Question

“what, to the american slave, is your fourth 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 denunciation of tyrants, brass - fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery.” identify and write the claim douglass makes.

Explanation:

Douglass's claim is that the Fourth of July, a day of celebration for most Americans, reveals the gross injustice and cruelty American slaves endure. He argues that the celebrations of liberty, national greatness, and denunciations of tyranny are hollow and mocking to slaves, as they experience the opposite of these ideals.

Answer:

To the American slave, the Fourth of July reveals the gross injustice and cruelty he is the constant victim of, and the American celebration of it is a sham, with its boasted liberty, national greatness, and related rejoicings being empty, heartless, and a hollow mockery to the slave.