Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Happiness?

In attempt to give slaves equal rights to the common American man, activists argued that “thay (they; slaves) have in Common with all other men a Natural and Unaliable (inalienable) Right to that freedom which the Grat Parent of the Unavers hath Bestowed equalley on all menkind and which they have Never forfuted by any Compact or agreement.” The slaves feel violated because they look just like the average white American citizen and are not given guaranteed rights that white citizens have.

According to the Declaration of Independence, signed in 1776, "[...] all men are created equal, [and] they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." One would then expect that every man, would be entitled to their freedom, and it was true, for all white men. African-Americans, however, faced a very different reality. They were still forced into slavery, they were deprived of those rights that all men were meant to have. While the north states opposed slavery, it was permitted in the south, and as the slavery issue raged on, one man would stand to fight for his freedom. His case, would go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court's decision would

          Freedom was finally rewarded to Americans, but how they manipulate, it was up to them. Was freedom and equality guaranteed for all men and women? Studying history we see that it does differ and in the Declaration it states, 'all men are created equal.'; This gets interpreted as all white men are created equal. In having such frame of mind, civilians began disputing. Not for the equal rights primarily, but for the unlawful slavery that was occurring. This time in history many laws and acts were distributed but often ignored such as the Fugitive Slave Acts 1850 and the Wilmont Proviso of 1846. Both were set for the benefits in trying to start the unchaining of slavery. Similarly to the Revolution, the Americans can be compared with the slaves of the United States. In parallel with writings from the Revolution, the Civil War had some great writers that

specific civil liberties such as those, African Americans also fought for equality between both races. Without the drive of these forerunners in the fight for equality, many slaves would not have the

Through the 1800 hundreds and the early 1900 many minorities were being oppressed and even though the federal government made countless attempts to bring equality, equality was never brought to them. Through the many attempts the government to eliminate slavery and racism blacks, women, and other minorities were constantly oppressed. Slavery was the founding ideology that lead to the unfair treatment of blacks for many years. This same unfair treatment was spread throughout women and Indians in different forms. This issue of civil liberties was attempted to be fixed by the government but the issue was ultimately bigger than the promises the government made to fix it.

Once the civil war came to an end, of course this ended slavery and provided African Americans freedom, but it didn’t provide them security or equality. African Americans had to still be dependent on the white man for things that they weren’t able to just provide to themselves. At first, the states were supposed to be providing and protection the rights of individuals. But, by being able to have these amendments, they provide political equality and equal treatment for all American’s within the United States regardless of their

From 1815 to 1850 Women and Immigrants were not treated equally to the Native-born Americans. They had less rights and were often the victims of prejudice. The United States did not fulfill the ideals of the Declaration of Independence for all people. In the 1800’s, Immigrants and Woman did not have equal political, social, and economic rights.

From 1815 to 1850… Women and african americans didn't have equal rights in the US. Wealthy white men were really the only people that had rights around this time. Women, african americans, immigrants, Mexican Americans, and Native Americans all didn't have rights.

Women have been fighting for equality since the early 1700’s. Abigail Adams was one of the first advocates to bring up the topic in Massachusetts on March 31st. (5-1) Abigail writes a letter in response to her husband John Adams. In her letter she tells her husband to “Remember the ladies” when drawing a new federal government. Another case of equality came about in the early 1800’s with Deborah Sampson. Sampson pretended to be a man named Robert Shutlif and was shot twice in the Revolutionary War. (5-9) At the time of the Revolutionary War women were consider to be inferior to men. Even the first ladies had a number of privileges they could not receive because they were female. The Revolutionary War increased people 's attention to political things and made issues of liberty and equality very important. During the time of the Revolutionary War people began rethinking of the rules for society which also led to some reconsideration of the relationship between men and women. In the North, where states abolished slavery after the Revolution, black women attained rights to marry, to have custody of their children, and to own their own property. Only on paper they had the same rights as white women. In the Southern states, lawmakers continued to reject enslaved women these simple human rights. But even in the South, a larger number of freed black women enjoyed the same privileges under the law as white women.

Life… Liberty… and the pursuit of happiness. The 3 things that we, as Americans all share, and that itself, cannot be taken away from us, unalienable rights, as you would put it. But, what are these things, and what do they mean. Today, I will go in depth of what they actually are.

As many people are aware, African Americans struggled a lot when trying to receive equal rights. Even though the Civil War that took place from 1861 to 1865 had accomplished to abolish slavery in 1865, African Americans were still being treated poorly and weren’t receiving civil rights. “Civil Rights are the rights of all Americans to equal protection under the law, as provided by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution” (Bardes, Schmidt, Shelley 92).

Throughout history, African Americans both free and enslaved were not treated equally nor permitted with the same rights as white men. African Americans were enslaved and not allowed to vote or hold public office. Since the 15th century, African Americans have been treated less than human, some even experienced brutal punished for justifiable mistakes. The use of African American slave labor was an enormous contribution to agriculture and labor. It became a part of southern state’s economy within America. Additionally, African Americans were forced or born into slavery where they endured harsh working conditions with zero pay and often times were punished by their masters. Even slaves that became emancipated or paid for their freedom were also treated differently than whites. Notably, blacks did not have the same privileges as whites and were forced to carry a “freedom card” wherever they went. Failing to do so would lead to severe consequences, such as being forced back into slavery. Once African Americans were considered free, they faced additional discriminations such as not being able to vote or serve as a figure in public office. Due to this and additional factors, African Americans were almost entirely incapable of defending themselves against whites. Since the start of the 17th century, African Americans, free and enslaved were punished for their skin color and were considered the lowest scale by not being allowed to the same opportunities and rights and white men.

Additionally, the Declaration of Independence called for the equality of all men in society. For example, the document states that “all men are created equal.” Jefferson, however, truly meant that all free, property-owning white males are created equal. Therefore, the institution of slavery demonstrates how African American slaves were not included in this statement. In Frederick Douglass’s Rochester speech, he asked whether political freedom and natural justice embodied in the Constitution extended to African slaves. Of course the words of the document did not extend to African Americans, which is clearly depicted through the Slave Codes. Only white male landowners could truly take part in the democratic government and African slaves were perceived as property. Obviously, the ideal that all men are created equal was not true as slaves were unable to vote, own property, or bear arms. Additionally, enslaved Africans were subject to legal imbalance and if they were accused of a crime, they would almost always be put to death. Several more Slave Codes included travel restrictions, ownership of

The United States of America is known for its claims of democracy, equality, and freedom for all of it’s citizens. These claims are the foundation of America’s independence and essentially its entire history. But “claims” are simply all they were in history. While many achieved equal democracy and freedom, the African-American population of the US was exempt from these “inalienable rights” and heavily oppressed by society. The cruelty of slavery and oppression as a whole reached its peak in the 19th century bringing upon the abolitionist movement, which eventually aided in the historic removal of slavery and the continued fight for equal right of citizenship for African-Americans. Of the many abolitionists who fought for

The American declaration of independence stated, that: “All men are created equal”. But in the 19th century only whites were born with equal opportunities. Africans were imported as slaves and had to work on the fields of the whites. Until 1865 the Negroes were treated and looked at as something lower than human. They were compared to apes, and therefore just owned the same rights as animals. They were raised believing that whites were superior. It took them years to realize that they have to stand up for their rights. The uprising turned into a brutal civil war.