It's hard to talk about the Fourth of July without addressing patriotism. After all, it's America's birthday. People wear red, white, and blue. They hang bunting and flags. They have parades. All in all, it's a rah-rah, go us, "U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!" kind of day, and it memorializes a happy event (the signing of the Declaration of Independence).
If you can't celebrate on your birthday, when can you celebrate, right?
But that's just the thing, says Douglass in "The Hypocrisy of American Slavery." The only people who feel like celebrating are the people America works for, not the people who, um, are enslaved and made to work for America. He's less than thrilled by this whole thing because he knows that when the party is over, slaves are on cleanup duty.
Questions About Patriotism
- How do you feel about Douglass' choice to talk about America's problems on America's birthday?
- Do you think Douglass' listeners would have expected slaves and former slaves to have patriotic feelings for the United States?
- How do you think Douglass' listeners might have reconciled celebrating liberty with the practice of slavery?
- What is the impact of giving this speech on the Fourth of July? Would it have had the same impact if he had chosen to speak on a different day or holiday?
Chew on This
Giving this speech in the context of a Fourth of July celebration is a demonstration of Douglass' patriotism.
This speech would not have had the same impact given on any day other than the Fourth of July.