Famous Speeches: Frederick Douglass' "The Hypocrisy of American Slavery"

Famous Speeches: Frederick Douglass' "The Hypocrisy of American Slavery" By Adapted by Newsela staff on 03.29.16 Word Count 1,519 A portrait of Frederick Douglass. Photo: George Kendall Warren/National Archives and Records Administration Editor's Note: Frederick Douglass was born in Maryland in 1818, the son of a slave woman and her white master. He became famous after writing his autobiography in 1845, where he described his escape from slavery. In 1852, he was invited to speak at a July Fourth ceremony in Rochester, New York. The audience was expecting a speech praising America's independence. Instead, Douglass harshly criticized the United States for its support of slavery. Fellow citizens, pardon me. I need to ask, why have I been invited to speak here today? What do I or other black people have to do with your national independence? Are we given freedom and justice in the Declaration of Independence? And am I supposed to tell you what benefits we have gained from your independence and express our gratitude for it? I wish to God, both for your sake and ours, that the answer was yes. Then my job would be easier and more pleasant. Who is so cold that a nation's sympathy could not warm him? Who is so stubborn and dead that he would not accept such priceless gifts? Who is so This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 1

boring and selfish that he would not celebrate a nation's anniversary, after he has been freed from slavery? I am not that man. No sooner would I do that, than a voiceless man might talk, or a hurt man might leap like a deer. But that is not the case. I say with sadness that we are separated by a wide gap. I am not included in this glorious anniversary! Your independence only shows the extreme distance between us. The blessings that you enjoy are not enjoyed by everyone. Your fathers left you a rich inheritance of justice, liberty, wealth, and independence. It is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought life and healing to you has brought lashes and death to me. This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, but I must mourn. To drag a man in chains into the temple of liberty, and ask him to celebrate with you, is inhuman. Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak today? If so, you are reenacting history. Let me warn you that it is dangerous to copy the example of the people of Babylon who built too close to heaven and were punished. Fellow citizens, above your national joy, I hear the mournful wails of millions. Their chains were heavy and terrible yesterday. Today, they have become even more unbearable. If I do forget, if I do not remember those bleeding children of sorrow this day, "may my right hand forget her cunning, and may my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth!" We must not forget the slaves and ignore what they have suffered. I would be accused before God and the world of treason. My subject, then, fellow citizens, is "American Slavery." I speak about it from the slave's point of view. I stand here with the American slave. I declare, with all my soul, that the character and behavior of this nation never looked blacker to me than on this Fourth of July. Whether we turn to the past or to the present, the behavior of the nation seems equally hideous and terrible. America lies about its past, lies about its present, and is committed to lying about the future. I stand with God and the crushed and bleeding slave. I stand here in the name of humanity, which is insulted; in the name of liberty, which is chained; in the name of the Constitution and the Bible. They are ignored and stepped on. I question and condemn everything that upholds slavery, the great sin and shame of America! "I will not conceal the truth. I will not excuse." I will use the harshest language I know. Yet I will not speak one word that any man, whose is not prejudiced or a slave-holder, will not say is true. But I think I hear some of my audience say that you and other Abolitionists do not make a good impression on people. If you argued more and criticized less, you would persuade more people, they say. Your cause would be much more likely to succeed. But, I say, what is the point of the anti-slavery creed you want me to argue? What do the people of this country need more information about? Must I have to prove that the slave is a man? That idea is accepted already, and nobody doubts it. The slave-holders themselves admit it by This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 2

