According to Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States, “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” In other words, Lincoln is outlining that the American nation will not be annihilated or its predominant principles of liberty, to which the nation had been constituted by, diminished by collision with foreign nations; conversely, if freedom is inhibited, the country’s security of liberty would be abated. Primarily, the American nation had been forged based on the liberty of all citizens in the form of the inalienable rights of all individuals, from its early years of collision with Great Britain, forging a nation that does not bereave …show more content…
For instance, the series of laws identified as the Alien and Sedition Acts were enacted by the Federalists in Congress in 1798, consisting of the Naturalization Act, Alien Act, and Sedition Act, outlined restrictions applied to foreigners and citizens. In particular, the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 increased the residency requirement for American citizenship from 5 to 14 years, authorized the president to imprison immigrants, and convicted critics of publishing, writing, and issuing offensive, false criticism of the government. Thus, the restrictions of liberty led to the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions of 1798, authored by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, argued that the federal government was not authorized to use authority not constituted by the Constitution. As well, the resolutions asserted the principle of states’ rights, or the nullification of unconstitutional laws in the protection from the defilement of federal power, and restored liberty to its people. Additionally, the Civil War between the Confederate states and the Union was fought from 1861 to 1865. The Civil War was caused by the animosity between the Confederacy and the Union, based on their deviating principles endorsing and contradicting the perpetuation of slavery, the principle of maintaining states’ rights, outlined by the South's secession when establishing the Confederacy. As a result, the Civil War led to the creation of the Emancipation Proclamation written by Lincoln, on January 1, 1863, declaring that all enslaved Africans residing in the Confederate states shall be freed. Subsequently, although liberty had been constricted from its citizens through the nation’s political complications, including the implementation of the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, and
In 1798, the Alien and Sedition Acts were created under President John Adams due to tensions with France. The Sedition Act made it illegal for anyone to publish anything that could defame or speak badly of the United States government. The Alien and Sedition Acts were repealed after President Adams’ presidential term was over. The Espionage and Sedition Acts, created from 1914 through 1921, made it illegal to cause disloyalty in the military forces and also prohibited any opposition to the government and their decisions in war. These acts were declared unconstitutional. Both were repealed after conflicts died down. The U.S. Patriot Act, created to investigate and protect against terrorism, made it legal for the United States’ government to search the records of citizens without their
In the book, Apostles of Disunion, author Charles B. Dew opens the first chapter with a question the Immigration and Naturalization service has on an exam they administer to prospective new American citizens: “The Civil War was fought over what important issue”(4). Dew respond by noting that “according to the INS, you are correct if you offer either of the following answers: ‘slavery or states’ rights’” (4). Although this book provides more evidence and documentation that slavery was the cause of the Civil War, there are a few places where states’ rights are specifically noted. In presenting the findings of his extensive research, Dew provides compelling documentation that would allow the reader to conclude that slavery was indeed the cause for both secession and the Civil War.
America is well known for many things, and one of the main qualities is the idea and practice of freedom and liberty. When thinking of the United States, one would probably say “Land of the free, Home of the brave.” America is a place where citizens have rights, can have happiness, and are free to live the life they choose. Although America is so free now, have citizens always had the rights that they have today? The founding fathers of the United States of America made the way to freedom when the Declaration of Independence was written, but even though it was written down, not all citizens had freedom. When Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote The Declaration of Sentiments, she used The Declaration of Independence as a guide. Freedom was still freedom, of course, but Stanton used it for a purpose that was different from how the founding fathers used it. When Stanton wrote the Declaration of Sentiments, she not only included the way Americans believe in freedom and liberty, she also included the way the beliefs can change and be interpreted in different ways.
Throughout history, Americans have sought to spread the spirit of equality, which is believed to be the realization of true freedom. Before establishing this freedom, every American had only one question stuck in their head: What is freedom? Our country received it in the year of 1776 from the British through a series of difficulties and wars. African Americans defined it as an escape from slavery, while immigrants defined it as their acceptance into a new society. More yet, women of the women’s suffrage defined their freedom as their recognition into society and for their rights to be equal to that of every other man. These different perceptions of cultures/groups in America tied together to form an American view of freedom. Freedom is something that every American should be willing to do anything in order to maintain. We may have weapons of mass destruction, but when it comes to living in a peaceful, American lifestyle, our freedom is our greatest weapon.
...ited States.” Lincoln passed on his belief that the nation must be united and that a “new birth of freedom” would be created, or the nation would “perish from the world,” should the Union failed.
In conclusion, it is evident that the freedom of America was not free. It was bought with a price. This freedom was gained through years of sacrifice and the American victory in the Revolutionary War. It’s military assets, the aid from foreign countries, and the unwavering, inspiring spirit of independence were significant factors in the colonial victory. Without these three components, the Revolutionary War would have been lost and America would not be as we know it today.
On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation; as the country headed toward the third year of the civil war. This proclamation stated: “that all persons held as slaves are, and hence forward shall be free,” however this only applied to the states that were no longer part of the union, leaving slavery untouched in other states. However the Emancipation Proclamation was needed to benefit African Americans.
