Free Speech Forum
This project was called the Free Speech Forum. We learned about the First Amendment, Freedom of Speech, how this right can be applied, and how it can be limited for students. To apply this knowledge, we wrote a 5-paragraph essay explaining how the right of free speech is important in a Democracy, and how it helps or has helped in the past. I wrote about how the Freedom of Speech is important in promoting change within and Democracy, and went into how free Speech has contributed to women’s rights. To accompany this paper, I created a visual piece including my perspective, a picture of Sojourner Truth (a women’s rights activist), and an excerpt from a speech she gave at a women’s rights convention in 1852.
Free Speech and Women’s Rights:
In 1852 at a Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, an African American woman by the name of Sojourner Truth gave a speech fighting for the rights of women in the USA. [1] This speech was later formatted into a poem titled “Ain’t I a Woman?” It was presented only a few years into the women’s rights movement in the United States. [2] Sojourner Truth-and other women at the time-presented what was seen as a controversial message; as a result, the foundation was laid for others to argue for equality within the USA, and women’s rights were put into place.
The way women are viewed today changed significantly as a direct result of the freedom of speech in the USA. It ensured the right of women to fight for their rights, and change how they are seen in society. The freedom of speech is an essential piece in a democracy. Without expressing and speaking of what one believes, change within a democracy cannot happen.
Although at the time Truth’s message was seen as incorrect, pieces of literature such as “Ain’t I a Woman?” played a key role in changing the way women are viewed in the USA. In the poem, truth says, “…That little man in black there say ’a woman can't have as much rights as a man cause Christ wasn't a woman,’ where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with him!...” [3] Throughout history, many people have used religion to oppress certain people groups. Men used the concept that Jesus Christ was male, not female to become superior to women. Sojourner Truth expresses the opposite point of view in “Ain’t I a Woman?” She states that, “If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, together women ought to be able to turn it right side up again.” Here she is referring to the story of Adam and Eve, how they sinned against God, and were therefore separated from him. Many people blame Eve for turning the world “upside down” and into sinfulness. Truth argues that if Eve had the power to change the world, then together, women have the power to make it right again. Sojourner Truth pushes back on common arguments against women, and presents a new point of view, which changed the way women are seen in society.
The freedom of speech allowed women like Sojourner Truth to lay a foundation for others to fight for equality within the United States. Amendment Nineteen was passed in 1921 allowing women to vote, only three short years after the end of World War I. [4] Those who fought for this right used the arguments that Sojourner Truth and other Women’s Rights Activists used before World War I to pass the Nineteenth Amendment. Without the freedom of speech, the fight for equality within the United States would not have resulted in the changes that are in place today.
Free speech is an essential part of a Democracy, and plays a major role in promoting change. It is impossible to make change without first expressing a controversial point of view. Without the freedom of speech, it would have been illegal for Sojourner Truth and others at the time to fight to provide freedom within the United States, and equality would not have been attained.
Sources:
1. http://www.biography.com/people/sojourner-truth-9511284
"Sojourner Truth." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 30 Sep. 2014.
2. http://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/WIC/Historical-Essays/No-Lady/Womens-Rights/
"The Women's Rights Movement, 1848–1920 | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives." The Women's Rights Movement, 1848-1920. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2014.
3. http://www.crmvet.org/poetry/ftruth.htm
Truth, Sojourner. "Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement." Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement. N.p., 2004. Web. 30 Sept. 2014.
4. http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/nineteentham.htm
“The Constitution of the United States,” Amendment 19.
In 1852 at a Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, an African American woman by the name of Sojourner Truth gave a speech fighting for the rights of women in the USA. [1] This speech was later formatted into a poem titled “Ain’t I a Woman?” It was presented only a few years into the women’s rights movement in the United States. [2] Sojourner Truth-and other women at the time-presented what was seen as a controversial message; as a result, the foundation was laid for others to argue for equality within the USA, and women’s rights were put into place.
The way women are viewed today changed significantly as a direct result of the freedom of speech in the USA. It ensured the right of women to fight for their rights, and change how they are seen in society. The freedom of speech is an essential piece in a democracy. Without expressing and speaking of what one believes, change within a democracy cannot happen.
Although at the time Truth’s message was seen as incorrect, pieces of literature such as “Ain’t I a Woman?” played a key role in changing the way women are viewed in the USA. In the poem, truth says, “…That little man in black there say ’a woman can't have as much rights as a man cause Christ wasn't a woman,’ where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with him!...” [3] Throughout history, many people have used religion to oppress certain people groups. Men used the concept that Jesus Christ was male, not female to become superior to women. Sojourner Truth expresses the opposite point of view in “Ain’t I a Woman?” She states that, “If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, together women ought to be able to turn it right side up again.” Here she is referring to the story of Adam and Eve, how they sinned against God, and were therefore separated from him. Many people blame Eve for turning the world “upside down” and into sinfulness. Truth argues that if Eve had the power to change the world, then together, women have the power to make it right again. Sojourner Truth pushes back on common arguments against women, and presents a new point of view, which changed the way women are seen in society.
The freedom of speech allowed women like Sojourner Truth to lay a foundation for others to fight for equality within the United States. Amendment Nineteen was passed in 1921 allowing women to vote, only three short years after the end of World War I. [4] Those who fought for this right used the arguments that Sojourner Truth and other Women’s Rights Activists used before World War I to pass the Nineteenth Amendment. Without the freedom of speech, the fight for equality within the United States would not have resulted in the changes that are in place today.
Free speech is an essential part of a Democracy, and plays a major role in promoting change. It is impossible to make change without first expressing a controversial point of view. Without the freedom of speech, it would have been illegal for Sojourner Truth and others at the time to fight to provide freedom within the United States, and equality would not have been attained.
Sources:
1. http://www.biography.com/people/sojourner-truth-9511284
"Sojourner Truth." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 30 Sep. 2014.
2. http://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/WIC/Historical-Essays/No-Lady/Womens-Rights/
"The Women's Rights Movement, 1848–1920 | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives." The Women's Rights Movement, 1848-1920. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2014.
3. http://www.crmvet.org/poetry/ftruth.htm
Truth, Sojourner. "Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement." Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement. N.p., 2004. Web. 30 Sept. 2014.
4. http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/nineteentham.htm
“The Constitution of the United States,” Amendment 19.