Lack Of Freedom Dbq Essay

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Power is thought to give people a leg up on one another. Power has been a key component of societies for many years. Eric Foner said, “Indian inhabitants always outnumbered European colonists and their descendants in Spanish America, and large areas remained effectively under Indian control for many years.” (Foner 24-25) Power is a way for a colony to say that they are better than others. Although power could be given in many different forms the most common was freedom or lack of freedom. Freedom is a vague term that is loose in meaning and cannot be defined in one shape or form. The Civil War and reconstruction era occurred because of the difference of opinions when it came to freedom.
From a slave’s perspective, freedom meant being free from white people. They did not have any other concern other than being able to do and think as they please. They felt as though they were being treated as animals and not men and women. Charlotte Fowlers testimony explains the inhumane acts that white …show more content…

George Fitzhugh stated, “The slaves are all well fed, well clad, have plenty of fuel, and are happy.” (Doc. 2) Most slaves were treated nicely by their owners if they did what their owners wanted of them. The owners used this is a way to cope with the immoral owning of humans. In their defense, most of them had grown up being told this was okay and that things had always and will always be like this. Alexander H. Stephens said himself, “it’s foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man.” (Doc. 7) Stephens knew that this mindset would be hard to change and so he wanted people to understand that White southerners actually had it embedded in them that they were better at their core than blacks. The whites thought that they had given the slaves freedom by bringing them to the new

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