| "Balancing of the Scales: Independence or Freedom?" |
| The year 1776 was, and still is, the year that changed the very foundations of American society and the world existing on the outside. It was in this year, on the date of July 4th, that the acquisition of American independence from England was finally achieved, and a declaration was made stating the �Laws of Nature� which entitled all men to freedom. It was with this proposal, sent to the King himself, that our new world order was formed. The thirteen United States of America became the �land of the free� and the new home for all people with prejudices against them. The doctrine of independence that was put forth was by no means a simple secession from Great Britain. It held behind it what its authors didn�t even realize; the establishment of the idea that all people are free to live for themselves. By stating that �all men are created equal,� it opened the doorway to an unseen tide of those who still did not have freedom, the slaves. The Declaration of Independence stemmed from the freedom of a nation and took the first steps towards the freedom of a people, and the end of slavery. It is not very often that a single event can influence the world for centuries after its appearance, but this event does. After the American Revolutionary War ended and American independence was established, the world viewed the United States as a free land of opportunity. This notion of opportunity gave rise to a massive immigration to the nation. With this immigration came people of all races, and none were looked upon as equals to the common �white� American. Prejudice was rampant through the streets of cities and countrysides of America. But hadn�t the foundation for this new world been based on the idea that all men are created equal? Apparently not. After all, the authors of the Declaration defined equality as freedom. This could not be achieved without a totality of freedom. All the people of the nation had to become free and equal for the claims of the Declaration to ring true. However, the equality of men was not designated for Africans; they were accepted as slaves, and nothing more. Great lengths of reediting the Declaration were made in order to incorporate slavery as an accepted act, while still stressing freedom for all. This was achieved, but hidden away in the deceptive words of that doctrine were the keys to universal equality. Despite the abundant supply of hatred that was directed towards the minorities of the nation, this was not enough of a contradiction to the Declaration. Starting even before American independence was achieved, there existed slavery. In 1619, the first arrival of Africans occurred in Jamestown when a Dutch slave trader exchanged his cargo of Africans for food, after which the Africans became indentured servants (Becker). This procedure of the exchange of Africans for food continued for many years, and it wasn�t until the 1680s that a racially-based slave system appeared. This practice continued without a halt, through the revolution and into the decades afterwards. Slaves were still accepted as a product to be bought, sold, and owned; they were regarded as animals, despite the undeniable fact that they were human. There is not doubt that the authors of the Declaration knew that slavery was an act in defiance of freedom and �Nature�s God� whom they described vividly in their document. Even in Thomas Jefferson�s early draft of the declaration, there was written, �[The King] has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating�a distant people�carrying them into slavery or [a] miserable death in their transportation hither�� (Lienhard). It is obvious when reading the Declaration that the acts of the King were looked upon with a negative connotation, and when his actions consisted of slavery, then slavery too was interpreted as a negative act. So why was the Declaration changed, and why was slavery allowed to continue? Even Samuel Johnson, one of the most famed English writers, posed the question, �How is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of Negroes?� (Becker). This expressed the absurdity of the claims put forth in the Declaration. It was determined by the Continental Congress that the portion of Jefferson�s original draft, which condemned the King for permitting slavery and slave trade in the colonies, be removed. The delegates from Georgia and South Carolina stressed this view by denying their votes if their requirement was not met (Ravitch 20-21). Regardless of the apparent effort there was to combine the belief of freedom for all with the continuation of slavery, failure of this blasphemous act was only a matter of time. Eventually, overseas slave trade was outlawed and only slave holding and interstate trade was permitted. However, these permitted acts of bigotry would soon be changed as well. In January of 1861, Abraham Lincoln, a known opponent of slavery, was elected to the presidential office. Following this, the state of South Carolina, perceiving a threat to their slaveholding rights, seceded from the nation. Soon thereafter, the secession of six other states and the possibility of secession by four others created complete division of the United States. After a year of turmoil, Lincoln declared a state of civil war (�The American Civil War�). One side was fighting for the freedom of slaves while the other was in direct opposition to this belief. The nation was torn in two by an issue that was actually concluded many years ago. The Confederates were in support of slavery, yet they commonly accepted the Declaration of Independence as the document of their own freedom. By their definition, they themselves were not free. On January 1st, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was sent forth by Lincoln, which freed all people held as slaves in the states which started the Civil War. Then on December 6th, 1865, the thirteenth Amendment, which freed the slaves throughout the United States, became apart of the Constitution (Wickham). Despite this great feat, it is still the Declaration that is looked to, not the Constitution. After the slaves were freed there still existed that horrid deed known as racism. Africans may have become equal under the laws of the nation, but not to the people of that nation. They were still treated as lesser beings, and laws based on bigotry were created that gave them fewer rights then that of the white man. Advocates of equal rights still existed, like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. People of this caliber still looked to the statement that �all men are created equal� and wondered how a nation that had been built on freedom could continue to have such prejudices within it. Using the declaration as their blade, civil rights leaders, striving for equality, made changes in law to better the rights of all. When the authors of the Declaration wrote the words held within it, they did not know of the interpretation that would be used, which would aid in the struggle towards equality for many years. When the signing of that simple document occurred it gave rise to an opportunity to change the world. This opportunity was of course grasped tightly, and the Declaration became a sort of �sacred� document for people around the globe (Maier). Its words held within it the dreams of millions, and the prospect to fulfill those dreams with the belief that no one was higher in stature then another, and that all men are as equal, and as free, as any other. From the freedom of slaves to the acceptance of all races as equal, America has come a long way. From its humble beginnings as a new world to the rebellious acts which brought forth a free nation, it later became a nation of the free. That day in 1776 was a turning point for the world. At the time, its significance could not be seen so clearly, but over the course of two centuries it became the universal doctrine of freedom for all people. Those simple words, �all men are created equal� have inspired millions to strive for their goals, hopes, and aspirations, and to achieve what they have been told they cannot. It is now taught throughout the world that anyone can do anything if they set their mind to it, and that no one is better then anyone else. These principles grew outwards from that famous statement into others, such as �live free, or die.� The right of freedom is valued higher then that of life, for no one can truly live if they are not free. So, when reviewing the Declaration of Independence, one can discover a single mistake. Where it reads that �all men are created equal� it should read something of the following: All men are created; equality is a given. Works Cited: The American Civil War. <http://www.trader-skis.com/index.htm>. Becker, Eddie. (1999). Chronology on the History of Slavery. <http://www.innercity.org/holt/slavechron.html>. Lienhard, John H. Engines of Our Ingenuity. (No. 1078) �Declaration of Independence� <http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1078.htm>. Maier, Pauline. (1997). American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence. New York, NY: Knopf, 1997. Ravitch, Diane. (1991). The American Reader: Words that Moved a Nation. �Thomas Jefferson: The Declaration of Independence� New York, NY. 20-21. Wickham, DeWayne. (1999, August 9th). USA Today. ��Juneteenth� Oversells Holiday�s Importance� <http://www.usatoday.com/news/comment/columnists/wickham/wick019.htm>. |