Predated The Formation Of The United States

Searching back to its beginnings, religion has a profound impact on cultural identity through the presence of deep and ancient roots that connect a people to their glorious, memorable and often idealized histories. By equating a given religion with the success of a society often times national pride and religious pride become intertwined. Though this manifests itself differently in each country, throughout all four surveyed this attribute seemed to be present.

One of the most important parts of the Declaration of Independence is its preamble, and, more specifically, certain phrases contained within the preamble. Thomas Jefferson does an excellent job of explaining why the colonies are doing the things they are doing, and is very clear in stating what he and his associates think are the “unalienable rights” of the American people. Among these are “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Probably one of the most famous lines in American history, I have chosen to focus on this phrase and what those three things might have meant to Thomas Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers as they prepared this document, as well as what they mean to us today.

n 1619 a Dutch ship brought 20 slaves to America and it took nearly 240 years for slavery to end in 1865. In the absence of rights or freedom, my ancestors were put to work growing anything from cotton to tobacco. For centuries, my people fought for equality. Although we are “free” the fight has still remain. As a black women raised in America, I was hit with some harsh realities at a very young age.

The first American slaves were brought to the North American colony of Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. Their job was to aid in the production of crops such as tobacco as the Virginians “were desperate for labor, to grow enough to stay alive… needed labor, to grow corn for subsistence, to grow tobacco for export” (Zinn 24,25). The slaves that were being brought to the Americas were seen as builders of the economic foundations of the new nation and as time passed the ownership of slaves dwindled but inequality and segregation grew to be more prevalent in the U.S (“Slavery in America”). On January 1st, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, an executive order which freed slaves in the United States not within the Confederacy, under Union Control. Two years later the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution which abolished slavery but many Southern States managed to create unattainable prerequisites for blacks to live, work or participate in society. With nearly one hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation, African-Americans were still treated just as unequally. Oppression, race-inspired violence, segregation and an unequal world of disenfranchisement lingered across Southern States for African-Americans. The Jim Crow Laws

The United States of America, a symbol for freedom and liberty throughout the world, was built upon the backs of millions of vulnerable slaves. By the time we became a country in 1776, slavery was engrained in many of our founding fathers minds as the source of economic wellbeing. Each state, community and individual had their own ideas about the institution and whether it was morally or constitutionally right. It is one of the highest debated topics in the history of our country. Slavery, controversial as it may be, was an integral part of the maturation of our young nation.

The United Sates is a country based on the principles of liberty and independence and "inalienable rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," Yet for over 200 years, America has denied fellow human beings their basic human rights in their institution of slavery.

The issue of slavery has been in infamous part of American history since it first started in the 1600’s in Jamestown, Virginia. During the colonial era, white male landowners needed help on their land taking care of crops, so they would purchase the African slaves after they arrived by boat and have them work the land as well as other tasks that needed to be done such as tending to

America began as thirteen small colonies under the rule of Great Britain. As time progressed we as colonies decided that being under Great Britain's rule was toxic and we needed to be our own country. Our decision to declare our freedom turned American from partially peaceful colonies to a post apocalyptic wasteland. Our fight towards Great Britain brought disease, death, and in some cases defeat. This fight was cost families everything. America also has a deep history with the topic of slavery. African citizens would be captured and brought against the will to America to be a Southern’s slave. Slaves were sometimes separated from their families, beaten, and killed. Alongside with people being discriminated towards by their race, some were discriminated by

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.

Slavery (the ownership of another human as one’s own property) is one of the oldest traditions in human history. History shows that ancient Rome and Greece valued their wealth upon the number of slaves an individual owned. Their service was to provide slave labor for their owners. As time progressed, slavery began to evolve into something much different– especially in the North American colonies. A new nation was emerging, fueled by a drive for expansion and a growing economy. The United States exploited African Americans through racial slavery to fill the labor shortage and created a system that stripped them of their basic rights, dignity, and created social barriers to ensure their subservience to Southern society.

Slavery has been entwined with American history ever since Dutch traders brought twenty captive Africans to Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. Slavery in America is a subject with minimal truths and stories rarely told. The public school system excludes the fact that eight of the first twelve American presidents were major slaveholders. Emancipation brought freedom, but not approximation. The civil rights movement killed Jim Crow, but shadows remained. Affirmative Action created opportunities, but racism continues.

Slavery is a stain in the history of the United States that will always be particularly remembered for the cruelty it exhibited. Up until 1865 slaves were imported in shiploads and treated as if they were merely cattle. On the farms slaves were given no mercy and had to work long, arduous days for nothing. Additionally they were often subject to cruel overseers who would beat and whip them on a regular basis. As brutal and destructive as the institution of slavery was, slaves were not defenseless victims. Through their families, and religion, as well as more direct forms of resistance, Africans-Americans resisted the debilitating effects of slavery and created a vital culture supportive of human dignity.

This is because religion in American was closely tied to freedom and it thrived in the American Enlightenment that emphasized liberty. Religion was also seen as compatible with “reason, science, and life of the mind in general.” To support this claim, Himmelfarb gives examples of American figures who were intellectuals and had a religious background in their life. Figures such as Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush were a few figures that she uses to support the idea that religion has been an integral key to the thinking of the American

Religion, whether we realize it or not, is a major element of American society (and also worldwide history). For many, religion is a significant part of their cultural identity. Religion plays a part in all levels of politics and is often an aspect of community events and organizations. Everyday, we all interact with people who have different religious backgrounds and personal beliefs. Children born into religious families are very connected with their religions from birth and this affects the way they will see the world for the rest of their lives. Even those who later explore other faiths or convert to other religious ideas will be affected in

     The history of the United States is filled to the brim with an abundance of significant events. Over the course of this nation’s young history there have been numerous social institutions. Many have been a necessity in our development. However, the US was home to one of the greatest atrocities committed on mankind. The institution of slavery is not only the most embarrassing but most sever infraction on the natural rights of man. At times there were in excess of three million black Americans enslaved in this country. It was not the dismal living conditions nor the bleak existence they lived that led them into a resistance of slavery. It was the theft, the