Aside from the Revolutionary War, where Americans fought against the British troops for independence, the American Civil War is the only other war in which freedom forms the basis. Consequently, from the differing cultures between the Native Americans and Europeans to the slavery of the black race after the formation of the United States, historians record an evolution of the understanding of freedom among the people. For instance, during the Declaration of Independence, freedom found a revolved around the emancipation of white Americans from the forces of Great Britain. However, slavery remained legal in the newly formed United States of America, thus, limiting the recently found freedom to the white race. Until the American Civil War of between 1861 and 1865, and the emancipation proclamation after, the slavery system governed the United States. Consequently, the anti-slavery northern states took arms against the pro-slavery southern states and in turn, birthed the aforementioned Civil War. From the concept of freedom finding a basis in America as a country, the term evolves to depict the superiority of one race over another. Afterward, one nation will prove itself more powerful than the other will as the Britons gain the American thirteen colonies. Consequently, from the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, the nature of freedom in America underwent an evolution before settling as the foundation for the slavery system. This paper seeks to trace the evolving nature of freedom between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries and in turn, conclude with the final depiction of liberty by the end of the Civil War.
The seventeenth century saw the nature of freedom evolve towards religion. According to Sage, Scholars continue to depict the quest for religious freedom as a “motivating factor in the colonization of North America” (20). The creation of the “Company of New France” saw to the presence of the French in North America (Allen and Schweikart 20) alongside the English colonists in the area (Allen and Schweikart 21). During the period of colonization, Europe was in the “throes of monumental religious controversies” (Sage 20). Ranging from the Catholics and Protestants were the “Puritans, Presbyterians, Quakers, Methodists, Baptists” all of whom sought to practice their religions (Sage 20). Thus, the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries saw most of the Europeans see North America as an appealing location for the practice of any “religion free of interference from rival denominations” (Sage 21). Consequently, North America became the habitat of many races that in turn, saw the development of settlements in America and a boost in the trade industry. Further exploration of the Atlantic and Indian oceans encouraged the arrival of the aforementioned African race and more variations in the cultures of the people.
England’s thirst for power over her rivals, the Spanish, and Portuguese led to her determination to gain colonies in America and other continents. To the English, the goals entailed “to produce, consume, and protect the British economy from weaker rivals” (Sage 20). Thus raises the thirteen colonies belonging to the British in North America. The settlements of Georgia founded in 1732, after that of Pennsylvania in 1681 confirmed the presence of the British in North America (Lemon 121). Consequently, by 1775, population in the colonies had multiplied tenfold as the area continued to see the arrival of more Europeans. In 1759, “British rules and regulations came unstuck in the 13 colonies” making the British masters of North America (Lemon 121). As part of the British plans, tax collection from all territories formed part of the country’s profits. Conversely, the majority of the population despised the Britons’ exercise of levying taxes on goods and other products imported and sold in the colonies (Lemon 143). A good illustration is the fact, in the revolutionary era, a slogan dubbed “"Free ships make free goods” became common amongst the American merchants (Morgan 6). Due to the heavy levying imposed by the British parliament, much profit from the colonies went to the Britons. Consequently, the nature of freedom changed to notions of free enterprises with the right of Americans to use their riches as they see fit (Lemon 144). From the export and import traders to the local businesspersons in the country, freedom from the exploitive British powers became a priority. Eventually, laws passed by the British as a means to control the colonies involved the public and later, caused the American Revolutionary War.
Finally, yet importantly, is the nature of freedom in the United States as of the nineteenth century. Following the Revolutionary War, a self-governed United States saw its people divided because of the aforementioned slavery institution. Years before the Civil War, the southern and northern states differed tremendously in their understanding of freedom (Sage 278). In the south, freedom entailed slave ownership without the interference of the government or other whites (Sage 299). Consequently, as per southern laws, whites deemed slaves as property and could deal with them as they pleased (Sage 313). On the other hand, the northern states understood freedom as the end of slavery and allowing the black race to earn a living, thus destroying the slavery system (Fields 108). Therefore, the southern laws were inapplicable in the north, thus explaining the tendencies of slaves running to the northern states. The differing perceptions of liberty in the country later erupted in war. Owing to the abolitionists’ victory, 1865 saw African Americans emancipated, and slavery abolished in the United States.
Conclusively, throughout America’s history, freedom assumes different traits as per the environment and the people involved in the same. Consequently, whilst modern day understanding of liberty depicts equality for all people, freedom knowledge is far from such ideologies. On that note, none of the people had thoughts of democracy, rather their perceptions generated by their economy and social institutions. A good illustration revolves around the fact in each case; the proprietors behind calls for liberty think of their survival in terms of wealth and social cohesion.
Works Cited
Allen, Larry Schweikart and Michael. A Patriot’s History of the United States: From Columbus’s Great Discovery To The War On Terror. New York: Penguin Group, 2004. Print.
Fields, Barbara Jeanne. "Slavery, Race And Ideology In The United States Of America." New Left Review I/181 (1990): 95-118. Print.
Lemon, James T. "Colonial America in the Eighteenth Century." Muller, Thomas F. McIlwraith and Edward K. North America: The Historical Geography of a Changing Continent. 2nd. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2001. 121-146. Print.
Morgan, Edmund S. "Slavery and Freedom: The American Paradox." The Journal of American History Vol. 59, No. 1 (1972)): 5-29. Print.
Sage, Henry J. U.S. History I: United States History 1607-1865. 3rd. Virginia: Academic American History, 2010. Print.
