IT'S WHY THE rIGHT HATES THE FOUNDING:

Transitioning from the second to the third section, Douglass noted there were those who claimed all the horrors and injustices of slavery he "denounced" were "guaranteed and sanctioned by the Constitution of the United States" as "framed by the illustrious Fathers of this Republic." In contrast to the "honest men" Douglass proclaimed the Founders to be in the first section, those who enlisted the Constitution to defend slavery suggested the Founders "were the veriest imposters that ever practiced on mankind." Douglass vehemently disagreed with those who charged such "baseness on the framers of the Constitution of the United States." 

Americans who use this speech to denounce the Founding or the Constitution as explicitly pro-slavery find themselves in stark disagreement with Douglass. Instead, they find themselves, ironically, in agreement with supporters of slavery who made the same argument: that the Constitution was designed to protect slavery.

This odd alliance between ideological opponents is not new. Elements of the abolitionist movement, chief among them William Lloyd Garrison, made similar arguments at the time. Garrison went so far as to burn a copy of the Constitution, denouncing it as "A Covenant with Death and an Agreement with Hell." Since Douglass opposed both the Garrisonian and pro-slavery interpretation of the Founding, one assumes he would equally oppose the anti-Founding views of modern self-loathing Americans. 

While the sheer power of the second section of the speech will always stand out, arguably, the most radical sentences come near the conclusion. "The Constitution is a GLORIOUS LIBERTY DOCUMENT," Douglass boldly declared. He implored his audience to "Read its preamble, consider its purposes. Is slavery among them? Is it at the gateway? or is it in the temple? It is neither." As the "charter of our liberties, which every citizen has a personal interest in understanding thoroughly," Douglass was convinced the Constitution contained "principles and purposes, entirely hostile to the existence of slavery." 

Lucas Morel points out Douglass could use "incendiary" language "as well as any abolitionist of the day," but what makes this speech truly shocking is this was the "first speech where he announced that he had a change of heart and mind in particular about the constitution." Douglass refused to stay in his echo chamber. He read widely, thought critically, and, in the end, changed his mind. After his courageous fight against slavery and passionate defense of the Founding, Douglass' truly liberal approach to learning may be his greatest lesson for us today. 

"Notwithstanding the dark picture I have this day presented of the state of the nation," concluded Douglass, "I do not despair of this country... I, therefore, leave off where I began, with hope." And where did this "hope" come from? He found it in "the Declaration of Independence, the great principles it contains, and the genius of American Institutions." Douglass ends the same way he began, with a passionate defense of the Founding. His powerful condemnation of slavery in the second section of the speech came not from a hatred of America, but a deep love for the promise held in the nation's Founding Charters. 

In defending the Founders, the Declaration, and the Constitution, while harshly criticizing the nation for failing to live up to the principles it proclaimed, Douglass revealed himself to be that most unfashionable thing: a patriot.

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