The theme that Douglass addresses through his reference to the Fourth of July is the hypocrisy of slavery in a country built on freedom. He highlights the contrast between the celebrations of liberty and the ongoing oppression of enslaved individuals, emphasizing the injustice of celebrating freedom while millions are still enslaved.
"What, To a Slave, is the Fourth of July?"
by Frederick Douglass
This Fourth July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn. To drag a man in fetters into the grand illuminated temple of liberty, and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems, were inhuman mockery and sacrilegious irony. Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak to-day? If so, there is a parallel to your conduct. And let me warn you that it is dangerous to copy the example of a nation whose crimes, towering up to heaven, were thrown down by the breath of the Almighty, burying that nation in irrevocable ruin! I can to-day take up the plaintive lament of a peeled and woe-smitten people!
What, to a Slave, is the Fourth of July?
Question
Use the passage to answer the question.
Which theme does Douglass address through his reference to the Fourth of July?
(1 point)
Responses
the exceptionalism of America on the world stage
the exceptionalism of America on the world stage
the hypocrisy of slavery in a country built on freedom
the hypocrisy of slavery in a country built on freedom
the need to forgive those with whom you disagree
the need to forgive those with whom you disagree
the moral necessity of the impending Civil War
the moral necessity of the impending Civil War
Skip to navigation
1 answer