The Changing Idea of Freedom

U.S. History Before 1877

Allison Blaser 5/9/2013

Blaser 1 In the year of 1607, English colonists ventured off of three ships that had vigorously sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and curiously stepped onto the ground of the newly founded country of America. These colonists had left their home country of England in hopes of discovering a life of more freedom. America was believed to be a place where one would be free of religious persecution, could make riches, and escape the life of feudalism, something Britain could not satisfy. In the words of John Smith, the early leader of Jamestown, No man will go from [England] to have less freedom in America (Foner 46). This was reasonably true as one explores these colonists idea of freedom in American History from 1500 and how the ideas of government, equality, religion, and other rights changed through the three centuries until the year of 1850. It all began in in England when freedom was not a privilege, but a right granted to only a small percent of the English population. Common people owed obedience to higher authorities. Englands social structure was that of a hierarchy which meant that a king were to rule followed by power gradually declining down the social ladder. Even inside families there was authority granted to the husband to rule over the wife and children. Equality was an afterthought for many British citizens who just went about life, but that thought was changed when the British colonists travelled to America. In America, colonists disdained the idea of patronage, a fixed status, and a society of privilege. But American colonists and Britain citizens both agreed on the idea that a well ordered society focused around the dependence on authority and obedience. However, this idea was soon challenged during the American Revolution, a courageous war waged between

Blaser 2 the Americans and the British that altered the course of American history, when freedom would be forever associated with equality. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson penned the words all men are created equal. This meant equality before the law, equality of economic opportunity, equality in political rights, and equality of condition (Foner 213). The Americans would go on to win the war and the idea of equality would flourish throughout the colonies for many years to come. Colonists also rejected the idea of a hierarchy especially when the crown began abusing its taxing power when enacting such taxes as the Stamp Act and the Townshend Act. The British Parliament also made the American colonists feel as if their freedoms were being impeded when they were forced to follow the Quartering Act, which allowed Britain to order that colonists were to house and feed British soldiers if necessary. The Quartering Act was later amplified when the British Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts, a series of disciplinary laws passed in 1774 concerning to Massachusetts after the Boston Tea party. These acts deprived Massachusetts of self-government and civil liberties, and trigged outrage and resistance in the Thirteen Colonies. However, when writing the Bill of Rights, the colonist saw that their freedom had been obstructed, and decided to construct the fourth amendment to allow protection from quartering soldiers. When creating their own idea of government, nearly all American colonists agreed that their government must be in the form of a republic. This meant that the authority must lie in the hands of the governed, not a kings. John Adams in 1776 published Thoughts on Government which outlined his idea that new constitution should have balanced governments

Blaser 3 in which neither class could infringed on the others liberties (Foner 216). This was evident when the Constitution was drafted. It was stated in the document that there would be three bodies of government: a legislature, a judiciary, and an executive. The Constitution also differentiated rights between the states and national government so that no one would become too powerful. During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, England faced disunity as it raged war against multiple religions in order to determine which religion would dominate the country. These multiple wars prohibited individuals the right to choose which religion they would personally worship (Foner 14). During different rulers, different religions face persecution, such as Protestants and Catholics. Many of the followers of these religions were executed by the command of the rulers themselves. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, one hundred Catholic priests were ordered to death (Foner 47). It was then during this queens reign that the English turned their attention to North America. Religious toleration was an important aspect of the American colonists definition of freedom. One Virginian identified religious toleration as part of the common cause of Freedom (Foner 218). However, before the American Revolution many colonies discriminated in voting and office-holding against Jews, Catholics, and even Protestants. Baptist victims who were jailed for declining to pay his taxes, which supported the local Congregational ministers, protested that while our country are pleading so high for liberty, yet they are denying of it to their neighbor (Foner 219).

Blaser 4 After the American Revolution, many of the brave leaders believed it indispensable that the new nation of America be protected from the disorderly desires and brutal struggles that religious intolerance had stimulated in the past. One way that the founders decided to protect the new nation was by separating church and state. This would free politics from religious control that the colonists once had and vice versa. Catholics were finally gaining the right to worship without persecution throughout the country. In 1776, Marylands constitution granted its large Catholic population the political and civil rights that had been denied to them for many years (Foner 220). Thomas Jefferson helped the matter when he wrote a bill titled Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom that was adopted in Virginia in 1786. The bill allowed more religious freedom as it eliminated religious requirements for voting, office-holding, and government financial support for churches. The bill also prohibited Virginia from constraining individuals to assume a certain religious view (Foner 220-221). Religion soon became a representation of liberty for the newly founded nation. Many believed it was so important that it must be protected from government interference which is why it coexists with the other four rights established in the first amendment of the Bill of Rights. The abundance of free land is another reason why many colonists traveled the Atlantic Ocean. Many settlers believed that owning land was the basic foundation of liberty since only the wealthy could own land in England. Owning land in America was a source of wealth and power for colonial officials. It also meant that one had the right to vote. This changed however when new state constitutions were being written.

Blaser 5 Before, men without land could not vote and let his voice be heard. John Adams voiced his opinion by stating men deprived of property had no judgment of their own and that the dismissal of property credentials would confound and destroy all distinctions, and prostrate all ranks to one common level (Foner 216). Along with John Adams, many conservatives fought to keep the old voting restrictions. One pamphleteer wrote that it was ridiculous to think that every sill clown and illiterate mechanic *artisan+ deserved an opinion in the government (Foner 216). Many state constitutions challenged this idea of voting restriction when they viewed voting as a right, not a privilege. Vermont freed its citizens from the burden of financial qualifications and even took away the burden of the voting tax. Pennsylvania also did the same but still kept the voting tax. By the 1780s, a great amount of the adult white male population could vote with the exception of Virginia, Maryland, and New York (Foner 217). Because of this increase in the number of the voting population, the number of legislative seats increased, thus, allowing men of lesser property to gain political office. When colonists stepped off their ships in 1607 after a grueling trek across the Atlantic, one can assume that not many knew that they would be an important step in the creation of freedoms many have today. These brave colonists had left their home country of England in hopes of discovering a life of more freedom. They fought many hard wars and battles in order to obtain these freedoms such as a republic government, equality for all, escaping religious persecution, and obtaining many other rights along the way. When one looks back now at the years between 1500 and 1850, its clear to see that while the colonists traveled to America in

Blaser 6 the search of the ideal freedom, their idea of the ideal freedom soon changed over the course of the years and now encompasses more than anyone could have imagined.

Blaser 7 Work Cited Foner, Eric. Give me Liberty! an American History. Seagull Third. 1. New York: W.W Norton & Company, Inc., 2008. 14, 46, 47, 213, 216-221. Print.