On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass delivered a speech to an anti-slavery society and he famously asked “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” In this episode, we explore Douglass’ thoughtful question within the context of Early America: What did the Fourth of July mean for African Americans in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries? To help us investigate this question, we are joined by Martha S. Jones, the Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor and Professor of History at Johns Hopkins University, and Christopher Bonner, an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Maryland.

This episode originally posted as Episode 277.

Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/321 Join Ben Franklin's World!

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Complementary Episodes

• Episode 018: Danielle Allen, Our Declaration
• Episode 119: Steve Pincus, The Heart of the Declaration
• Episode 141: A Declaration in Draft
• Episode 157: The Revolution’s African American Soldiers
• Episode 166: Freedom and the American Revolution
• Episode 245: Celebrating the Fourth
• Episode 255: Martha S. Jones, Birthright Citizens

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