I am not included within the pales of this glorious anniversary. We are called upon to prove that we are men. The Best Speech-to-Text Solution for Your Business Learn how Rev fits into your businesses workflow. Read its preamble, consider its purposes. All this we affirm to be true of the popular church, and the popular worship of our land and nation a religion, a church, and a worship which, on the authority of inspired wisdom, we pronounce to be an abomination in the sight of God. Sign up for NewsOne's email newsletter! Even Mammon seems to have quitted his grasp on this day. They are plain, common-sense rules, such as you and I, and all of us, can understand and apply, without having passed years in the study of law. Stand by those principles, be true to them on all occasions, in all places, against all foes, and at whatever cost. Your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless, your shouts of Liberty and equality, hallow mocked, your prayers and hymns your sermons and Thanksgivings with all your religious parade in solemnity are to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, a thin veil to cover up crimes, which would disgrace a nation of savages. Racist Ex-University Of Kentucky 'Karen' Sophia Rosing Is Charged For Assaulting Black Student. You shed tears over fallen Hungary, and make the sad story of her wrongs the theme of your poets, statesmen and orators, till your gallant sons are ready to fly to arms to vindicate her cause against her oppressors; but, in regard to the ten thousand wrongs of the American slave, you would enforce the strictest silence, and would hail him as an enemy of the nation who dares to make those wrongs the subject of public discourse! How circumspect, exact and proportionate were all their movements! Go search where you will. weeping, as she thinks of the mother from whom she has been torn! Americans! WebCelebrating 200 years of Frederick Douglass. Must I argue that a system thus marked with blood, and stained with pollution, iswrong? The Sharps, the Clarksons, the Wilberforces, the Buxtons, and Burchells and the Knibbs, were alike famous for their piety, and for their philanthropy. I was born amid such sights and scenes. Did this law concern the mint, anise, and cumin abridge the right to sing psalms, to partake of the sacrament, or to engage in any of the ceremonies of religion, it would be smitten by the thunder of a thousand pulpits. The iron shoe, and crippled foot of China must be seen, in contrast with nature. It is admitted in the fact that Southern statute books are covered with enactments forbidding under severe fines and penalties, the teaching of the slave to read and write. I remember, also, that, as a people, Americans are remarkably familiar with all facts which make in their own favor. The propriety of the nation must be startled. Would you persuade more and rebuke less? They are a trouble to me; I am weary to bear them; and when ye spread forth your hands I will hide mine eyes from you. There was, at that time, a grand slave mart kept at the head of Pratt Street, by Austin Woldfolk. But I fancy, I hear some of my audience say it is just in this circumstance that you and your brother abolitionists fail to make a favorable impression upon the public mind. This is a primary source reading analysis of Frederick Douglass' famous speech. While drawing encouragement from the Declaration of Independence, the great principles it contains, and the genius of American Institutions, my spirit is also cheered by the obvious tendencies of the age. You have no right to enjoy a childs share in the labor of your fathers, unless your children are to be blest by your labors. Fellow-citizens; above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the mournful wail of millions! Morel is right that the 1876 speech by Frederick Douglass is remarkable and masterful. You know what is a swine-drover? See this drove sold and separated forever; and never forget the deep, sad sobs that arose from that scattered multitude. When Douglass delivered his famous The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro address before an audience at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York, on July 5, During Must I argue the wrongfulness of slavery? Her speed had faltered under the weight of her child and her chains! Standing with God and the crushed and bleeding slave on this occasion, I will, in the name of humanity which is outraged, in the name of liberty which is fettered, in the name of the constitution and the Bible, which are disregarded and trampled upon, dare to call in question and to denounce, with all the emphasis I can command, everything that serves to perpetuate slavery the great sin and shame of America! As with rivers so with nations. Frederick Douglass: (08:30) I, therefore, leave off where I began, with hope. Though a biting Allow me to say, in conclusion, notwithstanding the dark picture I have this day presented of the state of the nation, I do not despair of this country. There I see the tenderest ties ruthlessly broken, to gratify the lust, caprice and rapacity of the buyers and sellers of men. There is consolation in the thought that America is young. All Rights Reserved. The causes which led to the separation of the colonies from the British crown have never lacked for a tongue. here lies the merit, and the one which, of all others, seems unfashionable in our day. Oppression makes a wise man mad. Fair use is permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. had I the ability, and could I reach the nations ear, I