Final answer:
To Douglass's audience, 'independence' primarily meant freedom from British rule as expressed in the Declaration of Independence; however, for African Americans, it simultaneously represented an aspiration for freedom from slavery by their fellow Americans.
Step-by-step explanation:
The word "independence" to Frederick Douglass's audience during the celebration of the Fourth of July reflected upon the struggle for "freedom from British rule". This historical context is steeped in the wish of American colonists to be free from the tyranny of a king and to establish a government based on the consent of the governed.
The Declaration of Independence voiced this desire for liberty and posited that all men are created equal with inherent rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
However, the term took on a profound and challenging meaning in the context of the African American experience, as enslaved people during that period also yearned for "freedom from slavery by fellow Americans", a fundamental anticlimax of the Revolutionary era’s call for liberty.
The presence of slavery created a stark contrast to the ideals expressed in the Declaration, highlighting the hypocrisy of a nation proclaiming freedom while many of its members were enslaved.
The statement by Samuel Johnson, "How is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of Negroes?" encapsulates this contradiction. Independence Day celebrations for African Americans were therefore laden with a clear undertone of struggle for their own emancipation.