Frederick Douglass was born into slavery, so he never knew the exact date of his birth, only that it occurred sometime in February 1818. This means that Douglass was only thirty-four years old when he delivered one of the greatest political speeches in American history.
It was July 5, 1852. The setting was Rochester, New York’s grand Corinthian Hall, and the occasion was a celebration of American Independence. Speaking that day before the mostly white audience gathered under the auspices of the Rochester Ladies Anti-Slavery Society, Douglass delivered a Fourth of July oration that still has much to teach us today.
Don’t miss the big stories in constitutional law–from Damon Root and Reason.
Douglass began his speech by singing the praises of the American Revolution, which he described as a bold and righteous cause embraced by those who “had not adopted the fashionable idea of [their] day, of the infallibility of government, and the absolute character of its acts.” Those founding patriots “were accounted in their day plotters of mischief, agitators and rebels, dangerous men,” he observed. “They were peace men; but they preferred revolution to peaceful submission to bondage.” The audience surely realized that Douglass could have been describing a radical abolitionist such as himself.
Douglass then turned to the Declaration of Independence, whose seventy-sixth birthday was at hand. The principles of liberty and equality “contained in that instrument are saving principles,” Douglass argued. “Stand by those principles,” he urged the crowd, “be true to them on all occasions, in all places, against all foes, and at whatever cost.”
But then, having expressed his admiration for the founders, the tone of his speech changed to one of reproach. “What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence,” Douglass demanded of his mostly white audience. “Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us?”
In fact, he answered, “the rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity, and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me.” According to Douglass, “This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn.”
Douglass then unleashed an attack on American slavery that remains largely unrivaled in terms of both its eloquence and effectiveness. “In the name of humanity which is outraged, in the name of liberty which is fettered, in the name of the constitution and the Bible which are disregarded and trampled upon,” Douglass thundered, he would “dare to call into question and to denounce, with all the emphasis I can command, everything that serves to perpetuate slavery—the great sin and shame of America.”
Notice Douglass’ reference to the U.S. Constitution being “disregarded and trampled upon” by slavery. Unlike his one-time abolitionist mentor William Lloyd Garrison—who famously denounced the Constitution as a proslavery “covenant with death and an agreement with Hell”—Douglass by 1852 had come to view the Constitution as an indispensable weapon in the antislavery arsenal. “Interpreted as it ought to be interpreted,” Douglass argued in his Fourth of July oration, “the Constitution is a glorious liberty document.” Examine its plain terms, he said, and “it will be found to contain principles and purposes, entirely hostile to the existence of slavery.”
Earlier in the speech, when Douglass implored his audience to “be true” to the principles contained in the Declaration of Independence, he had also implicitly rebuked the United States for straying so far from those principles when it came to the issue of slavery. How could a nation founded on the idea that “all Men are created equal,” in other words, simultaneously tolerate a system of human bondage?
Douglass now broadened that rebuke to include those who failed to recognize—or refused to utilize—the Constitution’s potent antislavery properties. How could a nation whose Constitution was explicitly written to “secure the Blessings of Liberty” simultaneously countenance the forcible enslavement of millions?
Douglass’ message that day was as clear as it was severe: The United States had betrayed its founding principles.
Fortunately, America would have Douglass around to light the way to something better. In the years ahead, he would fight the good fight, eventually helping to leave his country a freer place than it was before.
And Douglass did so, it is worth noting, by championing the same founding principles that he celebrated in his Fourth of July oration. In this way, as in many others, Douglass set an example for all of us to follow, not only on Independence Day, but on every day.
Odds & Ends: What’s on Your Fourth of July Playlist?
For my money, the single best Fourth of July song is the Dave Alvin-penned “4th of July,” as performed by the great L.A. punk band X. You can find the song on X’s underrated 1987 record See How We Are. There’s also a more stripped-down version of the song kicking around. That one was recorded as a demo by X vocalist/bassist (and Road House co-star!) John Doe, so it lacks the studio polish of the album version, though the heart and soul of the tune come through just fine. Give the song a listen while you’re out there waving the flag this weekend. And if you’ve got any Fourth of July song recommendations of your own to share, please do.
