African Americans View Of Freedom Essay

Freedom is a concept that all citizens enjoy to a certain degree. It is central to our cultural identity, but is it possible that no person is completely free? Each person has their own unique way of looking at this ideal. For African Americans it could have meant the end of slavery, or for some others, the ability make their own decisions. Every social or racial group experiences growth and loss in their liberties over time. This essay will explore how people 's views of freedom have evolved in the twenty-first century and how certain occurrences such as: Black Codes, elections, bills, Reconstruction, labor strikes and historical figures made “freedom” what it is today. Throughout history, there is no doubt that America 's presidents made an impression on public views, politics, and laws that govern the liberties of the people. This is evident in Abraham Lincoln 's successor whose views of slavery stood in contrast to the emancipator. Andrew Johnson was sure that blacks should not play a part in the post Civil War Reconstruction. Soon after taking office, he …show more content…
Native Americans also had hardships forced upon them by the government. The 1887 Dawes Act redistributed their tribal lands, and sold a lot of it to whites. The Natives were told to assimilate to “civilized” ways and farm so that they could become American citizens. Within fifty years, tribal land had been cut down from 138 million to eighty-six million acres. When some natives tried to find comfort in the Ghost Dance, this scared troops and caused them to attack their reservation. They massacred men, women, and children on the reservation and received awards for doing so. This was called the Wounded Knee massacre. “Indians” had the least amount of freedoms in America at the time, because their ancestors were here long before the white men, yet they weren 't guaranteed citizenship, land, or the right to practice their