Within his speech, Fredrick Douglass expresses that the celebrations taken place in his time period are nothing but hypocritically and truly one-sided. He states his people, meaning African Americans are shunned from this day (4th of July) due to the display of this country’s history. He states the country was formed by the British Whites, but built on the backbones of African Americans. The Fourth of July is supposed to be a day of celebration, in remembrance of this country’s independence. “…your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless…” Douglass means our Independence Day is only for those who belong to the rich social status, and not for those who aided in building this country.