their laws and admit it when they punish disobedience by the slave. There are 72 crimes in the State of Virginia, which, if committed by a black man, are punished by death. For white people, only two of them are punished by death These laws recognize that the slave is a moral, intelligent, and responsible human being. Southern law books set terrible punishments for anyone who teaches slaves to read and write. Point to any similar laws about animals. If you can find any, then I may agree to argue that a slave is a person. For the present, it is enough to say that the Negro race is equal. We plow, plant, and reap. We use all kinds of mechanical tools. We erect houses, construct bridges, build ships, work in brass, iron, copper, silver, and gold. We read, write, and do mathematics. We work as clerks, merchants, and secretaries. We have among us lawyers, doctors, ministers, poets, authors, editors, and teachers. We do all the activities that other men do. We dig gold in California, capture the whale in the Pacific, feed sheep and cattle on the hillside, live, move, act, think, plan, live in families as husbands, wives, and children. And above all, we worship the Christian God, and look hopefully for life in heaven after death. Still, we must prove that we are men? Do you want me to argue that man must be free? That he is the rightful owner of his own body? You have already declared it. Must I argue the wrongfulness of slavery? Is that a question for Americans? Is it to be settled by the rules of logic and debate? Is it so hard to understand? How should I argue in front of Americans that men have a natural right to freedom? To do so would be to make myself ridiculous, and to insult your intelligence. There is not a man under heaven who does not know that slavery is wrong for him. What! Am I to argue that it is wrong to make men animals, to rob them of their liberty, to make them work without pay? Is it wrong to keep them ignorant, to beat them with sticks, to whip them, to put them in chains? Is it wrong to hunt them with dogs, to sell them at auction, to split apart their families, to knock out their teeth, to starve them into obedience to their masters? Must I argue that a system marked with blood is wrong? No, I will not. I have better use of my time and strength. What, then, is left to be argued? Is it that God did not create slavery? Who can make sense of such a statement? I cannot. The time for such argument is past. At a time like this, anger, not argument, is needed. Oh, had I the ability, and could I make the nation listen to me, I would today pour out a fiery stream of anger. For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle showers, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. The feeling of the nation must be stirred up; the conscience of the nation must be woken up; the good manners of the nation must be shocked. Its crimes against God and man must be shouted down. What does the Fourth of July mean to the American slave? I will answer that. It is a day that shows to him more than all other days of the year, the terrible injustice and cruelty to which he is the victim. To him your celebration is fake. You boast about your freedoms but they This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 3

are not holy. The greatness of your nation is just arrogance. Your celebrations are empty and heartless. Your shouts of liberty and equality are empty. Your prayers and hymns of thanks are meaningless. To the slave, they are a fraud and a lie. They are a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation of the earth who has done more shocking and bloody things than the United States at this very hour. Go search wherever you want. Roam through all the kingdoms of the world. Visit the cruel countries of the Old World, travel through South America. When you have found every example of cruel and violent treatment, compare them to this nation. Then you will say with me that, for inhumanity and falseness, America has no rival. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 4

Quiz 1 Based on information in the following excerpt, which of these statements is TRUE? I say with sadness that we are separated by a wide gap. I am not included in this glorious anniversary! Your independence only shows the extreme distance between us. The blessings that you enjoy are not enjoyed by everyone. Your fathers left you a rich inheritance of justice, liberty, wealth, and independence. It is shared by you, not by me. People are not treated equally by their country. The speaker is happy to celebrate an anniversary. Some people have parents with a lot of money. The speaker is many miles away from his audience. 2 Which of these sentences BEST shows that the speaker feels connected to the suffering of people in slavery? I need to ask, why have I been invited to speak here today? I stand with God and the crushed and bleeding slave. If you argued more and criticized less, you would persuade more people, they say. How should I argue in front of Americans that men have a natural right to freedom? 3 Read the second-to-last paragraph of the speech. What is the main idea of this paragraph? The Fourth of July honors the history of people who were once enslaved in the U.S. The Fourth of July makes enslaved people aware of the value of freedom and equality. The Fourth of July is especially meaningful to people whose ancestors were enslaved. The Fourth of July seems like a pointless and cruel holiday to enslaved people. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 5

4 Which statement BEST summarizes the main idea of the entire speech? Slavery causes suffering, even if most people do not realize it. Slavery is brutal and against the ideas that America says it values. No one should celebrate U.S. holidays as long as slavery exits. No one can understand slavery unless they have experienced it. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 6

Answer Key 1 Based on information in the following excerpt, which of these statements is TRUE? I say with sadness that we are separated by a wide gap. I am not included in this glorious anniversary! Your independence only shows the extreme distance between us. The blessings that you enjoy are not enjoyed by everyone. Your fathers left you a rich inheritance of justice, liberty, wealth, and independence. It is shared by you, not by me. People are not treated equally by their country. The speaker is happy to celebrate an anniversary. Some people have parents with a lot of money. The speaker is many miles away from his audience. 2 Which of these sentences BEST shows that the speaker feels connected to the suffering of people in slavery? I need to ask, why have I been invited to speak here today? I stand with God and the crushed and bleeding slave. If you argued more and criticized less, you would persuade more people, they say. How should I argue in front of Americans that men have a natural right to freedom? 3 Read the second-to-last paragraph of the speech. What is the main idea of this paragraph? The Fourth of July honors the history of people who were once enslaved in the U.S. The Fourth of July makes enslaved people aware of the value of freedom and equality. The Fourth of July is especially meaningful to people whose ancestors were enslaved. The Fourth of July seems like a pointless and cruel holiday to enslaved people. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 7

4 Which statement BEST summarizes the main idea of the entire speech? Slavery causes suffering, even if most people do not realize it. Slavery is brutal and against the ideas that America says it values. No one should celebrate U.S. holidays as long as slavery exits. No one can understand slavery unless they have experienced it. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 8