Changing Understanding of Freedom Essay
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Understanding of Freedom
1
Changing Understanding of Freedom
Joaquin Guerrero
#40172120
History 253
Professor Dr. Theresa Ventura
Understanding of Freedom
2
Introduction
The setting of the US by the forefathers foresaw the focus on state government with small
federal state and huge economic independence, with few interferences of the federal government.
This system limited what the federal government would do and gave people more freedom as per
the agrarian perspective of freedom. President Andrew Johnson echoed this while defending his
administration's actions towards reconstruction in 1866 (2.2).
1
Various amendments were put in
place with time, like the 14
th
Amendment and the Liberty of Contract. These two saw the federal
government involved in more economic regulations, thus changing the understanding of freedom
for the people. Wabash v. Illinois, 1886, saw the federal government given the power to regulate
the railroad at the expense of the states (3.1).
2
This showed the loss of economic independence
with increased federal government interference as years went by. Though the agrarian
perspective of freedom focused on people's economic independence from the federal state in the
early 1870s and before, groups such as the progressives, the populists, the social Darwinists, and
various women movements like the second Klan were critical in changing this perspective to one
where the state had the mandate to maintain freedom.
The Social Darwinists
William Graham Sumner, one of the first social Darwinists theorists, presented the claim
of freedom as one whereby no one was to be obligated to give help in 1883 (3.2).
3
This led to the
calls for liberty, inequality, and survival for the fittest. This was in line with the agrarian
perspective of freedom, whereby the federal government had almost nothing to do with the
economy. It was more like asking for economic independence as a show of freedom for the
1
Dr. Theresa Ventura, Lecture 2.2: Civil War Reconstruction, Slide 9 Concordia University, 2022.
2 Dr. Theresa Ventura, Lecture 3.1: Gilded Age Transformations, Slide 9 Concordia University, 2022.
3 Dr. Theresa Ventura, Lecture 3.2: Experiencing and redefining freedom citizenship in the Gilded Age,
Slide 9 Concordia University, 2022.
Understanding of Freedom
3
people. By early 1900, the social Darwinists worked towards minimizing the presence of the
unfit generation to ensure that those who survived were the fittest. This saw policies like those
supporting segregation in place. To enforce these laws, the social Darwinists needed the federal
government and state governments together with the judiciary to come up with the policies and
enforce them. This showed increased federal government interference in shaping the economic
and sociological ideas for social Darwinism. This was not the case in the period before the
1870s, and, as such, the social Darwinists group was one of the fundamental reasons behind the
change in the definition of freedom by looking for more government involvement.
The Women Movements
The Women's movement majorly gained traction from the mid-19
th
century into the early
20
th
century. One of the key reasons behind such movements was to advocate for women's rights,
given that they had been neglected for a long time. One of these movements was the women-run
National Conference League (NLC), which advocated for the rights of women in the labor force.
The NLC worked towards exposure of child labor and poor wage for women. In fighting for this,
the NLC had to call for the federal government to pass legislation, like the Meat Inspection
Legislation of 1905 (5.1).
4
With this, it was clear that the women-run NLC was soliciting more
federal government control on economic matters and social matters. This was slowly changing
the meaning and the understanding of freedom from the independent perspective to one where it
was to be provided and protected by the federal government. Also, the NLC worked towards
convincing the Supreme Court to start the promotion of the 10 hour-work day law in 1908 (5.1).
5
4 Dr. Theresa Ventura, Lecture 5.1: Progressive movement-origin and varieties, Slide 11 Concordia
University, 2022.
5 Dr. Theresa Ventura, Lecture 5.1: Progressive movement-origin and varieties, Slide 11 Concordia
University, 2022.
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Understanding of Freedom
4
This, too, enhanced the changing understanding of freedom among Americans due to the
government's increased involvement via the judiciary.
In fighting for women's rights, the women's suffrage movement, which started way back
in the mid-19
th
century to the early 20
th
century, advocated for women voting rights (4.2).
