The term liberty has always had controversial definitions since people have their way of defining freedom depending on their interests, race, social inequality and the regional connectedness. In chapter 14, Foner outlines the aspect of slavery according to both southern and Northern American regions. According to his perspective, and the proven ideologies, he described that the difference between Northern and Southern definitions of freedom is that the Southerners have the freedom to use the slaves the way they want. On the other hand, the Northerners have their meaning of freedom as an aspect that all men are free to do what they want for themselves. While the northern definition applies to all men, the southern description applies only to the Whites and inhibits the freedom of all slaves. This essay seeks to analyze chapter 14 of the voices of freedom to point out the aspects of the American society, the definition of liberty and the similarities and differences between the Southern and Northern America ideologies.
Additionally, the northerners prohibit slavery and strive in all ways to include slaves among the people to be free. For that matter, the aspect of the freedom of slaves is included in the official definition of freedom according to the voice of Freedom. The southern definition of liberty necessitates that the Whites should be left free to do anything by the federal government primarily by the aspect of using slaves. According to Draytons, the definition of liberty only applies to the Whites whereas Lincoln definition of freedom applies to both Whites and African Americans. Drayton's maintained the belief that if the North wins, then most of the whites will be enslaved and the States rights are taken away after losing their right to use slavery in most of their fields. According to Lincoln definition, liberty includes the slaves because Lincoln acknowledges Maryland as they decided to abolish the aspect of slavery. We do not all mean the same thing when we define the term liberty since some people base on what pleases them and the aspect of egocentrism to define what they consider to be desirable and needs to be set free according to their perspective. Just like the sheep and the wolves cannot agree about the definition of liberty, and does the American people, i.e., blacks and Whites could not agree about the aspect of freedom of the people including the Whites and the Blacks. Even though the North advocates about the freedom of the slaves there are still aspects of wolf-sheep controversies regarding the voices of liberty.
Foner outlines the definition of liberty and the fight for freedom by an example of the battle between a shepherd and the wolf. As much as a neutral person fights for the liberation of slaves, and that the slave thanks to the liberator, the slave owners denounce the liberator at the same time. It is now evident that the fight for liberation faces controversies hence a precise definition of freedom cannot be made if the slave owners stick to the aspect that slaves are their source of labor. The liberty of the American people especially the Blacks is contemplated even in the military since there are incidences that a whole group of colored soldiers was killed in a military attack showing that there was a setup by the non-colored commanders to send the colored soldiers to a fierce battlefield.
Notwithstanding the fact that African-Americans are usually used in war all the protection that the Whites obtain in the battlegrounds should be given to the Blacks to ensure that they are liberated from the social inequity in the society. The fight for liberty also includes the liberation of women from the inferiority complex that they are subjected to by the society. In most instances, it is impossible for women to rise above the persistent inferiority imposed on them. The imprisoned feminine qualities make it more difficult for women to liberate themselves especially the African-American women who face objection like Ann Moody who fight for the rights of the African-Americans.
As much as there are various instances of inequality in both African-Americans, Whites and between men and women in the society, it is now evident that the culture is transforming in the manner that the women are now liberated from the old ways that used to pin them down to inferiority appeals and are currently being recognized. it is the evolution of the tendency that is lifting women out of their subjects condition and from the seclusion of the past while adding them to the weigh scale of the worlds worth of wisdom. It is now evident that all humans are treated equally since even the old aspects that prohibited women from some jobs and education is considered obsolete and that at the moment, women are allowed to attend schools and take the courses of their choice. Evidently, the society according to chapter 4 of the voices of freedom had streamlined its flows and cut down the limiting factors to equality in the present world. Primitivity had significantly reduced, and the aspect of social inequity is significantly decreasing. All the weak subjects are now empowered to take part in the activities that they were formally denied in the past.
Bibliography
Foner, Eric, ed. Voices of Freedom: A Documentary History. Vol. 2. WW Norton & Company Incorporated, 2008.
Guelzo, Allen C. "A New Birth of Freedom." Claremont Review of Books 13, no. 3 (2013).
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