"The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro"

Right when I start to read this, it strikes me that when Douglass starts the main part of his speech, after confessing to the audience about how nervous he is, he starts to talk about what the speech is really about; the Fourth of July. The most revealing part about the beginning of the speech is that he says “It is the birth day of your National Independence, and of your political freedom” (Douglass 4). The fact that he replaces the word “our” with “your” is a very obvious and strong reminder of how separated the country was at that time, especially between whites and blacks. This separation of himself from the government very much reminds me of Henry David Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience because Thoreau said “I cannot for an instant recognize that political organization as my government which is the slave’s government also” (Thoreau 7). Thoreau was very much in opposition to the institution of slavery in this time of American history and was jailed once because he refused to pay his taxes because he did not see the government as his own government. Later, he says “I am glad, fellow citizens, that your nation is so young” which shows that he sees the people he is addressing, mostly people who do not support slavery, as fellow citizens, but then immediately contrasts that with the fact that he still does not see the nation as his, but theirs (Douglass 4). He goes on to explain why he is glad that America is still young; it’s still impressionable, still able to be shifted in the right direction, comparing it to nature saying “Great streams are not easily turned channels, worn deep in the course of ages” (Douglass 4). This connection to nature is a very easy connection to make to Thoreau because he, like many other Transcendentalists, loved to write about nature. Douglass then goes on to compare his feelings about government to how the fathers of the audience felt, that the government (British) was unjust in its laws and it was unneeded. By making it personal, I think that Douglass brought the point “home” more efficiently.


Douglass, Frederick. "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro by Frederick Douglass."History Is A Weapon. Web. 08 Feb. 2012.


Thoeau, Henry David. "Thoreau's Civil Disobedience - 1." The Thoreau Reader. Web. 08 Feb. 2012.