One day after our day of independence, on July 5, in 1852, at Rochester's Corinthian Hall, Douglas gave a speech commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It was biting oratory, in which the speaker told his audience, "This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn." And he asked them, "Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak to-day?"
Within the now-famous address is what historian Philip S. Foner has called "probably the most moving passage in all of Douglas' speeches."
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