After listening to Douglass’s speech, i believe his argument he is trying to convey is that the Fourth of July cannot possibly be celebrated by black people because it is a mockery towards them while is it a victory for white people.

Quote:

“This, for the purpose of this celebration, is the 4th of July. It is the birthday of your National Independence, and of your political freedom.” (Douglass 1).

Paraphrase: The 4th of July is a celebration of the whites independence and freedom.

Response: Douglass emphasizes before this quote briefly that he has a lot to say and to not be surprised in a sense because what he is going to explain is how different he is from them. This leads into this quote which sets the stage in a way for the rest of the speech. He wants them to know this American celebration is truly for them and not for him.

Quote 2: “I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common.—The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought life and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn.” (Douglass 7).

Paraphrase: Douglass isn’t apart of this celebration. He is different from them. They both don’t share the same equal treatment therefore making the 4th of July theirs and not his. They can celebrate while he grieves over it.

Response : He talks about slavery indirectly by using the quote about the sunlight to explain that while white people were most likely living happy and joyous, black people were having death brung upon them. The greatness that their fathers brung upon them was just not shared with black people. They were treated as less than the whites. Knowing all of this it causes great distance is connection with the two races which is why he emphasizes the “immeasurable distance”. They are not the same. They have not both shared the same experiences. How can Douglass possibly celebrate his country if all he has remembered was pain and misery growing up being thrown into slavery. As he quotes, when white people “rejoice” on their special day, Douglass must “mourn” because of the suffering and losses his people have faced.