Essays On Freedom
The path to freedom has not been an easy one; there have been many ups and downs to get America to where it is today. On this journey there have been many people to help push freedom along, and also those who have hindered this journey. As Thomas Jefferson said, and later, John F. Kennedy echoed, the spread of freedom abroad was powered by ‘the force of right and reason’ and with those trying to hinder freedom were said to be unreasonable men. With freedom being different to each person, many problems arise from these diverse opinions. Through the example America has set, many countries have strived to attain the same freedoms. With this liberty, it becomes a great amount of responsibility to the American people to keep this freedom alive; although many go unnoticed, their impact is still there. Without the bravery and loyalty of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Barbara Johns, the contrasting effects of the Ku Klux Klan, and people who both impacted and hindered progression like Howard W. Smith; the freedom of America would not be the same.
Franklin D. Roosevelt served as the 32nd President of the United States; he served four terms in office during his political career. Being the President during the Great Depression had its many difficulties, but how he conquered these problems is the reason he is often thought as one of the greatest U.S. presidents. Deep in the Great Depression, the government was no longer run by the people, but by those hungry for wealth and power. One of Roosevelt’s promises was that he would balance the economy with his New Deal plan. The New Deal was a series of programs and projects, including the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, the Public Works Administration, and the Civil Works Administration. With the New Deal, the relationship between the government and the U.S. citizens changed dramatically. With this great unbalance of power, the American people’s freedoms were taken from them, and the people voices had little influence on the government. To a crowd at Madison Square Garden, Roosevelt stated: “I should like to have it said of my first Administration that in it the forces of selfishness and of lust for power met their match, and I should like to have it said of my second Administration that in it these forces have met their master.” Though the New Deal had its setbacks and didn’t turn out exactly the way that he desired, his impact was still known.
Barbara Johns, a strong, sixteen year-old girl, didn’t let her age hold her back from speaking her mind. She led a group of four hundred black students to protest inadequate facilities at the segregated Robert R. Moton High School in Farmville, Virginia. With this stand, she followed in the footsteps of her uncle, who was one of the fathers of the Civil Rights Movement. The NAACP agreed to file a lawsuit, Davis v. Prince Edward County, after Johns and another student wrote to them about the conflict. The students boycotted the high school until the local all-white School Board addressed their own complaints. With this protest and four other similar cases, including the famous Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, these efforts ultimately helped persuade the Supreme Court’s decision in 1954 to outlaw public school segregation.
The Ku Klux Klan is one of the most well-known white supremacy organizations against the civil rights of African Americans. The group did not shy away from violence; they were known for the burning of crosses and staging rallies, parades, and marches denouncing immigrants, Catholics, Jews, blacks, and organized labor. The number of members in the organization was not low, and nationwide, they exceeded 4 million members. The passing of the 14th Amendment, which granted citizenship to all people born in the United States, assisted in protecting victims of this group. This didn’t stop the group completely, but it did greatly help prevent the severity of their doings. After 1870, Republican state governments in the South turned to Congress for help, resulting in the passage of three Enforcement Acts, the strongest of which was the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. These Acts were influential in preventing discrimination and the outright violence against minority groups in the U.S., assisting in granting more liberty to them.
Even after winning the right to vote in 1920 by the 19th Amendment, very little improvement was made for women’s rights and equality. Howard W. Smith, former chairman of the U.S. House Rules Committee, saw women’s issues and sought out to amend the Civil Rights Act. When Smith added sex to the list of forms of discrimination prohibited by the act, feminist activists were overjoyed. Though Smith helped in the case for civil rights for women, Smith was less concerned with the original premise of the bill: the civil rights of African Americans. His main efforts with amending the Civil Rights Act were geared toward women. Smith was trying to delay the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, two days before the vote, in order to get “sex” included into the protected class and help stop gender inequality. He was perceived as just attempting to prevent the bill from passing and defeating the whole thing altogether. The bill was passed, and women’s rights were further protected, due to Smith’s efforts.
With all of these influential people, and even the more inferior figures in American history, American citizens’ freedoms have progressed in many ways. Although some were negative, each event made Americans more resilient and caused people to support each other in their quest for freedom. There might never be true freedom, but when the government has too much power over the people, the country slides backwards. By working together as citizens and using our voices in our democracy, just as figures like Barbara Johns and Franklin D. Roosevelt did, we get ever closer to the “American Dream” of freedom that Americans are proud of.
