Fasttrack to America's Past
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Page 124
 Page 124 - Frederick Douglass Speaks for the Slaves

The reading selection

   This reading is condensed from a famous speech by Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave who became a key figure in the abolition movement.
 
   The speech was made in Rochester, New York, where Douglass ran his abolitionist newspaper, The North Star.  He was invited to speak for the city's Fourth of July celebrations in 1852.  His words are a stirring call for the nation to see the contrast between its ideals and the reality of slavery.
 
   The life of Douglass is one of the most remarkable in American history.  He left a riveting account of it in an autobiography that is available in most libraries.


The picture

   Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave who played a major role in ending slavery in the U.S.
 

Group discussion questions

   Douglass tells the people of Rochester that their celebration of liberty is not one he can join in, because slaves are denied their freedom.  He says that slavery is an outrage against humanity, the Constitution, and the Bible. 
   Further, he argues that the nation must be awakened by "biting ridicule," "fire," "thunder," and "earthquake."
 
   If anyone in the audience was expecting a polite praise of America's great accomplishments since 1776, they were surely disappointed.  Douglass declares "the character and conduct of this nation never looked blacker to me than on this Fourth of July."
   The great abolitionist delivers a searing indictment of the celebration as a "sham" and a "mockery" of the reality experienced by slaves. 

   Douglass does not deny that American ideals are high and noble.  Indeed, he says his task as a speaker would be light and delightful if those ideals were fully applied.  His speech is powerful because it contrasts those ideals, which were shared by him and his audience, with the fact that slavery was still widespread and accepted in many states.
   Douglass declares that "the hypocrisy of the nation must be exposed."  He is not calling for some new or strange ideas about liberty and justice.  He is calling on Americans to put their existing ideals into practice for everyone, including those held as slaves.






Copyright Notice

   Copyright 2018 by David Burns.  All rights reserved.  Illustrations and reading selections appearing in this work are taken from sources in the public domain and from private collections used by permission.  Sources include: the Dover Pictorial Archive, the Library of Congress, The National Archives, The Hart Publishing Co., Corel Corporation and its licensors, Nova Development Corporation and its licensors, and others.  Maps were created or adapted by the author using reference maps from the United States Geological Survey and Cartesia Software.  Please see the home page for this title for more information.