Milly Yang Mrs. Swanson American Literature A3 14 April 2014 What is the definition of Liberty to African-Americans in the different ages? At the beginning of history of slaves in the United States, “the North American continent was first colonized by Europeans, the land was vast, the work was harsh, and there was a severe shortage of labor. Men and women were needed to work the land” (civilwar.org). So, in African-Americans’ minds, liberty meant running away from the unjust treatment of slavery which included terrible conditions of living, punishment through physical suffering, the separation of families, being sold as items, disallowance of education, and the enforcement that asked black women to get pregnant in order to get more slaves.However, in the course of time, African-Americans got the rights and opportunities of American citizens,. So, African-Americans changed their minds of definition of liberty in three main different ages from the beginning of slavery to the ending of slavery in the United States. In 1775, a proclamation was made that changed the way African-Americans thought about liberty. For years when America was a part of the British colonies, slavery was the most popular trend that allowed colonists to increased their production of tobacco. Colonies bought slaves from the slave market, and the slaves were just considered as working machines. There was a group of slaves that tried to dig tunnels to run away from being slaves. However, they were either caught by their owners, or caught by other whites. By 1775, hundreds of protesters and rebellions occupied the streets of Virginia. The colony was out of the control of the royal governor John Murray. On 7th November, 1775, dated on board the ship William, off Norfolk, John Murray made a proclamation which promised blacks their freedom in exchange for service in the British army. The proclamation was called the Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation. The proclamation “offered the first large-scale emancipation of slave and servant labor in the history of colonial British America”(Johnson “Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation on Slave Emancipation (1775)”). At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, George Washington rejected black recruits, but after the Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation he changed his mind. The creation of this proclamation showed the nation that Americans no longer believed that “blacks were just slaves”, and it fulfilled Americans’ core value of liberty. In 1776, the Declaration of Independence was made. According to General Colin Powell, “The Declaration of Independence, I think, is one of the most remarkable documents in the world...’Inalienable rights’...’Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’...’We hold these truths to be self-evident’...[But] it didn’t apply to black folks. Thomas Jefferson kept slaves. But Thomas Jefferson nevertheless wrote these marvelous words, and he understood the inconsistency...”(“Revolution”). Although Americans slightly changed their sight on ...

1. Milly Yang
Mrs. Swanson
American Literature A3
14 April 2014
What is the definition of Liberty to African-Americans in the
different ages?
At the beginning of history of slaves in the United States, “the
North American continent was first colonized by Europeans, the
land was vast, the work was harsh, and there was a severe
shortage of labor. Men and women were needed to work the
land” (civilwar.org). So, in African-Americans’ minds, liberty
meant running away from the unjust treatment of slavery which
included terrible conditions of living, punishment through
physical suffering, the separation of families, being sold as
items, disallowance of education, and the enforcement that
asked black women to get pregnant in order to get more
slaves.However, in the course of time, African-Americans got
the rights and opportunities of American citizens,. So, African-
Americans changed their minds of definition of liberty in three
main different ages from the beginning of slavery to the ending
of slavery in the United States.
In 1775, a proclamation was made that changed the way
African-Americans thought about liberty. For years when
America was a part of the British colonies, slavery was the most
popular trend that allowed colonists to increased their
production of tobacco. Colonies bought slaves from the slave
market, and the slaves were just considered as working
machines. There was a group of slaves that tried to dig tunnels
to run away from being slaves. However, they were either
caught by their owners, or caught by other whites. By 1775,
hundreds of protesters and rebellions occupied the streets of
Virginia. The colony was out of the control of the royal

