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Anghelle Anderson

Bisera

24 September 2020

The American Identity

The American Identity has always been based on freedom and rights; “The American

Dream” as it is more commonly called. Our Founding Fathers wrote, “We hold these truths to

be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with

certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” in

the Declaration of Independence (US 1776). However, this idea of freedoms and “unalienable

rights” for all does not apply to everyone in America. America has always prided itself on its

rights of freedom and equality when in reality, oppressed groups have not had the privilege to

fully experience those freedoms. People of color have experienced more injustice and

discrimination since before America was an independent country.

Black people have experienced countless discriminations and are treated as if they are

less deserving, simply because of their skin color. Sojourner Truth, a former slave and women’s

rights activist, made a speech to the Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio. In this speech,

she stated, “That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted

over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or

over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman?” (Truth 1851). Truth

explains how she does not receive the same treatment as the other women around her, just

because she is a black woman. The white men around her decided that she did not deserve the

same respect and courtesy as the white women, thus contributing to the normalized racism in
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their society. Frederick Douglass, an American abolitionist and ex-slave, made a speech to the

Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society and he said, “There are seventy-two crimes in the State

of Virginia, which, if committed by a black man, (no matter how ignorant he be), subject him to

the punishment of death; while only two of the same crimes will subject a white man to the like

punishment,” (Douglass 1852). Due to the racial inequality in the world, black people were

given harsher punishments than their white counterparts. This is yet another example of how

black people faced discrimination on such extreme levels. The racial injustice that black people

faced were often harmful to them, both physically and mentally. Black people were not able to

take part in the freedoms that our Founding Fathers had based this country on due to slavery

and prejudice. Native Americans faced discrimination as well, mostly during the settlement

period in America. Chief Black Hawk, Chief of the Sauk tribe, gave a speech regarding his

surrender to the settlers. In his surrender speech, he compares the white men to his tribe by

saying “But the Indians are not deceitful. The white men speak bad of the Indian, and look at

him spitefully. But the Indian does not tell lies; Indians do not steal,” (Black Hawk 1832). While

he does not directly say this, Black Hawk is implying that the white men are “deceitful” liars and

thieves. The settlers would come in and chase the Native Americans off of their land by running

off their food supply, cutting off their resources, and ruining the natural landscape. These

actions can also be seen in John Gast’s famous painting, American Progress (1872). In this

painting, you can see Native Americans being driven off as the settlers come in and civilize their

land.

Freedoms and rights have always been the basis of life in America. The lives of the

African American slaves and the Native Americans however, were not included in the
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ideologies. Black people were enslaved and sold like goods for cheap labor. Native Americans

were chased from their land to make room for the European settlers. People of color in America

were never treated fairly because they were looked down upon by white people who thought

they had the power over them and saw them as inferiors. My understanding of the American

identity has further developed to see the irony that a country that fights for freedom for all is

built on slavery and deception.

Word Count: 684

Works Cited
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Black Hawk's Surrender Speech, 1832, www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/black.htm.

“Declaration of Independence: A Transcription.” National Archives and Records Administration,

National Archives and Records Administration, www.archives.gov/founding-

docs/declaration-transcript.

Douglass, Frederick, et al. Frederick Douglass: Selected Speeches and Writings. Lawrence Hill

Books, 1999.

“John Gast, American Progress, 1872.” Picturing US History, picturinghistory.gc.cuny.edu/john-

gast-american-progress-1872/.

“Sojourner Truth: Ain't I A Woman? (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service, U.S.

Department of the Interior, www.nps.gov/articles/sojourner-truth.htm.