In this lesson, students will analyze an excerpt from Frederick Douglass's powerful 1852 speech, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" Students will explore Douglass's critique of the hypocrisy embedded in the celebration of American independence while millions of enslaved people were denied basic freedoms. The lesson emphasizes close reading strategies, including vocabulary annotation, historical context analysis, and identifying the author's purpose. Through guided questions, students will examine Douglass's use of rhetorical strategies such as irony, rhetorical questions, and vivid imagery. They will also be asked to analyze how Douglass contrasts the experiences of white Americans celebrating the Fourth of July with the suffering of enslaved people. The lesson encourages students to critically engage with the text and historical references, supporting their arguments with evidence from the speech.