Freedom Developed over the course of American History
Globally, the US is known as the free world based on its long-held tradition of fostering freedom and perpetuating liberty among its citizens. Freedom in America was borne out of the American Revolution, refined after the American Civil war, and defined after its inclusion in the Bill of Rights in 1791 and the 1st Amendment of the American Constitution in 1787. The subsequent events, such as the American Civil War that cemented and widened the scope of the gains that typified the idea and practice of freedom. The following are the central aspects that shaped or nurtured the concept and practice of freedom in America in history.
First, the American Revolution that led to American Independence in 1776 was anchored on the need to attain freedom from the colonialists, England. During the revolution, there is nothing American nationalities wanted than national, political, and individual freedoms that the colonialists had suppressed. The need for freedom became a rallying cry to the masses, and people managed to achieve such independence by giving prominence to the liberty of the American people. In 1775, Thomas Jefferson wrote that “Our forefathers left their native land to seek on these shores a residence for civil and religious freedom… all men are equal … liberty depends on the freedom of the press” (Bailyn, 1993). Subsequently, the aspect of freedom was included in the Bill of Rights in 1791 in the US. Together with other freedom-laced ideals, these instances formed a formidable platform for nurturing freedom in the US.
Again, the American Civil war strengthened and widened the scope of freedom in the US after independence. While the Confederate States in the US perceived the growing calls to abolish slavery as a limitation of their freedom by the federal government and the northern states, Abraham Lincoln and other abolitionists saw slavery as an impediment in achieving a free America. The American Civil war expanded freedom to the African-Americans. It ensured that the treatment of everyone in the US aligned to the Christian values and core tenets of liberty that called for equality and freedom of all men. In that regard, after the civil war ended, during the Emancipation Proclamation, Abraham Lincoln declared “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” (Lincoln, 1863). Such declaration expanded the scope of freedom to even those who perceived as outcasts in the US, a vital aspect in the development and use of freedom.
Finally, the Civil Rights Movements in the US in the 1960s played a role in defining political and individual freedom of most minorities in the US. Despite the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, the African-Americans still faced challenges regarding the attainment of individual and political freedoms. The Jim Crow laws erected multiple hurdles along their way and prevented them from voting (Patterson, 1987). However, through the Civil Rights Movements that were anchored on achieving freedom for all and eliminating racial segregation in the US, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Twenty-fourth Amendment saw the African-Americans having their right to vote enshrined in the Constitution. The rallying call during these movements is “Let freedom ring” (Patterson, 1987). Through the leadership of Martin Luther King Jnr, the fruits of the Civil Rights movement reshaped and widened American society’s scope of freedom. In the modern world, freedom in American society is gauged on people’s liberty to engage in activities and upholding of American values. Any attack on Americans, such as during the 9/11 attacks or attacks of the press, is seen as an attack on the freedom of people. Therefore, the concept of freedom in America has been shaped up by events and people and evolved into different forms over a period in American history.
References
Bailyn, B. (1993). Jefferson and the Ambiguities of Freedom. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 137(4), 498-515.
Lincoln, A. (1863). The emancipation proclamation. September 22, 1862.
Patterson, O. (1987). The Unholy Trinity: Freedom, Slavery, and the American Constitution. Social Research, 543-577.