Essay+++++2

After the signage of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, numerous civil rights movements have emerged in America. Each movement brings about social progress. Two major movements include abolitionist movement and women’s suffrage movement. The abolitionist movement sought to end slavery in America, and for slaves to no longer be treated as property. This struggle was not achieved until the passing of the 13th amendment of the Constitution, which outlawed slavery in America. While the fight to end slavery was winding down, a new movement emerged, the Women’s Suffrage Movement. Beginning in the 1850’s, this movement’s main goals were suffrage and greater equality for women. The movement gathered momentum into the 20th century. It was not until 1920, when the 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote. These two movements brought about social reform for blacks and women in America. Today, another movement is taking root, Occupy Wall Street. This movement warns of the dangers of corporate greed and its influence over the government and society. Occupy Wall Street is rapidly developing; therefore, some areas regarding the movement are vague. The movement involves public protest and people spending prolonged periods of time in public spaces.

The abolitionist movement, women’s suffrage, and Occupy Wall Street are three movements that touch on various social issues. The subject of the benefits of the movement varies between each one, but they all work towards social progress in America. These civil rights movements challenge the assumptions people have about personal security. The right to personal security is often complicated, because of conflicts regarding opposing viewpoints of personal security. According to the Declaration of Independence, personal security includes, “certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” (Jefferson) Under the term personal security also falls financial security. The Declaration of Independence also addresses the peoples right to “throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. ”(Jefferson) This includes challenging society in seek of personal security for the individual and a group of people as a whole, like blacks and women.

Southern plantations widely relied on slaves, due to the need for manual labor. These slaves lived in society where they had very limited personal security. Referring to slaves, white men have been known to “rob them of their liberty, to work them without wages, to keep them ignorant of their relations to their fellow men, to beat them with sticks, to flay their flesh with the lash, to load their limbs with irons, to hunt them with dogs.” (Douglass) Slaves were worked long and hard hours. They were beaten and abused violating their safety and often their right to life. They had no financial security, because they worked without pay. Slaves were treated as property, so they actually owned nothing, which hindered their financial security even further. Living in this society for slaves, there was no personal security. Abolitionists, like Fredrick Douglass, were well aware of this. They challenged the societal customs that had been entrenched in society. Slaves were denied, “the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in the Declaration of Independence?” (Douglass) Abolitionist wanted to guarantee the safety of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Abolishing slavery would threaten what the white plantation owners would refer to as their personal security. Loosing the slaves would put the plantation owner’s financial security at risk. This added a level of difficulty to the abolitionist movement’s effort to spread personal security to a larger percentage of the population. Eventually the passing of the 13th amendment abolished slavery.

Until 1920 women did not have the right to vote. Like the abolitionist, suffragist tried to expand the reaches of the Declaration of Independence. They believed that “all men and women are created equal.” (Stanton) Men have “taken from her all right in property, even to the wages she earns,” leaving women financially dependent and insecure. (Stanton) Suffragist claim that the, “history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her.” (Stanton) In the quest for bringing equal personal security and safety to all genders, suffragist faces numerous problems. One of these is that women are not included in the Declaration of Independence, as it only referred to men. This means that women were not guaranteed the “first right of a citizen, the elective franchise, thereby leaving her without representation in the halls of legislation.” (Stanton) It made it difficult for suffragist to make a change in a political sense, if they are excluded from the election process. Not only does this deny women of their rights, it limits the amount of personal security attainable. Women had to influence enough of the public opinion to take their side in order for the 19th amendment to be passed; however, The Civil Rights Act of 1964 brought more of the personal security they were looking for.

Even today the struggle for social progress continues. Occupy Wall Street is an example of this. They claim that, “no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power.” (Occupy Wall Street) This reveals the lack of financial security as a result of the influence of the large corporations. Although the economy is their primary concerns, they also recognize many social issues related to the influence of corporations. In the case of Occupy Wall Street, money makes it difficult to reestablish financial security for many Americans. They believe it is much easier for large corporations and the elite to overpower most Americans and even the government. Occupy Wall Street claims that one of the effects of the corporations is that they have “perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one’s skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.” (Occupy Wall Street) This shows that not only financial security is affected, but also equality, which should be established by the Declaration of Independence. Their goal is to get people to, “exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone. “(Occupy Wall Street) Like the previous two movements, Occupy Wall Street wants to broaden the reaches of personal security to more of the population.

Movements regarding civil rights have been occurring since the beginning of American History. Many of which create ties to the Declaration of Independence to support their movement. The Declaration of Independence guarantees personal security to all men, but has been expanded to all races and women through the work of many.The abolitionist movement and suffragist movement both challenged people’s view on personal security. Occupy Wall Street is doing the same today, and it reveals that there is still injustice and inequality today.


 * Work Cited**

Douglass, Fredrick. "The Hypocrisy of American Slaveryr." //The History Place - Great Speeches//. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Nov 2011. .

Jefferson, Thomas. United States. The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. //Declaration of Independence//. Web. .

Stanton, Elizabeth. "Modern History Sourcebook: The Declaration of Sentiments, Seneca Falls Conference, 1848 ." Fordham University, 1998. Web. 9 Nov 2011. .