The Pros And Cons Of Freedom In America

1257 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Summary of Women Right to vote

The idea of freedom, that America, founded its principles on, has not always successfully held up. Undoubtedly when our country first started, we had the idea in mind, that our constitution would protect the needs of its people, even as those needs alter; therefore it’s wording needed to be, ductile and interpretive. In recent years, this plasticity has become functional and fair, yet in the past, politicians used it to give and revoke, power, to and from people. Prior to the civil war, though it helped spark many of the social/civil revolution we know today, liberty and freedom were a luxury enjoyed by a few people. Woman, non-whites, and low-income people had their liberties denied, questioned or altogether abolished. However these same groups …show more content…

The right to vote went to the land holding male of the family, all-though in many instances women were capable of swaying their husband’s opinions. Women were not the furthest from liberty, though they were still subject to man’s will. “As factories began to do many of the things women had done at home previously, such as spinning and weaving, women were left with a little time to devote to other projects.” Other projects, including: education, protection of women and later women’s suffrage. Laws did not protect women from their husband’s the way they act today; when a woman married, she lost control of her rights, under coverture: “that is, the very being or legal existence of the woman is suspended during the marriage, or at least is incorporated and consolidated into that of the husband: under whose wing… she performs everything.” Safeguards did exist, that kept men from treating women outside of their station, however women had no protection, financially, from their husband’s poor decisions. Unmarried women were starting to become a common occurrence in the years leading up to the civil war. “They had the legal right to live where they pleased, and …show more content…

These slave “fathers” killed, and tortured their “children”, just like the wolf found a way to justify, eating the newborn lamb, undeterred by its innocence. Slaves face further mistreatment through the three-fifths compromise, in which three in every five slaves count as citizens towards the population of the state; the aforementioned compromise, allowed southerners to disregard the slave’s human rights, in a legal sense. In the Dred Scott case, a famous case in which a slave sued for his freedom, Chief Justice Roger Taney declared: “Dred Scott had no legal standing in court because blacks could not be citizens of the United States.” In the years leading up to the war an abolitionist’s movement was starting in the north that openly spoke out against slavery, but it was still not the popular idea. While most northerners were anti-slavery, they still had issue with race, making them more in favor of slavery not spreading to northern

Show More
Related

  • Pros And Cons Of The 16th Amendment

    1048 Words  | 3 Pages

    (Nugent, p. 116) The amendment granted woman’s suffrage, and was the fruit of many years of labor of several women’s rights groups, such as the National American Woman Suffrage Association, and prominent women’s rights activists, such as Susan B. Anthony. The amendment expanded the bounds of popular democracy, bringing attention to women who felt increasingly ignored as participants in the political system (Piott, p. 166). Being the inalienable right of any citizen, the right to vote inevitably expanded the political freedom of American women, and also opened other doors of opportunity to them; they could advocate for more job opportunities, better economic security, and advantageous marital and family

    Read More

  • Antebellum Reform DBQ

    716 Words  | 2 Pages

    However, the writers of the Constitution had omitted women in that pivotal statement which left women to be denied these “unalienable” rights given to every countryman. Gaining the support of many, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the leader of the Women’s Rights Movement declared at Seneca Falls that women had the same rights as men including the right to vote and be a part of government. The Women’s Rights movement gained support due to the years of abuse women endured. For years, men had “the power to chastise and imprison his wife…” and they were tired of suffering (Doc I). The new concept of the cult of domesticity supported women’s roles in society but created greater divisions between men and women.

    Read More

  • Elijah Lovejoy

    1619 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Dred Scott decision involved two slaves, Dred Scott and his wife, who originated from one of the recognized slave states, Missouri, but they were relocated to settle in Wisconsin, a state where slavery was prohibited. In 1846, Scott filed a lawsuit and “sued for his freedom on the grounds that his residence in a free state and a free territory had made him free.” In 1854, Scott’s “case ultimately went to the Supreme Court.” By landing in the Supreme Court, the justices ruled seven to two against the Dred Scott and his wife for multiple reasons. One main reason that the court specified was that whether African Americans are enslaved or not, they were never recognized as citizens of the United States. Therefore, the justices believed that the case should not have been heard or discussed in the Supreme Court to begin with. The second reason was that regardless of any African American being transferred to a free state, does not necessarily change their social status. Thirdly, the Supreme Court ruled that the Missouri Compromise of 1820, a compromise that outlawed slavery north of the 36˚30’ latitude line, is unconstitutional because the Congress declared that they had “no power to ban slavery from any territory.” The decision was critical due to increasing the North population’s unease, and their concern that the South will begin to transport slaves to freed states, which will

