--- title: "What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day tha… — Frederick Douglass Quote #31 | QuotesBy.net" description: "What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and … — a quote by Frederick Douglass." image: "https://quotesby.net/wp-content/themes/quotesby-editorial/assets/og-default.png" --- > # What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade, and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy - a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices, more shocking and bloody, than are the people of these United States, at this very hour. [Frederick Douglass](https://quotesby.net/Frederick-Douglass)\#31[WhatsApp (opens in a new tab)](https://wa.me/?text=%E2%80%9CWhat%2C%20to%20the%20American%20slave%2C%20is%20your%204th%20of%20July%3F%20I%20answer%3A%20a%20day%20that%20reveals%20to%20him%2C%20more%20than%20all%20other%20days%20in%20the%20year%2C%20the%20gross%20injustice%20and%20cruelty%20to%20which%20he%20is%20the%20constant%20victim.%20To%20him%2C%20your%20celebration%20is%20a%20sham%3B%20your%20boasted%20liberty%2C%20an%20unholy%20license%3B%20your%20national%20greatness%2C%20swelling%20vanity%3B%20your%20sounds%20of%20rejoicing%20are%20empty%20and%20heartless%3B%20your%20denunciations%20of%20tyrants%2C%20brass%20fronted%20impudence%3B%20your%20shouts%20of%20liberty%20and%20equality%2C%20hollow%20mockery%3B%20your%20prayers%20and%20hymns%2C%20your%20sermons%20and%20thanksgivings%2C%20with%20all%20your%20religious%20parade%2C%20and%20solemnity%2C%20are%2C%20to%20him%2C%20mere%20bombast%2C%20fraud%2C%20deception%2C%20impiety%2C%20and%20hypocrisy%20-%20a%20thin%20veil%20to%20cover%20up%20crimes%20which%20would%20disgrace%20a%20nation%20of%20savages.%20There%20is%20not%20a%20nation%20on%20the%20earth%20guilty%20of%20practices%2C%20more%20shocking%20and%20bloody%2C%20than%20are%20the%20people%20of%20these%20United%20States%2C%20at%20this%20very%20hour.%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%94%20Frederick%20Douglass%20https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FFrederick-Douglass%2F31%2F)[X (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%E2%80%9CWhat%2C%20to%20the%20American%20slave%2C%20is%20your%204th%20of%20July%3F%20I%20answer%3A%20a%20day%20that%20reveals%20to%20him%2C%20more%20than%20all%20other%20days%20in%20the%20year%2C%20the%20gross%20injustice%20and%20cruelty%20to%20which%20he%20is%20the%20constant%20victim.%20To%20him%2C%20your%20celebration%20is%20a%20sham%3B%20your%20boasted%20liberty%2C%20an%20unholy%20license%3B%20your%20national%20greatness%2C%20swelling%20vanity%3B%20your%20sounds%20of%20rejoicing%20are%20empty%20and%20heartless%3B%20your%20denunciations%20of%20tyrants%2C%20brass%20fronted%20impudence%3B%20your%20shouts%20of%20liberty%20and%20equality%2C%20hollow%20mockery%3B%20your%20prayers%20and%20hymns%2C%20your%20sermons%20and%20thanksgivings%2C%20with%20all%20your%20religious%20parade%2C%20and%20solemnity%2C%20are%2C%20to%20him%2C%20mere%20bombast%2C%20fraud%2C%20deception%2C%20impiety%2C%20and%20hypocrisy%20-%20a%20thin%20veil%20to%20cover%20up%20crimes%20which%20would%20disgrace%20a%20nation%20of%20savages.%20There%20is%20not%20a%20nation%20on%20the%20earth%20guilty%20of%20practices%2C%20more%20shocking%20and%20bloody%2C%20than%20are%20the%20people%20of%20these%20United%20States%2C%20at%20this%20very%20hour.%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%94%20Frederick%20Douglass&url=https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FFrederick-Douglass%2F31%2F)[Facebook (opens in a new tab)](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FFrederick-Douglass%2F31%2F) ## More from Frederick Douglass 1. > At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. O! had I the ability, and could reach the nation's ear, I would, to-day, pour out a f… [Permalink to quote \#30](https://quotesby.net/Frederick-Douglass/30/ "Permalink to quote 30") 2. > You profess to believe 'that, of one blood, God made all nations of men to dwell on the face of all the earth,' and hath commanded all men, everywhere to love … [Permalink to quote \#32](https://quotesby.net/Frederick-Douglass/32/ "Permalink to quote 32") 3. > I shall see, this day, and its popular characteristics, from the slave's point of view. Standing, there, identified with the American bondman, making his wrong… [Permalink to quote \#29](https://quotesby.net/Frederick-Douglass/29/ "Permalink to quote 29") ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade, and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy - a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. 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