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Declaration Of Independence DBQ Essay

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In 1776 the founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence stating the separation of the American colonies from Britain. The Declaration states traditional American values that were meant to define America forever. However, in the 1800’s some of these traditional principles, to an extent, were being reformed with new values and ideologies, such as Abolitionism, Feminism, Public Education, Prison Rehabilitation, Utopianism, and Nativism. Overall, the reforms of the Antebellum Period were consistent with original American principles of democracy, equality, and reform. Public Education, Prison Reform, and Universal Suffrage all were consistent with the traditional principle of democracy. These reforms all worked to create more informed …show more content…

Traditionally, in the early American and European societies women and men were placed in two different spheres (Brinkley, 329). Men, typically, brought in the income doing hard work while the women stayed home to produce and take care of children, these spheres also meant that women weren’t allowed to vote and usually got no education. Rising feminism lead to the Seneca Falls Convention, where Elizabeth Cady Stanton, in the Seneca Falls Declaration wrote that they “declare our right to be free as man is free, to be represented in the government, in which we are taxed to support.” (Doc. I). While, the Declaration of Independence does say that “all men were created equal” the principle of equality stands. America was founded because the colonists believed they weren’t receiving the rights that they deserved. The feminist movement had the same …show more content…

Samuel Morse said in Imminent Dangers to the Free Institutions of the United States “that no foreigner who comes into the country… shall ever be allowed the right to suffrage.” (Doc. D). As said earlier, the nativist movement tried to protect democracy, but left behind the traditional principle of equality. The declaration says that “all men are created equal” not just those born in America. Everyone deserved the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, which includes the right to vote. Nativism took away from the traditional principle of equality that America was founded

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America is the land of the free and home of the brave, but has it always been? If someone were to reference old documents like The Declaration of Independence or even The Constitution they would think so, but American history itself says otherwise. During the mid 1770’s slavery was an almost unquestioned normality and women had no rights, however when The Declaration of Independence was written, the statement, “all men are created equal” appeared while Thomas Jefferson stated the natural rights of every human. This statement is clearly not true in the eyes of the men who wrote and edited this document, hence proving that the statement “all men were created equal” is hypocritical. In accordance to primary sources gained from this period of intolerance and recreations of it, it is clear that not only were the women not treated as equal, but the African men and women treated as property were also stripped of the three main rights and liberties the Declaration argues for.

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Many say that the movement failed because of the fear that gender roles and family values would be infringed upon by the passage of this amendment. Other’s felt that there was no need for it due to the recent Supreme Court cases, i.e. Roe v. Wade, which made way for a broadened spectrum of women’s rights. It is on this topic of why exactly the ERA failed that Mary Frances Berry focuses her attention, by examining why the movement failed and how future reformers can learn from the mistakes of the ERA. Berry analyzes the failure of the ERA in both legal and historical terms. She claims that due to the difficulty of amending the Constitution, in order for any amendment to be ratified there needs to be a sweeping consensus and a sense of urgency among Americans that this is an issue

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At no point in the history of humankind has there been something about which everyone can agree. Everyone has different opinions, and the founding era in America was no exception to this rule. People felt very strongly about their views on things like the separation from England, the amount of power the federal government should have, and the idea of a national bank. One of the first decisions to be made in the struggle for America's independence was whether or not they should seek independence in the first place. Those loyal to England believed that rebelling against England would lead only to "devastation and ruin" (Charles Inglis).

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Thousands of women have screamed at the top of their lungs, clawed at the patriarchy, and tirelessly fought for their rights as citizens of the United States of America. From the beginning of mankind, women have been labeled as inferior to men not only physically, but mentally and intellectually as well. Only in 1920 did women gain the right to voice their opinions in government elections while wealthy white men received the expected right since the creation of the United States. A pioneer in women’s suffrage, Susan B. Anthony publicly spoke out against this hypocrisy in a time when women were only seen as child bearers and household keepers. Using the United State’s very own Constitution and Declaration as ammunition, Anthony wrote countless

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Leaders of the American Feminist Movement began to draw parallels between the struggles of women and the plight of slaves, and pressed the boundaries of “acceptable” female behavior. The Seneca Falls Convention was organized to discuss the question of women’s right, and out of the meeting came the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions. This declaration stated that “all men and women are created equal,” and women no less than men are endowed with certain inalienable rights (Doc 6). In demanding the right to vote, they launched a movement for woman suffrage that would survive until the battle was finally won in 1920. Yet, during this time, women who were black faced an even greater struggle.

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