Throughout history it has been observed that civil rights and liberties for minorities has fluctuated greatly. With this has come many disputes regarding the classification of people. Involved in some of these conflicts were activists like Martin Luther King Jr, Sojourner Truth, and Susan B. Anthony. In modern times, the state of the civil liberties these leaders fought for are questioned as to whether or not these issues have truly been solved. As seen in their past speeches and current statuses, it is clear that these problems were meant to be solved. The fact of the matter is that civil liberty issues of yesterday have been solved today; these include women’s suffrage, the mistreatment of American women by race, and the segregation of White …show more content…
and Black Americans. The rights American women have today encompass and solve the problems of the past; namely, women now have the ability to vote.
As seen on Susan B. Anthony’s grave in November 2016, there are stickers with the phrase, “I Voted ( Source D).” This famous American symbol shows that the receiver of the sticker had completed their civic duty of voting. Since the stickers are on the grave of Susan B. Anthony, it can be seen that Americans who voted agree with her ideal that all women should get to vote. After all, during her lifetime, she was an advocate for women’s suffrage. From the photo of her grave, it can also be inferred that women put those stickers there, as she was an enormous proponent of the right that women cherish today. Because of her efforts, Susan B. Anthony helped women of today, to be able to vote. Additionally, the photo exhibits massive light contrast. The color exchange is mainly focused on the darker background and brighter center, the grave of Susan B. Anthony. By putting Anthony’s grave in the spotlight, the photo is able to emphasize her importance in gaining the “[voting]” rights given to women of modern times. As displayed by the picture, the light contrast is a visual representation of Susan B. Anthony acting as a light during the darkness brought forth to American women by the lack of a simple liberty. As a result of Anthony’s constant petitioning for women’s suffrage, the last century or so has seen women’s political roles advance in society. Now that …show more content…
females can vote, the issue is closed, and the liberty denied so long ago has since been added to the Constitution as the 19th Amendment. Furthermore, an issue majorly disputed in the past and addressed today is the issue of gender equality, particularly between the treatment of men versus the treatment of women.
An issue that proved very problematic in the past has seen arguments presenting a case for the mistreatment of female minorities. A true advocate for gender equality within the female population, Sojourner Truth, came from a rough background as a slave. In her speech at the Women’s Convention in 1851, she expressed her dismay concerning men’s treatment of women. A man once said that women should “have the best place (Source F).” Thinking this was true, Sojourner continued to press on wondering if this was how women should be treated, then she must not be “ a woman ( Source F)”. The repetition of the question, “ain’t I a woman,” helps to convey a significant point. The point being that women, although they take on dirty, domestic jobs, should be treated as equally as the most luxurious of men. If women should have the “best place,” then why are they treated so badly? Even though historically men have been favored, it was time for a change, and Truth realized this. Her belief that genders were equal spread far and throughout the world. Furthermore, Truth claims that if Eve, the first female God created, was “strong” enough to turn the “world upside- down all alone,” then all of the women of that period should have an influence on the issue of the mistreatment of women ( Source F). Here, Sojourner Truth
uses logos to appeal to the logic in citizens. If one woman can make such a large difference, then many women can certainly do the same, if not more. It is only logical if the women can help to right a wrong and gain their rightful, and divine equality. Nowadays, the movement around the United States involves that of women empowerment- where women are defined as equal- as they should be. Even if in the past, women were treated unjustly, today in the United States, women are empowered by their independence and uniqueness. Rather than taking the jobs and hard work women put in for granted, all Americans now treat women with the utmost respect. Lastly, the issue of the separation between African American minorities and the white majority has been a lasting debate leading into the modern era. However, in the present, it can be seen that these issues have truly been eradicated leaving behind any remnants of a misguided past. A peaceful leader during the last century who supported the discontinuation of segregation, Martin Luther King Jr practiced civil disobedience in order to protest for his beliefs. A major event that took place during his lifetime was the Vietnam War, which he did not agree the United States should have meddled with. During times of distress, like war, when a cohesive society could have aided in success, rather the segregation that occurred only hindered the American potential for equality. King pondered the “cruel irony” of sending men to war fighting for a country that couldn’t keep two people of different color in the “same schools ( Source A).” Martin Luther King Jr’s usage of pathos to appeal to the audience’s feelings elicited a type of sympathy from the audience to help rid of the cruelty established through the discrimination of Black Americans. Since both Whites and Blacks are American and fight for the same country, Black Americans should gain the equality and respect, not previously received by them. By using the word “cruel,” King implies that there is a true pain behind the poor treatment of African Americans living in the United States. Martin Luther King Jr’s main point is that Americans shouldn’t have fought for rights that were not present in the US. Fortunately, present day America has provided a healthy environment where racial segregation doesn’t exist, and blacks and whites can coexist in harmony. The level of esteem Americans have for each other despite a difference in skin color proves that this issue, too, has been closed. In addition, Martin Luther King Jr brings forth the idea that America cannot exceed expectations until the “shackles” of African Americans are loosed ( Source A). Here, symbolism was used to represent a hindrance and barrier to society. The apparent shackles present on even the descendents of slaves must be broken. Only in this way could Black Americans be truly free from their former bonds. Martin Luther King Jr implies that so long as the restrictions holding back African Americans exist, then true American success can’t exist. Although discrimination took place during this time period, it can be confidently said that such segregation and division between majorities and minorities do not exist anymore. In every town across the nation, one can find families of all races and color, showing the evolution of the United States from a discriminatory country to an accepting one. All in all, African American segregation and discrimination has since been eradicated leading to a greater incorporation of Black Americans into society. All things considered, the past issues of civil rights have been diminished in that today, segregation and gender inequality do not exist, and women’s suffrage does exist, Now, in the modern world, we don’t have to worry about the cohesiveness of our own nation; we can accept each other and not have to focus on inner conflicts, and rather have more success resulting from resolved civil liberties.
