This isn't too much of a puzzle…even though this speech is known by a few different titles. Depending on where you read it, it's either "The Hypocrisy of American Slavery" or "On the Hypocrisy of American Slavery." And sometimes it's confused with another speech, given the next day, called "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" or "The Meaning of July 4th for the Negro."

But whatever title you know it by, Douglass' entire point in this speech is to contrast Fourth of July (Independence Day) celebrations with the reality of American slavery: it's super hypocritical to celebrate the nation's freedom while slaves are held in bondage.

It's not a tough concept to understand, says Douglass, but it seems some folks are having trouble.