Social inequality in 1820s
Social equality has been a goal of America since its very beginning. However, it was only an intention to be socially equal, but not a goal. Social equality or the fact that all men were created equal only applied to the white man. There was no intention in meaning that the blacks and Indians or even the women were equal. In the eyes of the delegates, and the common white majority, blacks, indians, and women were not an issue. To them, it was apparent that blacks were kids, Indians were savages, and women were homemakers. From the late 18th century to the mid 19th century was the greatest era of social and racial inequality in all American history.
The Declaration of Independence states, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." This infamous passage written by Thomas Jefferson on July 4th, 1776, states that ALL men are created equal and are entitled to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. Although this statement has been argued about its actual meaning hundreds of times by students, philosophers, historians, etc., it still is relevant in discussing the true intentions of the new nation. If all men were created equal then why were there slaves? Why did the government deny the Indians of their rights? Why was there so much injustice? That phrase simply meant that all free citizens were politically equal. This did not apply to blacks or women under the eyes of the signers. As time went by, the meaning "All Men are created equal" took a meaning different than that of the common people in 1776. The years following the establishment of the new nation were times of refining and tuning of the new government. The question of the true meaning of "All Men are Created Equal" arised again and again until it influenced the minds of Americans that is was time for social equality.
In order to understand the reasons why blacks were treated so cruelly and socially unequal is to understand the perspective of whites in the era from the late 18th century to the late 19th century.
"It (the south) must pettify the institution and its own reactions, must begin to boast at its own Great Heart. To have heard them talk, indeed, you would have thought the sole reason ...
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...m to move in the dead of winter. In other words, the Indians were said to have had rights, but never really had any because the American Government constantly changed the rules because of their lack of respect towards the Indians and their belief that they were inferior.
In Conclusion, the period between the late 18th century to the mid 19th century was one of the most socially and racially unequal times in all of AMerican History. The rights described in our Declaration of Independence were irrelevant to minorities, the assumption that "All Men Are Created Equal" was only applied to white men and not minorities like Blacks and Indians. Blacks were treated like children in this period, thought to be inferior and uncivilized and therefore not even rights. Even worse, Indians were promised rights and land, only to have both stripped from them by the American government through means of "treaties", agreements, and war. This period was truly one of the most wrong and unequal periods of American History, however, it was a landmark in the creation of a new nation. While all these social inequalities existed, America flourished and grew to be one of the greatest nations in the world.
What The South Intends. THE CHRISTIAN RECORDERS August 12, 1865, Print. James, Edward, Janet James, and Paul Boyer.
Even though Blacks were granted independence, laws were set up to limit this accomplishment. Jim Crow Laws, enforced in 1877 in the south, were still being imposed during the 1930s and throughout. These laws created segregation between the two races and created a barrier for the Blacks. For example, even though African Americans were allowed to vote, southern states created a literary test exclusively for them that was quite difficult to pass, since most Blacks were uneducated. However, if they passed the reading test, they were threatened death. Also, they had to pay a special tax to vote, which many African Americans could not afford. This obstacle caused Blacks to not have a voice in the USA’s political decisions. Furthermore, they were left with the worst jobs in town and had the poorest schools because of segregation (The Change in Attitudes…). In the southern states, compared to White schooling education, the Blacks received one-third of school funding. The White people dominated the states and local government with their decisions and made sure that the Blacks were weak. They weren’t being treated in hospitals because the doctors refused to do treatment on them. Also, because of the laws and segregation, people claim that there was a ‘visible colored line’ in publi...
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” These were the mighty words that Thomas Jefferson wrote down he developed his portion of the Declaration of Independence. Some people do not recognize Thomas Jefferson as one of the founding fathers, with other names like Ben Franklin and John Hancock being thrown around the room, but yet we should see him as the most important one. Thomas Jefferson was assigned to make a draft for the document. He chose to talk about how all men are equal and everybody deserves life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The declaration of independence is one of the most important documents in history and made all men equal, meaning one race is not superior to another. This influenced the public by making the black race have hope because now, they could see that one day they would be just as equal as...
By 1890's the south was so crazed by all of its prejudice and hate toward blacks that many advocates decided that blacks could possibly succeed in the south. Industrial wo...
Living in the United States of America is all about opportunity. The opportunity to get a good job, make money, and lead a life of good quality; in other words, the opportunity to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. However the opportunity for many people was not around through out the 1800s. Certain groups of people did not hold the basic rights that were guaranteed by the Constitution. In fact, most of the people that had opportunity were the wealthy white men, and few other people ever had any chances to lead a good life. For example, at the end of the 1800s African Americans had some rights, however a lot of their rights were severely limited by laws that were made by the wealthy white men. Also, Native Americans didn’t have any rights at all; they weren’t even considered United States citizens. So how did the United States go from a country that only benefited white men to a land of opportunity for everyone? The answer to this is through reform movements. The many reform movements through out United States History as shaped American Society and Culture to what it is today. For example, the Progressive movement saw many laws passed which are still in effect today. Also, without the Civil Rights movements we would still be living in a hypocritical, racist society.
