The Hypocrisy of American Slavery Theme of Slavery

You saw this one coming, didn't you? The speech is called "The Hypocrisy of American Slavery," after all, so slavery is obviously going to be a theme.

Throughout the speech, Douglass views the Fourth of July from a slave's perspective, demonstrating how totally bonkers the whole idea of celebrating freedom is while owning and otherwise oppressing slaves. He hits on many of the popular arguments against slavery, demonstrating that they're so obvious he doesn't need to really argue them, and he's not going to.

Oh, wait—except he does argue them, precisely by saying why he's not going to. Douglass is good at rhetorical tricks like that.

1. What arguments against slavery does Douglass bring up? What effect does mentioning these well-known arguments have on the speech?
2. Discuss Douglass' use of biblical references to highlight the sin of American slavery.
3. According to Douglass, what is the meaning of the Fourth of July to slaves?
4. Alternatively, what is the meaning of slavery to white people celebrating the Fourth of July?
5. How might the meanings of slavery and the Fourth of July differ for white people who own slaves versus those who don't?

By refusing to argue the wrongfulness of slavery, Douglass actually succeeds in demonstrating why slavery is wrong.

Douglass uses biblical references to illustrate the idea that American slavery is not only hypocritical but also sinful in an attempt to appeal to Americans' religious beliefs.