Quest for Liberty in the U.S. Essay

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The Revolution resulting in America was the most significant event in American History. This country would not be here without it. The Revolution led to an establishment of a constitution and a new foundation to start a country. We would still be part of England had we not had the Revolution. The constitution set up a basis upon which the most powerful nation in the world would grow. The Civil War is also one of the most influential events that helped to shape the United States. The division of the industrial North and slave-owning South resulted in the Civil War. Had it turned out that the South had won, the entire nation right now would be completely different. Half of our population would not have its freedom. No black person would ever hold any office of power, much less be the mayor of Houston. Every single person's life would be completely different had the Civil War never occurred."The West" was a liberty in the first half of the nineteenth century but still tied to cheap and abundant land. After the Civil War, suffrage became a national liberty. How many of you voted in the 2008 presidential election? Only about 33% of eligible voters did vote. After the Civil War turn out was above 80%.Throughout this early period (1492-1877), another liberty was the freedom to be left alone. People believed that when government involves itself in your life, you lose liberties. So until the 1930s, government did next to nothing besides delivering mail. The good news was, of course, almost no taxes. The bad news was of course when Indians attacked, or the river flooded, or your homestead burned to the ground, there was no government there to help you. Liberty - by definition – is the state of being free within society. It is what stops authority from regulating our everyday life. Though we still have laws, they are only strict enough to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the citizens of our country. Full liberty can seem like a dangerous thing to possess, but if used with good intentions, it can also be the thing that allows us to leave our mark in the world. Without his freedom in Germany, would Albert Einstein have made such an impact in science history? Without the freedom of speech, would Martin Luther King Jr. have made such an impact in the civil rights movement? The list of people who have changed the world because of the liberty they were given is almost endless. It shows how important liberty can be.
Some countries are unfortunate to have such small freedoms unavailable to them. In places like the Middle East, women’s rights can almost be completely taken away. Freedoms as simple as wearing shorts in the summer time to choosing who they will marry can be things they don’t get to decide. As a woman, I cannot imagine being deprived of such seemingly reasonable rights. Though these are just a small example of the many freedoms that can be taken away in other countries, it still reminds me how lucky I am to live country that gives me so many of these freedoms. And this is all thanks to liberty. As a creative person, liberty is especially important to me. To be able to fully express myself, I must have the room to be able to think outside of the box. Liberty has allowed me to grow as a unique individual, and I can’t imagine my life being any other way. As Robert Green Ingersoll has said, “What light is to the eyes – what air is to the lungs – what love is to the heart, liberty is to the soul of man.” I think this is a beautiful explanation of liberty. Liberty to me is every dream and goal I have ever had. It is both the simple things I get to enjoy in life, and the big things that shape what my life will become. Without liberty, and the freedom to choose what I want and who I want to be, I would not be the same person I am today. Liberty to me is being freed from seeing only in black and white. With all of the colors, I can be so much more. Throughout most of history
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