Equality Between Races

A New Belief, A New America

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In America there have been a whirlwind of beliefs ranging from no equality to complete freedom and cooperation amongst all races. Each time period had their own thoughts on how the country should be ran, and throughout the essay there will be three arguments and articles to describe the progression of the America. Our first argument was an article by Thomas Jefferson,
“Notes on the State of Virginia”, which showed his belief that African Americans deserved freedom but not within our countries bounds. Whereas the next two arguments both shown through Barack Obama, “A More Perfect Union” and a picture of himself, complicated
Jeffersons original thoughts of Blacks and Whites being unable to live together freely in our country. Each piece of evidence originated from the same central argument of racism, and throughout the essay you will see the progression towards equality.
“Notes on the State of Virginia”, originated in Jefferson 's responding to questions about
Virginia, posed to him in 1780 by François Barbé-Marbois, was both a compilation of data by
Jefferson about the state 's natural resources and economy, and his vigorous and often eloquent argument about the nature of the good society, which he believed was incarnated by Virginia. He expressed his beliefs in the separation of church and state, constitutional government, checks and balances, and individual liberty. He wrote extensively about slavery, the problems of miscegenation, and his belief that whites and blacks could not live together in a free society.
Jefferson expressed contemporary beliefs among many Americans that Africans were inferior to
Whites in terms of potential citizenship; as a result, he supported deporting them for colonization in Africa. Jefferson claimed his solution was related to the common good for both Whites and

Blacks. He proposed a three-fold process of education, emancipation, and colonization of free blacks to locations in Africa. He endorsed this plan all his life but never took political action to make it happen. Jefferson 's proposal for resettling freed blacks in a colony in Africa expressed the mentality and anxieties of some American slaveholders who feared the over powering of their properties. Jeffersons old school beliefs completely go against the other two articles which I am reviewing in this paper, due to the future of our nation heading towards being lead by an African
American man.
“A More Perfect Union”, is the name of a speech delivered by Senator Barack Obama on
March 18, 2008 in the course of the contest for the 2008 Democratic Party presidential nomination. Speaking before an audience at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, Obama was responding to a spike in the attention paid to controversial remarks made by the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, his former pastor, and until shortly before the speech, a participant in his campaign. Obama framed his response in terms of the broader issue of race in the United States. Obama then highlighted the tension between the ideals of equal citizenship and freedom expressed in the Constitution and America 's history of slavery, and connected the civil war and civil rights movement with the goals of his own campaign, to continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America. Obama described his own family history, stating that "in no other country on Earth is my story even possible" and connected both his multicultural background and his campaign with the American motto, "out of many, we are one." He mentioned that he achieved primary victories in "states with some of the whitest populations in the country” and in
South Carolina, where he won with the support of white and black voters. In opposition to the

original information provided in Thomas Jeffersons speech, it is completely complicated and proved incorrect through Barack Obama. The opportunity for a African American man to give the entirety of this speech was unheard of and would have been considered unchartered waters up until this point in US history. In the racist times of Thomas Jefferson, exemplified by his speech “From Notes on the State of Virginia”, an African American leading the country was thought to be impossible. These thoughts of the past surfaced not only because it seemed impossible for an opportunity like this to surface for a Black man, but because the beliefs during his time said that African Americans would not be able to coalesce with the White’s.
The last article debunks the original argument of Jefferson, extends the second argument about an African American leading the country, and exemplifies how the country is made up of equal men bound to be lead by who ever is the most capable and not determined by the pigment of a mans skin. In the next article we look to a picture which holds more significance than that of a normal picture because it shows not only a person, or a background, but the history of our country. At first glimpse it is only Barack Obama and his wife standing hand in hand in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Then when looking a little deeper into the picture we can conclude that the man who first fought for the equality of all man, Abraham Lincoln, is sitting behind and looking down upon Barack Obama with a face of approval as he is the leader of our country now.
Furthermore, the picture also shows the transfer of power from a White man to a Black man epitomizing equality in our beautiful country. This picture complicates Jefferson’s argument because it shows how easy the equality amongst all in America today is, where as in his article he explains on end how he could never see our two races cooperating and living together freely.

However the speech delivered by Barack Obama is qualified by the picture because they go hand in hand playing amongst each other.
In conclusion, we can see that from our original argument starting over 200 years ago there was a stubborn belief that the only “free” men that could live within the countries bounds where those of white skin color. Through progression we reached a point, starting with Barack
Obama’s election, where there is complete equality amongst all men and this is shown with both the speech “A More Perfect Union” and the picture of Barack Obama and his wife. Each article has its own argument that complicates and or qualifies it, due to our nations counteracting thoughts of past to present. Luckily through time, we as Americans are able to live with full equality no matter what your skin color may be.

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Works Cited
Jefferson, Thomas. Notes on the State of Virginia. Boston/New York: Printed Rereading
America, Ninth Edition. Print.
Obama, Barack. "A More Perfect Union.” March 18, 2008. Speech.

Cited: Jefferson, Thomas. Notes on the State of Virginia. Boston/New York: Printed Rereading America, Ninth Edition. Print. Obama, Barack. "A More Perfect Union.” March 18, 2008. Speech.