Did Americans Struggle To Redefine The American Identity?
How have Americans struggled to redefine the American identity during the time period of 1820-1850, especially considering the ideals of Democracy, Freedom, and Individuality?
Americans struggled to redefine the American identity during the thirty-year period of 1820-1850. Before this period, American Identity could be defined by three core values: freedom, individuality and democracy. However, the industrial Revolution in the North and the spread of slavery in the South were catalysts in corrupting these key principles of American identity. As a result, many prominent Americans from various backgrounds fought to revert the American Identity back to its original values of freedom, individuality and democracy during the time period of 1820-1850. …show more content…
The country was founded on this central principle of liberty: first by European colonists in search of freedom from persecution, then with the fight for America’s freedom from Britain, and finally with our government, which was built on the constitutional notion that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among there are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” However, with slaves making up 15.6% of the American population, famous abolitionists, such as Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison, recognized and acted on the need to redirect the formation of American identity as a genuinely free country (as envisioned by its founding fathers). This was achieved, for example, through Garrison’s prominent newspaper, “The Liberator,” which proclaimed the immorality of slavery and argued the need for the immediate emancipation of slaves to thousands of individuals worldwide. Garrison also founded the New England Anti-Slavery Society in 1832 and met with delegates from around the nation to from the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833. However, the fight for freedom of all people was not peaceful. In fact, in 1837, when a pro-slavery mob murdered the abolitionist, Lovejoy, in 1837 prominent militants decided that only violence would dislodge the sin of …show more content…
Indeed, the institution of slavery in America raised the serious danger that America would become, at best, a deeply flawed democracy or an illiberal democracy, or at worse, not a democracy at all, since slavery prohibited the freedom and individual rights of around 1/6 of its population. Certain Americans, such as the famous abolitionist leader, William Lloyd Garrison, understood this threat and thus struggled to fight against it. For example, Garrison and his followers believed that the U.S. Constitution was the result of a terrible bargain between freedom and slavery. Garrison called the constitution a “covenant with death” and “an agreement with Hell.” Moreover, he refused to participate in American electoral politics—also key in democratic institutions—because to do so meant supporting “the pro-slavery, war sanctioning Constitution of the United States.” With his actions, Garrison worked toward his goal to make the US a truly egalitarian democracy. Furthermore, suffragettes, such as Sarah and Angelina Grimke, argued that the democratic rights to freedom and voting should be extended to everyone, regardless of their gender. In fact, Angelina Grimke publically debated that “It is a woman’s right to have a voice in all laws and regulations by which she is to be
Americans struggled to redefine the American identity during the thirty-year period of 1820-1850. Before this period, American Identity could be defined by three core values: freedom, individuality and democracy. However, the industrial Revolution in the North and the spread of slavery in the South were catalysts in corrupting these key principles of American identity. As a result, many prominent Americans from various backgrounds fought to revert the American Identity back to its original values of freedom, individuality and democracy during the time period of 1820-1850. …show more content…
The country was founded on this central principle of liberty: first by European colonists in search of freedom from persecution, then with the fight for America’s freedom from Britain, and finally with our government, which was built on the constitutional notion that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among there are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” However, with slaves making up 15.6% of the American population, famous abolitionists, such as Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison, recognized and acted on the need to redirect the formation of American identity as a genuinely free country (as envisioned by its founding fathers). This was achieved, for example, through Garrison’s prominent newspaper, “The Liberator,” which proclaimed the immorality of slavery and argued the need for the immediate emancipation of slaves to thousands of individuals worldwide. Garrison also founded the New England Anti-Slavery Society in 1832 and met with delegates from around the nation to from the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833. However, the fight for freedom of all people was not peaceful. In fact, in 1837, when a pro-slavery mob murdered the abolitionist, Lovejoy, in 1837 prominent militants decided that only violence would dislodge the sin of …show more content…
Indeed, the institution of slavery in America raised the serious danger that America would become, at best, a deeply flawed democracy or an illiberal democracy, or at worse, not a democracy at all, since slavery prohibited the freedom and individual rights of around 1/6 of its population. Certain Americans, such as the famous abolitionist leader, William Lloyd Garrison, understood this threat and thus struggled to fight against it. For example, Garrison and his followers believed that the U.S. Constitution was the result of a terrible bargain between freedom and slavery. Garrison called the constitution a “covenant with death” and “an agreement with Hell.” Moreover, he refused to participate in American electoral politics—also key in democratic institutions—because to do so meant supporting “the pro-slavery, war sanctioning Constitution of the United States.” With his actions, Garrison worked toward his goal to make the US a truly egalitarian democracy. Furthermore, suffragettes, such as Sarah and Angelina Grimke, argued that the democratic rights to freedom and voting should be extended to everyone, regardless of their gender. In fact, Angelina Grimke publically debated that “It is a woman’s right to have a voice in all laws and regulations by which she is to be