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Langston Hughes Freedom's Plow Analysis

1790 Words8 Pages

Ton Nguyen
PSCI 183 202
Spring 2018

Essay Prompt: In 'Freedom's Plow', Langston Hughes offers a reading of the Declaration of Independence. Consider this reading alongside the alternative Declarations we read for class. Do these documents point towards something missing from the Declaration of Independence? If so, what?

The Declaration of an Impartial Independence The American political system was established on principles of founding documents such as the Declaration of Independence, which sought to prevent oppression, tyranny, and despotism. However, it can be argued that there are historical fallacies found in comparing the political theory and the lived reality of American citizens. I will outline how documents like “Freedom’s …show more content…

In stanza 10, Hughes analyzes Jefferson’s position on equality. The dichotomy of Jefferson’s portrayal in “Freedom’s Plow” and his active role and writing the Declaration of Independence reveals a hypocrisy in his actions. Jefferson states, “to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Despite what he wrote, Jefferson owned slaves and did not grant them the same rights. Slaves were historically governed without consent. “Freedom’s Plow” seeks to recognize when a system is unjust so that they can redefine freedom to be inclusive of all men. Overthrowing an unjust system would be in line with the Declaration’s original purpose. Many revolutions that occurred after the American Revolution cited Jefferson's Declaration of Independence as justification in overthrowing a corrupt and dictatorial …show more content…

It calls for a reevaluation of how governing documents should be interpreted. By providing that the original Declaration had inconsistencies between the text and what happens in reality, it calls for people to act on their right to mold the political system into a just one. Works like “Freedom’s Plow” and these alternative declaration work to show that laws are not always implemented or upheld fairly. These works also show that politicians and their constituents should seek to learn from past mistakes, just as America was built by analyzing the grievances of the British rule over the

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This is done to point out the hypocrisy of the Declaration of Independence and the practice of slavery. If all men were created equal and bestowed those three unattainable rights, then slavery wouldn’t exist. Slavery takes away most if not all of those rights and should not be in practice if people were to follow the Declaration of

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Furthermore, this document uses a lot of figurative language to further prove the points being made. The American Declaration of Independence explains the oppression and injustices the British had shown to the “Americans”. The document could be read

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whose chains, heavy and grievous yesterday, are, to-day, rendered more intolerable by the jubilee shouts that reach them.” Douglas’s use of vivid imagery and onomatopoeia constructs a vivid display of the terrific treatment that many African-American slaves endured. The Declaration of Independence claimed that all men possess the right to obtain life, liberty, and property. To

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It also brings the quarrel with England from a political dispute to a very large event. It implies that America’s situation has problems with moral legitimacy. The introduction identifies the purpose of the Declaration; to declare the causes of America breaking off from England. The preamble outlines a general philosophy of government that makes revolution justifiable.

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In the poem “I, Too”, the author Langston Hughes illustrates the key aspect of racial discrimination faces against the African Americans to further appeals the people to challenge white supremacy. He conveys the idea that black Americans are as important in the society. Frist, Hughes utilizes the shift of tones to indicate the thrive of African American power. In the first stanza, the speaker shows the sense of nation pride through the use of patriotic tone. The first line of the poem, “I, too, sing America” states the speaker’s state of mind.

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