How have the concepts Liberty, Power, and Equality changed

over the years one may ask? As we progress through three different
essential eras of American History one can view the many trials and
tribulations that Americans had to face reach the point that we are at
today. Beginning with the Revolutionary Era going into the Civil War
era and ending with the Jim Crow era many things change throughout
time. We will first start our journey of progression with the
Revolutionary Era.
City upon a hill this concept, derived by John Winthrop in 1630 for before the
th
18 century exemplifies this countrys liberty perfectly. We shall be as a city upon a hill.
The eyes of all people are upon us. A lot of things about this country have changed but
this is not one of them. Any American can relate to the feeling of being the chosen land
because of our leadership in democracy and freedom.
Shortly after that time, a man named John Locke was born. He grew up to be one
of the most impactful English philosophers and writers. He died 70 years before the
Revolutionary Era, however, many of his ideas of how a nation should be founded are
found in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Locke argued that
sovereignty, or power, should not be with the government but with the people. To top
things off, he also believed that ALL people were born good, independent, and equal.
This means that Locke may have been the first acknowledgeable figure to share the same
insight of liberty, equality, and power in which we have in the present day. As a country,
we have been working so hard for so long to get where we could have been 300 years
ago. My elaboration of what we went through will show our progress.
The Age of Enlightenment, a time period just prior to the American Revolution,
had a huge impact on the thinking of our countrys Founding Brothers. A faith in human
reason; that a man can discover the laws of nature and society; a belief that endless
progress is possible: an attitude that experience, observation and reason were the means
to understand the world. These were four very impactful thoughts on the Enlightenment
Age. As time went on, youll see the flashes of discoveries in political thinking during the
American Revolution.
Many would say that the passing of the stamp act kick started the American
Revolution. This event caused many American leaders, like Adams, to lose faith in Great
Britain and brought them into the fight for independence. Once the ball started to roll, it
took this event to feel the fire; No taxation with representation, the Boston Tea Party.
This event was caused by the tea act and resulted in the Intolerable Acts. The Acts took
away Massachusettss self-government and historic rights triggering outrage and
resistance in the thirteen colonies. Shortly after, at Lexington and Concord the first
militia engagements between Great Britain and the 13 colonies (United States) began the
Revolutionary War, or Americas fight for independence. The very next year 1776, two
characters from Joseph J. Ellis book Founding Brothers, wrote something vital to this
countrys liberty. Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense. This document helped explain
independence to the average (white) American. Thomas Jefferson wrote the DOI. Signed
by other Founding Brothers and more, this document announced that the 13 colonies
were no longer apart of British Empire. Looking at the big picture, this was the start of
Freedom in which this country stands so proudly upon. Later that year the Articles of
Confederation were written. The hugely centralized government of Great Britain forced

the US to want power in the states. The government had no independent executive
branch (no president), no judicial branch, and no federal courts. However, these articles
accomplished something concrete; the new name of the for the Country is officially The
United States of America. In 1781, Washington and the French defeated the British in
Yorktown, VA. Two years later, The Peace of Paris (Peace Treaty with Britain) was
signed. As time moved on, the flaws in the Articles of Confederation became very
apparent. That is when an opposite form of government became the rule book for our
country, the U.S. Constitution. This is a branch system of checks and balances that
limits the power between the three branches, Executive (President), Legislative
(Congress) and Judicial (federal courts). Sounds familiar right? John Locke advocated a
system of checks and balances within government. Thomas Jefferson stated the phrase
All men are created Equal. Of course during the time period this meant (white protestant
men), however years later it will mean ALL men.
In 1619, the North American Colony bought Africans to VA to become slaves.
Two hundred years later, slavery had spread over the entire country. It became very vital
to the Souths economic wealth and progress. However, the North viewed it as
contradictory and not as important. Slavery began to tear the country apart. Sounds
familiar right? Back in the Revolutionary Era, when the Articles of Confederation were
created, we had people in favor of state-centered government and central government. In
1820, a man named Henry Clay engineered a federal stature known as the Missouri
Compromise. It was said to regulate slavery between the free states and the slave states.
In 1850 another Compromise was derived after two very important events. After winning
the Mexican War and finding gold in California, the country didnt know what to do with
the newly acquired land. By this time the country was completely sectioned off, the
Union States (North) and the Confederate States (South). Uncle Toms Cabin written by
Harriet Beecher Stowe, in 1851, placed sympathy for slaves in most Northerners hearts.
This in my eyes is the reason that slavery became something to fight for. Many believed
that John Browns raid on the Harpers Ferry kicked off the Civil War. However, with
everything going on, that was just a snowball rolling down a steep mountain. There were
plenty of causes this secession such as, slavery, sectionalism, states rights etc. It is
amazing that 100 years has passed since the Revolutionary Period and there are still the
same problems with LEP.
In 1860, The Abraham Lincoln was elected as president. Unlike George
Washington, Abes decision was not nearly unanimous. One of the sections documentary
really projected Abes outlook on the war and slavery. No, if destruction be our lot
we must ourselves be the Author and finisher, as a Nation of free men we will forever and
die by suicide. The year 1863 came, by this time the civil war was in full swing. With
the battle Fort Sumter and Shiloh being already passed, Lincoln then signed the
Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves in the rebellious states. Lincoln at
Gettysburg by Garry Willis talks about how Lincoln showed favoritism in regards to what
era he spoke in at that time. However, the Gettysburg Address was just a perfect place at
the perfect time scenario. Chapter 4 of LAG emphasizes the irony of how Lincoln
borrowed ideas from a slaveholder (Henry Clay). In 1865, congress passed the law
outlawing slavery; the thirteenth amendment to the Constitution. Five days later, John
Wilkes Booth assassinated Abe Lincoln.

