One of the biggest problems in the United States after the declaration of Independence was the continuation of slavery. In the article A July Fourth Oration a speaker talks about what we have done to the Africans by bringing them over from their native lands into slavery in America. He asks, “Declaration of Independence! Where art thou now?” (American Mercury, 124). It is true that there controversy among Americans that the Africans were not equal to the Whites, and this was a huge problem because it was declared that “all men are created equal”. Thomas Jefferson responds to this problems by explaining that “I advance it therefore as a suspicion only, that the blacks… are inferior to the whites in both of body and mind” (Thomas Jefferson, 129). He explains that this is an opinion of some, but is not the truth. He believes that we can’t degrade an entire race based on opinions of some of them or because of the opinions of others. Although Thomas Jefferson owned slaves he was still open to the opinions of those who were against slavery and still had empathy for the slaves.
Many people were concerned about freedom of opinion whether it was speaking about it or voting. The statement in Address of Democratic-Republican Society of Pennsylvania, “Freedom of thought, and free communication of opinions by speech or through the medium of the press, are the safeguards of our Liberties” (138) explains how without the freedom to express opinions of their government they do not have equal opportunity in choosing how to be governed. This is important and really shaped the minds of the new government. Congress started to make changes to the Sedition Act and the freedom of speech and opinion. A member of the Continental Congress of South Carolina publishes his book explaining and ensuring the right to future amendment of the Constitution. His statement that “laws will be made and government administered for the good of the people, as can be expected from the imperfections of the human institutions” (Ramsay, 119), gives assurance that although there will be problems and controversy, the United States is going to be governed with all citizens opinions considered. The intentions of the government of the United States is to have Freedom for all people and to run a government that is best for all the people in it, not just for the people who lead it.
One opinion that was most influential and important was that of George Washington. He was a huge influence on the citizens of the United States, the congress, the legislatures, the other founding fathers, and anyone who was a part of this new independent United States. He believed that the all people of the United States had the right to