Frederick Douglass Response to What to the Slave Is the Fouth of July - Theatre Play

S:        Excuse me, could I borrow a few minutes of your time, please?

J:        Of course, how can I help you?

S:        You are the one friend Frederick Douglass mentioned in his speech about a week ago. Julia is         was the name, if I am not mistaken?

J:        You are not, with whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?

S:        Name’s John Greenfield. I’m a plantation owner from Maryland, in fact I know the former owner of Mr. Douglass, from back in the days when he was a slave under a different name. I don’t mean to cause trouble, I just wanted to have a brief chat about the speech he gave last week. I didn’t attend it, I only bought the printed version in pamphlet form.

J:        Well u did a good bargain there, we already sold about 700 copies on the spot – it one day will become a famous masterpiece if u ask me.

S:        Eloquent indeed, but famous? Not really. Or how would you explain that his speech has not been mentioned in a single newspaper apart from his own abolitionist paper, the ‘North Star’. Mr. Douglass has lived in the city of Rochester for five years now, and yet there was not a single comment about his words, only the fireworks, concerts, parades and picnics are being talked about.

J:        Well of course they keep quiet about it, the idea of abandoning slavery has not yet settled enough. But to quote his words, most people simply are afraid to support the change. It was the same procedure less than 100 years ago: In the time before America gained independence in 1776, people were too frightened to support the uprising call of separation from Britain. They considered it subversive and therefore a dangerous act. Nowadays it is easy to claim it was right to become independent. In a few decades, it will be just the same with talking about the abolition of slavery and Frederick is going to be a patriot.

S:        But of course it was rightful to gain independence, we didn’t need Britain to build our fortune, and most certainly didn’t receive help from them, but only had to contribute to their own wealth. As with slaves, this is a completely different case. This entire country is dependent on slavery. And we most certainly wouldn’t even have gotten to the point of creating the Declaration of Independence if it were not for the workforce of all the slaves. The international trade has been forbidden since 1808 – fair enough. But within the borders of our country, we simply do need the slaves to keep up our wealth and lifestyle.

J:        Good thing you mentioned the Declaration of Independence as the basis of all our virtues. You are implying that Independence and slavery both are necessary for our modern America. But how would you explain that these two things cannot even exist next to each other? If you had ever read the Declaration properly, you would have come to the realisation that it does not promote or allow slavery at all. On the contrary, it demands all men to be equal and therefore no one can be considered inferior. Here, our contemporary American ideology is simply inconsistent. We brace ourselves with the characteristic of freedom, but do not even grant it to all.

S:        True that, but Mr. Douglass here also makes it easy by saying that no further evidence is needed to proof that negros are men as well. My experience, however, has shown me sufficiently often that they would be completely lost without our superior guidance and the whip here and there, to keep them from hurting themselves.

J:        And what is the obvious reason for this? They have never been educated properly, they only learn whatever their masters consider basic enough for them to understand. A white child raised under such circumstances will end up in just the same mental state of fear and oppression. But Frederick proves different: He taught himself to read and speak in front of crowds, never had a proper teacher and still has gained higher eloquence than many of you masters will ever attain. 500 people paid almost 13 dollars only to hear him speak in Corinthian Hall last week.