    Read More

  • Summary Of Susan B. Anthony

    2088 Words  | 5 Pages

    Today, women and men have equal rights, however not long ago men believed women were lower than them. During the late eighteenth century, men expected women to stay at home and raise children. Women were given very few opportunities to expand their education past high school because colleges and universities would not accept females. This was a loss for women everywhere because it took away positions of power for them. It was even frowned upon if a woman showed interest in medicine or law because that was a man 's place not a woman’s, just like it was a man 's duty to vote and not a woman 's. The road to women 's right 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.

    Read More

  • Women's Suffrage Dbq Essay

    647 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the 19th century women began to take action to change their rights and way of life. Women in most states were incapable to control their own wages, legally operate their own property, or sign legal documents such as wills. Although demoted towards their own private domain and quite powerless, some women took edge and became involved in parts of reform such as temperance and abolition. Therefore this ultimately opened the way for women to come together in an organized movement to battle for their own rights in such ways as equal education, labor, legal reform, and the occupations. As stated in the nineteenth amendment, a constitutional revision that established women’s citizen rights to vote.

    Read More

  • Sarah and Angelina Grimké

    1974 Words  | 4 Pages

    Up until and during the mid -1800’s, women were stereotyped and not given the same rights that men had. Women were not allowed to vote, speak publically, stand for office and had no influence in public affairs. They received poorer education than men did and there was not one church, except for the Quakers, that allowed women to have a say in church affairs. Women also did not have any legal rights and were not permitted to own property. Overall, people believed that a woman only belonged in the home and that the only rule she may ever obtain was over her children. However, during the pre- Civil war era, woman began to stand up for what they believed in and to change the way that people viewed society (Lerner, 1971). Two of the most famous pioneers in the women’s rights movement, as well as abolition, were two sisters from South Carolina: Sarah and Angelina Grimké.

    Read More

  • Women's Suffrage in the 1800’s-19th Century

    1178 Words  | 3 Pages

    Women had not only been denied the voting rights and the lack of education before the nineteenth century, they had also been restricted the right to own property. Women who were married were basically owned by their husbands, up until the mid nineteenth century, so they had no regulations with money or their property (Hermes 1). If you were unmarried, however, you were allowed to be owner of property, but when they married the women became property of the man (Talbott 1). As stated previously before, women who were not married were allowed to vote as well as hold property, but a small amount of women did. Marriage was a disadvantage for the women, because they lost most of the rights they had previously. They were not allowed to buy or sell property (Erickson 1).

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Susan B. Anthony And Elizabeth Cady Stanton

    868 Words  | 2 Pages

    From the birth of the United States of America, true freedom was never essential in the land of liberty. Throughout history America truly shows us this from the 1600’s to the 1800’s; Citizens had to fight for their God given rights, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Instead citizens in minorities saw a whole different side of America. Unfortunate citizens in minorities had to suffer in that era but after a long hard battle minorities began to receive their god given rights.

    Read More

  • The 19th Amendment: Women's Rights To Equality, The Rights Of Equality

    960 Words  | 2 Pages

    In August 18, 1920, the U.S. Constitution Granted U.S. women a right. That was the right of vote. In American history women had no right to vote or be part of government. They were born to be at home and do the house choir and motherhood. They had no right to educate or go out, thus the 19th amendment was approved that gave the women the right to vote (Matthew, 2017). Having the right of votes for women was not easy. It was given to them after years of fighting and struggling, after fighting and protesting so long for their rights they were finally victorious. Women in America were finally given their rights. One of the most important freedom given to women in 19th amendment is their rights. This essay will investigate how women were given the right to be equality, the right to vote and be part of government, and also, how this amendment affected the lives of women.

