Douglass says that he feels distanced from the people to whom he is speaking because they identify with free people, and he identifies with slaves.
Fredrick Douglass gave this famous speech before the Civil Wars. His speech was about the Hippocratic nature that the Americans have been facing and practicing simultaneously. As he moves on with the speech he becomes angrier. He wants slavery to be abolished through any means. He speaks about the celebration of 4th July which was to be celebrated as the day of freedom. It is very disappointing for him to see that the people are celebrating the freedom of a nation which has been build on the surface of slavery. In his speech, he mentions about his own people who do not associate themselves with the slaves rather they identify themselves with the whites.