“You are a human being. You have rights inherent in that reality. You have dignity and worth that exists prior to law.” Lyn Beth Neylon, a legal and gender specialist for the Benin and Rwanda programs of the Woman’s Legal rights Initiative makes it be known a number of her outlooks on the rights in being born a human, the dignity and worth that exists before law in the above quote. Throughout the history of the United States of America, there has been more often than not a constant battle of its citizens probing what it means to be an American. This battle led to numerous and countless trouble within the shaping of America; however, it was these conflicts, which directly shaped the nation into a perfect Union for its citizens. With Lyn Beth Neylon’s quote, one should be able to tell that since reconstruction, the views of basic human rights faced challenges throughout time, domestic and foreign events did not always demonstrate that the nation honored the needs and wants of all citizens, and that the government should play a role in developing these rights for citizens.
The second that one comes out of the womb of his or hers mother and breaths his or hers first miraculous breath of oxygen, the little boy or girl is met in the world by his or hers parents whom are human beings as the new baby child now is. The gift of humanity that is passed down throughout generation to generation does not change throughout time, we are all born the same for the most part, and in many ways we all have the same basic features, but the way that a certain individual is treated has shifted extraordinarily many times since reconstruction. It was just one gene, that so happens to control skin color, this one gene would be the root cause of over one hundred years of tension between blacks and whites. Blacks were born just like there white counterpart however, many white did not view blacks as equal, they may have been human beings but, they were not allowed to inherent any rights and they clung to any dignity that they could hold onto.
However, right after the civil war period, the nation went into a state of reconstruction, a time of rebuilding of the nation for the betterment. The north, who many speculate fought the war to end slavery within the United States actual tried to aid the blacks and for the first time in a very long time in the history of the nation grant them rights. Three new amendments were passed, 13th amendment allowed them their freedom to not be slaves, 14th amendment allowed them to be American citizens if born in the nation, and the 15th allowed blacks the right to vote. These were rights, that blacks within the nation in the past had never felt and it allowed blacks to feel some dignity with the help of law. Another law that passed in 1870 even went as far as to say that a public business could not segregate blacks from their business. Blacks were now allowed to eat and hangout with whites and have more rights than ever before. However, a common problem within the United States arose, people fighting for what they believed to be right, and one of the biggest anti-Black groups arose as a direct cause of blacks getting rights. This new group, the Ku-Klux-Klan was a terrorist group in the eyes of many, but mostly in the North when founded and the government even tried to stop it with the Ku-Klux-Klan Act. However, the overwhelming number of people not wanting to allow blacks their rights got what they wanted in 1883 when the government gave up on trying to grant blacks their rights, and as quickly as blacks got their rights they were gone for the most part and in many cases many blacks lost even more because of the black laws. The government had tried to develop rights for the blacks of America during reconstruction, but had failed and at the same time failed at giving the wants of the black community of America.
The Gilded Age did not prove to give many more rights to any one group; it was just a time of great wealth and success for the nation of America, Mark Twain who made the term did have disgust on this age by the way that the businesses operated. The Progressive Era however, is a much different story in terms of rights. The progressive Era led to many groups finding new rights, one of the groups was the working class. The working class from the late 1800’s to early 1900’s has faced numerous challenges and the government saw and realized these challenges and stepped in to fix the problems. Labor groups and the government made sure the people that worked got more steps to freedom and could work without worry. The main thing to worry about was damage to the human body, many people were working long hours in dangerous conditions, for little pay, to make matters worse many of the people working were young kids. In one such act passed during this time allowed the government to step in and monitor private business for the first time, one of the most powerful companies for a long time, the railroad system was the direct reason for this new act. Women also used the progressive Era as a time to try to make change happen; they wanted the right to vote and to be equal with man. The process of how a women and man differ is quote complicated, but it is as simple as one Y chromosome being different. So why woman were not granted equal rights until woman suffrage later on in the nation’s history is beyond many. The progressive Era led to great change within the nation’s way of living and greatly shifted how domestic policy operated, the nation saw that groups of people needed change to happen and many of those people had gotten what they wanted, and the government had made change happen with new laws and granted new rights.
