Is America Really Free

Freedom has been the central belief of America since the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Since this day, America has worked hard to keep the idea that America is the “land of the free.” However, throughout the construction of this nation, freedom was defined differently by each person. Freedom to African Americans meant liberty from enslavement and land ownership. Freedom to Europeans meant freedom of religion and government. Freedom was not equally given to everyone in this nation. Although America is known to be the land of opportunity, people such as African Americans and Native Americans did not experience those opportunities and the definition of freedom equally with white Americans. (EMPHASIZE THESIS)

Is America a free country? This topic seems very sensitive in the sense if you answered no; you’re kind of betraying the country, but in reality has anything been truly free. Being free is defined as not being under the control or power of another; to act on ones wishes. This seems nearly impossible since there will always be restrictions and rules, along with corruption. These traits have always been a part of America, in both political life and in daily life.

The amendments were put into place to protect the rights and civil liberties of all American citizens from the federal government. However, prior to the fourteenth amendment, there was no certainty with the constitution. The constitution did not state in a clear enough way who was protected under it and exactly what rights you had as an American Citizen. The 14th amendment was in response to the just passed thirteenth amendment, which ended slavery in all of the southern states. This document drastically changed the perception of the citizens, showing that it protected the civil rights of whites and blacks. While the fourteenth amendment was instated to expand citizenship, it has caused controversy

Thomas Jefferson wrote one of the most important and ironic phrases in the United States’s history: “...that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable right; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (652). The Declaration of Independence boasts that it supports that all men have a right to liberty. However, even though they declare it, it does not always hold truthful. The declaration only promotes the freedom and separation as a united country or for the men of the occupied countries. There is no reference to women, people of color, or children in regards to liberty. Meaning, that unless you are a man, technically you are still under England’s rule. I know that the document is not directly saying that and most people would assume that “men” was an all inclusive term. And yet, if that were true, we would have the same wage gap between men and women or the battle for the same civil rights that the men in 1776 were fighting for in 2016. But I digress.

In the 1950’s the cold war had begun. The fear of retaliation from communists was at large. Some Americans believed that communists were amongst them plotting. This lead to a dark time in history when American opportunity became limited for many. Most rights were limited, normal life was disrupted, and the most necessary human right may have been taken. All of these restrictions limited the American opportunity making it an age of fear and oppression rather than an age of opportunity.

Throughout the annals of American history, the advocation for freedom, and the absorption of ideals such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness have been at the forefront of the American belief. These beliefs were implemented in 1776, through the Declaration of Independence. This document was ratified by recalcitrant Americans who would not tolerate subjection to tyrannical rule. The American people hoped this document would seal their fate in relation to Europe, and prove to Europe, and frankly the entire world, that they were a separate, sufficient nation. But as the years unfolded, the realization that America would continue to be considered an inferior nation arose. European countries such as England and France continued to undermine American ideals of freedom and did not adhere to their belief of liberty. In 1812, America declared war against Great Britain. The question soon arose as to why America would declare war against the most powerful country in the world.

When you think of America you often think of independence and individual freedom, but what made early American want this freedom? The British restriction of trade and control of state governments merely angered Americans, but with proposals like Thomas Paine’s Common Sense it stirred our spirit into more than rebellious one. These things lead to American Revolution, and this revolution lead to the Treaty of Paris, the U.S Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. All these outcomes of the Revolution are incredibly important to American History and to what we are now as Americans.

As the United States became more industrialized, the understanding of freedoms began to change. New systems of transportation began to emerge that allowed people to be able to travel quicker, a new economy emerged, and participation in the democratic system grew. Socially and politically the nation altered its concept of freedom, but select groups were still left out.

“Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever…” were the famous words of Martin Luther King Jr. Perhaps one can remain so not forever, but in America, a very long time. Called a “…beacon for freedom and opportunity” (George W. Bush, 2001), America has prided itself as the champion of its five founding ideals outlined in the Declaration of Independence. These ideals of Equality, Liberty, Opportunity, Democracy, and Rights have not been given justice. Through history, especially the events of The Civil Rights Movement, September 11th, and our present day; America has not lived up to these founding ideals.

Freedom is the ability to love whomever we want, It is when you give without expecting a favor, It is the power to forgive when you've been mistaken, it is the capability to do right without being proud of it. To me Freedom is America, Freedom is the 13 horizontal stripes and the 50 stars waving in the wind, and finally Freedom is for everyone to be equal, yet different in his or her own way.

America, the land of the free, does this reign true after the years of war and amendments to the Constitution that have been implemented? Our nation has gone through so many changes. Is there even a resemblance to the original system the framers of the Constitution envisioned? The majority of the Constitution has remained constant over the years, and those changes that have been made were for the amelioration of the country.

Through the years 1865 to 1910, America went through industrialization changing America drastically in many ways economically, politically, and socially. Immigrants like Jurgis Rudkus were not treated luxuriously like white American citizens. The way Jurgis and people like him are forced to live is miserable and should not be considered in any way as free living. People like Jurgis are not truly “free” simply because living in those kinds of unsanitary and abominable conditions should not be considered living by any means

In “Let America be America again,” “The Latin Deli,” and “Two ways to Belong in America” America has been proven that it is only free for some but not for all. In these stories, they insist that that America has only been free and equal towards its American born citizens. They explain how most of the immigrants have been discriminated against and treated poorly. Most of them tell how they have been forced to make their own communities because of how they have been treated. The immigrants have all been discriminated against and are not free unlike American born citizens.

The rights and freedoms of Americans have been evolving since the decision was made to break free from England. Even though African Americans were granted freedom at the end of the Civil War they were not granted equality and they were denied many of the basic rights of enjoyed by white Americans. Things reached a boiling point during the 1950’s and 1960’s when powerful activists challenged the United States federal government to uphold their rights as American citizens. As a result, the federal government was forced to intercede with state governments on their behalf in order to restore their rights as guaranteed by the 14th and 15th amendments.