
The Fourth of July is one of the most, if not the most, celebrated holidays in America. It is a day of pride for the country as a whole and a day to celebrate the progress that our country has made since it began. However, the Fourth of July was not always a day of celebration and independence for all.  In 1852, Frederick Douglass delivered his speech, “What to a Slave is the Fourth of July.” In this speech, Douglass addresses an audience of abolitionists in New York and gives his opinion on the Fourth of July. He thinks it is an absolute mockery to try and pretend that slaves have anything to celebrate on this holiday because they still have not earned their freedom.

The “Democratic Senate Leadership and the Compromise of 1850” by Holman Hamilton discusses the “Compromise of 1850” and how Democrats played a crucial role in enacting the compromise between the North and South concerning slavery. Nakesha Bradley, in her poem, “Independence Day,” discusses what the Fourth of July means to her as a Native American and it differs significantly from Douglass’ opinion and shows how the Fourth of July has affected her life many years after Douglass’ speech. 

The Compromise of 1850 is a crucial point in American history. It was a very heated debate because the Northerners who wanted slavery to be abolished in the new territories and the Southerners who pushed for slavery to be extended to these new territories. The “Democratic Senate Leadership and the Compromise of 1850” summarizes how Democrats during this time fought to expand slavery and how they eventually came to a compromise. This relates to Fredrick Douglass’ speech, “What to a Slave is the Fourth of July”, which he delivered in 1852, because Frederick Douglass talks about how we need to abolish slavery. Yet two years before he gave his speech, the United States made compromises allowing new slaves states to enter the Union and thus expanded slavery instead of abolishing it. The Compromise of 1850 had a major impact on Douglass’ speech because although this compromise outlawed slavery in California when it became part of the United States, it also enacted the Fugitive Slave Law, which created incredibly harsh penalties for runaway slaves and provided that even if a slave made it to the North, they still were not free. Douglass talks about the Fugitive Slave Law in his speech, calling it “tyrannical legislation” because it takes away all rights for a black person because blacks could just be accused of being a runaway slave and would be taken back to the South. Douglass was happy to hear that the Compromise of 1850 banned the slave trade in the District of Columbia. The Compromise of 1850 also allowed for popular sovereignty to decide whether the territories of Utah and New Mexico would permit slavery. This relates to Douglass’ speech because Douglass says that abolitionists have to speak out against slavery for change to occur. Overall, Douglass tends to disagree with the Compromise of 1850 on many points. However, Douglass does agree on a few issues and the two are related because Douglass disagreed with some parts so much so that he delivered a speech about it two years after the compromise was agreed on. 

Nakesha Bradley is a Native American writer who frequently writes about her life as a Native American in her work. In her poem, “Independence Day,” she discusses what the Fourth of July means to her as a Native American and it differs significantly from Douglass’ opinion. She begins her poem by saying “How we celebrate a holiday not meant for us” (Bradley 2). She continues on to show how Native Americans celebrate the Fourth of July. This mostly revolves around the unique dancing that occurs. The narrator says, “Days like today make me wish I had learned to dance” (Bradley 8-9). She discusses the fancy shawl and jingle dance, which are both traditional Native American dances and says the dances, “Tell stories with their feet” (Bradley 11). She continues to discuss how beautiful the dances are and how the dances do not miss a single beat. The announcer then explains how to “snag” at a Powwow, which essentially means how to get a date to a Powwow, which everyone thinks is funny. Everyone seems to be having a good time until a drunk man comes into the fairgrounds. The drunk man makes fun of the dancers and distracts them by throwing them off a step. Then, a feather drops and everyone goes silent. The police eventually come and drag away the drunk man. Bradley then says, “I know what you are thinking Indians and alcoholism, but I should tell you, the drunk man was white” (Bradley 24-26).

Frederick Douglass and Nakesha Bradley have very differing opinions on the Fourth of July, but both agree that the holiday is not a celebration for them. Douglass, in his speech, “What to a Slave is the Fourth of July,” discusses that he has nothing to celebrate on the Fourth of July because African Americans still have not earned their freedom. He goes on to say that the “Fourth of July is yours, not mine.” Douglass is saying that to ask him to celebrate freedom for the white man is an “Inhumane mockery.” Nakesha Bradley certainly seems to agree that the Fourth of July is not a holiday for Native Americans to celebrate. The very first thing she asks in her poem, “Independence Day,” is “How we celebrate a holiday not meant for us.” Bradley stresses the Native Americans essentially celebrate their heritage by performing traditional dances and playing music and the celebration is ruined when a drunk white man disrupts the celebration. Both authors would certainly agree that the Fourth of July is pretty much exclusively for whites.

This country, as a whole, has evolved an incredible amount since Frederick Douglass’ speech. Even though we had to fight a civil war to free slaves, Frederick Douglass believed that more was needed to enhance rights for those who were slaves. One of the biggest problems in this country today is that we are still incredibly divided between the white and minority communities. Hopefully with a new President, America can lessen that divide and continue to progress as a country, with the goal that all people feel they have equal rights. Although Holman Hamilton’s essay and Nakesha Bradley’s poem seem to have little to do with each other, they are related in the fact that it shows how minorities were treated before and after Douglass’ speech. 