Evaluate the statement, “One person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter. ” According to Dictionary. com, the definition of “terrorist” is “a person, usually a member of a group, who advocates terrorism or a person who frightens others. ” As for the phase “freedom fighter”, it refers to “a person who battles against established forces […]
Education is essential for achieving true freedom. In “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave,” Frederick Douglass recognizes that education is crucial for achieving freedom in both physical and mental aspects. He realizes that he must educate himself to attain true liberty. Upon being prohibited from receiving an education by Hugh Auld, […]
Freedom of Speech Vs. Censorship: Children on the Internet The internet is a very controversial communication device in today’s society. If desired, one could find information on nearly any topic they choose. Censorship and free speech is a widely discussed topic when dealing with the current freedom of the internet especially when dealing with young […]
The prevalence of Cell Phones is increasing in today’s society, serving as a means of social connection and aiding in tasks such as checking emails, managing calendars, and using various applications. Nevertheless, skeptics raise concerns about possible distractions, health issues, and social problems associated with Cell Phones. If unchallenged, these arguments may compromise or entirely […]
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (also known as The Charter of Rights and Freedoms or simply the Charter) is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada. It forms the first part of the Constitution Act, 1982. The Charter guarantees certain political and civil rights of people in Canada from the […]
In the Days of Anarchy To live in a country such as the United States of America is considered a privilege. The liberties that American citizens are entitled to, as declared in the Constitution, makes the United States an attractive and envied democracy. It would be improbable to imagine these liberties being stripped from American […]
How much freedom do Individuals really have In the creation of their identities? Critically discuss by drawing on the theories and concepts of Interpretive sociology (such as the work of Irving Coffman and ethnomusicology) and one of the following: 1) Michel Faculty (Post-structuralism) 2) Pierre Broodier (Structuralism) Assessment Task: A 3500 word assignment which meets […]
The quest for freedom came at a loss for most Black Slaves across the world. Most dreamt about It, others tried to go after It. Few truly obtained It. This causes me to think, what Is freedom, and what does It mean truly to be free. Webster Dictionary defines freedom as ” Independence, Liberty, ease […]
Essay on Freedom of Choice and Determinism Based on Slaughterhouse Five The issue of whether free will exists has been widely debated throughout history. The main philosophies on this are determinism (which imposes that free will is false and predetermines is correct), compatibility (determinism and free will aren’t mutually exclusive; they’re both correct) and libertarianism […]
This paper seeks to answer the question: Is freedom the ultimate human value? Freedom is an integral part of living. It is one force which makes or breaks an individual. Freedom may revolve around personal choices or destinies for the free. But for those who were born under a certain political or social structure, freedom is […]
The Florida Senate approved the Evolution Academic Act on April 23, 2008, which is currently pending approval from the house. Its enactment would allow teachers and students to openly discuss weaknesses in Darwin’s theory of evolution.The Florida Board of Education has updated the school syllabus to include a thorough discussion about the strengths, weaknesses, criticisms […]
To answer this question I first had to ask myself the question, What is freedom? Political revolution? Putting a metal stud through your tongue? Standing on a box in the park and saying what you think? Backpacking around the world? Not being persecuted or tortured? Holding a passport and the right to vote? Spiritual enlightenment? […]
During the time he does not work he builds rocking chairs to sell to people. Every year John takes all his money and tries to by his freedom, but Master Charles says, “no! ” because he knows the first thing he will do is buy his wife’s freedom. Augustus is Ann’s oldest brother. When Augustus […]
1. a. The consequence of societal networking has caused us something good and bad at same clip. We can make healthy relationships through it and it is true to all that there is ever a negative feedback behind everything that exists yet I think we can still cut down the incident of cyberbullying by implementing […]
In “Of the Dawn of Freedom. ” writer W. B. Du Bois ( 1903 ) points out the historical footing for the continuity of racism as a job. Written about three decennaries after the civil war. the text is addressed to both Afro-american and White people who comfort themselves with the semblance that the granting […]
“ Freedom ” has been an object of survey and treatment since antiquity. The definition, extent and deductions of the thought of human freedom have been discussed in subjects runing from the humanistic disciplines, humanistic disciplines and even the scientific disciplines. Freedom has been diversely defined by many people. These definitions can be loosely classified […]
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a measure of rights granted constitutional position that was introduced in the Constitution Act of 1982 by Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau. The Constitution Act is besides known as the repatriation of the Canadian Constitution. The Charter had several intents ; the first is “to lineation and vouch […]
The term “fifth freedom” has been historically used to represent different important social concepts. These include the freedom from racial discrimination in the US labor market (Chen, 2009), the freedom for an airline from one country to enter and land in another country (Vallero, 2004), and even granting someone the authority to eliminate another person […]
One of the values that are very traditional and at the same important is the Individual Freedom and Self-Reliance. It is known that the first settlers came to North America to establish some colonies which were free from the control of European societies. There are more values that are very important to know about it. […]
The Handmaid’s Tale, a novel by Margaret Atwood, is about the life of a handmaid, Offred, and what she does to survive in the Gilead. The society of Gilead in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaids Tale is based upon the idea of making a safer place to live by producing freedoms from things such as rape […]
“In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. ” An excerpt from Franklin D Roosevelt’s 1941 State of the Union Address. in Roosevelt’s speech he describes the four essential freedoms: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of every person to worship […]
Zinn chapter 9 talks about slavery before and after the Civil War, it describes the United States Government’s support of slavery until Abraham Lincoln’s approach to end Slavery. It mentions how the slaves were kept into slavery by whipping, religion, separating families and even killing. There were many failed attempts to abolish slavery prior to […]
