For the Sake of Justice...

Abraham Lincoln mentions in his speech that it is now time to free all the salves, because it is morally the correct thing to do. He even goes as far as to pull out verses from the Bible that prove his stand on the argument to be the correct one, the one that God himself stands with. The only problem with this noble stand is that it came too late. Abraham Lincoln went public with this viewpoint when the Civil War was nearing an end, and it was obvious that the Union would win. Speaking up for the slaves may seem like a noble and brave thing to do, but well, by that time there wasn't really anyone to oppose him. Abraham Lincoln neglected to take this stand at the beginning, because he feared opposition from the southern states. But was it not the right thing to do even then? Why didn't Lincoln go public then? It was because he was willing to do the "right" thing only if it was the "best" thing, according to the situation. Unfortunately, this is a human trait that lasts even now, with many people inheriting the attitude that the right thing is only done in specific situations. This is not how humans should be. History is there for us to reflect on it, so that we don't repeat the same mistakes that we learn about. This also connects to the topic of slavery because it has been accepted as a huge mistake on the Americans' part, so we should be careful to never replicate those circumstances by having pride and thinking we are better than anyone else, because God created all men equal.

The True Meaning of United

What makes a nation united? This is a question that several people have pondered over in the past, and history shows us many examples and scenarios as the answer to this question. In American Studies we discussed the United States, and if we really were as united as we think. I believe that the United States are indeed a united nation because we all abide under the same federal government and laws, and we all elect candidates for the same office. This shows that all the states follow the same overall power, while having a say in who runs that power. Furthermore, we all answer to the same final justice of the United States, which is the Supreme Court. This court represents the Judicial branch of the United States, and has the final word on all issues presented to it. Based on these observations from American Studies, I conclude that if everyone in a nation answers to the same final power, then they are by definition united. However, some observations from American Literature prove otherwise. When the colonists settled down in the colonies and began to form production of their own, Britain seized control of all imports and trades. Even though all the colonists answered to the king, they began to realize that they deserved to be their own nation, despite who they answered to. So even before the revolutionary war took place, Britain was not really a united nation because of the colonies who refused to cooperate with their demands. Upon further reflection, I arrived at the conclusion that a united nation is one whose citizens answer to the same power while having some contribution to that power, because citizens of United States all have some contribution, while the colonists clearly did not.

"All men are equal"

There are plenty of incidents observed in history where someone says a bold statement, but doesn't actually mean it, or means something a little different. Thomas Jefferson was no exception when he said "All men are created equal". Hearing this statement would lead one to believe that Thomas Jefferson was referring to literally all living men and women at the time. However, as we dive deeper into the story, we can see that this was clearly not the case. It wasn't that Jefferson's lied when he made his statement, it was that his classification of the word "men" was indeed quite different from others classification. Thomas Jefferson considered "men" to be based on things like being white, European, owing property, being male, following a certain religion, and being educated. These requirements obviously mean that the people Jefferson considers "men" is definitely a lot less than all of mankind, in fact, it is more like a few specific groups of people.

Upon reflection, modern readers may accuse Jefferson for hypocrisy through his statement, However, did Jefferson really do anything wrong? He used words in his statement that held a specifically different meaning for him. How many times might have we done the same thing? When we use idioms and figures of speech, do we stop and consider if our audience completely understands us, or whether they misunderstand and assume something else? The world today is extremely diverse, with many barriers, such as language, culture, and religion, so it is no surprise if someone from a different background understands your words or actions as something different, Jefferson's statement actually teaches us that we should be careful of what we say, especially when addressing an audience. But it also teaches us to take some time to study other people's cultures and religion, so that we can understand and have better communication with them, for communication is what truly unites the world.

This connects to world lit because Jon Winthrop also spoke of liberty for all men, however he took a different approach by describing the different types of liberty, and yet, he sincerely meant "for all men" when delivering this speech.