The Concept Of Freedom

 

 

 

• The Concept Of Freedom

 

 

 

 

• Student’s Name:
• Institution Affiliation
• Professor
• Course Title:
• Date:

 

 

Introduction

• During the reconstruction period, the United States was coupled with revolutions and activism by different groups. All these groups were aiming at achieving freedom for their people. However, freedom had different definitions amongst these groups. The following work will focus on the various definitions and meanings these groups attached to freedom and the differences and similarities in these perceptions. This essay focus on three main groups and their definition of freedom. These groups include the Black Residents of Nashville in 1865, married women represented by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and South Carolina freedmen.

Groups’ Definition of Freedom

The Blacks of Nashville’s definition of freedom was that freedom is the natural right of all men[1]. In their petition to the Federal government, they state that “We hold that freedom is the natural right of all men, which they themselves have no more right to give or barter away, than they have to sell their honor, their wives, or their children.”[2]  This definition of freedom explains that one God created all men, and so all men are equal and should be treated equally without bias or cruelty. The Black Residents of Nashville, after the 1865 abolition of slavery, some of the Blacks of Nashville felt that this action was not enough and petitioned for their right to vote with immediate effect. The Blacks of Nashville’s aim was to ensure that the African Americans had an assured future through voting rights.

Another group in Voices of freedom are married women, mainly the African American women whose liberty is restricted simply because they are married as represented by Elizabeth[3].  The definition of freedom for married women is equal to liberty as men, such as the power to vote and public participation. “After the blacks were guaranteed equality before the law by the Fourteenth Amendment and black men given the right to vote by the Fifteenth, women demanded that the boundaries of American democracy be expanded to include them as well.[4]” The explanation for the quest for emancipation for married women was that forced marriages were restricting the liberty of women in activities such as voting industrial participation. Instead, women were perceived as subordinates to men and under men’s rule. However, Elizabeth explains how marriage should be used as a tool for restricting women’s rights. In support of Elizabeth’s request she, argues that marriages would be more fulfilling and happier if women and men had equal rights and liberty[5].

Freedmen in the United States, especially in South Carolina during 1865, filed for a petition to own land formerly owned by their masters[6].  The freedmen’s definition of freedom is the right to own the lands they had inhabited once they were freed. The freedmen were willing to purchase the lands upon government order. Therefore, the idea that those lands were to be repossessed by their former owners was an injustice to the freedmen. Thus, in their petition through committee, they requested that the president takes into consideration, “we, therefore, look to you in this trying hour as a true friend of the poor and neglected race. For the protection and Equal Rights. With the privilege of purchasing A Homestead— a Homestead right here in the Heart of South Carolina.[7]”

• Contrasting Views of Freedom.

The three groups’ definitions of freedom are similar in that they address the problems that the African Americans were experiencing during 1865 and 1877. The first is about the right to vote, the second is equality for men and women of African American origin, and the third is about land ownership. All these freedoms explain the problems that the then law was not putting African Americans’ rights into consideration. The African Americans had to petition for their grievances to be considered.

The point of agreement in these freedoms is that all men are equal, whether white or black. These freedom definitions dismiss the white people’s specialty, so the African Americans wanted to have equal representation as to the whites. The disagreement is that the African American men did not fight for equality between them and African American women; instead the African American women fought for equal rights as their men. The argument behind this ideology by Elizabeth is that marriages were to be more meaningful and happier if women were also privileged to make political decisions.

Conclusion

The definitions amongst the Black of Nashville, the freemen of South Carolina, and married women could mutually exist through the universal right to vote for all persons and the right to own property. The married women plight was about their freedom to make political decisions just like the Blacks of Nashville while the Freedmen wanted to own land rightfully. These freedoms do not contradict each other, so they can mutually coexist in improving African Americans’ lives.

 

 

Bibliography

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “Home Life,” in Eric Foner, ed. Voices of Freedom, Vol. 2, 6th Edition (New York: W.W. Norton, 2020), 14-17.

Petition of Black Residents of Nashville in Eric Foner, ed. Voices of Freedom, Vol. 2, 6th Edition (New York: W.W. Norton, 2020), 14-17.

Petition of Committee on Behalf of the Freedmen to Andrew Johnson in Eric Foner, ed. Voices of Freedom, Vol. 2, 6th Edition (New York: W.W. Norton, 2020), 14-17.

 

 

 

 

[1] Petition of Black Residents of Nashville in Eric Foner, ed. Voices of Freedom, Vol. 2, 6th Edition (New York: W.W. Norton, 2020), 14-17.

[2] Petition of Black Residents of Nashville in Eric Foner, ed. Voices of Freedom, Vol. 2, 6th Edition (New York: W.W. Norton, 2020), 14-17.

[3] Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “Home Life,” in Eric Foner, ed. Voices of Freedom, Vol. 2, 6th Edition (New York: W.W. Norton, 2020), 14-17.

[4] Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “Home Life,” in Eric Foner, ed. Voices of Freedom, Vol. 2, 6th Edition (New York: W.W. Norton, 2020), 14-17.

[5] Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “Home Life,” in Eric Foner, ed. Voices of Freedom, Vol. 2, 6th Edition (New York: W.W. Norton, 2020), 14-17.

[6]‘ Petition of Committee on Behalf of the Freedmen to Andrew Johnson in Eric Foner, ed. Voices of Freedom, Vol. 2, 6th Edition (New York: W.W. Norton, 2020), 14-17.

[7]” Petition of Committee on Behalf of the Freedmen to Andrew Johnson in Eric Foner, ed. Voices of Freedom, Vol. 2, 6th Edition (New York: W.W. Norton, 2020), 14-17.