Bill of Rights 4-4.3

Remember These Words? We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These words from the Declaration of Independence became the cornerstone for American Government, and for the Bill of Rights.

Here’s the Deal You see, the basic human rights, as described in the Declaration of Independence, were not exactly defined. In other words, what is the right to life? To liberty? To the pursuit of happiness? Those were questions that needed to be answered, and they were answered in the United States Constitution, where our civil rights laws are defined. We call it the Bill of Rights, and it’s purpose IS to protect us from our own government.

Who Was the Bill of Rights Talking About? As it was originally written, the Bill of Rights only referred to the rights of white male, land owners. Furthermore, the Bill of Rights, our rights, made no reference to what Women’s, African American’s, or even Native American’s rights were.

Women’s Rights Historians all state that there is no real known reason why women were not represented with the same rights as white men, when the Bill of Rights was written. In fact, it’s a very highly debated issue. Some theories suggest that women were a forgotten part of society. (Crazy right?) Others suggest that women were a part of society that needed protection. Keep in mind this document was written in the 18 th Century, where chivalry is in. Women did not gain the same rights as men until the 19 th Amendment was passed in 1920.

African Americans Unlike women, it was much more noticeable why the African Americans (Slaves) did not have the same rights as the white men. For the biggest part that they were slaves. As it was written in the constitution, slaves were referred to as “other persons,” and in some contexts “fugitive laborers,” and were not even counted as a person.

African Americans Eventually, African American’s began to gain ground, when congress passed the “Great Compromise,” which determined that each slave would be counted as 3/5ths of a person. This compromise, however, was not done to be “nice,” to the slaves. It was done to represent the population in southern states, and give southerners more representation in congress. Slave trade even continued in the south, which again helped the southern population, but was ended in 1808.

African Americans With slave trade ended in 1808, and many northern states gradually emancipating their slaves, other things began to happen. Slavery was eventually ended in 1868, with the passing of the 14 th Amendment where slaves that had been freed (freedmen) were given equal representation to white men, but it took a Civil War to fully end it. Discrimination, however, was still a problem. In many ways, African Americans could not go to the same places as whites. Also, they were often the last to be hired for a job, and the first to be fired.

Native Americans At the time, Native Americans were considered to be a part of separate nations, and were dealt with in such ways. They were considered a form of intercontinental commerce, or trade.