An Idea Of Freedom And Equality In The United States – Just An Idea
The United States was built on the ideology of freedom and equality for all; yet, from the nation’s very inception this has been just that — an idea. The unfortunate truth is that the United States has never been a place that has provided equality for all classes, races, and religions. While our myths and legends connect to stories of freedom and liberty, reality for many Americans is much different.
The true history of the United States has been a blend of Inclusion/ Exclusion, where the white upper class has dominated the social hierarchy, including itself in the dream of liberty, but at the same time actively worked to exclude marginalized groups like the working class and racial minorities. The racial and class hierarchy that dominated American society on the East Coast then set the tone for who was included into the mythos of liberty and who was excluded. Those who were excluded, like the working class and African Americans, lived as second-class citizens for most of the country’s early history and even much later than many would want to believe. African Americans were enslaved and looked upon by our own Constitution as 3/5 of a person. Native Americans had their land stolen in unfair treaties that further isolated them from being incorporated into an equal America. Women were not even allowed to vote until two decades into the twentieth century. Meanwhile, the working-class was increasingly exploited as the Industrial Revolution continued to change the dynamics of production to benefit the elite, while excluding those who actually conducted the labor itself. Yet, the great myth of the West presented a picture of an optimistic new start for America after the chaos of the Civil War. The Civil War had decided the fate of the nation when it abolished slavery. There was a demand for equality not to be denied to people simply because of their race, a radical new take on who was to be included into the idea of liberty and equality compared to the pattern seen earlier in the nation’s history. A new, modern America envisioned including more people into the status quo. This concept was deeply engrained with the nation’s desire to move westward and expand to the Pacific Ocean, ushering in a new age for America that would allow it to transcend its ills of the past. Manifest Destiny seemed to apply to almost everyone who had the guts to pick up their lives and move westward — no matter what race or religion. Thus, there is a hopeful tone and portrayal of the West in earlier American literature, with dreams of a more inclusive society.
However, the reality turned out to be much different and the same racial, religious, and gender stereotypes and discrimination followed pioneers westward. African Americans, Chinese, Japanese, and Native Americans were segregated, given subpar resources compared to whites, and racially oppressed despite the image of the West as being so positive for all. The same exclusions still boiled just underneath the surface in a more covert system of oppression — one that would eventually blow up yet again in racially and class fueled conflict generations after the Civil War Amendments were supposed to have provided an equal and inclusive opportunity for all Americans. Segregated housing, land grabbing, water diversion, and continuing racism all made the West just as foreboding for those who were not included into the white majority as they had experienced in the East. Despite the myth that the opening of the West would provide a way to include everyone in the American Dream, the same exclusions based on class, gender and race traveled with new settlers and thus continued to keep marginalized groups from participating in the mythos of freedom and liberty for all.