6
This
was a social movement asking for women's democratic rights, something they had been denied
all along. The movement enhanced the change in the understanding of freedom, as it saw women
asking for the involvement of Congress and the federal government in advocating for their
democratic rights. This was voting right was achieved in the 20
th
Amendment. Though it showed
freedom, as women had a voice in choosing their leaders, it could be interpreted as having given
the federal government influence in addressing women's issues, both social and economic. With
women being given the right to vote and elect the leaders they deem suitable for office, the
federal government was then being given more power to address women's issues. This acted as a
fundamental factor in pushing the understanding of freedom from the agrarian one to one where
the government was obligated to protect freedom.
The women's movements saw many legislations passed in the early 20
th
century. Key
legislation passed were the 18
th
Amendment of 1919, the 19
th
Amendment of 1920, and the
Shepherd-Towner Act of 1921 (6.1).
7
18
th
Amendment saw prohibition become part of the lands
war. In addition to this, the Shepherd-Towner of 1921 called for the extension of the Children's
Bureau and the enhancement of women's health. The federal government was involved in
funding states to help them open health clinics focused on pre-natal care for women (6.1).
8
In
doing so, the woman ended up relying on the state and federal government for their health. With
6 Dr. Theresa Ventura, Lecture 4.2: Empire the global color, Slide 3 Concordia University, 2022.
7 Dr. Theresa Ventura, Lecture 6.1: Progressivism the war, Slide 18 Concordia University, 2022.
8 Dr. Theresa Ventura, Lecture 6.1: Progressivism the war, Slide 18 Concordia University, 2022.
Understanding of Freedom
5
this, it is clear that their freedom was not being independent of the government but had the
government is obligated to protect it.
Progressives
The progressives arose from the American wins in the war of Hawaii, the Philippines, and
Cuba. This saw imperial progressives in place, with the residents of the above countries taken as
non-citizen nationals and territories taken as un-incorporated territories of the US (5.1).
9
This
was followed by calls for enhanced social change from the republic in the non-civil war times. In
general, the progressives focused on enhancing social reforms across the country. The reforms
would only be made possible by the government, and, as such, the freedom of the people was to
be controlled majorly by the government. It is like the progressives were giving the government
a chance to be more involved in their social life through the establishment of reforms. As such,
this group was more involved in changing the understanding of freedom in general through their
stand and calls for reforms.
The progressives attempted to update the structure of government and society through
their calls for reforms (5.1).
10
This would see the government structure involved mainly in
people's social welfare. Also, the government would be included in the environmental justice as
the group advocated for the belief that the environment made people. On the other hand, society
has a role in planning in the environment which made them and in ensuring that they follow the
reforms given by the government. The thinking of this group and its reasoning pushed people
away from the agrarian understanding of freedom to the notion that the government would be
obligated to protect their freedom.
9 Dr. Theresa Ventura, Lecture 5.1: Progressive movement-origin and varieties, Slide 2 Concordia
University, 2022.
10 Dr. Theresa Ventura, Lecture 5.1: Progressive movement-origin and varieties, Slide 5 Concordia
University, 2022.
Understanding of Freedom
6
Apart from social changes, progressives saw changing freedom that included standards of
living, women in the working class, and urban delights (5.2).
11
Usually, these changes were not
there with the agrarian understanding of freedom. However, with the reforms, the progressives
were calling for and the passing of various legislations, they were all made possible. The federal
and state governments were massively involved for these freedoms to be achieved. Also, the
local governments were involved. As such, freedom was to be protected by the three levels of
government. The federal government had to be involved to ensure that working-class women had
it easy in their workplace. Also, for the standards of living to be raised, the government had to be
involved in ensuring economic progress. Finally, for urban delights to happen, one had to seek
the license of the local government and, if possible, get their protection. All these show that the
newly acquired freedom from by the progressives was aligned with the new understanding of
freedom in that it had to be protected by the government other than having people independent
from government interference.
Progressives were massively involved in advocating for more control of the federal
government on corporations via regulation and taxes (6.1).
12
Through his Nationalist party,
Theodore Roosevelt was in the first line in advocating for this, and so was Woodrow Wilson, a
Democratic candidate (6.1).
