Responding to Douglass

Fredrick Douglas which was a freed slave was able to give a speech at an event celebrating the Declaration Of Independence. In his speech Douglas talks about slavery and about the Douglas discusses are the dehumanizations of these slaves and the injustices they had to go through on a daily. He also discussed that the slaves demand their freedom. He discussed the cruel things that were going on and all of the violence’s that slaves had to partake, he made his point clear. Douglas wanted Lincoln’s  support so he worked very hard to portray to Lincoln what was happening to he can have him on his side. In his speech Douglas stated “This Fourth of July is yours, not mine, You may rejoice, I must mourn.”. Here Douglas was stating that he can never rejoice on a day like the Fourth of July because his people still don’t have their independence, his people are still mourning and they are still facing injustices, so he believes there isn’t really independence. Furthermore, he says a very powerful saying and it is “What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July? “I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim.” Douglas explains that while Americans celebrate and rejoice the 4^th of July, the ret of the slaves are reminded of what they don’t have and they are reminded of how low in society they are, basically what they cannot have. This is very important and this basically summarizes the purpose of Douglas’s speech, the equality he trying to achieve for his people.