American Democracy Dbq

After many years of British bombardment, constant wars, and cons in America's government, America finally is the independent country it is today. Although, America was not always free and independent. During the 1600's through the 1800's, America was merely striving for a democracy in which a democracy meant that the people had a voice and were entitled to equal rights. In the 1600's, the mother country Britain took control of America. Britain angered the colonists with silly taxes that the colonists did not want to pay for much like the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, the Townshend Acts, and the Tea Act. The British caused many wars and conflicts and angered many but by the 1700's, one wise man by the name of Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration

of Independence. The Declaration of Independence was a document that was signed and passed in 1776 and stated that America was able to form its own country and no longer would withhold Britain's support.

Because of how America treated slaves unfairly and how biased it was towards women, the United States, or the U.S, was not deserving of its reputation as a pioneer in democracy, therefore, the U.S was undemocratic.

To begin with, the U.S treated slaves unfairly by treating them like property which was undemocratic. The Middle Passage is one fair example. The Middle Passage was the crossing between Africa and America and was a route on a ship that traded slaves for different goods. Slaves abroad the ship were treated very poorly and were being treated like property. As depicted in the illustration, Stowage of the British slave ship Brookes, it shows the plan of a slave ship and illustrations of two ships. It states, “Plan of lower deck with stowage of 292 slaves 120 of these being stowed

under the shelves as shown in figure 2 and 3.” The slaves would be forced onto the ship along with almost 300 others and all the slaves would be crammed against each other while being stowed away in shelves under the lower deck. Each slave was perfectly stowed away against, under, and on top of each other. The conditions were also intolerable. With insufficient food amounts, harsh demands, little to no space, and an atmosphere that made it hard to breathe, the slaves were not being treated like human beings. Another example would be that slaves were treated like someone’s owned property. As stated in the advertisement from Latin American Studies, “Run away on Sunday night the 4th infant. a negro man named O’CONNEL, flout and well made, very black, has a squint eye and speaks bad english. Whoever apprehends the said negro, and will deliver him at the Sugar house, shall be entitled to ONE GUINEA reward from JOSIAH HILL.” The African American slave was being described as if he was an object by his apparent owner. People should not be treated as someone's property, because though slaves were considered property at the time, just the thought of it is not right.
To continue, the U.S was unfair, or biased, towards women and so gave women unequal rights compared to men.

In the early years when America was still developing, women were considered ‘weak’ and that all women were entitled to was to stay at home cleaning, cooking, taking care of the children, and watching over the household. Voting was especially an issue. Out of all the thirteen colonies, only Christian white males with property were qualified to vote. (“Voting Qualifications”) Nor women, African Americans, or slaves were mentioned. By 1870, slaves were given the right to vote due to the Three-Fifths Compromise and the 15th Amendment that had passed. About 50 years later, women were given the right to vote. While a democracy gives the people certain inalienable rights, America separated the rights between certain groups of people making it unfair to others. Women were also less acknowledged in marriage. According to the The Lady’s Law, “Once married, colonial women could not own property or collect wages.” This means that once women got married, it meant that the women were willing to give up her property to her husband. Women were not allowed to own their property so therefore were considered incapable of doing so. Men were also given the right to take custody of the children in case of divorce while women could

not.
America was undemocratic for the most part however, it was still developing. America was the first country to be considered a democracy. People were still fairly new to the idea of a democracy and so when something is still fairly new, there are plenty of faults included with that factor. But still, this argument still fails to register because a democracy is when people have a voice and when you are given equal rights. When America decided to stay biased against women, slaves, and certain groups of people, they failed to notice the definition of a true democracy.
To conclude with, America was not deserving of its reputation of a pioneer in democracy. It singled out certain groups of people including women, slaves, and African Americans thus meant that equal rights were not implemented at the time. The United States was undemocratic because it treated slaves unfairly and was biased against women. As America continues to grow into a stronger and more powerful nation, it should continue to give the people equal inalienable rights in which was entitled to the people in the first place.