One of the many, many things we Americans love to boast about is our freedom. It’s freedom this, freedom that; Americans will never shut up about “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” and if told to we’ll screech about our freedom of speech. We sing praises to our many freedoms all day long, some glaringly obvious, and some more subtle. For instance, the first ten amendments to our constitution were collectively called the “Bill of Rights,” and gave us a variety of fun, new freedoms to exercise, and that constitution has been added to over and over again throughout the years. Likewise, we have the “Statue of Liberty” meant to welcome all newcomers to our country. We even call ourselves the “Land of the Free.” Americans will do anything
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Frederick Douglass recounts his suffering as a slave but recalls a turning point in his life. “This battle with Mr. Covey….rekindled the few expiring embers of freedom...and inspired me to be free.… I now resolved that, however long I might remain a slave in form, the day had passed forever when [I] could be a slave in fact” (570). Although the civil war wasn’t fought over whether it was morally right to own slaves, it certainly was fought over the economics of slavery and political control over that system, and to say freedom wasn’t an important social theme in the years to come after the war would be a grievous understatement. To be fair, the civil war is rather recent history and even today we are still riding on the waves it created. After the war, black Americans weren’t suddenly considered full-fledged citizens and faced discrimination and prejudice in law and society as a whole. About 60 years after the civil war ended, Langston Hughes wrote the poem “I, Too,” in which he spoke of how he is an American just as much as any other American with lighter skin, but even so, he is discriminated against and segregated for his skin color. But he is hopeful that one day, things will be better. Still, many minority groups still face discrimination and prejudice in law and society, and the struggle for freedom continues on even
Frederick Douglass recounts his suffering as a slave but recalls a turning point in his life. “This battle with Mr. Covey….rekindled the few expiring embers of freedom...and inspired me to be free.… I now resolved that, however long I might remain a slave in form, the day had passed forever when [I] could be a slave in fact” (570). Although the civil war wasn’t fought over whether it was morally right to own slaves, it certainly was fought over the economics of slavery and political control over that system, and to say freedom wasn’t an important social theme in the years to come after the war would be a grievous understatement. To be fair, the civil war is rather recent history and even today we are still riding on the waves it created. After the war, black Americans weren’t suddenly considered full-fledged citizens and faced discrimination and prejudice in law and society as a whole. About 60 years after the civil war ended, Langston Hughes wrote the poem “I, Too,” in which he spoke of how he is an American just as much as any other American with lighter skin, but even so, he is discriminated against and segregated for his skin color. But he is hopeful that one day, things will be better. Still, many minority groups still face discrimination and prejudice in law and society, and the struggle for freedom continues on even