Democracy, Equality and Emancipation in the Historical Evolution of America

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Democracy, Equality and Emancipation in the Historical Evolution of America In my opinion democracy can not exist without equality among people, and equality too can only be obtained if all citizens have the opportunity of education, because education is the key for a stable society. It is safe to say that some of the most controversial problems in the history of the United States are related to slavery, racial segregation and racial discrimination. African Americans did not gain full recognition of their rights until the early 1970's. Since then, however, some improvement has been made as much politically as economically, although the pace of these changes has been certainly slow. In 1776 the Declaration of Independence announced that the thirteen states of America declared themselves independent, thus no longer being part of the British Empire. Moreover, it stated that ".. all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. " [1] http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/ Although it leads us to believe that not only it brought a change to Americans politically, it also implied a change to the better in regards to racial injustice. Regrettably, the improvement of African Americans' fate did not occur until the next century. The Civil War (1861-1865) had broken out in America, after a number of Southern states decided to secede and form the Confederacy. The Northern states, which remained under the influence and power of the Republican Party, were known as the Union. The main cause for the outbreak of the war was slavery, as the Southerners feared the loss of control over their slaves and the free labor they provided. Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. The document expressed
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