Answer:
What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” That’s the revelatory title of a speech that black statesman and abolitionist Frederick Douglass delivered July 5, 1852, in Rochester, N.Y.
It is an oration that students should learn along with the history of how the Continental Congress, meeting July 2, 1776, in Philadelphia, declared independence from Britain and then on July 4 approved the document stating the reasons for the action.
Five things you think you know about July 4 that are (mostly) wrong
Douglass delivered the speech in Corinthian Hall to white members of the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society. He expressed respect for the country’s Founding Fathers, calling them “brave” and “truly great.” He compared the way they were treated by the British before independence to the treatment of slaves and urged them to view slaves as Americans.
(You may remember that on Feb. 1, 2017, President Trump made comments to honor Black History Month and spoke about Douglass as if he were still alive: “Frederick Douglass is an example of somebody who’s done an amazing job and is getting recognized more and more, I notice.” Presumably, someone has told Trump by now that Douglass is long gone, although his work has always been appreciated.)
Explanation:
