Skip to main content

1/14 - Equal Rights

“The freedom gained is yours; and you, therefore, properly celebrate this anniversary”. There were words addressed by Frederick Douglas, former slave. This was from a speech of his he gave in New York entitled, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”. Having escaped from slavery, he often let his views of slavery known. His speech was to remind other abolitionists such as himself that this holiday was a celebration for the white men, yet a day of mourning for slaves and former slaves because this newly found holiday only served as a reminder for them that equal liberty has not come to pass for them which is stated in The Declaration of Independence. For this reason he refused to acknowledge or celebrate this holiday until all of the slaves were released from bondage.

Douglas went further to discuss the injustice of this country and this holiday. He compared the birth of this nation and national freedom, to the Passover for the people of God. The Passover is when Gods people partake in a celebration to recognize Gods deliverance to them from sin through the sacrifice of his son Jesus Christ. I’ve personally been to many of these celebrations, eating the bread which represents Jesus’ body, and the wine for his blood. It served as a reminder that we had a second chance at life. I agree that this holiday should have served the same purpose, for all people.

When the colonies were still under British rule, they held high respects for the English Government. If someone known for harsh treatment is proud of your ruling, this speaks volumes. Just like Douglas said, these people ruling America hate to see change, unless it is coins. This holiday, more than any other day, really showed this countries true colors. It showed its injustice and cruelty. The celebration is a sham. During the time this holiday was declared, there never has been a time in which the prices for slaves were so high. The church is beyond guilty, boasting about liberty yet remaining silent when it came to slavery. Thank God for abolitionists such as himself because this country was beyond backwards.

Comments

  1. J. AlvarezJanuary 23, 2019 at 3:33 PM

    I agree with you're quote "the church is beyond guilty". The church at that time had a great influence and would definitely have been and influential voice with trying to have slavery stopped. Unfortunately, slavery was big business and as distinguishing as human trafficking is, in that time that is how many White Americans became rich. Overall, Americans then only wanted to be rich and become wealthy at any cost.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

1/4 Citizenship & American Identity

     Being a born U.S. citizen you dont really consider the implications of how you’re viewed. Besides to underlying tone of racism, which is a topic in itself, I dont live day to day life fighting for my rights to be seen as a U.S. citizen, my right to live here, etc. I remember learning the Melting-Pot theory in a high school history art class, but to read it broken down as such was interesting. America claims to have this drawn out, wonderfully blended, equal opportunity life style, but along with that comes implications of the government since it is they who have the power. Also there is this idea of Americanism. This brings me to my quote. “Surely we cannot be certain of our spiritual democracy when, claiming to melt the nations within us to a comprehension of our free and democratic institutions, we fly into panic at the first sign of their own will and tendency.”      America has this self implicated idea that it is like a melting pot. A melting po...
Post a Comment
Read more

1/8 - Debating the Constitution

Politics can be described in a variety of ways, usually depending on who it is giving the definition. In a general sense, it can be explained as conflicts between educated, commercial, and the underlying populations. What can be assumed in these conflicts are issues of power. Who obtains it and how it is used to influence the nation. This is an ongoing issue between, “The involved and the isolated”. Thomas Jefferson is known to have represented Americans, while guaranteeing the use of, “older ethics”. In my humbled opinion, Jefferson has away with words, as most people in his position do, which comes across to the underlying populations as someone to support. A quote by Jefferson follows; “Let us restore to social intercourse that harmony and affection without which liberty and even life are dreary things.” Yes I agree with those words, but he seems to contradict himself several times. In using this quote, he was attempting to push his agenda towards America institutionalizing frat...
Post a Comment
Read more

1/18 - Interest Groups

Moving from the topic of race and segregation, this country of ours, is known to have some failures elsewhere as well. The problem I am addressing is economically. This country faced what is known as the Great Depression. It inspired civilians to feel just as the name implicates. With financial crisis on the rise, as well as the recovery from World War I, we needed a leader who knew what he was doing. President Herbert Hoover was not the guy. If anything, he not only initiated the Great Depression, bu his solution was to do absolutely nothing. Luckily, “the new deal was forced to turn to marginal intellectuals for the guidance and council it required”. The Great Depression brought about a time of death and rebirth, in a sense ,for our country. During the Depression, our president believed the economic depression could not be cured by legislative action or executive pronouncement. How insane is that? As president of the United States, it was his given duty to use his authority to ut...
1 comment
Read more