ResistanceJuly 5, 1852
"What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?"
Frederick Douglass delivers the most searing abolitionist speech of the era, exposing the hypocrisy of celebrating liberty in a slaveholding nation.
Key figures
Resources
Speeches·2
Speech· Primary
"What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" — full text
Frederick Douglass
The complete text of Douglass's July 5, 1852 address, with historical context.
Speech· Primary
What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? (annotated text)
Frederick Douglass
Full annotated text of the speech for classroom use.
The web
Connections to other moments, systems, and investigations — the links rarely drawn together.
- part of·ThreadAbolitionism
The most famous abolitionist speech: a demand that the nation live up to the Declaration it celebrated.
- contradicts·ThreadChattel Slavery
Douglass exposed the contradiction of a republic that proclaimed liberty while defining Black people as property.