would, to-day, pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, This truth is not a doubtful one. Frederick Douglass: (03:37) With them, nothing was settled that was not right. He can bring no witnesses for himself. Whether we turn to the declarations of the past, or to the professions of the present, the conduct of the nation seems equally hideous and revolting. Frederick Douglass thought that such rationalizations were crap, and he had the right to think so. In glaring violation of justice, in shameless disregard of the forms of administering law, in cunning arrangement to entrap the defenseless, and in diabolical intent, this Fugitive Slave Law stands alone in the annals of tyrannical legislation. For it is not light that is needed, but fire. I will show you a man-drover. Standing, there, identified with the American bondman, making his wrongs mine, I do not hesitate to declare, with all my soul, that the character and conduct of this nation never looked blacker to me than on this 4th of July! You declare, before the world, and are understood by the world to declare, that you hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal; and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; and that, among these are, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and yet, you hold securely, in a bondage which, according to your own Thomas Jefferson, is worse than ages of that which your fathers rose in rebellion to oppose, aseventh partof the inhabitants of your country. They believed in order; but not in the order of tyranny. But neither their familiar faces, nor the perfect gage I think I have of Corinthian Hall, seems to free me from embarrassment. Mr. President, Friends and Fellow Citizens: He who In a final celebratory post for Black History Month 2023, it is worth returning to the 1883 Douglass Banquet. I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! YOUR HANDS ARE FULL OF BLOOD; cease to do evil, learn to do well; seek judgment; relieve the oppressed; judge for the fatherless; plead for the widow., The American church is guilty, when viewed in connection with what it is doing to uphold slavery; but it is superlatively guilty when viewed in connection with its ability to abolish slavery. And the lame man leap as an heart, but such is not the case. At some future period I will gladly avail myself of an opportunity to give this subject a full and fair discussion. It was, Milloy continued, a critique of a nation that claimed to hold dear the principles of freedom, justice and equality even as it enslaved black people.. I trust, however, that mine will not be so considered. Behold the practical operation of this internal slave-trade, the American slave-trade, sustained by American politics and America religion. On July 5, 1852, eminent African American abolitionist Frederick Douglass delivered a brilliant speech to nearly six hundred people filling Rochester, New Yorks Corinthian Hall, as organized by the Rochester Ladies Anti-Slavery Sewing Society. Go where you may, search where you will, roam through all the monarchies and despotisms of the old world, travel through South America, search out every abuse, and when you have found the last, lay your facts by the side of the everyday practices of this nation, and you will say with me, that, for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade, and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. With little experience and with less learning, I have been able to throw my thoughts hastily and imperfectly together; and Prayers are made, hymns are sung, and sermons are preached in honor of this day; while the quick martial tramp of a great and multitudinous nation, echoed back by all the hills, valleys and mountains of a vast continent, bespeak the occasion one of thrilling and universal interest a nations jubilee. I answer: a day that reveals to him more than all other days of the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. who stand as the very lights of the church, have shamelessly given the sanction of religion and the Bible to the whole slave system. Mark them! Then would my task be light, and my burden easy and delightful. I do not hesitate to declare with all my soul that the character and conduct of this nation never looked blacker to me than on this 4th of July. The Lords of Buffalo, the Springs of New York, the Lathrops of Auburn, the Coxes and Spencers of Brooklyn, the Gannets and Sharps of Boston, the Deweys of Washington, and other great religious lights of the land have, in utter denial of the authority ofHimby whom they professed to be called to the ministry, deliberately taught us, against the example or the Hebrews and against the remonstrance of the Apostles, they teachthat we ought to obey mans law before the law of God. Senator Berrien tell us that the Constitution is the fundamental law, that which controls all others. But, your fathers, who had not adopted the fashionable idea of this day, of the infallibility of government, and the absolute character of its acts, presumed to differ from the home government in respect to the wisdom and the justice of some of those burdens and restraints. May he not hope that high lessons of wisdom, of justice and of truth, will yet give direction to her destiny? Ex-Vice-President Dallas tells us that the Constitution is an object to which no American mind can be too attentive, and no American heart too devoted. For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. Ethiopia shall stretch out her hand unto God. In the fervent aspirations of William Lloyd Garrison, I say, and let every heart join in saying