When the Civil War was approaching its third year, United States President Abraham Lincoln was able to make the slaves that were in Confederate states that were still in rebellion against the Union forever free. Document A states that on January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation and that every enslaved person residing in the states that were “In rebellion against the United States” were free and that the Executive Government of the United States and that the military and naval authority were to recognize them and could not act against them at all. Although the Proclamation did not free every slave in the Confederacy, it was able to release about 3.5 million slaves. Along with freeing all of those slaves, it also stated that African American men were allowed to enlist with the Union and aid them in the war.
America is one word that brings the hope of freedom to many people around the world. Since the United States’ humble beginnings freedom has remained at the core of its ideologies and philosophies. People of all races, nations, and tongues have found refuge in America. The National Anthem proclaims, “…land of the free, and home of the brave” (Key, 1814). But has America been consistently a land of the free? Unfortunately freedom has not always reigned. There is a constant struggle to overcome fear and prejudice in order to provide a true land of freedom. In times of heightened tension, the masses of common people seek to find a scapegoat. Often, this scapegoat is a minority with ties to current negative events. As fear uncontrollably grows, it can cause people to allow and commit unspeakable atrocities.
The Kentucky resolutions were significant documents during the 18th century in response to the Alien and Sedition acts originally drafted by Thomas Jefferson. Their Purpose was to expose the Alien and sedition acts as unconstitutional. I agree with Thomas Jefferson that the Acts were unconstitutional because the acts are taking away certain individual rights given to the people as addressed in the constitution. As well as, any power not given specifically to the US government remains with the states and the people within those states.
Aside from the presidential reconstruction, the Congressional Reconstruction was also taking place. The Congressman disagreed with both Lincoln and Johnson’s plans for Reconstruction. Their main two goals was to integrate African Americans into society by granting them citizenship and the right to vote, and the second goal was to destroy the political powers that former slaveholders had in the South. They first implemented these ideas by passing the Civil Rights Act of 1866. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 gave African Americans citizenship and forbade states from passing discriminatory laws. Although the black codes came about and Andrew Johnson vetoed the bill, Congress had the power to override his veto. This shows that even though the President is the leader of the nation, the Constitution guarantees that Congress has some measure of influence over the President and may chose to block his procedures, Check and Balances. With success, Congress passed the Fourteenth Amendment, which states that all persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens of the country. All citizens were entitled to equal protection under law and be given their rights. The Congress agreed that if the Confederate states ratified the Fourteenth Amendment they could come back into the Union. Having not followed the Congress request, Congressed passed the Reconstruction Act of 1867. This forced the Confederate states to undergo Reconstruction as the Congress wanted. To ensure that Southerners could not change their state constitution in the future, they passed the Fifteenth Amendment and the last congressional Reconstruction law, another Civil Rights
Lincoln 's decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, was to up the North 's support so they wouldn 't go to the confederate side. Not only a change in North war, but a change in the slavery, like granting the slaves their freedom so they wouldn 't have any more slave revolts which would cause even more chaos in other words another war. "The Emancipation Proclamation granted freedom to the slaves in the Confederate states if the states did not return to the Union by January 1,1863. In addition, under the proclamation, freedom would only come to the slaves if the Union won the war." Abraham Lincoln president at the time, the northerners also known as the Union, the south also known as the confederates, and slave states still in
In Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville writes that, “equality of conditions is the fundamental fact from which all others seem to be derived” in America. With the Gettysburg Address, President Abraham Lincoln rededicates America to this fundamental creed, holding the Declaration of Independence’s claim that “all men are created equal” as the nation’s ideological foundation. Lincoln’s speech evokes Pericles’s Funeral Oration, which similarly flaunts equality as the bedrock of Athens. By linking the two speeches and states, Lincoln expands America’s national duty in demanding that the country provide an example to the world like Athens. Lincoln uses this duty as a reason to continue the war effort, following Pericles’s example of protreptikon. Most importantly, the linkage draws a contrast between the two states: Athenian exceptionalism is based on realized cultural values, while Lincoln’s American exceptionalism is purely doctrinal. In comparing the two, Lincoln displays that America must follow through on past intentions in order to realize its greatness.
Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 during the civil war, as main goal to win the war. Some historians argued that it was based on feelings towards slaves because not only it freed slaves in the South; it was also a huge step for the real abolition of slavery in the United States. While other historians argued that it was a military tactic because it strengthened the Union army, because the emancipated slaves were joining the Union thus providing a larger manpower than the Confederacy . The Emancipation Proclamation emancipated slaves only in the Confederacy and did not apply to the Border-states and the Union states.
Lincoln declared that “all persons held as slaves” in areas in rebellion “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” Not only liberate slaves in the border slave states, but the President has purposely made the proclamation in all places in the South where the slaves were existed. While the Emancipation Proclamation was an important turning point in the war. It transformed the fight to preserve the nation into a battle for human freedom. According the history book “A People and a Nation”, the Emancipation Proclamation was legally an ambiguous document, but as a moral and political document it had great meaning. It was a delicate balancing act because it defined the war as a war against slavery, not the war from northern and southern people, and at the same time, it protected Lincoln’s position with conservatives, and there was no turning