America's Struggles for Rights and Freedoms

Can you imagine not being free? Not having basic rights, justice or being equal to others?
Throughout America's history there have been many struggles for rights amung American women, African Americans and immigrants. First, the challenging struggle for American women to gain the right to vote. The fight to vote was hard to accomplish because women had to change the perception of women in general. Women were seen as weak and there for, incompatible to vote. (Doc. 4) The public thought women would be too easily persuauded, timid and unknowleged in politics. To finally have the right to vote, the women fighting for sufferage had to have strong determination. Many women stood in the streets, rain or shine, to get the attention of the public and more importantly, the president. (Doc. 7)

Next, African Americans' also fought for their rights. Enslaved black men and women were deprived of their rights, one in particular, freedom. The Northwest ordinance of 1787 made it illegal for slavery in the northwest territrories. But it also did not ban it all together, if a slave escaped into the territories they would be returned back into owners. (Doc. 3) They felt that they had a natural right like all men to freedom. Another struggle amung African Americans was the fight to vote. They fought to be equal to white men, because they had a lot of respect for voting and the country.

Finally, the immigrants coming to America also had to fight for equal rights. Many groups of immigrants were deprived of their rights when they came to America, such as the Chinese and Japanese. The Chinese were denied the right to citizenship, which was granted to other immigrants that lived in the country for the neccessary amout of time. (Doc. 6.) The Japanese were also not equaly treated when the United States wrongly accused them for being involved in World War