To What Extent Were The Ideals Of The Declaration Of Independence Dbq Essay

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The Declaration of Independence was a treaty declaring our separation from Britain. It had a set of rights promised to all human beings. These rights include, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In the 1850s the U.S. did not fulfill the ideals of the Declaration of Independence because women and African Americans did not have equal rights. The ideals of the Declaration of Independence were not fulfilled because women did not have political rights. In Document one Bigelow Bill stated very cruel laws restricting women such as, “women may not vote in any state in the union.” It just shows how women have no political say in what men will control America. If these men are going to make up cruel laws against women. Furthermore, …show more content…

As the document “Life and Liberty” said, “but he shall not be free to dine and drink at our table - to serve on a jury - to be a witness in court - to represent us in the legislature - to be a doctor - to join us at a concert, a lecture, the theater, or the church, or to marry our daughters. We are of another race, and he is inferior. Let him know his place - and keep it.” This evidence just shows what a majority of white men from that time period thought of African Americans and where they stand socially. Which can be represented when the Charles Mackay says, “we are of another race, and he is inferior.” This basically says that some white men think that black men are beneath them. In the picture “Anti-Slavery Almanac”, a free black man was taken into slavery and basically was kidnapped. Just because he was black, he got taken into slavery, even though he was free. This isn’t fair at all because he was free. Document two isn’t very reliable at all because although the beginning of this document states that the passerby saw racial prejudice. He didn’t see the rest of the things he wrote which were all opinion and very racial. This passerby is just a random hiker; so we really have no idea who he is. This also can be proved false when it comes to corroboration; the part about racial prejudice in the document may corroborate with other documents