The American Liberty And Freedom

Back in the nineteenth century men and women were not treated equally as they are now. Women did not have as much freedom as the men did and that caused a national movement. Not only were the women segregated from the men, but the discrimination against the African American race was a huge ordeal as well. With both movements combined, it led to a controversial development at that time. Not only were women fighting for equality, they were also fighting for the prejudice to end amongst the different races. The beginning of the Women’s Rights Movement and the Abolitionist Movement was not only a historic development, but it changed the world forever.

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”.

Prior to this time period woman were expected to follow rule of man and had little to no rights, unlike men. The Seneca Falls convention was an event that changed this. Declaration of Sentiments proclaimed, “He has created a false public sentiment, by giving to the world a different code of morals for men and women,” (Seneca Falls 305) Somewhere along the way of creating America the roles of a gender were created and misinterpreted. This is saying that women are equal to men and can do everything men cannot and that it is not morally wrong for this to occur. Support for women’s rights came from important funding documents such as the Declaration of Independence. Declaration of Sentiments expressed, “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights;” (Seneca Falls 304) This quote explains that the Declaration of Independence is in support of women’s rights. No man should be greater than women and vice versa. The reform grows in size and significance because as soon as one person speaks up others feel as though they can as well. Many events were significant to the reform impulse but slaver and women’s rights are two that stand

During this time after the Seneca Falls Convention women earned many other rights. Women were now allowed to work outside the home. They worked at factories as sewers and others as nurses, and teachers. This wasn’t the type of freedom they wanted at first but they accepted it because it helped them get closer to their goal. It wasn’t till soon after anti-suffragist’s came into the picture. These “antis” pointed out that voting would be a burden on women. There were branches in over 25 states

The election of Barack Obama as the 56th president of the United States raised many hopes that the “Black struggles” was finally over. For conservatives, Obama victory reassured their beliefs that there was no longer such thing as racism and that every American had equal rights and opportunity to pursue the American dream. While many people have come to believe that all races have equal rights in America, Tim Wise argues in his documentary “White Like Me” that not only does racism and unconscious racial bias still exist, but that also White Americans are unable to simply relate to the variety of forms racism and inequality Blacks experience. This is mainly because of the privileges they get as the “default.” While Wise explores the variety forms of racism and inequality today such as unconscious racism, Black poverty, unemployment, inadequate education system, and prison system, the articles by the New York Times Editorial Board, the Human Rights Watch (HRW), and Adam Liptak further explore some the disparities in the criminal justice system. Ana Swanson points out in her article, “The Stubborn Persistence of Black-White Inequality, 50 Years after Selma” that while the “U.S. has made big strides towards equal rights,” significant gaps still remains between the two races. With the Supreme Court striking down a “portion of the Voting Rights Act that stopped discriminatory voting laws from going into effect in areas of the country with histories of disenfranchisement,” civil

Paragraph: On July 19, 1849, 300 people arrived for the Seneca Falls Convention. Similarly to the Declaration of Independence, they made the Declaration of Sentiments, which listed the acts of tyranny of men over women. Before this convention, women were not allowed to speak in most meetings. This angered many women, inspiring them to fight for women rights. One example of this was during the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London in 1840. Men did not even want them to watch, so they tried to hide them behind curtains. Women couldn’t get jobs, even if they were the best in the class. Many people believed that they had to protest for reform about slaves and women rights.

The convention was organized by two women, Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who were barred from a World Anti-Slavery Convention in London because of their sex. This motivated them to establish a women’s rights movement in the United States. At the Seneca Falls Convention, which was held in upstate New York, women were advocating for women’s rights and raising awareness about women’s suffrage for the very first time. Stanton drafted a document called “The Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments” which was read at the convention and offered a greater understanding of the freedom and liberties they were fighting for. One of the most important things they were fighting for was a women’s right to vote.

During early abolitionist movements campaigns focused on returning the slaves to Africa. However after failing from lack of venue finances the Second Great Awakening brought forth new ideas. Previously, slaves were considered “property” of their masters and had no say in their work loaded lives. Reform movements looked to provide slaves with basic human rights. Their main argument brought forth the fact that they were humans, just like their white masters, and deserved to be treated as such. This was argued by claiming they were the “brothers and sisters” of the white slave owners. They argued that The Declaration of Independence, a basis of American democracy, says that “All men are created equal,” so they should be treated that way. This also presented itself as a women's rights issue, as female slaves were especially vulnerable to their white masters’ abusive natures (Document C). The Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 officially launched the modern women's rights movement. At this convention women's suffrage advocate Elizabeth Stanton argued over the right to vote. She claimed women deserved a voice in the government because they were taxed and already had to abide by the government (Document I). This movement sought to give equal rights to women, as well as increase the number of voters, which would further expand democratic ideals. Women's rights movements also grew when

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.