it: Th oppressd shall vilely bend the knee. Section 107, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. In the deep still darkness of midnight, I have been often aroused by the dead heavy footsteps, and the piteous cries of the chained gangs that passed our door. Your fathers have lived, died, and have done their work, and have done much of it well. To do so would be to make myself ridiculous and to offer an insult to your understanding. Three score years and ten is the allotted time for individual men; but nations number their years by thousands. But I differ from those who charge this baseness on the framers of the Constitution of the United States. They seized upon eternal principles, and set a glorious example in their defense. speech was delivered on July 5, 1852 as an address to the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society in Rochester, New York. Before you read the speech you can follow these links to learn more about Douglasss life and the evolution of his thought in this period. Short bio of Frederick Douglass The Frederick Douglass Papers Library of Congress Create a better, more engaging experience for every student. In the summer of 2020, the U.S. commemorated Independence Day amid nationwide They loved their country better than their own private interests; and, though this is not the highest form of human excellence, all will concede that it is a rare virtue, and that when it is exhibited, it ought to command respect. There is blasphemy in the thought. I take this law to be one of the grossest infringements of Christian Liberty, and, if the churches and ministers of our country were not stupidly blind, or most wickedly indifferent, they, too, would so regard it. And it would go hard with that politician who presumed to solicit the votes of the people without inscribing this motto on his banner. WebOn December 3, 1860, Frederick Douglass and a group of fellow abolitionists met at the Tremont Temple Baptist Church in Boston for a discussion centered around the following The cause of liberty may be stabbed by the men who glory in the deeds of your fathers. Your fathers were wise men, and if they did not go mad, they became restive under this treatment. I do not remember ever to have appeared as a speaker before any assembly more shrinkingly, nor with greater distrust of my ability, than I do this day. Frederick Douglass, circa 1879. Difference between Rittenhouse and McMichael-Bryan verdicts? Frederick Douglass delivered his famous speech What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? in 1852, drawing parallels between the Revolutionary War and the fight to abolish slavery. What to the Slave is the 4th of July? Speech Transcript by Frederick Douglass, Congressional Testimony & Hearing Transcripts. Industry-leading accurate legal transcription to ensure you dont miss a statement. There are forces in operation, which must inevitably work the downfall of slavery. The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. Intelligence is penetrating the darkest corners of the globe. Space is comparatively annihilated. But the church of this country is not only indifferent to the wrongs of the slave, it actually takes sides with the oppressors. Many of its most eloquent Divines. It is the birthday of your National Independence, and of your political freedom. The oath of any two villains is sufficient, under this hell-black enactment, to send the most pious and exemplary black man into the remorseless jaws of slavery! WebOn July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass gave a keynote address at an Independence Day celebration and asked, What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? Douglass was a powerful The slaveholders themselves acknowledge it in the enactment of laws for their government. For black men there are neither law, justice, humanity, not religion. Fully appreciating the hardship to be encountered, firmly believing in the right of their cause, honorably inviting the scrutiny of an on-looking world, reverently appealing to heaven to attest their sincerity, soundly comprehending the solemn responsibility they were about to assume, wisely measuring the terrible odds against them, your fathers, the fathers of this republic, did, most deliberately, under the inspiration of a glorious patriotism, and with a sublime faith in the great principles of justice and freedom, lay deep the corner-stone of the national superstructure, which has risen and still rises in grandeur around you. I will use the severest language I can command. Let this damning fact be perpetually told. They who did so were accounted in their day, plotters of mischief, agitators and rebels, dangerous men. Fellow-citizens! Now, take the Constitution according to its plain reading, and I defy the presentation of a single pro-slavery clause in it. WebFrederick Douglass, Fifth of July speech (1852) O! There is not a man beneath the canopy of heaven, who does not know that slavery is wrong for him. In the language of Isaiah, the American church might be well addressed, Bring no more vain ablations; incense is an abomination unto me: the new moons and Sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity even the solemn meeting. Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. You glory in your refinement and your universal education yet you maintain a system as barbarous and dreadful as ever stained the character of a nation a system begun in avarice, supported in pride, and perpetuated in cruelty. It was, Milloy continued, a critique of a nation that claimed to hold dear the principles of freedom, justice and equality even as it enslaved black people.. Ever ready to drink, to treat, and to gamble. WATCH VIDEO: Should Black Americans Celebrate Independence Day? From police shootings to the wage gap to crippling stereotypes (and everything in between), there are too many parallels today with what Douglass described in his speech to white America, including this relevant line: This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. The fate of many a slave has depended upon the turn of a single card; and many a child has been snatched from the arms of its mother by bargains arranged in a state of brutal drunkenness. Speech-to-Text API for pre-recorded audio, powered by the worlds leading speech recognition engine. Build with the best speech-to-text APIs around. Read the full text below of the sage words from one of the greatest orators of all time. These wretched people are to be sold singly, or in lots, to suit purchasers. Must I argue the wrongfulness of slavery? Is it that slavery is not divine; that God did not establish it; that our doctors of divinity are mistaken? On what branch of the subject do the people of this country need light? we wept when we remembered Zion. But, to proceed. Discover why Rev is the #1 speech-to-text service in the world. In speaking of the American church, however, let it be distinctly understood that I mean the great mass of the religious organizations of our land. Your cause would be much more likely to succeed. I doubt if there be another nation on the globe, having the brass and the baseness to put such a law on the statute-book. I repeat, I am glad this is so. Web" was a speech delivered by Frederick Douglass on July 5, 1852, at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York, at a meeting organized by the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery My subject, then fellow-citizens, is AMERICAN SLAVERY. R. R. Raymond) on the platform, are shining examples; and let me say further, that upon these men lies the duty to inspire our ranks with high religious faith and zeal, and to cheer us on in the great mission of the slaves redemption from his chains. Then, I dare to affirm, notwithstanding all I have said before, your fathers stooped, basely stooped. From the Potomac to the Delaware was a journey of many days. There is not a nation of the earth, guilty of practices, more shocking and bloody than are the people of these United States at this very hour. "What to the Slave is the 4th of July?" What point in the anti-slavery creed would you have me argue? By that act, Mason and Dixons line has been obliterated; New York has become as Virginia; and the power to hold, hunt, and sell men, women, and children as slaves remains no longer a mere state institution, but is now an institution of the whole United States. Let the religious press, the pulpit, the Sunday school, the conference meeting, the great ecclesiastical, missionary, Bible and tract associations of the land array their immense powers against slavery and slave-holding; and the whole system of crime and blood would be scattered to the winds; and that they do not do this involves them in the most awful responsibility of which the mind can conceive. The Fugitive SlaveLawmakes mercy to them a crime; and bribes the judge who tries them. I take it, therefore, that it is not presumption in a private citizen to form an opinion of that instrument. Oceans no longer divide, but link nations together. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. The arm of commerce has borne away the gates of the strong city. be warned! Frederick Douglass: (02:57) But, such is not the state of the case. Translated on-screen subtitles for videos. Its deeply moving to hear Douglass defend the honor of Black soldiers in his 1863 speech, The Proclamation And a Negro Army, read by Colman Domingo, while his final speech, 1894s Lessons of the Hour, lays out the crucial steps toward achieving equality that have yet to be followed today.The actor selected to read these words is A John Knox would be seen at every church door, and heard from every pulpit, and Fillmore would have no more quarter than was shown by Knox, to the beautiful, but treacherous queen Mary of Scotland. 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 cleave to the roof of my mouth. Without this right, the liberty of an American citizen would be as insecure as that of a Frenchman. Web"The Lessons of the Hour" Speech by Frederick Douglass, January 9, 1894 Friends and Fellow Citizens : No man should come before an audience like the one by whose presence I am now honored, without a noble object and a fixed and earnest purpose. That which is inhuman, cannot be divine! The din of business, too, is hushed. You have no right to wear out and waste the hard-earned fame of your fathers to cover your indolence. Pride and patriotism, not less than gratitude, prompt you to celebrate and to hold it in perpetual remembrance. Banners and pennants wave exultingly on the breeze. The flesh-mongers gather up their victims by dozens, and drive them, chained, to the general depot at Baltimore. Frederick Douglass: (04:09) Frederick Douglass: (07:35) They went so far in their excitement as to pronounce the measures of government unjust, unreasonable, and oppressive, and altogether such as ought not to be quietly submitted to. You have already declared it. From police shootings to the wage gap to crippling stereotypes (and everything in between), there are too many parallels today with what Douglass described in his speech to white America, including this relevant line.