Introduction
Antebellum America is characterized by the state and federal governments’ struggle with the contradictions of American slavery. The rising interest in the Enlightenment-era concept of human rights in the democratic movement questioned the old structures and required a new political order. The questions of internal social politics in light of the recently adopted Constitution demanded changes in how different social, racial, and ethnic groups were treated. Philosophers, scholars, politicians, and activists demanded, proposed, and implemented laws and regulations to form a more egalitarian order for American citizens regardless of their societal role, background, or status. Though some notable changes have been established, particularly regarding the rights of enslaved Africans and women, there remained a sizeable internal divide in the societal structure.
Discussion
The Native Americans were among those whose legal rights did not receive proper recognition. A prominent example is the 1831 Cherokee Nation v. Georgia court case, in which the Cherokee Nation argued the Georgia State Legislature declaring the tribal lands subject to divide and distribution (United States Supreme Court). While the Court initially rejected the Cherokee Nation’s claim to be regarded as a “foreign state,” a year later, the decision was reversed. However, President Andrew Jackson refused to follow the Court’s ruling and enforced the Cherokee expulsion from their lands, violating the treaties signed between the Cherokee and the United States, particularly the 1791 Treaty of Holston. The subsequent deportation, known as The Trail of Tears, vividly depicted in the cognominal painting by Robert Lindneaux, resulted in the deaths of 4,000 Cherokees (Lindneaux). This episode is characteristic of similar practices in the coming decades, resulting in the Native American territories gradually seized by the state and federal governments.
At the same time, the African American population would be gaining increasing sympathy in social and legal terms. William Lloyd Garrison’s 1831 address “To the Free People of Color of the United States” is a prominent example of the abolitionist movement of that time, emphasizing the constitutional rights of free Africans (Garrison 15). The Pennsylvania Fugitive Slave Act of 1826, which followed the previous laws and procedures protecting the personal freedom of non-slave Africans and regulating fugitive slave reclamation, was essential for future anti-slavery legal arguments (Leslie 429). Referencing the Constitution, it became the basis for the 1842 Supreme Court’s decision in Prigg v. Pennsylvania, declaring the unconstitutional nature of states’ personal liberty laws. Though granting the federal law an exclusive prerogative to govern fugitive slave removal was still not solving the issue of slavery, it laid solid ground for future changes in American racial politics.
The suffragist movement was gaining popularity among American women striving for personal freedom, political rights, and changes in traditional gender-based societal roles. “Dignity of Labor,” an article from the small magazine managed by the female workers of the Lowell, Massachusetts, woolen mills, argued for women’s right to “earn one’s very own living by laboring with the hands” (Thomas 192). The Married Women’s Property Act of 1848 was a significant step in promoting and legally protecting women’s personal independence and constitutional rights (Senate and Assembly of the State of New York). While previously entering a marriage transferred control of a woman’s life and belongings from one male to another, this Act granted women stronger positions and possibilities to vow for further empowerment.
Conclusion
The societal and legislative perturbations of antebellum America significantly influenced the legal rights of various groups, especially minorities. These changes, however, were not equally significant or positive for all. While the free and enslaved African Americans gained some legal benefits from the states and the federal government, and societal support from the abolition movement, the Native Americans suffered more oppression with little regard to constitutional principles or treaties. Women’s fight for equality did not go unnoticed and resulted in gradual shifts in gender politics and societal roles. These processes kept developing in the following decades, encouraging the recognition and respect for human and civil rights in the United States.
Works Cited
Garrison, William Lloyd. Address, Delivered Before the Free People of Color, in Philadelphia, New York, and Other Cities, During the Month of June, 1831. 3rd ed., Boston, 1831.
Leslie, William R. “The Pennsylvania Fugitive Slave Act of 1826. “The Journal of Southern History, vol. 18, No. 4, 1952, pp. 429-445. Web.
Lindneaux, Robert. The Trail of Tears. 1942. Woolaroc Museum, Osage Hills. Cove Collective, Web.
Senate and Assembly of the State of New York. Married Women’s Property Act of 1848. Library of Congress, 1848. Web.
Thomas, Abel Charles. “The Lowell Offering.” Harvard Library, Web.
United States, Supreme Court. The Cherokee Nation vs. the State of Georgia. 1831. Justia, U.S. Supreme Court, Web.