Freedom And Hierarchy In American History

The connections between freedom and hierarchy in United States history have shaped what it means to be an American, and much of American history and the conflicts between its inhabitants can be viewed through the lens of freedom and hierarchy. It is important to note that the notions of freedom and hierarchy have evolved throughout time, and freedom and hierarchy have often meant vastly different things to the people of the United States. Many of the most important events in United States history can be looked at as a fight for freedom that could only be realized through either the preservation or destruction of established hierarchy. The very foundation of America’s separation as a colony from the British Empire was an attempt to gain certain freedoms that were denied to colonists in the New World. These freedoms for the colonists were limited thanks to the hierarchy between the center (British Empire) and periphery (colonies in the New World). In the Declaration of Independence, the Founding Fathers outlined some of the freedoms they felt were being infringed upon by the British Empire. They wrote, “He (The King of Great Britian) has

Representative Joseph Rainey of South Carolina became the first African American to serve in congress, and to him and many African Americans, freedom meant the government giving them, “by statutory enactment under the fundamental law, the right to enjoy precisely the same privileges accorded to every other class of citizens (Congressional Record).” Clearly, even after the civil war, hierarchy was present between Whites and African Americans. Even though it is reasonable to assume that African Americans always saw freedom as equality between the African Americans and Whites, this sentiment only came to the forefront after reconstruction thanks to the demolition of previous hierarchy, namely slave owners over