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Source analysis: What to the slave is the Fourth of July?

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The speech "What to the slave is the Fourth of July?" was delivered by Frederick Douglass on July 5, 1852, in Rochester, New York. In the mid-nineteenth century, Fourth of July orations were typically celebratory speeches that glorified the American Revolution and praised the ideals of liberty and independence. In a period of growing tensions over slavery, Douglass used the occasion to highlight the contradiction of celebrating freedom in a country that enslaved millions of African American people.

When historians study a text, they consider how events in the author's life may have shaped the author's point of view. Match each piece of context from Douglass's background to the corresponding detail about Douglass's speech.

Douglass wanted to use his speech to increase support for the antislavery movement.

Douglass was invited to speak because he was a famous writer and orator.

Douglass wanted to disprove ideas about the intellectual inferiority of African American individuals.

Douglass provided a firsthand account of the brutality of slavery.

Douglass's background

Douglass's speech

Douglass was born into slavery in 1818. He was separated from his family at age 6, when he was sent to work on Wye House Plantation.

Enslaved people were not taught to read and write, although Douglass secretly taught himself.

After escaping from slavery in 1838, Douglass moved to Massachusetts and became a leader in the abolition movement.

Douglass published his first autobiography in 1845, which soon became a bestseller. He traveled throughout the U.S. and to Britain and Ireland to give speeches.

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