The Power Is In Their Hands: Frederick Douglass And Jane Addams

The Power is in Their Hands: The United States of America is a prime example of the possibility of major change occurring due to the relentless perseverance of people and their desire to create a land in which they could thrive. While the United States had made progress under the Founding Fathers, there were still plenty of issues that groups of citizens saw as unfit for a successful nation, such as the oppression that revolved around the issue of voting rights. Two such leaders of this movement included African-American social reformer and abolitionist Frederick Douglass, and female American social activist, Jane Addams. Both Douglass and Addams are confident that America can change because the nation is young and devoted to the democratic

Addams believes that the “industrial mindset” is maintained by all levels of society simply because of habit, and believes that this mindset is what is keeping America’s democracy from being successful. She expresses the idea that the mindset that people having toward the working class and the idea that they are incapable of participating democracy is leading to their feelings of isolation from their own nation. Addams argues that the key to a successful democracy is allowing all people to come together and reach a solution, instead of segregating some as incompetent. Thus, her belief that all men are a part of the same movement, leads to her conclusion that the only way that democracy will work successfully in the United States, is if all people realize they are apart of the nation together, and works towards complete unification of different opinions. Through unification and realizing that all men desire the same thing Addams believes that the democratic process will begin to become

Frederick Douglass argues that in order to have a successful government, those with the power, which he considers the white man, must free the slaves. Douglass believes that the United States democracy is founded on hypocrisy, and stresses the fact that the American government claims to have been founded on the basis of freedom, yet still enslaves part of its population. Douglass claims that while he believes the nation is young and capable of changing its ways for the better, it must start with the freeing of the slaves. Similar to Douglass, Addams also has a positive outlook on the future of the American government, but her solution to the problems facing democracy regards the unification of all people and erasing the typical “industrial mindset.” Addams argues that all citizens are capable of actively participating in the government, yet some groups, such as the working population feel isolated from their nation because those who are orchestrating the government see them as incapable of active participation in democracy. Addams claims that in order to better democracy, all people should be included in the process because ultimately, the decisions of the government are going to affect all of America, including those that are denied a right to participate in democracy. Addams believes that all Americans should be