The Founding of America

Essay by marvineUniversity, Bachelor'sA+, April 2006

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Question 1:

Since the founding of America, whites have considered themselves to be superior to blacks. After the Civil War, blacks were no longer kept as slave, but they did not receive equal treatment or respect as whites. In the mid 1900's, the Civil Rights Movement fought for true liberty, the fullest intent of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, ultimately succeeded in securing equality through demonstrations, influential leaders and court rulings. Marches, sit-ins and boycotts made up most of the peaceful demonstrations. The majority of the marches held focused on a common goal: to get equal voting rights for blacks.

From my understanding, the meaning of the individual regarding equality is that people are created equal and they should be treated alike. To begin, one way of understanding an individual's rights regarding equality is the level of decision making in which an individual have to control their lives.

For example, as an individual, a citizen has an obligation to obey the will of the State. However, a person can refuse to follow the law if they please. There may be many reasons why. Different factors such as a disability or lack of knowledge can cause a person to feel that the ruling of the state is unjust. Many citizens will do what they think is right. Obeying the law is every citizen's duty, but if a law is seen as unjust, then a citizen might choose to disobey the law or take direct action to try and change the law. In the present societies, people are concerned with individual liberty and all sorts of freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of free association and so on. There has been a continuous stream of factors preventing the realization of an equal American society. While it is true...