Looking back at the two eras, Revolutionary and Civil War; there were many
changes made in three concepts: Liberty, because slaves were now free; equality also
dealing with slavery as in opportunity of race, Power because the government had split
completely and is now looking to become one again.
The third and final era is known as the Jim Crow Era. This was designed to keep
blacks from experiencing their newly achieved rights. As you know the 13th Amendment
is recently ratified at this time as of 1865. Which is why the era is also known as the postslavery era. The question is, were blacks really free? Reconstruction of the amendments
began to take place. This allowed newly free blacks a few civil rights. Eventually the
Democratic Party (South) could not handle the blacks having these rights and the
Republican Party lost interest in supporting black civil rights. The rise and fall of the
Jim Crow documentary stated When black started to actually pursue their rights for real
freedom, whites fought back, thats when the KKK went from a small organization to
nationally recognized. W.E.B Du Bois, a black American Historian was born in 1868.
His work paved the way for civil rights, Pan-African, and black power movements in the
United States. In the 1800s lynching and segregation began to take over the South. In
1898 blacks were denied the right to vote, after already being segregated. Also 101 black
men were lynched in the same year. Alfred Wadell said, If you see a negro trying to vote,
tell him to leave, if he refuses, kill him! The segregation case Plessey v.s. Fergusson
(1896) turned New Orleans from a very interracial town to one just like the rest. The
government chose to stay out of it, as stated in the RAFOIC documentary President
William Mckinely remained silent. Change was left to the black leaders such as W.E.B
Du Bois and Booker T Washington who was another black icon, born in 1856. W.E.B Du
Bois and Washingtons methods were very different W.E.B moved to New York and
joined the NAACP, as editor of The Crisis, he was determined to forge the magazine as
a weapon against Jim Crow. BTW wanted more of a compromise. The solution he
pursued had more of a peaceful maneuver. To the white people of the South on behalf of
my race, in all things that are purely sacral, we can be as separate as the finger yet one as
the hand in all things essential to mutual progress. BTW. Some even felt as if he
celebrated Jim Crow by writing the speech known as the Atlanta Compromise.
These two men, along with the help of many more civil right leaders, slowly got
the job done. As we passed through the third era, Liberty was less of an issue for
everyone except African Americans. Slaves were free but were they really? In the last
two eras you can clearly see that Power stayed the same as the North and South were still
pretty much separated. As an end result, I want to tie in a statement from the first era to
the final one. Thomas Jefferson said that All men are created equal., even though he
may not have meant for the statement to impact African Americans it surely did. As that
was the main fight as the early 20th century came to an end.
As you can see our founding fathers first paved the way for liberty, power, and
equality within the Revolutionary Era. They may not be pleased with exactly how things
went throughout time but The United States of America has advanced itself to becoming
a country that can be proud of its Liberty, Equality, and Power.