Final answer:
Frederick Douglass uses the occasion of the Fourth of July to criticize the nation for its hypocrisy, as the celebration of freedom and democracy contrasted with the continued existence of slavery and discrimination in the United States. Douglass and other leaders of the time advocated for the true application of the nation's founding principles to all citizens.
Step-by-step explanation:
Douglass criticizes his nation for asking him to speak during the Fourth of July and says, therefore, his topic would be American hypocrisy. This criticism comes from the paradox of celebrating freedom and democracy in a nation that still permitted slavery and discrimination. Frederick Douglass, being an African American leader and a former slave, felt the irony of being asked to celebrate a liberty that his people were not fully granted. His speeches and writings frequently condemned this contradiction, emphasizing the collective national responsibility to address the injustices faced by African Americans and other marginalized groups.
During the 19th century, leaders like Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and others highlighted issues of segregation, disenfranchisement, and racial prejudice, which were starkly at odds with the ideals of freedom and equality that the Fourth of July supposedly represented. Their advocacy was not only a fight against slavery and inequality but also a broader struggle for the true application of the nation's founding principles to all its inhabitants, regardless of race.