveholders themselves acknowledge it in the enactment of laws for their government. They strip the love of God of its beauty, and leave the throng of religion a huge, horrible, repulsive form. Tell me citizens, WHERE, under the sun, you can witness a spectacle more fiendish and shocking. This, for the purpose of this celebration, is the 4th of July. 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. How should I look today, in the presence of Americans, dividing, and subdividing a discourse, to show that men have a natural right to freedom? Noble men may be found, scattered all over these Northern States, of whom Henry Ward Beecher of Brooklyn, Samuel J. The point from which I am compelled to view them is not, certainly, the most favorable; and yet I cannot contemplate their great deeds with less than admiration. What, then, remains to be argued? They have all been taught in your common schools, narrated at your firesides, unfolded from your pulpits, and thundered from your legislative halls, and are as familiar to you as household words. The existence of slavery in this country brands your republicanism as a sham, your humanity as a base pretence, and your Christianity as a lie. The time was when such could be done. Your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless, your shouts of Liberty and equality, hallow mocked, your prayers and hymns your sermons and Thanksgivings with all your religious parade in solemnity are to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, a thin veil to cover up crimes, which would disgrace a nation of savages. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade, and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. Is slavery among them? 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. WebFrederick Douglass, July 5, 1852 INTRODUCTION (Exordium) 1. 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. Travel through South America. You have no right to enjoy a childs share in the labor of your fathers, unless your children are to be blest by your labors. My spirit wearies of such blasphemy; and how such men can be supported, as the standing types and representatives of Jesus Christ, is a mystery which I leave others to penetrate. Its the news, without the news. There, the question of emancipation was a high religious question. The style and title of your sovereign people (in which you now glory) was not then born. 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! Frederick Douglass All Rights Reserved. It is the birthday of your National Independence, and of your political freedom. This, however, did not answer the purpose. It is carried on in all the large towns and cities in one-half of this confederacy; and millions are pocketed every year, by dealers in this horrid traffic. What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? Frederick Douglass They who did so were accounted in their day, plotters of mischief, agitators and rebels, dangerous men. Frederick Douglass: (10:31) Do you mean citizens to mock me by asking me to speak today? Your President, your Secretary of State, ourlords,nobles, and ecclesiastics, enforce, as a duty you owe to your free and glorious country, and to your God, that you do this accursed thing. Ethiopia shall stretch out her hand unto God. In the fervent aspirations of William Lloyd Garrison, I say, and let every heart join in saying it: Th oppressd shall vilely bend the knee. In a case like that, the dumb might eloquently speak. Ex-Senator Benton tells us that the price of men was never higher than now. that it should be so; yet so it is. Morel is right that the 1876 speech by Frederick Douglass is remarkable and masterful. Here you will see men and women reared like swine for the market. When the dogs in your street, when the fowls of the air, when the cattle on your hills, when the fish of the sea and the reptiles that crawl shall be unable to distinguish the slave from a brute, then I will argue with you that the slave is a man. Fellow-citizens; above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the mournful wail of millions! On the 2d of July, 1776, the old Continental Congress, to the dismay of the lovers of ease, and the worshipers of property, clothed that dreadful idea with all the authority of national sanction. When the dogs in your streets, when the fowls of the air, when the cattle on your hills, when the fish of the sea, and the reptiles that crawl, shall be unable to distinguish the slave from a brute, thenwill I argue with you that the slave is a man! 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. Is it that slavery is not divine; that God did not establish it; that our doctors of divinity are mistaken? Your fathers staked their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor, on the cause of their country. Speech 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. These wretched people are to be sold singly, or in lots, to suit purchasers. 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. They, that can, may. At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. In speaking of the American church, however, let it be distinctly understood that I mean the great mass of the religious organizations of our land. I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. But I admit, where all is plain, there is nothing to be argued. The coming into being of a nation, in any circumstances, is an interesting event. Copyright 2023 Interactive One, LLC. Need I tell you that the Jews are not the only people who built the tombs of the prophets, and garnished the sepulchres of the righteous? On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass gave a speech at an Independence Day celebration organized by the Rochester Ladies Anti-Slavery Society. Make your content more accessible to people with disabilities. who stand as the very lights of the church, have shamelessly given the sanction of religion and the Bible to the whole slave system. Yet they persevered. will be found by Americans. I shall not be charged with slandering Americans, if I say I think the American side of any question may be safely left in American hands. But the church of this country is not only indifferent to the wrongs of the slave, it actually takes sides with the oppressors. No! Towards the end of What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? On the other hand it will be found to contain principles and purposes, entirely hostile to the existence of slavery. The manhood of the slave is conceded. Extend your content reach and maximize your engagement rates. Seventy-six years, though a good old age for a man, is but a mere speck in the life of a nation. Africa must rise and put on her yet unwoven garment. To arrest it, to put an end to it, this nation keeps a squadron, at immense cost, on the coast of Africa.