America the Beautiful. For Whom?
A well-known phrase in the Declaration of Independence states, “Life, liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” These specific rights are guaranteed to peoples of the world, and the government has a duty to protect and serve these rights. However, the meaning of these aforementioned words did not always seem to apply to every person. During the time of slavery and oppression, people of African descent had all rights removed, and received horrible mistreatment and abuse instead. Unless you commit a crime or do something that negatively affects society denied to you, nobody in this world should have their rights infringed merely based upon race, skin color, or ethnicity. The pre-mentioned rights of life, liberty, …show more content…
They depended upon slaves entirely too much, and without them they would have to do all the manual labor and hardship themselves. Merriam Webster explains liberty as, “The quality or state of being free, and free from arbitrary or despotic control.” Regrettably, not all slaves got to see the liberty that they rightfully deserved. That is because many slaves were killed by their owners before emancipation for slaves even occurred. A brutal murdering is portrayed in Chapter 3 of The Civil War, “And after “cobbing” and whipping, he applied fire to the body of his slave, about his back, belly, and private parts…The Negro was also tied to a log, and to the bedpost, with ropes, which choked him, and he was kicked and stamped upon by Souther” (James 55). This murder James included in his writing exemplified how white supremacy thought power and violence were acceptable ways to dictate and control African Americans, and to retain them from their rights as humans.
When the Civil War hit, the slaves finally had hope that they would receive the freedom they had endlessly waited for; the yearning and desire for freedom was serious. Vincent Harding demonstrates slaves yearning in his statement, “When they heard the guns, they were ready, grasping freedom with their own hands, walking to it, swimming to it, sailing to it- determined that it should be theirs,” (5). It was not until the year 1862, that Abraham Lincoln made the decision to announce the Emancipation Proclamation. In the meantime, further unnecessary suffering and unforgivable conditions
A well-known phrase in the Declaration of Independence states, “Life, liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” These specific rights are guaranteed to peoples of the world, and the government has a duty to protect and serve these rights. However, the meaning of these aforementioned words did not always seem to apply to every person. During the time of slavery and oppression, people of African descent had all rights removed, and received horrible mistreatment and abuse instead. Unless you commit a crime or do something that negatively affects society denied to you, nobody in this world should have their rights infringed merely based upon race, skin color, or ethnicity. The pre-mentioned rights of life, liberty, …show more content…
They depended upon slaves entirely too much, and without them they would have to do all the manual labor and hardship themselves. Merriam Webster explains liberty as, “The quality or state of being free, and free from arbitrary or despotic control.” Regrettably, not all slaves got to see the liberty that they rightfully deserved. That is because many slaves were killed by their owners before emancipation for slaves even occurred. A brutal murdering is portrayed in Chapter 3 of The Civil War, “And after “cobbing” and whipping, he applied fire to the body of his slave, about his back, belly, and private parts…The Negro was also tied to a log, and to the bedpost, with ropes, which choked him, and he was kicked and stamped upon by Souther” (James 55). This murder James included in his writing exemplified how white supremacy thought power and violence were acceptable ways to dictate and control African Americans, and to retain them from their rights as humans.
When the Civil War hit, the slaves finally had hope that they would receive the freedom they had endlessly waited for; the yearning and desire for freedom was serious. Vincent Harding demonstrates slaves yearning in his statement, “When they heard the guns, they were ready, grasping freedom with their own hands, walking to it, swimming to it, sailing to it- determined that it should be theirs,” (5). It was not until the year 1862, that Abraham Lincoln made the decision to announce the Emancipation Proclamation. In the meantime, further unnecessary suffering and unforgivable conditions