The meaning of freedom in America
One of the most significant speeches in American history is Frederick Douglass’s, “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro,” or the more popularly named, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July.” In this speech, delivered in Rochester, N.Y., in 1852, Douglass sets out to explain why the 4th of July is of no importance to black people. While the country had celebrated its independence the day before, millions in this country remained enslaved. The poignancy of its words is still applicable today as they were when they were spoken.
What does freedom mean in the United States of America? To whom does it apply? The current state of this country demands that these pivotal questions be answered. And all one must do to discover the answers is to read the documents left behind: the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
I believe that freedom has not been the norm throughout world history. Since the establishment of civilizations, there has been hierarchical castes systems that determine who have access to the benefits of those systems and who does not. This includes the concept of freedom. Every civilization, great and small, has been ruled or presided over by an individual or a group of people. And it is this ruling class that determines what freedoms are enjoyed by the masses. The Declaration of Independence never explicitly uses the word, ‘freedom.’ It is as it states, a declaration of independence. A war needed to be fought to make that declaration a reality. Prior to that, it was merely words. In his speech, this is what Douglass says about the Declaration of Independence: “You declare, before the world, and are understood by the world to declare, that you ‘hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; and that, among those are, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;’ and yet, you hold securely, in a bondage which, according to your own Thomas Jefferson, ‘is worse than ages of that which your fathers rose in rebellion to oppose,’ a seventh part of the inhabitants of your country.”
Congruently, the Constitution doesn’t grant any freedoms either. We know the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution as the ‘Bill of Rights.’ Rights aren’t freedoms. Rights are defined as, ‘a moral or legal entitlement to have or obtain something or to act in a certain way.’ Freedom is defined as, ‘the absence of subjection to foreign domination or despotic government.’ Rights are granted and freedoms are inherent. Even the much heralded Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments do not grant any freedoms. The 13th Amendment didn’t abolish slavery; it said that it shall not exist, except as punishment for crimes. The 14th Amendment didn’t grant former slaves citizenship; it states that anyone born or naturalized in this country are citizens of this country. And the 15th Amendment didn’t give former slaves the right to vote; it said that the right to vote shall not be denied due to race, color, or former status of servitude.
The wording of these Amendments allows for interpretation and loopholes. I believe Frederick Douglass might agree with me. “Fellow – citizens! There is no matter in respect to which, the people of the North have allowed themselves to be so ruinously imposed upon, as that of the pro-slavery character of the Constitution. In that instrument I hold there is neither warrant, license, nor sanction of the hateful thing; but, interpreted as it ought to be interpreted, the Constitution is a glorious liberty document. Read its preamble, consider its purposes. Is slavery among them?... if the Constitution were intended to be, by its framers and adopters, a slave-holding instrument, why neither slavery, slaveholding, nor slave can anywhere be found in it.” The only conclusion would be that the document wasn’t written for or about them. Nothing in it applies to slaves, nor their descendants. Its very wording doesn’t allow for interpretation. At best, it allows for loopholes and, at worst, disregard.
So, what does freedom mean in America? And to whom does it apply? Freedom in America has come to mean having the ability to behave without any regard to consequence, knowing that the institutions in place that regulate the way our civilization self-governs, is designed by and supported by individuals who are vested in similar self-interests. And freedom applies to those who are white, monied, landowners, just as it did when these documents were created. If white Americans today can’t be criticized for benefitting from 403 years of slavery and its legacy, then surely the 41 of 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence, who owned slaves, can and should be. The epitome of white supremacy is writing and signing a document, declaring independence from an oppressor, while you, yourself are oppressing others.
The most poignant line in Douglass’s great speech is “The evil men do, lives after them, the good is oft’ interred with their bones.” We are struggling with this concept, as a nation. While slavery did eventually come to an end, the legacies of the government sanctioned institution are still being litigated today, both in court rooms and in our communities. In 2013, the majority conservative Supreme Court began dismantling the Voting Rights Acts of 1965. And Black Lives Matter protests have become a cultural norm since the murder of Trayvon Martin. We are warring over what is truth. Fake election claims and skewed news media platforms have eroded trust in institutions that had previously been respected. And a nation that will not accept the truth of its character is doomed to fall. Throughout history, every great nation has fallen and if we continue to allow our differences to rip holes in the delicate fabric of our young democracy, then our fate shall be no different.
Elmer Shelton is originally from Delaware and is an alumnus of Gettysburg College. He is a member of the DFA Government Accountability Task Force. He also serves on the Board of the Gettysburg Black History Museum. He lives in Gettysburg and is employed by the YWCA of Gettysburg and Adams County as a group supervisor.
This post originally appeared in the Gettysburg Times
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