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4. The Church Responsible
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Liberty vs. Slavery
Christianity and the American Church
Ideals vs. Practice
America’s Past, Present, and Future
Summary
Analysis
Douglass pivots to comparing the American church with the British one, pointing out that the latter supported the abolition of West Indian slavery. In England, the question of slavery was deeply intertwined with theological debates about Chrisitan values, and many ministers partook in abolitionist efforts. According to Douglass, if the American church adopts this attitude, the anti-slavery movement will cease to be an anti-church movement.
Douglass’s comparison of the American and British church’s approaches to slavery further emphasizes his point that Christianity is not inherently pro-slavery—after all, the English church supported abolition as a result of their faith. Furthermore, Douglass implicitly blames the American church for the criticism they’ve received, since the American abolitionist movement is only “anti-church” due to their support of slavery.
Themes
Douglass once again addresses the audience. He calls Americans hypocritical and inconsistent for claiming a love of freedom and a belief in Christianity while supporting the slavery of three million people. He points out how they condemn the tyrannical leaders of countries like Russia and Austria while allying themselves with similar tyrants by befriending slaveowners. He lambasts how Americans pride themselves on education and refinement, but accept the barbaric reality of slavery, and praise just revolution while wanting slaves to remain subservient. He also discusses how, although the Bible says that men are “of one blood” and the Declaration of Independence declares all men to be created equal, many Americans accept racism.
Here, Douglass explicitly lays out the varies kinds of hypocrisy that Americans are guilty of. He discredits their faith, belief in democracy, civilized demeanor, and belief in racial equality, essentially upending all the core principles that Americans pride themselves on. Much like his earlier accusation that the audience was trying to humiliate him, his language in this section is deliberately personal and inflammatory, living up to his commitment to rouse his listeners with the most incisive language possible.
Themes
Douglass states that he won’t linger any longer on American hypocrisy, but he urges the country’s citizens to stand against slavery for the sake of their own reputation. He posits slavery as the greatest threat to American credibility and a profound obstacle to its progress as a nation. He compares slavery to a snake coiled in America’s bosom and implores Americans to “fling from you the hideous monster, and let the weight of twenty millions crush and destroy it forever.”
Rather than focusing solely on slavery as harmful to slaves, Douglass also reframes it as a threat to free Americans. In order to do this, he circles back to his earlier point about America’s potential to flourish or flounder, suggesting that slavery jeopardizes the long-term prosperity of all Americans. By doing this, Douglass creates a personal stake in abolitionism for everyone in his audience.
Themes
