frederick douglass speech transcript

It is a religion for oppressors, tyrants, man-stealers, andthugs. Is it to be settled by the rules of logic and argumentation, as a matter beset with great difficulty, involving a doubtful application of the principle of justice, hard to be understood? And let me warn you that it is dangerous to copy the example of a nation whose crimes, lowering up to heaven, were thrown down by the breath of the Almighty, burying that nation in irrecoverable ruin! welcome atheism! But a still more inhuman, disgraceful, and scandalous state of things remains to be presented. 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. Her speed had faltered under the weight of her child and her chains! They perambulate the country, and crowd the highways of the nation, with droves of human stock. The task before me is one which requires much previous thought and study for its proper performance. Your broad republican domain is hunting ground formen. Community Reading: Frederick Douglass's "What May of Syracuse, and my esteemed friend (Rev. Mark them! It would, certainly, prove nothing, as to what part I might have taken, had I lived during the great controversy of 1776. 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. Yet they persevered. 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. Then would my task be light and my burden easy and delightful? A Plea for Free Speech in Boston (1860) | Constitution Center There are illustrations of it near and remote, ancient and modern. This home government, you know, although a considerable distance from your home, did, in the exercise of its parental prerogatives, impose upon its colonial children, such restraints, burdens and limitations, as, in its mature judgment, it deemed wise, right and proper. 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. Frederick Douglass's, What To the Slave Is the Fourth of It fetters your progress; it is the enemy of improvement, the deadly foe of education; it fosters pride; it breeds insolence; it promotes vice; it shelters crime; it is a curse to the earth that supports it; and yet, you cling to it, as if it were the sheet anchor of all your hopes. Extend your content reach and maximize your engagement rates. They were not the men to look back. Convert your audio or video into 99% accurate text by a professional. we wept when we remembered Zion. These men were generally well dressed men, and very captivating in their manners. your republican politics, not less than your republican religion, are flagrantly inconsistent. It saps the foundation of religion; it makes your name a hissing, and a bye-word to a mocking earth. I say it with a sad sense of disparity between us. Who can reason on such a proposition? The causes which led to the separation of the colonies from the British crown have never lacked for a tongue. They succeeded; and to-day you reap the fruits of their success. who stand as the very lights of the church, have shamelessly given the sanction of religion and the Bible to the whole slave system. Stand by those principles, be true to them on all occasions, in all places, against all foes, and at whatever cost. Try Rev and save time transcribing, captioning, and subtitling. when ye make many prayers, I will not hear. 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. 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. 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 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! When you can point to any such laws in reference to the beasts of the field, then I may consent to argue the manhood of the slave. Is it not astonishing that, while we are ploughing, planting and reaping, using all kinds of mechanical tools, erecting houses, constructing bridges, building ships, working in metals of brass, iron, copper, silver and gold; that, while we are reading, writing and cyphering, acting as clerks, merchants and secretaries, having among us lawyers, doctors, ministers, poets, authors, editors, orators and teachers; that, while we are engaged in all manner of enterprises common to other men, digging gold in California, capturing the whale in the Pacific, feeding sheep and cattle on the hill-side, living, moving, acting, thinking, planning, living in families as husbands, wives and children, and, above all, confessing and worshipping the Christians God, and looking hopefully for life and immortality beyond the grave, we are called upon to prove that we are men! A feeling has crept over me, quite unfavorable to the exercise of my limited powers of speech. Many of its most eloquent Divines. WebAn excerpt from the 1847 Frederick Douglass speech given for the anniversary of the American Anti-Slavery Society. The principles contained in that instrument are saving principles. That people contented themselves under the shadow of Abrahams great name, while they repudiated the deeds which made his name great. WebBoth anniversaries remind us that the fight for independence and equality did not end in the 18th century - a theme highlighted in Douglass speech. Born to an enslaved family in 1818, Frederick Douglass never knew his actual birthday, a fact not uncommon for those enslaved. WebOn January 9, 1894, at Washington, D.C.'s, Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, Frederick Douglass delivered his "The Lessons of the Hour" speech, which addressed the The point from which I am compelled to view them is not, certainly, the most favorable; and yet I cannot contemplate their great deeds with less than admiration. Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. It is the birthday of your National Independence, and of your political freedom. Frederick Douglass's, What To the Slave Is the Fourth of It has been denounced with burning words, from the high places of the nation, as an execrable traffic. One of the parts of the speech that resonates with me the most is when Douglass says: What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? In a final celebratory post for Black History Month 2023, it is worth returning to the 1883 Douglass Banquet. During Would you have me argue that man is entitled to Liberty, that he is the rightful owner of his body? The eye of the reformer is met with angry flashes, portending disastrous times; but his heart may well beat lighter at the thought that America is young, and that she is still in the impressible stage of her existence. Frederick Douglass Read the full transcript here. It destroys your moral power abroad; it corrupts your politicians at home. Is it to be settled by the rules of logic and argumentation? There are seventy-two crimes in the State of Virginia, which, if committed by a black man, (no matter how ignorant he be), subject him to the punishment of death; while only two of the same crimes will subject a white man to the like punishment. What then remains to be argued? In order to put an end to it, some of these last have consented that their colored brethren (nominally free) should leave this country, and establish themselves on the western coast of Africa! 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, 1852, he was issuing a scathing indictment of American hypocrisy, Washington Post columnist Courtland Milloy reminded readers. The iron shoe, and crippled foot of China must be seen, in contrast with nature. On what branch of the subject do the people of this country need light? If so, there is a parallel to your conduct. 