Question

“What, to a slave, is the Fourth of July?” “This fourth July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn. To drag a man in fetters into the grand illuminated…” use the passage to answer the question.

Which theme does Douglass address through his reference to the Fourth of July?

Answer 1

In this passage, Frederick Douglass addresses the theme of hypocrisy and the contrast between liberty and oppression. By stating, "This Fourth of July is yours, not mine," Douglass highlights the celebratory nature of the holiday for white Americans while emphasizing the ongoing suffering and enslavement of Black individuals. His reference to the Fourth of July serves to underscore the irony of a nation celebrating freedom and independence while denying those very rights to a significant portion of its population. Douglass calls attention to the injustice and moral contradictions within a society that claims to uphold liberty while simultaneously perpetuating the institution of slavery. Thus, the theme he confronts is the deep divide between the ideals of freedom and the reality of oppression experienced by slaves.