Freedom, Liberty, And Democracy

Following the Civil War, America was in shambles. There were many groups with strong, conflicting ideas of how things should be. However, most groups had one idea in common: reducing the rights of African Americans as much as possible. Freed slaves had very little freedom under the law, were treated like a lesser species by those around them, and faced dangerous environments everywhere they went. Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation may have legally freed slaves, but African Americans were barely more than paid slaves.

When you ask people what freedom is they may respond that freedom is when you can do whatever you want to do at whatever time. Mostly this will be the response of kids and young adults. But this definition of freedom is incorrect. Freedom is when we are allowed to have power of right to act without violating other people's freedoms or rights. The most effective tools for establishing and preserving freedom are strong government and constitution. A quote that can help out the claim comes from the Declaration of independence “We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal: that they are endowed by their creator with unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”.

Then change in the 1730’s a religious group called the Quakers would inspire the Great Awakening which abolished slavery and demanded that slave holders across the colonies to do the same. That they would start to happen after the American Revolution by 1820’s and the north was on a path to end slavery for good and allowed blacks to live free in the north for the first time in American history, but that did not change for the south. The south offering liberties to white plantation owners have offered a few rights to blacks they would develop the ⅗ compromise that would determine how slaves would be counted as far as tax and legislative representation. While slavery started to get essentially worse in the southern states. It seems that the American Revolution did not do anything for the Africans for “freedom” besides what they did in the northern states by 1804. Every northern state either abolished slavery or passed a law to eliminate it

African American’s first legal sight of freedom came in 1799 with the Gradual Emancipation of slaves that were born on or after 1799. Many whites against slavery helped with their efforts in bring the Gradual Emancipation’s approval. The Quakers were the first to help the slaves fight for freedom. The New York Manumission Society contributed the most for the emancipation of slaves, but let’s not give all the credit to the whites. Black efforts undeniably helped in the process of gradually abolishing slavery as well.

leader. Freedom became a symbol for the nation, but not everyone in the nation was “free”. In the 1760s, the American Revolution changed the views of many living in the States. With much talk of freedom, people began to question the concept of slavery. As the States kept growing, the North and South started to gain different views of slavery. Because the North was industrialized and believed in factories while the South had huge cotton plantations that needed many workers, slavery was controversial. But one-by-one, Northern states began to outlaw slavery. Black slaves became free men, but because of the contrasting views, were often not treated as such. The question remains: how free were free Blacks in the North? Free Blacks in the North were not truly free and very restricted because of political, social, and economical limits.

Besides all the other growing issues from 1700-1800 in American History, there was one rising above all. The enslavement of the African people. While there was much debate about freedom, abolition, and all other things some African-Americans managed to find theirs. From 1775 to 1830 many African-Americans gained freedom by escaping to regions in which slavery wasn’t practiced or by purchasing it if granted while all at the same time the expansion of slavery greatly expanded in the American south. Free or enslaved, African-American were under constant oppression and were driven to take action towards the challenges they were faced with. While some looked to religion to escape these hardships, others looked to violence in which they believed

African Americans viewed themselves as beneficial and important citizens of America, and not just when it came to wanting to fight in the war. Understandably, they were offended and upset when Lincoln and the federal government proposed sending them all, slave and nonslave alike, to a colony in Central America, and they felt that the needs of the nation at large prevented them from being able to leave without helping their fellow countrymen however they could, using their constitutional right of freedom of assembly to meet together and come up with a resolution explaining their position and the reasoning for it (Doc. B). Following the war, African Americans were highly interested in participating in the formation of the new state constitutions and governments for the Reconstruction period. In Virginia, African Americans came together, similar to the ones in New York, asserting their opinion and ideology that all men in the state should have equal rights, namely suffrage and the other rights the Declaration of Independence had promised citizens of the United States, since they were now free men and therefore should have the same

African Americans, majority of them still enslaved, continued to fight for their freedoms. Many began to petition for their unalienable rights. Northern states petitioned to have the children of slaves freed once they reached the legal age as an adult while others ran away to the North to a free state (Voices of Freedom Chapter 6 pages 14-116).

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These are the three rights granted to every American, however, this did not seem to apply to the poor during the Gilded Age. The poor lacked opportunities to climb the ladder of social class to escape poverty, and the wealth of America was so concentrated in an individual few that one man, J.P. Morgan, was able to end the Financial Panic of 1893, preventing an economic depression. The rich were getting richer and the poor were getting poorer. The disparity between the wealthy and those facing poverty was ever growing, which makes one question, what should be done, if anything at all? This was a major problem during the time and was the topic of many debates. Figures like William Graham Sumner,

Change comes to those who seek it, but for Blacks living in the United States, it could not come fast enough. Since the moment they first set foot in America, Blacks have been at a distinct disadvantage. Slavery and the idea of Black inferiority has tarnished the American image since the first slaves were brought from Africa. Discontent grew out, both on the parts of the slaves and also their white allies. Eventually, in large part because of the slavery and the Civil War was fought. Although not entirely about slavery, the South feared that Abraham Lincoln would free their slaves and as a result succeeded. After the conclusion of the war, the victorious north abolished slavery with the creation of the 13th amendment and opened up the potential for African Americans to become citizens under the 14th amendment.

Between 1775 and 1830, in many places African Americans gained their freedom from slavery and in others, the institution of slavery expanded. Eventually, slavery became abundant in places where it was most necessary and died out in the places where it was of little use. In response, most free African Americans and enslaved African Americans took action against their maltreatment by petitions and willingness to fight.

Many African Americans got freedom and many didn’t which resulted in them being enslaved again or dying. The Revolutionary War caused too many deaths and unfair

During the time of the Revolutionary War, tensions between Great Britain and the 13 Northern America colonies were fighting to regain independence. The African-Americans had the choice to join in and be able to gain independence and freedom from their white supporters. Alexander Hamilton and John Laurens wanted to give them that chance of having freedom and wanted to create large troops of Africans who would fight with the Patriots in exchange for their freedom. The African-Americans had to adjust as the belief of abolition became more acceptable to those blacks willing to help the USA in the revolution against Britain. Although it was hard for African-Americans to achieve independence, they had to fight for their freedom throughout their lives

The United States of America declared their independence in 1776 when the number of slaves had risen to almost five hundred thousand. The Americans were under an oppressive administration in the revolutionary war era and this factor created an opportunity for African Americans to demand freedom in the reality of the revolution war. Nevertheless, even though Egalitarian principles were applicable to run the new born nation, there was continuous spread and expansion of slavery. Thus, freedom would mean white men and not blacks since only the whites were considered human.

The conquest of the American Revolution has a rather dynamic history of struggle between two nations, one nation wanting economic power, and the other nation wanting economic independence. This rebellion caused an uproar of all seekers of independence to form an alliance against Britain. Liberty was deemed as the most motivational principle that it redefined the Revolution in its entirety. So much so that enslaved African Americans wanted to fight for the same principle; however, for them--this was not only a fight for American Independence but also, a fight for freedom from their own shackles. Chapter five of the textbook From Slavery to Freedom, “Give Me Liberty,” John Hope Franklin expressed the major impact of African Americans surrounding the Revolutionary War. According to John Hope Franklin, America as a nation was not only founded upon an anti-tax rebuttal but also accrediting racism as a major driving force of the American Revolution.