The Importance Of Ambition In America By Ida B. Wells

1167 Words3 Pages

Ambition is beautiful. Ambition drives people to do things they have a strong sense of desire to do, believing they are capable of achieving a certain goal. We find this trait among many of our nations remarkable leaders who were willing to make a stand, take risks, and speak their minds, sharing their greatest triumphs as well as their painful loses. These leaders were distinctive individuals who changed our nation solely through their unyielding ways. During times of racial injustice, post emancipation proclamation, and women’s suffrage, seeking the right to express individualism was a burden upon many. However, in the late 19th century, the nation’s post-war South remained a precarious place, and significant challenges lay ahead after …show more content…

The south was ripe with lynching, riots, white supremacists against African Americans fighting for equality. It was through these altering moments in history Ida B. Wells made a difference in our nation. Her unparalleled circumstances and unique individuality from the other African Americans allowed her to become more aware of her social, economic and political surroundings. Through triumphs and battles, she prevailed and did not allow her hardships to diminish her ambition. A daughter of former slaves, Ida B. Wells was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi on July 16, 1862. The Wells family as well as the rest of the slaves of the confederate states were decreed free by the union thanks to the Emancipation Proclamation. Living in Mississippi as an African American, they faced racial prejudices, however unlike many ex-slaves, Reconstruction dawned much brighter for the Wells family. Her …show more content…

Growing up with different social circumstances, attending social mixers was an enlightening experience and once she made the move to Memphis, she gained a continual stream of suitors that accompanied her to such events. New opportunities emerged for Ida, giving her a sense of what life was like being a bachelorette in a land among woman seeking to marry. As an attractive, un-married woman in her mid twenties with an active social life she often generated suspicion and talk. Although Ida struck flings with many persistent suitors, her feelings have never been entirely clear in whom she ever truly loved. It was evident that she was not romanticized by the concept of marriage like many women were at the time. Growing up as an African American, Ida B. Wells triumphed upon her most struggling battles, politically, economically and socially. All of which were solely driven by her ambitious outlook towards the difference she strived to make. She left behind an impressive legacy of social and political heroism. With her writings, speeches and protests, Wells fought against prejudice, no matter what potential dangers she faced. She once said, "I felt that one had better die fighting against injustice than to die like a dog or a rat in a trap." Indeed, her experiences were the source of her lifelong belief in

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