13
The focus of the latter was to restore the marketplace competition,
which was merely the same as advocating for more involvement of the federal government in the
economy. With the two advocating for this, their supporters definitely supported them, and as
such, the notion of having the government involved intensely in economic activities was born.
This was in line with the changes in the understanding of freedom in the early 20
th
century.
11 Dr. Theresa Ventura, Lecture 5.2: Progressive promises, limits, and new freedoms, Slide 1 Concordia
University, 2022.
12 Dr. Theresa Ventura, Lecture 6.1: Progressivism the war, Slide 3 Concordia University, 2022.
13 Dr. Theresa Ventura, Lecture 6.1: Progressivism the war, Slide 3 Concordia University, 2022.
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Understanding of Freedom
7
Populists
The populist party of 1892 came up with several reforms, most of which would change
the understanding of freedom. First, the party advocated for low-cost public financing for
farmers (4.1).
14
This called for increased government involvement in economic activities,
something that the early understanding of freedom was against. In addition to this, the party
called for the public ownership of utilities and railroads (4.1).
15
Again, this meant that the
government would have been involved more in the people's economic activities and livelihood.
Finally, they called for public banks to be located in post offices, the postal saving banks. All this
showed that the populists were directly advocating for more involvement of the government in
their matters. This drew them further from the agrarian understanding of freedom as
independence from the government to the understanding that freedom ought to be protected by
the government and would see the government more involved in economic and social activities.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is clear that the understanding of freedom changed between 1870 and
1930 from the agrarian meaning to the perspective that the government was to protect freedom.
This change was a gradual process and saw various groups, most of which started within the
period, influence their supporters and members into changing their initial perspective of freedom.
Groups like the progressives, the social Darwinists, and the women's movement contributed to
this change. The key point in all this was increased interference and involvement of government
in social and economic matters. This end of economic independence and increased government
involvement would shape the future of the US, especially during the Great Depression and the
14 Dr. Theresa Ventura, Lecture 4.1: Freedom boundaries at home and abroad, Slide 4 Concordia
University, 2022.
15 Dr. Theresa Ventura, Lecture 4.1: Freedom boundaries at home and abroad, Slide 4 Concordia
University, 2022.
Understanding of Freedom
8
ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The government has countered these crises by being involved in
economic matters through deals like the New Deal and the Social Security Act, which came after
the 1930s. The present prosperity of America is mainly shaped by the government's involvement
in economic matters of the country, and as such, this change in perspective was fundamental for
the progress of the country.
Bibliography
Dr. Theresa Ventura, Lecture 2.2: Civil war reconstruction, Slide 9 Concordia University, 2022.
Dr. Theresa Ventura, Lecture 3.1: Gilded Age transformations, Slide 9 Concordia University,
2022.
Dr. Theresa Ventura, Lecture 3.2: Experiencing and redefining freedom citizenship in the Gilded
Age, Slide 9 Concordia University, 2022.
Dr. Theresa Ventura, Lecture 4.1: Freedom boundaries at home and abroad, Slide 4 Concordia
University, 2022.
Dr. Theresa Ventura, Lecture 4.2: Empire the global color, Slide 3 Concordia University, 2022.
Understanding of Freedom
9
Dr. Theresa Ventura, Lecture 5.1: Progressive movement-origin and varieties, Slide 11 Concordia
University, 2022.
Dr. Theresa Ventura, Lecture 5.1: Progressive movement-origin and varieties, Slide 2 Concordia
University, 2022.
Dr. Theresa Ventura, Lecture 5.1: Progressive movement-origin and varieties, Slide 5 Concordia
University, 2022.
Dr. Theresa Ventura, Lecture 5.2: Progressive promises, limits, and new freedoms, Slide 1
Concordia University, 2022.
Dr. Theresa Ventura, Lecture 6.1: Progressivism the war, Slide 18 Concordia University, 2022.
Dr. Theresa Ventura, Lecture 6.1: Progressivism the war, Slide 3 Concordia University, 2022.
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