In the Women’s Rights Convention of 1851, Truth repeatedly equates her worth to that of a man by her physical and intellectual abilities. Some of Truth’s statements at this convention include: “I have as much muscle as any man, and can do as much work as any man. I can carry as much as any mean, and I can eat as much too”. These statements highlight the fact that women were thought to have less physical and intellectual ability than men, and as such were afforded fewer rights. By recurrently equating herself to men in all of these arenas, Truth displayed the commonalities between men and women. Furthermore, Truth’s views came from the stance of a former African American slave, who were not. In this speech, Truth paralleled herself, a black woman, to have the same abilities as a white man, thereby attempting to change her audience’s view of the current existing American capitalist patriarchal structure that put white men at the top and women of color at the bottom of the
Throughout American history, many minorities have fallen victim to cruel discrimination and inequality, African Americans were one of those minorities that greatly suffered from the white majority’s upper hand. After the end of the Civil War and the Reconstruction period following it, many people, especially the Southern population, were extremely against African Americans obtaining equal rights in the American society. Due to this, these opponents did everything in their power to limit and even fully strip African Americans of their rights. The Supreme Court case of Plessy v Ferguson in 1896 is an excellent example of the obstacles put forth by the white population against their black counterparts in their long and arduous fight for civil liberty and equality. Even though the court upheld the discriminatory Louisiana law with an 8-1 decision, John Marshall Harlan’s dissent in the case played a significant role in the history of the United States.
The road to women's rights was long and hard, but many women helped push the right to vote, the one that was at the front of that group was Susan B. Anthony. She learned how to read and write at the age of three. She was put in a home school setting at the age of six because her other teacher refused to teach her long division. Since the school was run by strong willed women, Anthony received a new image of womanhood by being taught not only long division and grammar, but also manners and self worth.”
After many years of battling for equality among the sexes, people today have no idea of the trails that women went through so that women of future generations could have the same privileges and treatment as men. Several generations have come since the women’s rights movement and the women of these generations have different opportunities in family life, religion, government, employment, and education that women fought for. The Women’s Rights Movement began with a small group of people that questioned why human lives, especially those of women, were unfairly confined. Many women, like Sojourner Truth and Fanny Fern, worked consciously to create a better world by bringing awareness to these inequalities. Sojourner Truth, prominent slave and advocate
“To think I have had more than 60 years of hard struggle for a little liberty, and then to die without it seems so cruel.” (Susan B. Anthony)
Susan herself compared the relationship of wife and husband to slavery because it provided women the legal property of her husband, by the end of her work she helped women become----and eventually through her persistence although she did not get to live to see it, got women their voice to vote, without Susan B. Anthony’s life dedication to Woman's suffrage, I wouldn’t be surprised if women still wouldn’t have the right to vote.
For 75 years following reconstruction the United States made little advancement towards racial equality. Many parts of the nation enacted Jim Crowe laws making separation of the races not just a matter of practice but a matter of law. The laws were implemented with the explicit purpose of keeping black American’s from being able to enjoy the rights and freedoms their white counterparts took for granted. Despite the efforts of so many nameless forgotten heroes, the fate of African Americans seemed to be in the hands of a racist society bent on keeping them down; however that all began to change following World War II. Thousands of African American men returned from Europe with a renewed purpose and determined to break the proverbial chains segregation had keep them in since the end of the American Civil War. With a piece of Civil Rights legislation in 1957, the federal government took its first step towards breaking the bonds that had held too many citizens down for far too long. The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was a watered down version of the law initially proposed but what has been perceived as a small step towards correcting the mistakes of the past was actually a giant leap forward for a nation still stuck in the muck of racial division. What some historians have dismissed as an insignificant and weak act was perhaps the most important law passed during the nation’s civil rights movement, because it was the first and that cannot be underestimated.
