¶ … Frederick Douglass to the Americans, entitled, "What to the Slaves is the Fourth of July?" commemorates the celebration of the Independence Day of the American Nation. However, Douglass, in his address, emphasizes that this special day was not to be celebrated by black American slaves like him ("[t]his Fourth of July is yours, not mine")- instead, the Fourth of July was a reminder of the injustices and inequality of the black American slaves with that of the white American nation. In his address, Douglass provides the audience a detailed explanation of his argument, that is, the reason why the day of Independence of the United States cannot be a celebration for the black Americans. Douglass also provided the audience the chief thesis of his address: that the Fourth of July is, for the black American slave, is not a day of Independence, because the Declaration of Independence itself and the Constitution, the very symbol of liberty in America, was the very 'instrument' that kept the black Americans in bondage. His address has two main parts in arguing what sectors of the American nation contributed in promulgating American slavery. The first part concerns the discussion of the Fugitive Slave Law, a law that provides for the return of runaway slaves, and the involvement of the Catholic Church in further tolerating the practice of American slavery. The last part of this paper will provide a concluding summary of the main thesis of Douglass' address, which can be found in the first part of this introduction. When Douglass...

embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us?" Douglass poses these statements to his audience because the American nations are the ones who tolerated American slavery, a contrast to what the principles of their Constitution holds. Douglass uses the Declaration of Independence in his speech because this event marks the freedom of American colonies to British rule, therefore, the Declaration of Independence embodies liberty from all kinds of rule, particularly, "tyranny," in Douglass' words. However, the black Americans are not included in this said event, says Douglass, because for the American slave, the Fourth of July is a "day that reveals to him (the American slave)... The gross injustice and cruelty to which he is constant victim." American slavery was perpetuated by two elements: first, the Fugitive Slave laws, and second, the involvement of the religious sector in perpetuating this cruelty to human beings, particularly, the black Americans.
The Fugitive Slave Law was passed in favor of the slaveholders, since the law provides the return of runaway slaves 'who escaped from one state to another.' Slaveholders are free to recover…