What the fourth of July means to enslaved people and David Walker's appeal

¶ … Slave is the 4th of July and David Walkers "Appeal"

Radicalism and Reason: Douglass vs. Walker

One of the most substantial themes of Frederick Douglass' oration on Independence Day is the fact that America began as a land founded upon the core principle of freedom. In his view, this means freedom for every human being, not simply White human beings. He asked in 1852 in "What to a Slave is the 4th of July," what such a concept as American freedom truly could mean to an individual, in America, in bondage. To a slave, Douglass stated, every White man, woman, and child cheerfully celebrating his or her freedom and the liberation of the American nation from tyranny to freedom flagrantly denied the truth of the enslaved condition. Douglass believed that the existence of the institution of slavery stood as one of the most profound examples of American ideological hypocrisy. He called upon Whit America to realize its Constitutional promise. However, in 1829, David Walker's "Appeal" did not 'appeal' upon such Constitutional principles, to speak to White audiences, as did Douglass' Independence Day rhetoric. Rather than stress the innate good of the American institution of governance, Walker suggested American democracy was rotten to the core. He called Black slaves to openly revolt, not seek redress through the American legal and Constitutional procedures, as did Douglass

The contrast in the men's styles partly lies in the fact that Douglass openly addressed a White rather than Black audience. He spoke to White Americans, most of who have never had to prove themselves citizens before the government their ancestors formed. Walker addressed his fellow Blacks, stating "the whites have always been an unjust, jealous, unmerciful, avaricious and blood-thirsty set of beings, always seeking after power and authority."(Walker, 1829) True, Douglass conceded that the July 4th conveyed not simply a sense of being left out of a party that everyone else was sharing in to Black Americas, but inspired a level of great hatred, bile, and rage in the hearts of many African-Americans. Despite his less radical audience and tone of advocacy than Walker, Douglass was no apologist. He stated that Blacks were angry, for they too desire freedom and the ability to celebrate July 4th as free people. To answer the question posed at the onset of the speech, Independence Day was currently, for slaves, a day that revealed to the slave, 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; your boasted liberty, an unholy license." (Douglass, 1852)

But despite Douglass' anger, David Walker's "Appeal" still remains one of the most radical of all anti-slavery documents despite the fact it was published in September of 1829, many years before Douglass' speech. It does not uphold the need for the existence of American democracy for Blacks to be free -- rather there is no democracy and no American freedom when enslaved Black America is in chains. Walker did not enthuse about the potential ability of the American nation to eventually encapsulate the principles of freedom. Rather, he made an open call for slaves to rise up against their masters. Walker's memory of the real intentions of the Founding Father's attitudes was somewhat fresher than Douglass, as he noted, "Has Mr. Jefferson declared to the world, that we are inferior to the whites, both in the endowments of our bodies and our minds?" (Walker, 1829)

In contrast to Walker's defiance, although his oration gathers in passionate momentum, Douglass begins his speech modestly before his audience. "Should I seem at ease, my appearance would much misrepresent me. The little experience I have had in addressing public meetings, in country school houses, avails me nothing on the present occasion." (Douglass, 1852) He also ends his speech with hope, "Allow me to say, in conclusion, notwithstanding the dark picture I have this day presented of the state of the nation, I do not despair of this country." (Douglass, 1852) In contrast, Walker makes a historical overview of slavery of the past, from Greece, to Rome, to ancient Israel and points out that of all forms of slavery, America's remains the worst, and the most difficult for a slave to extricate him or herself from, legally and socially. "The world knows, that slavery as it existed was, mans, (which was the primary cause of their destruction) was, comparatively speaking, no more than a cipher, when compared with ours under the Americans," that is, it was no where nearly as proudly and openly practiced against an entire race as it is in America. (Walker, 1829)