How did the concepts Liberty, Equality, and Power evolve from the late 18th to the early

20th centuries?
Answer this question by analyzing the major themes from the books, lectures, and documentaries on the
Revolutionary, Civil War, and Jim Crow eras.

From the birth of our nation forward into the early twentieth century Liberty, Equality
and Power have been Central to the American ideal. These concepts while ever present have
changed in definition and scope throughout the aforementioned time period. The revolutionary
period beginning in the late 18th century focused on liberty equality and power for the nation. In
these early founding years choices were made that would have a huge impact on the subsequent
eras in our country. Those choices in terms of legislation and supreme court cases would have a
direct impact on the country during the Civil War era. The Civil War was a culmination of events
and decisions that had been brewing since the founding brothers chose not to directly address the
elephant in the room; that being slavery. Liberty, Equality, and Power was a central issue in the
Civil War era however it had morphed from its previous meaning in the revolutionary period.
The country was free but a select group held all power and denied liberty and equality to those
who were viewed as inferior for no other reason than their appearance. The Reconstruction era
followed the civil war. While on the surface all people now had Liberty, Equality, and Power this
was not the case. Once again the law and the court's interpretation of that law had a profound
impact on our country. Former slaves while no longer owned by another person were still not
free and equal to those around them. Jim Crow laws and segregation were central problems
during the reconstruction era. Liberty, Equality, and Power was an important but ever changing
topic through the early years of our country. Its definition changed with the mindset of the
people and the political landscape.
In 1776 Thomas Jefferson wrote and was one of the signatures on the Declaration of
Independence. This document while intended to be a list of grievances perpetuated by the
English monarchy also provides a framework of reasons for which the United States was
founded. From 1776 through the early 1800s when Liberty, Equality, and Power are discussed it
is often in terms of the United States as a group fighting the British for independence. In the
Declaration of Independence Jefferson wrote "...all men are created equal." For Jefferson and
many at this time who owned slaves; when he said all men he meant just white, protestant men.
Slaves were not viewed as citizens or people merely as property and women had no place in the
running of a country. In 1781 the Articles of Confederation were ratified giving the United States
its first central government. The document left all power to the states. This sets an interesting
precedent to be further explored during the civil war era with northern states establishing laws
outlawing slavery and southern states demanding the institution remain in place. In 1787
following the failing of the Articles of Confederation a group 55 of rich white men got together
to fix the Articles of Confederation however they would instead draft an entirely new document
called the United States Constitution. Of note here is that 25 of the 55 delegates to this
convention owned slaves. Those 25 people were essential in the adding of the three fifths
compromise and the Section 9 Article 1 of the Constitution which forbade congress from,
legislating against the importation of slaves for 20 years. This 20 year deferral of the slavery

issue guaranteed that there would be no liberty equality or power for the slaves for some time.
During this 20 year period Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1793. This machine increased
the output of the slaves in the south significantly. In 1808 with Jefferson as president importing
of slaves was outlawed however due to the size of the slave population domestically there was
not much need to import more. Throughout this time period we see the idea of Liberty, Equality,
and Power first being applied to the nation followed then by being denied to some of the
inhabitants of that very nation. John Adams makes a point of this when he tells his daughter in
law "We must settle the question of slavery's extension now otherwise it will stamp our National
Character and lay a Foundation for calamities, if not disunion."
A divide between the northern and southern states began to develop. The south being an
agrarian society relied on slave labor for the growth of crops. The north was becoming more
industrial not requiring slave labor. With the Louisiana Purchase and the subsequent admission
of states throughout the mid 1800s the issue of slavery and its expansion became a polarizing
issue in the United States. Through the mid 1800s leading into the first year of the Civil War
there was a rise of abolitionists. People like William Lloyd Garrison who published The
Liberator and Wendell Phillips who became known as The Golden Trumpet of abolitionism
because of his great speaking skills. In 1852 Harriet Beecher Stowe had her book Uncle Tom's
Cabin published. This book showcased the evil of slavery and was instrumental in the 1850s to
abolitionism's rise to the forefront of political matters. While Liberty and Equality was an issue
of people; the issue of Power during this era changed from the fight between national
governments to a changing relationship between the states and the federal government. The case
of Dred Scot v. Sanford in 1857 was the landmark Supreme Court decision that denied
citizenship to blacks, free or slave. The effects of this decision on liberty and equality are
obvious; it rendered blacks as lower than even second class citizens. The effect of this decision
on the power relationship between the states and the federal government is a bit more heavy
handed. The federal government had no right to prohibit slavery in the territories. Another aspect
of the power issue during this time came from the territories. Many northern lawmakers saw that
if slavery where no allowed to expand into the territories than they would not adopt it upon
becoming states thus limiting the power of the southern states in congress. The southern states
who believed wholly in states' rights wanted the federal government to have no hand in the
process thus leading to the idea of popular sovereignty. The Kansas Nebraska Act which
instituted popular sovereignty was a very significant prelude to the Civil War because allowed
for slavery above the 36 degree 30 minute parallel where slavery had previously been outlawed.
In 1860, following the election of Abraham Lincoln, southern states began seceding. Fort Sumter
was attacked on April 12th 1861 igniting four bloody years of war that would change the face of
our country politically, socially, and economically. The southern states felt the federal
government was taking away their power and forcing them to be equals to a group of people they
viewed as inferior. The northern states saw slavery as a stain that had to be removed from the
United States. Upon the ending of the Civil War from 1865 to 1870 the thirteenth, fourteenth,
and fifteenth amendments were proposed and ratified. They are referred to as the reconstruction

