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

Below are one or more quotes that share at least one tag with the quote at the top of the page

Another quote from the 1850s

No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.

Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Scarlet Letter

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Read The Scarlet Letter at Project Gutenberg
More information about this quote
Topic
Public vs. private person False appearances

Author

Nathaniel Hawthorne
Source
The Scarlet Letter
Medium
Novel
Language
English
Time
1850 1850s 19th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter: A Romance. Boston: Ticknor, Reed & Fields, 1850, ch. 20.

Current Citation

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter, edited by Brian Harding. Oxford University Press, 2009, ch. 20.

Another quote from the following genre Political speech

If by the mere force of numbers a majority should deprive a minority of any clearly written constitutional right, it might, in a moral point of view, justify revolution—certainly would if such a right were a vital one.

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
Minority rights American politics
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.