Frederick Douglas and Thoreau

Judging from Douglas' speech, "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro", Douglas holds true to many of the same philosophies and values that Thoreau does. In "The meaning of July Fourth for the Negro", Douglas is exceptionally passionate in expressing the truth and conveying the reality of the situation of slavery to white America (Douglas). Douglas, like Thoreau, is strongly against slavery, and it does not sit well with him (Douglas) (Thoreau). Unlike the common man, Douglas calls out the injustice when he sees it, rather than pretending it is not in existence (Douglas). This same act of boldness is seen by Thoreau in "Civil Disobedience" (Thoreau). Neither man is going to let social norms stop him from standing out against what he believes is morally askew (Douglas) (Thoreau). This is seen actively throughout "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro". Douglas says:

"If I do forget, if I do not faithfully remember those bleeding children of sorrow this day, 'may my right hand forget her cunning, and may my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth!' To forget them, to pass lightly over their wrongs, and to chime in with the popular theme, would be treason most scandalous and shocking, and would make me a reproach before God and the world."

By making that claim, Douglas is stating that it would be preposterous of him to go against his moral instinct because that is what is socially acceptable (Douglas). He even states that forgetting the painful, immoral, and unjust things of this world would be treason! (Douglas). Douglas truly believes that he would be at fault with God and with the world if he let things like that slide. He is not going to go unheard.

Neither Douglas, nor Thoreau will take a back seat to injustice (Douglas) (Thoreau). Both men readily take action and will not back down for the sake of popularity, but are both bold when there is nobody else to speak up for the hurting (Douglas) (Thoreau). Both men do not just disagree with slavery, but they call people out on allowing it to happen (Douglas) (Thoreau). Douglas literally calls them out by his words, and Thoreau calls them out by his actions (Douglas) (Thoreau). Both of the men's words and actions demand a response from those who witness their civil disobedience. The two strong-willed men stand up for what they believe in.

"Frederick Douglass Speech." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 08 Feb. 2012. .

"Africans in America/Part 4/Frederick Douglass Speech." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 08 Feb. 2012. .

"Thoreau's Civil Disobedience - with Annotated Text." The Thoreau Reader. Web. 26 Jan. 2012.