Read this line from the text:
what have i, or those i represent, to do with your national independence?
what does douglass mean by the question in bold?
he does not know the history of the holiday
he wants to leave america for another citizenship
he wants to point out that many do not have freedom
he wants to share his feelings about the recent war.
not sure about this question

he wants to point out that many do not have freedom.

In this excerpt, Douglass wants to point out the hypocrisy of celebrating the independence of America while many people remained slaves. Independence, by definition, means freedom, and when Americans celebrate their independence, they celebrate the freedom of not being dominated by another country. He argues that a large percentage of the population cannot understand this feeling, as they are dominated by other people. Therefore, the independence of the country is of little importance to those that still cannot enjoy freedom.

modifying the base for word