LAD #16: 5th of July

In Frederick Douglass' speech, "5th of July", he opens by asking the audience to think about what it means to be a slave on the 4th of July. He says that the 4th of July is only truly a significant holiday to free people, or whites. He continues that there is a major difference for slaves and free people when thinking about the meaning of the 4th of July in that "The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity, and independence bequeathed by your fathers is shared by you, not by me." Douglass asserts his point that there are more slaves who continually are not receiving these privileges and are instead treated as lesser beings. Any freedom that a white has, was denied to a slave which supports Douglass' statement that "This Fourth of July is yours, not mine." He says that America has been built upon false foudations with the presence of slavery. He emphasizes the fact that black people and white people are equal, as many blacks during the time were holding jobs such as lawyers doctors, ministers, poets, authors, editors, orators, teachers, and much more. In the end he says that the free people should stand up for the rights of slaves so that America can be a true and equal country.