Oppression thrives in America because a majority of its citizens believes forms of oppression such as racism and sexism are relics of the past. What they do not know is that instead of disappearing, racism and sexism have just become so normalized in the United States to the point where people see them as just parts of everyday life. Institution are the rules and establishments put in place to help regulate peoples’ life on a social and global scale. White, straight men have been creating these institutions since America was first being settled. These customs and administrations were forged in ways meant to keep out those who White man deemed inferior all the while making their racist and sexist views the norms. When a society’s norms are made by people who see racism and sexism as natural, then women and people of color have no chance to prosper. While over time some of the overtly racist and sexist ideals of the past are now seen in a negative light, the institutions made by the dominate group still exist and continue to work in ways that keep White men on top (Sensoy, 2012, p.80 ). A society was made in which its people are socialized into believing ideas like women do not need any more right and that anything negative people of color experience is their own fault. By examining how sexism and racism continues to oppress minorities in society, it becomes easier to see, how despite no longer being acknowledged, White male supremacy is not a thing of the past.

Americans have made substantial strives to make freedom for everyone happen, not just those of white skin color. Thousands of deaths and many right movements later, we finally have some sort of freedom and equality today. Yet there are still movements today, such as the white leadership rallies, that try and strip away these rights for minorities. Americans also have lost the right to have privacy. Although the loss of privacy prevents terrorism, it’s still an invasion of our right.

The United States, even though considered the land of freedom, has been struggling with lingering racism and discrimination throughout the 19th and 20th century. Democratic reform throughout the century were implanted to eliminate the “tyranny of the white majority” Yet many scholars like Tocqueville, Fredrick Harris and WEB DuBois have challenged these results. The reality is that the tyranny of white majority has continued throughout the 18th to the 21st century resulting in a society that has suppressed and constantly failed to integrate African American into the white society by neglecting the race, using natural prejudice, race neutral policies, and laws that benefited whites more than African Americans.

Women had no such much entitlement as men had in the 19th century. Elizabeth Cady Stanton Was an American Women’s rights activist who demanded the rights for women. She Wrote the Seneca Falls Declaration. This document was the beginning of the women’s rights movement. She does a tremendous job constructing her declaration because it is basically modeled after the declaration of independence. The main point she tries to get a cross in the argument is that “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights” these writes being basic human right such as life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In her declaration, she’s able to show the audience

(Goldfield, 338) Since the cult of domesticity was making women inferior to men, women decided to do as the slaves did and fight for their own freedom. The women’s rights movement began in the mid-1800s. Female and male abolitionist found it necessary that women should be able to have the same rights as men. Just because biologically they are different, it does not mean they do not deserve the same rights. Women were denied the right to vote, property and a right to an education or job. (Goldfield, 338) At first the women’s movement was slow. Many women were afraid to speak out in fear of being shunned by their community. This was a brand new scary task that Women for the first time were going to deal with. A women speaking out against the norms of society was seen as a terrible thing to do. When you have many women speaking out for the same thing a change must be done. When the first national convention for women’s rights was called in Seneca Falls, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott were able to successfully use the Declaration of Independence as a model for their own Declaration of Sentiments. (Goldfield, 339) In their Declaration they branded that “male patriarchy as the source of women’s oppression” (Goldfield, 339) Stanton and Mott called for full women’s rights and to become independent citizens. Although the fight for women’s rights was always an important issue, most abolitionists deemed it less important

“Racial minorities, particularly Black Americans, have had a long and troubling history of disparate treatment by U.S criminal justice authorities.” (Birzer, 23) I am not here to give you another lesson on slavery, Jim Crow laws, the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s or any other struggle we faced in our history, but I do want you to keep it in mind as you read about the current struggle we still face in 2017. You would think that America would give us a break since we’ve been fighting for equality for centuries, but they are not simply because of the color of our skin. When I say “they” I mean White America. Now, don’t get me