African American Freedom

Freedoms in the nineteenth century Women, African Americans, and Native Americans in the nineteenth century did not have many freedoms. For women most men thought they were helpless and could not do most things that men would be able to do.This caused the men of the household to do the man work such as, go to work and come home expecting their every wish to be granted. On the other hand the woman had to clean, take care of the children and cook. Woman were essentially confined to the house and did not have a say in anything that would remotely give them any power over their husband. The only way women had any power and could make their own decisions was if they were widowed and had wealth. African Americans had a different problem, they had
to face the everyday challenge of racism and fighting for equality. Even though they are considered “free” from slavery since 1865, and that they could try and obtain the “American Dream” but America was not done with making African Americans feel non-equal. The Native Americans were almost like African Americans, they still had to deal with being rejected and being treated less human. They had to stay in groups and that kept them mostly safe. I agree that Women, African Americans, and Native Americans in the nineteenth century America could not be really free.

Many writers in the nineteenth century had writings that included women characters who were not free.
One writer wrote a book titled The Yellow Wallpaper. This book is through the perspective of a woman writing through a journal that is kept private from her husband. She has a serious case of depression, her husband who is a doctor takes care of her. Her husband thinks of her as a helpless child and has controlling ways. The woman is really dependent on her husband which makes it so without him she cannot do much on her own. He tells her that her treatment requires her to do nothing active. She is essentially locked in a room and cannot leave while her husband leave most of the day and gets to go out and enjoy his life. When she did bring up to her husband that she wanted to leave the house her husband would bring up her the concerns he has and the conversation ends. This was true for women that did not have her condition, they could have the chance to leave but they had to take care of the kids, clean, and cook. So when the day was over and their husbands came home they still could not leave because they had to take care of their husbands their long day at work. Another big book in the nineteenth century, Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn had a few women in the story such as Sally Phelps who is an example of the typical housewife, she is totally dependent on her husband which takes her freedoms and leaves her in the house all day to clean and cook. The
freedoms that are taken are like a mutual agreement, that is unspoken, for her safety and having a house and food, clothes that get provided by her husband she in return does the wifely duties and does not really ask any questions. These two women are from two different books, written in the same time period, they have a lot in common facing their freedoms. Sally Phelps has a little more freedom than the lady from The Yellow Wallpaper because she can actually go outside rather than be stuck in a room all day. These women are just two examples of what daily life were for woman in the nineteenth century but most woman went through the same thing and had the same restrictions to their freedoms.

It is known that African Americans in the nineteenth century were not free due to slavery.And even after slavery was abolished, African Americans still did not have the same constitutional rights that everyone else had.
In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn a character named Jim who is an African American slave in the story knows that he will never be truly free. After Huck fakes his death Huck goes to an island where he discovers Jim is there and that Jim ran from his owner and is getting hunted down. Jim and Huck then run to a city where African Americans can be free. But along the way Jim was still was being hunted and everyone knew about the reward out for the runaway slave. He could not trust anyone or anything until he got to the city. Even though he was away from his slave owner the fear that he might be caught kept him in chains to his former slave owner. Another example of a slave running away and not truly being free is from the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. This book is about a African American slave who escapes from a southern-prison house of bondage. This book documents his experiences after his escape from this facility. Just like Jim from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn will never truly be free because he the fear that one day he might be caught a be forced to return to slavery. Frederick Douglass did not have a place where he can go and be free. And back in his time there was no one fighting for African American civil
rights.

Native Americans were free before America was taken over by the Europeans that came to the land.After they came they started claiming land and driving out the Native Americans who live there. One Native American chief named Chief Joseph wrote about the difficulties he and his tribe faced in I Will Fight No More. In this he talks about him and his tribe getting sent away to reservations far far away. Many died of sickness along the way. Native Americans were never free after their land was taken away from them, they were told that the land is not theirs anymore. He starts with “Hear me, My chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad.” In this he is talking about how he is tired of how things are, he is tired of running and being driven out of his home by men whose land is not theirs. He also is saying that his heart is sick and sad meaning that he is sad seeing his tribe die and it's sickening him that he cannot do anything about his tribe dieing and being driven out. He knows that if he did that he and his tribe would be slaughtered the Europeans had better weapons than them. Even in today's world we do have laws that give them specific rights and laws that they can use but Native Americans now still want the land they had before and say that it is their right to have it, but even now Native Americans still get driven out of lands that keep getting bought up.

In conclusion, I agree Women, African Americans, and Native Americans on the nineteenth century were not free. Many books written in the time period showed this is true. From The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to The Yellow Wallpaper to Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and also from I Will Fight No More all show people who struggle with their freedoms.They all struggle with how society views them and what their abilities are. They come from all ethnicities and have different backgrounds, but they all struggle with not truly being free.