amendments. The thirteenth formally ended slavery in the United States. The Fourteenth granted
citizenship and due process to African Americans overruling the previous Dred Scott decision.
The Fifteenth granted the right to vote for African American men but excluded that right for
women. With these amendments in place and the United states together again one might think
the debate of Liberty, Equality and Power would be done however it once again changes shape
and leads into the era of oppression known as the Jim Crow Era.
From the 1870s to the 1890s changes to the political landscape were taking place. Radical
republicans who had been in control of congress were losing control or shifting to the more
traditional business friendly republican party of today. The Supreme Court heard three cases
during this time: The Slaughterhouse Cases in 1873, The Cruickshank Case in 1875 and the Civil
Rights Cases in 1883. The Slaughterhouse Cases were the first interpretation of the fourteenth
amendment since its ratification. It was centered around the Louisiana legislature giving a
butcher company a monopoly to operate in the New Orleans Area and smaller butchers feeling
that their privilege of operating a butcher shop was infringed upon by the state. The civil rights
impact of these cases was a view of dual citizenships, one to the country and one to the state. As
long as the states didn't violate the privileges and immunities clause on the level of federal
citizenship then the fourteenth amendment didn't apply to state citizenship. This meant that black
citizens of states could be denied privileges that others were not. United States v. Cruikshank
furthered weakened the fourteenth amendment by holding accountable only state governments
not individuals under the equal protection clause. This presented an opening for whites in the
south who were quite unhappy with the sudden change in their society. While the reconstruction
amendments promised liberty equality and power on the surface the truth of the situation is the
struggle for those things had just begun. Several forms of control over the black population
began to emerge. Sharecropping and convict leasing equated to legal forms of slavery. Black
people were unfairly dealt with in either instance. Sharecropping left them in perpetual debt to
the land owner. Convict leasing caused black people to be the target of people then to be much
more harshly sentenced for minor crimes then their white counterparts. Lynching or the threat of
lynching was another form of control exerted by white supremacists to keep black men away
from the polls. Segregation laws began appearing in the south in the 1880s. This was another
avenue for white people to control African Americans. In 1896 the Supreme Court cleared away
an obstacles to segregation by ruling it constitutional in Plessy v. Ferguson. Segregation would
remain an issue until the 1970s. To counter this tide control being exerted upon them Several
figures reached prominence during this time. Booker T Washington and W.E.B Du Bois were
two of these men. Both men had the goal of racial equality but each had a different way of
achieving it. Washington is most known for his Atlanta Compromise given on September 18,
1895. Washington believes that for the time being African Americans should put aside
confrontations and through common education and skills training build wealth and make
themselves contributing members of society. Their position then being cemented as important
and respected in society seek equal status with the white men. Du Bois on the other hand
believed that higher education for African Americans was key to their success. He leaned on

what he referred as the Talented Tenth to be the leaders of black society and prove that they are
equals now and as such demand equality for all Africans Americans. In his book The Souls of
Black Folk he calls out Washington for asking Black people to give up three things he views as
critical: political power, demanding civil rights and higher education. Du Bois goes on to be one
of the founding officers of the NAACP in 1910. That organization proves pivotal in subsequent
years to helping bring about Liberty, Equality, and Power for African Americans.
From the beginnings of the American Revolution to the first years of the twentieth
century Liberty, Equality, and Power have been central issues in the development of America.
The focus of those words has changed from our liberty as a country and the power to govern
ourselves to the liberty and equality of people who were for so long denied that very thing. This
denial of rights lead to a fracture of our country as one half believed the intuition of slavery evil
and the federal government should outlaw it and the other half believed it to be a choice that
belonged solely to the states. Even after the abolishment of slavery racial tensions presented
issues in the south. The white people in control found every way around the law to ensure their
control remained absolute even at the cost of Liberty and Equality two values which our nation
was founded upon. As political parties have shifted power and opinion in our highest court has
changed so too has the attitude of the people.