The American Revolution: The Definition Of Freedom

Freedom is a forever changing concept. For each individual, the definition of freedom is solely their own. There is no way to define freedom in a concrete way, but instead it can be looked at individualistically such as “the freedom to” or “the freedom from”; the freedom of certain rights, self-definition, and religion or the freedom from oppression, prejudice and judgement. Throughout history, freedom’s definition has molded itself into the life and society of those of that specific time, but as we look at the preceding and succeeding years, there is a developmental aspect that integrates itself into those meanings tied to freedom and what it means to those people. In history, we see the ideas of freedom connected to many groups of people

It is shown by pointing out specific groups of people such as the Native American Indians who were seen as savages and unfit for citizenship in the developing areas of America or women who were also seen as unfit for citizenship, but were stuck in the chains of gender roles as being lesser of status to the white male. Throughout the years leading up to the American Revolution, it is seen that many definitions of freedom pointed to land-ownership and, predominately, being a white man. As the struggle intensified toward the American Revolution, we see the highest levels of inequality, but as the ideas of freedom expanded, “American freedom would be forever linked with the idea of equality,” although many were nowhere near obtaining equality (page 213). With the compelling push toward independence, voting, religious toleration, and economic freedom were pushed into the limelight of what it meant to be truly free in America. During this time, many attempted to define what it means to have religious freedom or economic freedom, but it had always been up for debate. The question of many: How does one know who should have the “right” to be engrained in government, religion, or the economy? It is clear to see there was a powerful grasp on

The Civil War projected the growing tensions of true liberty amidst the people of the United States. Freedom expanded to two different spectrums from the North to the South with the North seeing that “freedom meant for each man to enjoy the product of his labor” while the South saw freedom as “convey[ing] mastership—the power to do as they please with other men, and the product of other men’s labor” (page 528). As shown, especially in slavery, many have enjoyed a greater freedom by taking other’s freedoms away, but interestingly enough, the North held the majority of freedom’s definition in America during this time. As the Civil War progressed, white men and black men fought side by side to protect their great country and with this, the molding beliefs of freedom revealed itself. How does one not retain unalienable rights while fighting just the same and dying just the same as their counterparts? Blacks were finally able to project their expressions of liberty and prove that they strived for freedom just as any man. Emancipation for slaves was center staged during the war and there was a strong stand against stripping those of their freedom. Along with slaves, many brave women emerged during this time to fill a growing need as more and more men enlisted to fight in the Civil War and these women took on roles predominately reserved for men such as government