The Declaration of Independence (1776) was written to proclaim the colonists’ independence from Great Britain and announce the rights of its citizens and the role of government, among other declarations. The most famous phrase “…all men are created equal”, authored by Thomas Jefferson, was a statement affirming that tyranny under the rule of King George III and the English Parliament would be met with opposition by the colonists who would protect their liberties in the new republic.
Of all the areas with which the southerners contended, the socio-political arena was probably their strongest. It is in this area that they had history and law to support their assertions. With the recent exception of the British, the slave trade had been an integral part of the economies of many nations and the slaves were the labor by which many nations and empires attained greatness. Souther...
The next few paragraphs will compare blacks in the north to blacks in the south in the 1800’s. In either location blacks were thought of as incompetent and inferior. The next few paragraphs will explain each group’s lifestyle and manner of living.
“All men are born free and with equal rights, and must always remain free and have equal rights,” (Thomas Jefferson) This is the famous statement made by Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence. He is being extremely hypocritical here considering he himself owned a near two hundred slaves. The slaves are still owned and treated as ‘property’. Thomas Jefferson did not have care for the slaves. The equalities discussed in the Declaration were not aimed to all men, they were aimed at specific white men. Frederick Douglass a former slave excellently asks in reaction to Jefferson; “Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us?” What he means by “Us” is African American, it could also mean slave considering he was one. It is just so perfectly put because it is obvious the beliefs of Jefferson were not extended to African American’s or slaves. He continues on rather sarcastically “confess the benefits”, this is important because there was very little benefits. (Frederick Douglass, 1852,
The Renaissance was a cultural and intellectual movement that had its peak during the 15th and 16th centuries. During these times there was a heightened interest with the classical learning that was brought about in the middle ages. The renaissance first started in Italy and then eventually spread to Western Europe. During this period there was a high interest in the aesthetics of the classical world like architecture. The renaissance focused on the 17th century philosophy which came from the Greeks.
Imagine a historian, author of an award-winning dissertation and several books. He is an experienced lecturer and respected scholar; he is at the forefront of his field. His research methodology sets the bar for other academicians. He is so highly esteemed, in fact, that an article he has prepared is to be presented to and discussed by the United States’ oldest and largest society of professional historians. These are precisely the circumstances in which Ulrich B. Phillips wrote his 1928 essay, “The Central Theme of Southern History.” In this treatise he set forth a thesis which on its face is not revolutionary: that the cause behind which the South stood unified was not slavery, as such, but white supremacy. Over the course of fourteen elegantly written pages, Phillips advances his thesis with evidence from a variety of primary sources gleaned from his years of research. All of his reasoning and experience add weight to his distillation of Southern history into this one fairly simple idea, an idea so deceptively simple that it invites further study.
The Renaissance was a very vital time in our history without the Renaissance era we would not have many of the advancements that we have today. This era not only influenced art, literature, and music but also today’s politics, religion and society. During the Renaissance, there were many new inventions in technology the way of thinking also changed. This was key to the development of western civilization.
While she is buying flowers for her party, Mrs. Dalloway has an existential crisis regarding the meaning of life and the inevitability of death. She reflects on the atmosphere of the London streets and her old suitor Peter Walsh as she reads some lines from Shakespeare’s Cymbeline. Mrs. Dalloway’s existential crisis demonstrates situational irony since the concept of life and death is quite deep and complex, yet she seems to live a shallow life consisting of throwing parties and picking which flowers to buy. Although she is contemplating her own mortality, Woolf’s word choice, such as “consoling,” suggests that death is positive and liberating, applying a light tone to a dark situation, adding to the irony. Mrs. Dalloway describes the trees,
The Renaissance was a time of creativity and change in Europe. It produced many achievements in art, literature, and science, but most importantly it produced a new concept of how people thought of themselves, each other, and the world around them.
The Renaissance is famous for the artwork created during this period, but a rise of the arts was only one of the factors that helped to make the Renaissance one of the most developed time periods to exist. Starting around 1450 in Florence Italy, it quickly spread throughout Europe. Cities grew larger and economic development increased rapidly. Document Four, by Benedetto Dei states, “We have around thirty thousand estates, owned by nobleman and merchants, citizens and craftsmen…” The document also discusses how many of each type of shop exist in Florence, and shows how advanced and successful the Renaissance has become. The Renaissance sparked new ideas and ways of thinking, through a revival of learning from the classical time periods. Many new ideas were created, but others were continued on from previous time periods since not everyone supported the Renaissance. The Renaissance showed great development in society because of new ideas as well as continuities from the Middle Ages.