The Role Of Freedom In America

America is the universal symbol of freedom. But is it really free? Does the history of the United States stay true to the ideas of our forefathers? Or has the definition been altered to fit American policies? Has freedom defined America? Or has America defined freedom? I believe America was at first defined by freedom, then after time, America defined freedom, altering the definition to fit the niche it fits in, but still keeping key components so it still seems to be staying true to the ideas of America’s founding fathers.

The way the Americans gained independence may not be as valiant as it seems. The war lacked just war criteria despite many arguments. The idea was foolish and unnecessary and proved the lack of development amongst this young territory. Many factors lead to this premature uprising and the French and Indian War is a great reason for most of those factors. The decision by the American colonists to revolt against British rule was premature and overly aggressive.

Many individuals came to America picturing the land of the free, where they would be able to relish in benefits economic opportunity, worship as the pleased, and have equality. These individuals were running away from the order that their native country was suffering in search for a better future. Progressive America offered an opportunity and promise of getting exactly what they desperately looked for which was freedom .Cities made way to what people came to know as mass consumption that become the meaning of freedom for society in that era. It wasn’t uncommon for the American life to be considered as the commonalities of goods accessible in other countries.

The United states has been called the, “Land of The Free” since its independence was won from Great Britain, however, until 1965 “Free” only applied to a select demographic, white, land owning males. The most largely discriminated demographic before 1996 and somewhat even so today is the African American population. In 1619 the first African American slaves were introduced into the colony of Jamestown, Virginia 1. Then after many years and revolts, in 1831 slavery was finally abolished and all freed slaves were given 40 acres and a mule to help these newly freed slaves begin their new lives 2. Although this was helpful, many conflicts arose from this new found freedom and the struggle didn’t get any easier. It wasn’t until 1965, after the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), World War II, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and several supreme court cases, that African American finally achieved the right to vote3. Even after these several legal advancements and many different civil rights movements the playing field, after many attempts to be leveled out, was still uneven and the day by day struggles continued. Even today, 396 years later, there are still racial bias and inequalities toward the African American community. While in the past or present changes have been and are being made by either the executive, legislative, or judicial branch to help African Americans achieve universal freedom and equality, but it is unclear

In the early 19th and late 20th centuries, freedom among the African Americans has been a constant battle between his U.S born given rights and the limitations places on such rights by the states. Through the expansion and development of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century, the term freedom had been ironically used, for example through the 13th amendment where a former slave could be called a free man yet his freedom was limited and strictly outlined by the government. Slavery, though said to be abolished after 1865, had taken numerous new forms in society to continue the oppression of the colored race. For example, the idea of separate but equal that was once seen as constitutional. There is indubitably irony a between the government acceptance of slaves as freed American individuals and the deprivation of basic rights. Throughout the late 19th and early 20th century, freed Black individuals were increasing in government participation as soldiers and were served with a sense of inclusion in society through the adoption of amendments yet were constantly deprived of social acceptance by shunning blacks through segregation and disenfranchised through the regulation of the African American’s lives.

The United States of America was founded on the principles of "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness"; all three of these still hold true today, however, "liberty," or freedom, has come to mean something entirely different to most of society. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, freedom is defined as "the power, rooted in reason and will,...to perform deliberate actions on one's own responsibility" (CCC, 1731). All humans, made in the image and likeness of God, intrinsically possess the ability to make choices. This freedom makes everyone responsible for his or her own choices, whether they be good or bad, and grants the greatest ability of all: the ability to love (Pennock 119). Freedom can be defined in terms of internal freedom or external freedom, with specific attention to what limits, or impedes, freedom. Since freedom is a central element of the American ideology, much of the culture, specifically media, often features concepts relating to it.

Americans have never accepted being told what to do. They do not tolerate dictatorship and the limiting of their freedom. In 1919, an American freedom was taken. When the government began regulating the consumption of alcohol (Prohibition), they created one of the largest internal rebellions that Americans have ever participated in. Alongside the battle that had previously existed for racial equality, women are still on the hunt for total equality. Females of all ages and backgrounds are still fighting for the same opportunities that are presented to males. Future struggles are to be anticipated to these battles that have displayed the fire within Americans and how they refuse to conform to beliefs that they do not

What does freedom look like? The definition of freedom varies. When I think of freedom three words come to my mind, which are liberty, independence, and equality. The subject of freedom is very important in the United States because it has been our nation is built on. We should all be thankful for our freedom and independence.

The American Ideological Consensus is that “…the American people have shared much of the same ideals, the same basic principles, and the same patterns of belief” (McClenaghan 104). When America filled itself with ideologically homogenous people, their beliefs started to define our nation and became American identities. If asked what they think of America, peoples of other nations would say that the roads are made of glass, opportunity is in the air, and civil rights are plentiful. These accounts maybe accentuated; however, the underlying message is that the American people have more freedoms then the peoples of other nations do. The most widely known American identity is freedom, and even though that American identity has been tried and

Another example of freedom in United States is the African American Civil rights movement. The civil rights movement started on December 1st, 1955. The event that sprung up the civil rights movement was when Rosa Parks refused to give her seat up on a bus, and was then arrested for it. After incident on the bus, Martin Luther King Jr. led a boycott which eventually led to busses being desegregated as well as causing many protests in the South. In 1963 protests started to gain publicity, eventually resulting in Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous speech. Many events happened after Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech to further civil rights including the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a labor law that outlawed discrimination

Since this country's inception, America has been a haven of freedom for all its citizens. Beginning with the Pilgrims, who came to this new world in an effort to escape persecution for the fundamental aspects of their cultural identity. The Pilgrims show, that these freedoms existed even before this country decided to build its country foundation upon them. The men who founded this great nation, looked back in history as they penned what is now known as the Constitution. This unprecedented union´s law code was not brought to bear based entirely upon newly created principles. Rather, they employed principles from many other historical documents, including the Magna Carta, and George Mason´s 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights.

Freedom has no universal definition; freedom is subjective by nature it means something different to everyone. For some freedom is physical such as wanting to free themselves from confinement. Physical freedom is most often sought by individuals seeking liberation from a controlling system such as prison or enslavement. This type of freedom is generally accepted as having the ability to move, eat, and live where you see fit without others permission. Physical freedom is the most simple and easiest type of freedom to grant; however, it is also often taken for granted especially in western societies. Being able to move from state to state or even country to country as seen in EU is a rarity in most of the world. This is especially true for women who in countries such as Saudi Arabia who “could not travel abroad without the approval of their male guardian.”(Amnesty

America “the free”, well only free when it came to certain aspects of the average American. When it came to life of an American, and all the troubles that came with the nation forming, it was obvious that the power was in the hands of the government and rich, rather than the people that reside in it. The issues that they faced when it came to slavery, the government and the upbringing of the Industrial Revolution were challenging because of the restrictions each brought upon men, women, free, non-free slaves. Without freedom, “the people” could not be in any sort of power when it came to anything, only the higher power.

Without the freedom that is granted to me and my fellow Americans, life would be nothing like the way we live

“Ask not what what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”