The Imperialistic Nation of America in the early 1900’s had gotten in a little war known as the Spanish-American war. Many African Americans gave their life in this war and after it was over and America and received the Philippines, Guam, and other land many African Americans were left still without rights. This angered many African Americans who fought in the war, but besides a few protests, nothing came out of it. World War One, The war that the nation tried to stay neutral in for the longest time had a similar effect with American Americans, but still nothing came out of it. The Roaring Twenties, the lowest point within America, had trouble written all over it. Following the progressive Era, many people were still trying to make change happen, and this change led to the lowest point in America. The government took away a right from all Americans during this period, the right to drink alcohol. This angered the people of the nation and left many questioning if the government had too much power and if they should be able to control what they can and cannot drink. People, many of whom were outranged, rioted, and debated for change, and they would receive that change. Thus proving the government should monitor and pass new rights, but only if there is a direct interest by the people to do as such. The roaring twenties would leave with no newfound rights and a United States that was at one of its lowest points. However, it would lead to new domestic policies, with the new deal shaping a few things within the nation and fixing loose screws.
World War 2 would have a great deal of shaping rights with America as well. Woman Suffrage was huge around this time and one particular person leading that charge was the women found on posters all around working for the Army. This poster was a great example of how woman could stand up and help the nation with the War. The nation around this time would finally allow woman to vote, once the government passed the new laws to allow it. However, at the same time many groups who aided in the war were not so fortunate to gather new rights, many groups in fact who fought in the war never received new rights. The government aided in fixing problems with woman rights and proving the nation allowed that change to happen by passing new laws. World War 2 its self did not provide rights, but events around it led to new rights. Also during and a little after World War Two America locked up Japanese citizens of America and held them against their will. They had done nothing wrong but the new foreign affairs directed that they be locked up since they had Japanese blood, this clearly went against their needs and wants. The Cold War, Korean War, and Vietnam War, war of two super powers fighting it out did not have much impact on the rights granted to its citizens all that much. The wars did lead like the others to an increased want of rights by many groups who fault in the wars. Foreign affairs shifted greatly when the nation decided that it would fund other places to make sure communism could not and would not spread.
In the 1960’s a new war for rights took place, the civil rights period. New thinkers took up to revive the challenges that the government had failed to do in the 1800’s and finally allow African Americans all the rights that they rightfully deserve. The Civil rights period for the nation was not easy, and for the south to forget Jim Crow’s Laws was even harder. For anyone who was not alive during that time it is hard to realize fully of what it was like, but the best way to describe it is like a warzone. Blacks and Whites alike were losing their lives to what they believed to be right. Jews, a group that for a long time like Blacks had many rights taken away from them, such as bring allowed to eat or go to certain places. Yes, segregated they had been and for that reason in many instances, Jews provide money for the riots and marches that the blacks had to gain their rights. However, with that said blacks for the most part are the ones who got it done with great leaders, such as Martin Luther King, who had a dream for change in the nation. Great leaders standing up for change accomplished his dream piece by piece. One great example is Love vs. Virginia, a case that went to the Supreme Court that allowed blacks to marry whomever they wished; this case overturned a case from the early 1900’s. It is examples such as this that led to the African Americans to receive equal rights and to be equal to whites. However, once again, the government and new laws are what allowed this change to happen, but also these new laws would not have formed without the help of everyone who fought for change.
After the events of the civil rights period, the nation fought many new hardships to continue that shaping of the nation into a better and perfect union. But in many ways it will never be perfect, such as today a new question has arisen, what rights should homosexuals have; rights is a endless debate that throughout history has been debated. “You are a human being. You have rights inherent in that reality. You have dignity and worth that exists prior to law.” So back to the quote, it is true that one who is born is a human being, but not all rights are inherent in that reality, in fact many people throughout history did not get any dignity or worth until after new laws, notice that key word, until, not prior. It is clear that since reconstruction, the views of basic human rights faced challenges throughout time, domestic and foreign events did not always demonstrate that the nation honored the needs and wants of all citizens, and that the government should play a role in developing these rights for citizens. Americans throughout time continuously worked to make this nation what it is today, but it is not perfect yet and it may never be, but as of now, it is close, the nation is doing a good job regulating rights and making sure that we are all equal. Remember, together we stand, together we fall.