    Read More

  • 18th Century Republicanism: Struggles for Equality and Rights

    683 Words  | 2 Pages

    Women rights became an issue as men were seen as the sole providers of families. In many instances, women and children had no say so as to what goes on inside the home. Whatever the father believed is what their children and wife’s had to conform to. Many women such as Lucy Knox and Abigail Adams began challenging their husbands for respect and partial control in their union and homes. Despite gains of rights and divorce, republican society still defined women’s roles exclusively in terms of mother, wife, and homemaker. Any other roles pursued would seem unnatural and

    Read More

  • Civil Liberties and Rights

    704 Words  | 2 Pages

    Since the beginning of American history, citizens who resided the country lacked the basic civil rights and liberties that humans deserved. Different races and ethnicities were treated unfairly. Voting rights were denied to anyone who was not a rich, white male. Women were harassed by their bosses and expected to take care of everything household related. Life was not all that pretty throughout America’s past, but thankfully overtime American citizens’ civil liberties and rights expanded – granting Americans true freedom.

    Read More

  • Inequality and Constitution

    2607 Words  | 6 Pages

    Liberty, as defined by the Oxford dictionary, is explained as the “condition of being free from restriction or control; the right and power to act, believe or express oneself in a manner of one’s own choosing”. Liberty is a word familiar to most Americans, since the fundamentals of the country is based on freedom and independence. Symbolism of liberty (such as the national’s flag, statue of liberty, the liberty bell, Uncle Sam, the bald eagle) can be seen throughout the United States as a reminder of the freedom in which this nation has achieved for over the past two hundred years. Perhaps one of the greatest achievement of liberty by the Americans in the past two hundred years has been the founding of the United States Constitution. Not only does the constitution deal with the distribution of government powers, but it proclaims the freedom of all individuals, abolishing slavery. Although freedom is technically set to the slaves by the constitution, but it did not fully fulfilled the description of “liberty” for the slaves. In this essay, I will begin by demonstrating how the US Constitution not only did not fully provide the freedom of the slaves, but how the document itself is not as “liberating” as it seems. I will also briefly discuss exactly how much “liberty” contemporary America has politically and the level of racial inequality that continues to exist in this “democratic” country.

    Read More

  • The History of Freedom

    1666 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout history freedom has had many different meanings and definitions; based on race, gender, and ethnicity. According to the dictionary freedom means the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint (“freedom” def. 1). Freedom may seem like something given to everyone however it was something workers had to fight for. Not everyone believed that workers’ rights needed to be changed, which led to a long battle between workers, employers and the government. To the working class people freedom meant making higher wages, having regulated hours, workable conditions and the right to free speech.

    Read More

  • The Great Concept Of American Freedom

    1409 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Great Concept of American Freedom Early America was a place for anyone to live their life the way that they wanted, as it is now, but back then this was a new concept. Much of this idea comes from the freedoms obtained by living here. Many other countries in the world had many freedoms, but not as numerous as they were in America shortly after the country was founded. Americans during the late 1700's and early 1800's embraced their freedoms and became leaders and expanders, and what we now consider the founders of many present-day cities and towns. One thing that has been present throughout the generations of people living in America, is the desire to set themselves apart from other nations.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of The Right To Vote In The 1920's

    197 Words  | 1 Pages

    The argument of the author is that although women were able to gain the right to vote, the right to vote only allowed them to change so much, despite their best efforts. Their efforts found themselves barred in American society by traditionalist values and rules. This argument matters because, leading up to the 1920s, women were exempt from voting rights, and many women wanted to show that they were just as capable as men in politics, the work force, and society. Their movement was able to gain the right to vote, but this right to vote revealed other restrictions against their movement for full equality, such as conflicting ideas within the movement, work discrimination, social values and expectations, and political resistance by men with traditional values. Essentially, because of their ability to vote, and the desire to prove themselves, to gain full equality, women applied themselves in American society, actively seeking out jobs and attempting to earn a life for themselves.

    Read More

More about The Pros And Cons Of Freedom In America

Open Document