Few things have impacted the United States throughout its history like the fight for racial equality. It has caused divisions between the American people, and many name it as the root of the Civil War. This issue also sparked the Civil Rights Movement, leading to advancements towards true equality among all Americans. When speaking of racial inequality and America’s struggle against it, people forget some of the key turning points in it’s history. Some of the more obvious ones are the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed slaves in the North, and Martin Luther King Jr.’s march on Washington D.C. in 1963. However, people fail to recount a prominent legal matter that paved the way for further strides towards equality.
Susan B. Anthony was an equal rights activist and one of the founders of feminism. She was fined $100 for voting illegally in the 1872 election. She was outraged by this, and traveled the country speaking on women’s suffrage and equal rights. Though women weren’t given the right to vote until 14 years following her death, she delivered a powerful speech, now known as “Women’s Right to Suffrage” to express her anger with the lack of rights in this country. She argues that “we that people” isn’t just inclusive to white men, and that both men and women should be given equal opportunity. Today, Ms. Anthony’s words still echo into the hearts and minds of fourth wave feminists, like myself, and inspire them to continue fighting against inequality
Lasting hatred from the civil war, and anger towards minorities because they took jobs in the north probably set the foundation for these laws, but it has become difficult to prove. In this essay, I will explain how the Separate but Equal Laws of twentieth century America crippled minorities of that time period forever. Separate but Equal doctrine existed long before the Supreme Court accepted it into law, and on multiple occasions it arose as an issue before then. In 1865, southern states passed laws called “Black Codes,” which created restrictions on the freed African Americans in the South. This became the start of legal segregation as juries couldn’t have African Americans, public schools became segregated, and African Americans had restrictions on testifying against majorities.
History has experienced a distinct separation between the minorities (Latinos, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and African-Americans) and the majority (the whites) in the United States of America. This separation has been brought about by the several models of the exclusion of the minority; these two models are: political and economic disempowerment and apartheid (Forum 2, 1). Apartheid involves the separation of a certain group of people from other parts of the society through legal, political and economic discrimination (Denton 2). Whereas political and economic disempowerment is reducing drastically or taking away the rights previously held by a group, they are taken away to minimize the power of the minorities in the society. Apartheid
Sojourner Truth’s speech entitled “Ain’t I A Woman?” became popular for its honest and raw confrontation on the injustices she experienced both as a woman and an African-American. The speech was given during a women’s rights convention held in Akron, Ohio in May 1851 and addressed many women’s rights activists present (Marable and Mullings, 66). Sojourner began her speech by pointing out the irrational expectations men have of women and contrasting them to her own experiences. She exclaims that a man in the corner claims women “needs to be helped into carriages and lifted ober ditches or to hab de best place everywhar,” yet no one extends that help to her (67). This is followed by her rhetorically asking “and ain’t I a woman?” (67) Here, Sojourner is calling out the social construction of gender difference that men use in order to subordinate women.
Diversity, we define this term today as one of our nation’s most dynamic characteristics in American history. The United States thrives through the means of diversity. However, diversity has not always been a positive component in America; in fact, it took many years for our nation to become accustomed to this broad variety of mixed cultures and social groups. One of the leading groups that were most commonly affected by this, were African American citizens, who were victimized because of their color and race. It wasn’t easy being an African American, back then they had to fight in order to achieve where they are today, from slavery and discrimination, there was a very slim chance of hope for freedom or even citizenship. This longing for hope began to shift around the 1950’s during the Civil Rights Movement, where discrimination still took place yet, it is the time when African Americans started to defend their rights and honor to become freemen like every other citizen of the United States. African Americans were beginning to gain recognition after the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868, which declared all people born natural in the United States and included the slaves that were previously declared free. However, this didn’t prevent the people from disputing against the constitutional law, especially the people in the South who continued to retaliate against African Americans and the idea of integration in white schools. Integration in white schools played a major role in the battle for Civil Rights in the South, upon the coming of independence for all African American people in the United States after a series of tribulations and loss of hope.
Massive protests against racial segregation and discrimination broke out in the southern United States that came to national attention during the middle of the 1950’s. This movement started in centuries-long attempts by African slaves to resist slavery. After the Civil War American slaves were given basic civil rights. However, even though these rights were guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment they were not federally enforced. The struggle these African-Americans faced to have their rights ...
Before women can prove they too deserve the same rights as men, they must first put to rest the myths and beliefs of their status in this country. This myth of the female status in the United States, and in most other places in the world, has always been the same. It is the belief that women should be in the kitchen, taking care of the kids, and the house, amongst other beliefs. However, in today's society, this is considered ludicrous. For instance, in her essay, 'Ain't I a Woman?' Sojourner Truth delivers a powerful message and addresses the issues of women in the society. She argues that women should have equal rights, because they can do the same things as men. For example she says, ?That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place anywhere. Nobody helps me into no carriages, or over no mud puddles, or gives me any best place? (348). She, then, con...