2. governor John Murray. On 7th November, 1775, dated on board
the ship William, off Norfolk, John Murray made a
proclamation which promised blacks their freedom in exchange
for service in the British army. The proclamation was called the
Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation. The proclamation “offered the
first large-scale emancipation of slave and servant labor in the
history of colonial British America”(Johnson “Lord Dunmore’s
Proclamation on Slave Emancipation (1775)”). At the beginning
of the Revolutionary War, George Washington rejected black
recruits, but after the Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation he changed
his mind. The creation of this proclamation showed the nation
that Americans no longer believed that “blacks were just
slaves”, and it fulfilled Americans’ core value of liberty. In
1776, the Declaration of Independence was made. According to
General Colin Powell, “The Declaration of Independence, I
think, is one of the most remarkable documents in the
world...’Inalienable rights’...’Life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness’...’We hold these truths to be self-evident’...[But] it
didn’t apply to black folks. Thomas Jefferson kept slaves. But
Thomas Jefferson nevertheless wrote these marvelous words,
and he understood the inconsistency...”(“Revolution”).
Although Americans slightly changed their sight on blacks start
with the Lord Dunmore’ s Proclamation, blacks still didn’t get
education, own property, and get the right to vote.
In 1863, a proclamation was made that changed the way
African-American thought about liberty again. In 1861, the
Civil War was erupted. The Northerners tried to preserve the
Union; Lincoln and other Republican leaders wanted to prevent
the expansion of slavery into new states in the West. By 1863,
100,000 slaves had fled to the Union army. In response, the
Union army declared to protect their freedom. Lincoln wanted
to recruit black soldiers to fight for the Union, but under the
existing laws black men were not allowed to join the army. On
January 1st, 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation
Proclamation which declared that all slaves within the

3. rebellious states were free forever. It was the first time that the
U.S government officially against the “peculiar institution”.
Furthermore, the Emancipation Proclamation also announced
that black men could join the Union army. Union victory also
led to the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment in1865. The
success of the declaration showed the nation that slavery began
to be concerned that “wherever slavery went it tended to
degrade the meaning of labor. It tended to degrade the meaning
of liberty it self....”(Blight “Judgment Day”). African-
Americans believed that “abolition of slavery” fulfilled their
core value of liberty.
In 1965, a new law was published that changed the definition of
liberty of African-American again. Protests and marches against
segregation were held by organizations like SNCC, NAACP and
Black Power. On February 5th, 1960, four black college
students sat down at a lunch counter which was labeled “white-
only” in Greensboro, North Carolina. Since then, the strategy of
protest, Sit Ins, started. Since the arrest of Rosa Parks on
December 1st, 1955, the Montgomery bus boycott protest lasted
13 months. On August 28th,1963, more than 250,000 protesters
gathered at the March on Washington to support for African-
Americans. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was published which
ended segregation in public facilities. One year later, the Voting
Rights Act was signed into law in order to protect the Civil
Rights Act. According to Martin Luther King, “...a promise that
all men, yes, all black men as well as white men, would be
guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness”(I Have a Dream). The success of the Voting
Rights Act showed the nation that African-Americans believed
the liberty meaned “do like a white man” rather than “not being
a slave”.
The definition of liberty to African-Americans was formed by
their experiences since being slaves, their observation of the
free society around them, and their self-esteems of being human

4. beings.
Citation Page
· Powell, Colin. “Revolution.” PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 27 May
2013.
(primary source)
· King, Martin Luther. “I Have a Dream Speech.” Teaching
American History. TeachingAmericanHistory.org, n.d. Web. 27
May 2013.
(primary source)
· Blight, David. "Judgment Day." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 27 May
2013.
(primary source)
· Yacovone, Donald. "Freedom Rising: The 150th Anniversary
of the Emancipation Proclamation and African American
Military Service in the Civil War - Public Symposium." W. E.
B. Du Bois Institute. W. E. B. Du Bois Institute, n.d. Web. 27
May 2013.
(secondary source)
· Ushistory.org. "6d. Slave Life on the Farm and in the Town."
American History. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Slave Life on the
Farm and in the Town [ushistory.org]. Web. 27 May 2013.
(secondary source)
· Danzer, Gerald A. The Americans. Evanston, IL: McDougal
Littell/Houghton Mifflin, 1998. Print. p#926.
(secondary source)

5. · Foner, Eric. "Blacks in the Revolution." Give Me Liberty!: An
American History. New York: W.W. Norton, 2013. 207. Print.
(secondary source)
· Great Britain. The Institute of Metropolitan Studies. By
Johnson Richard. Portland State University, n.d. Web. 30 May
2013.
(primary source and secondary source)
· "The Emancipation Proclamation." Featured Document: The
Emancipation Proclamation. National Achives & Records
Administration, n.d. Web. 02 June 2013.
(secondary source)