The Freedom Of Freedom

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”.

King spoke of the limited freedom of the African Americans in “I have a Dream,” “But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free”(King, Para. 3).

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.

In the instance, that freedom is not given, and then it should be demanded. This is demonstrated by Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a Dream” speech. On August 28, 1963, King delivered his speech to 250,000 angry people of color at the Lincoln Memorial. At this time people of color were discriminated against, which meant they were not receiving the freedom promised to them in the Declaration. The Declaration states, “All men have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” It was clear that this statement did not apply to people of color. To stress this statement King States “It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar her citizens of color of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad

For many years, history has told us tales of freedom. The independence of the United States back in July 4, 1776, was the starting point of the great concept, freedom. Yet there was no concept of freedom for the African American community. Once the Civil War took place, by the end 1865 the Emancipation Proclamation contributed to have their freedom that they needed since 1776. Unfortunately, during the "Reconstruction era", blacks were free by law, but no resources, and racism kept blacks in slavery.

Most people understand that slavery was a terrible thing, but most might not fully understand the struggles that free colored men and women endured as well. While slavery was legal, free men would often be kidnapped and forced into slavery, and sometimes slaves actually escape to freedom. If an African American was considered a free man, he or she had to get official documentations stating so. Even after the documents were given to them, some of them still found themselves as slaves. There are many different stories about slavery, but just because a slave escapes from slavery, does not mean he or she is free from a slave’s mindset. Although they were in different positions in life, slaves and free African Americans experienced the same hardships, fears, and daily struggles.

James T. Lynch, a black minister in a town called Savannah, describes the scene this way, “I have been here for some days. The colored people did not seem to realize that they were free, as their status was not announced by any proclamation. The scarcity of provisions, the unsettled state of things, no employment—all had the effect of causing people to stand on the threshold of freedom like the rescued passengers of a ship on a barren sea-shore, wet and shivering with the cold blast of the tempest. They wanted encouragement, advice, and strength to go forward and assume the responsibilities of free men.” With their freedom, new citizenship and all the rights and privileges that come along with that, the African Americans set off to use what they got.

The article “Freedom For All” was mainly about how a list of events in past time led up to the day that we give, known as National Freedom Day. National Freedom Day, which we celebrate on February 1st every year is a day where we commemorate the independence that all Americans savor today(“Freedom For All” 1).

As Martin Luther quoted, “This note was the promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. ”(line 22) He enforced the Declaration of Independence; stating how everyone has the same equal rights to freedom and equality. But even after blacks getting rights, they still don’t have equal rights like the whites do.

When United States was founded, it was signified as the most progressive and political movement in Western Civilization, which has continued to change and form from all the racial, ethnic, and religious diversities within society. Through the freedom that was first generated from the separation of the church and state to the manifestation of the Constitution on December 15, 1791, it has changed the course of history forever. The expression of the people’s legal rights was the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which was adopted and later put into action in the 17th century. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion...” This bill gave people a chance to express their boundless desires, simple freedoms and more notably religious actions in America. American Christianity has deteriorating moral standards and blindly accepts everything within society.

Everyone has their own version of what the definition of freedom is here in the United States but the basic definition it is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Under the circumstances of following the laws. As time has gone on it has helped freedom come along way with all the different eras and the ups and the downs that occurred that has shaped us to that “American Dream” of freedom we have today. There are many events that helped shape Americans freedom today and these are just some of the events that really helped push the rights we have today, woman starting to get jobs, slaves getting freed, Native Americans sharing land, segregation, equal rights to all and passing the law for gay marriage.

When it comes to freedom for African Americans, it isn’t something that was handed down to them. Obtaining freedom was a hardship as they had to fight for many years to gain what white people in American automatically, for the most part, got. The meaning of freedom for African Americans between 1865 and 1920 was what the desperately needed, to become free from their captives, freedom is something they required for years and at the end of the Civil War was something they have finally obtained. However, they had to endure so much chaos to try and keep it. Between the racism, Jim Crow laws, and slaughters African American didn’t give up on the hope to one day be free.

According to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s, “I Have a Dream” speech, Blacks were denied their equal rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (I Have a Dream). The Emancipation Proclamation, written by Abraham Lincoln, supposedly freed all slaves but Blacks were still treated with disrespect. Blacks needed to have equal rights for many reasons.

After years of oppression and violence and slavery, the idea of decolonization gave people of color an inkling of hope of obtaining sovereign rights. People of color longed for education, decent wages, expression, autonomy, and independence (p.55). The injustice of being denied sovereign rights for so long stoked a fire in the

Based on two different definitions of liberty, the state and corporations each have different threats to individuals. There are two ways to define liberty, the freedom from coercion and the freedom to live a flourishing life. If solely based on the first definition, the state is more coercive than corporations and has more intrusion on individual liberty. It has rights to grant punishment of imprisonment while a corporation can hardly achieve that severity. For example, if a person is accused of committing a crime, he or she may be placed in jail and lose the basic liberty, for example, to see families whenever they want to. In comparison, the worst punishment by a corporation, being fired by the firm, cannot compare with that from the