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. Transcript Descendants of Frederick Douglass read excerpts from one of his most famous speeches: What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? But a change has now come over the affairs of mankind. I know that apologies of this sort are generally considered flat and unmeaning. And am I therefore called upon to bring our humble offering to the national alter and to confess the benefits and express devout gratitude for the blessings resulting from your independence to us? To him, your celebration is a sham, your boasted Liberty, an unholy license, your national greatness, swelling vanity. You have already declared it. But, besides general considerations, there were peculiar circumstances which make the advent of this republic an event of special attractiveness. You discourse eloquently on the dignity of labor; yet, you sustain a system which, in its very essence, casts a stigma upon labor. Youmay rejoice,Imust mourn. 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 or to write. Do you mean citizens to mock me by asking me to speak today? whose chains, heavy and grievous yesterday, are, to-day, rendered more intolerable by the jubilee shouts that reach them. How should I look today in the presence of Americans dividing and subdividing, a discourse to show that men have a natural right to freedom speaking of it, relatively and positively, negatively and affirmatively? or is it in the temple? To forget them, to pass lightly over their wrongs and to chime in with the popular theme would be treason most sacrilegious and shocking and would make me a reproach before God and the world. Sydney Smith tells us that men seldom eulogize the wisdom and virtues of their fathers, but to excuse some folly or wickedness of their own. Our Composite Nation: Frederick Douglass America You will not, therefore, be surprised, if in what I have to say I evince no elaborate preparation, nor grace my speech with any high sounding exordium. 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. In a case like that, the dumb might eloquently speak, and the lame man leap as an hart.. 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! Racist Ex-University Of Kentucky 'Karen' Sophia Rosing Is Charged For Assaulting Black Student. With little experience and with less learning, I have been able to throw my thoughts hastily and imperfectly together; and These gentlemen have, as I think, fully and clearly vindicated the Constitution from any design to support slavery for an hour. What, then, remains to be argued? There is blasphemy in the thought. Frederick Douglass He is a bird for the sportsmans gun. 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. The madness of this course, we believe, is admitted now, even by England; but we fear the lesson is wholly lost on our present ruler. 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 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. WebFrederick Douglass speech What to a Slave is the Fourth of July effectively argues against slavery. Calculate how much it costs to transcribe, caption, or subtitle your content. There, see the old man, with locks thinned and gray. Without this right, the liberty of an American citizen would be as insecure as that of a Frenchman. They have taught that man may, properly, be a slave; that the relation of master and slave is ordained of God; that to send back an escaped bondman to his master is clearly the duty of all the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ; and this horrible blasphemy is palmed off upon the world for Christianity. On what branch of the subject do the people of this country need light? It is a fact, that whatever makes for the wealth or for the reputation of Americans, and can be had cheap! There were then no means of concert and combination, such as exist now. Translated on-screen subtitles for videos. A RESTful API to access Revs workforce of fast, high quality transcriptionists and captioners. Who so stolid and selfish, that would not give his voice to swell the hallelujahs of a nations jubilee, when the chains of servitude had been torn from his limbs? Copyright 2023 Interactive One, LLC. On the 2d of July, 1776, the old Continental Congress, to the dismay of the lovers of ease, and the worshipers of property, clothed that dreadful idea with all the authority of national sanction. Who so obdurate and dead to the claims of gratitude, that would not thankfully acknowledge such priceless benefits? There is not a man beneath the canopy of heaven, who does not know that slavery is wrong for him. Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us? WebFrederick Douglass speech Historical Document "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" 1852 Resource Bank Contents Click here for the text of this historical document. What point in the anti-slavery creed would you have me argue? You will see one of these human flesh-jobbers, armed with pistol, whip and bowie-knife, driving a company of a hundred men, women, and children, from the Potomac to the slave market at New Orleans. here lies the merit, and the one which, of all others, seems unfashionable in our day. 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. Fellow citizens, above your national tumultuous joy I hear the mournful wail of millions whose chains heavy and grievous yesterday are today rendered more intolerable by the jubilant shouts that reach them. The testimony of Senator Breese, Lewis Cass, and many others that might be named, who are everywhere esteemed as sound lawyers, so regard the constitution. WebDescription. By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. I repeat, I am glad this is so. Their conduct was wholly unexceptionable. He rose from the shackles of slavery to become an author, newspaper publisher, and respected abolitionist. Their solid manhood stands out the more as we contrast it with these degenerate times. Its future might be shrouded in gloom, and the hope of its prophets go out in sorrow. 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. Frederick Douglass Oration by Frederick Douglass, delivered on the occasion of the Behold the practical operation of this internal slave-trade, the American slave-trade, sustained by American politics and America religion. It does not often happen to a nation to raise, at one time, such a number of truly great men. Where these go, may also go the merciless slave-hunter. This is esteemed by some as a national trait perhaps a national weakness. 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 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. Must I undertake to prove that the slave is a man? The flesh-mongers gather up their victims by dozens, and drive them, chained, to the general depot at Baltimore. At the very moment that they are thanking God for the enjoyment of civil and religious liberty, and for the right to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences, they are utterly silent in respect to a law which robs religion of its chief significance, and makes it utterly worthless to a world lying in wickedness. Nations do not now stand in the same relation to each other that they did ages ago. The style and title of your sovereign people (in which you now glory) was not then born. They form the staple of your national poetry and eloquence. Frederick Douglass: (09:38) 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. It was demanded, in the name of humanity, and according to the law of the living God. What was possible for him, he sincerely believed was possible for any man who was willing to work hard. Frederick Douglass, What to the Slave Is the Fourth But I differ from those who charge this baseness on the framers of the Constitution of the United States. The feeling of the nation must be quickened. For who is there so cold, that a nations sympathy could not warm him? They were peace men; but they preferred revolution to peaceful submission to bondage.

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