What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key ideas are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Page numbers in this resource refer to this online edition of “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?”

Reading Check

1. What feelings does Douglass confess to having at the beginning of his address?

2. How old is the nation when Douglass gives his address?

3. Why does Douglass say the country’s relative youth is a hopeful thing, a good thing?

4. To whom does Douglass compare modern Americans when they take credit for the good deeds of past generations?

5. How does Douglass tell the audience he feels about being asked to speak on the 4th of July, to “join [his audience] in joyous anthems” (7)?

6. To what text source does Douglass make allusions to illustrate his feelings?

7. What reason does Douglass give for choosing a strident, biting tone instead of calm, cool rationalism?

8. To whom does Douglass defer when considering the constitutionality of slavery?

9. What tone does Douglass name as the ending note of his speech?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. On page 1, Douglass states, “It is the birthday of your National Independence, and of your political freedom.” What is the significance of this statement and the way he phrases it?

2. Near the beginning of his speech, what point does Douglass make about how the colonists’ rebellion against England is perceived now, compared to in 1776?

3. What are some reasons Douglass gives for admiring the nation’s founding generation of men?

4. Name a counterpoint that Douglass addresses and dismisses in his speech.

5. What argument does Douglass give for not debating the humanity of enslaved Black people?

6. What contrast does Douglass paint between the foreign and domestic trade in enslaved people? According to him, how do typical Americans view each one?

Recommended Next Reads

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself

• Douglass’s personal narrative is a firsthand account of his life from his birth into slavery, to learning to read, to planning and executing his escape. One central focus is the power of education to inspire hope in himself and others like him, and how education has allowed him to make a life as a renowned speaker for the cause of abolition.
• Shared themes include The Appropriate Response to Oppression.
• Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass on SuperSummary

The Color of Abolition: How a Printer, a Prophet, and a Contessa Moved a Nation by Linda Hirshman

• Hirshman’s nonfiction narrative chronicles the lives and intersecting forces that drive Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, and Maria Weston Chapman to work together, as well as the forces that eventually drove them apart.
• Hirshman connects their relationships—and the subsequent falling out—to the later success of the abolitionist movement.