'What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?'—5 Stars Who Performed Frederick Douglass Speech On 7/4/21 at 12:30 AM EDT It is the Fourth of July and, all across the United States, people will be reflecting on the history of their beloved country. As they celebrate the Declaration of Independence in 1776, they might also want to remind themselves of a speech delivered decades later by an abolitionist and former slave. On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass—also an acclaimed writer, orator, social reformer and statesman—gave an address that has become known as "What to the slave is the Fourth of July?." Speaking at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York, Douglass pointed to the hypocrisy in the Declaration as slavery still flourished throughout the United States.