What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham.

More information about this quote

Topic

Independence Day

Speaker

Frederick Douglass

Source

What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1852 1850s 19th century

Occupation

Black activist Abolitionist Activist Writer

From

United States

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Douglass, Frederick. "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" Independence Day Celebration. 5 July 1852, Corinthian Hall, Rochester, NY, USA.

Current Citation

Douglass, Frederick. "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" Frederick Douglass: Speeches & Writings, edited by David W. Blight. Library of America, 2022.

Illustrated Quote

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A quote by Frederick Douglass about independence day: “What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day…”
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Related Quotes

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Another quote from the 1850s

The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.

Henry David Thoreau

Walden

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Read Walden at Project Gutenberg
More information about this quote
Topic
The masses The human condition

Author

Henry David Thoreau
Source
Economy Walden
Genre
Autobiography and memoir
Language
English
Time
1854 1850s 19th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Thoreau, Henry David. "Economy." Walden; or, Life in the Woods. Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1854.

Current Citation

Thoreau, Henry David. "Economy." Walden and Civil Disobedience. Signet, 2012.

Another quote from the following genre Political speech

Physically speaking, we cannot separate. We cannot remove our respective sections from each other, nor build an impassable wall between them. A husband and wife may be divorced, and go out of the presence and beyond the reach of each other; but the different parts of our country cannot do this. They cannot but remain face to face, and intercourse, either amicable or hostile, must continue between them.

Abraham Lincoln

First Inaugural Address of Abraham Lincoln

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Read this speech at UVA's Miller Center website
More information about this quote
Topic
Political division
Speaker
Abraham Lincoln
Source
First Inaugural Address of Abraham Lincoln Presidential inaugural address
Medium
Speech
Genre
Political speech
Language
English
Time
1861 1860s 19th century
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Lincoln, Abraham. "First Inaugural Address." 4 Mar. 1861, East Portico, US Capitol Building, Washington, DC, USA.

Current Citation

Lincoln, Abraham. "First Inaugral Address, March 4, 1861." Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1859-1865, edited by Don E. Fehrenbacher. Library of America, 2018.