America Was Not A Land Of The Free Essay

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During the time period from colonial times to the Civil War, the United States truly was not a “land of the free”. The United States was not a “land of the free” for many reasons. These reasons include the fact that in the early years America was ruled by Great Britain and the fact that slavery allowed slaves to be treated and thought of as property, and not free people. Another reason that the U.S was not a land of the free is because at one point in time women had very limited rights. Great Britain ruling the colonies contributes to the thought that we have not always been free land. Great Britain ruled the original 13 colonies during the 1700’s, and enacted many different acts that put them on the brink of fighting with each other. Britain enforced acts like the Tea Act and Stamp Act so that they could pay off debts from the war they just had. Acts like these were not put into place to better the colonies. The Tea Act lowered the cost of tea that was sold by the British East India Company. This act gave the company complete control over all tea sales in the colonies. This act shows people that the colonies had no control over what “rules” they had to follow, showing that the amount of freedom …show more content…
During the mid 1800’s women could not vote, hold office, or control their own money. Men ruled over women at this time, disciplining them whenever they thought the time was right and controlling any land and money they owned. Around this time, people were also fighting against slavery. Women would be fighting against slavery, and then realize that they had many things in common with slaves. They were not starved and forced to do hours of manual labor, but they could not speak up to a man or own anything “valuable”. Men were free during this time, but women weren’t, contributing to the idea that during colonial times to the Civil War era, the United States was not totally free
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