HIST 1301: American History I, Unit IV Journal

HIST 1301: American History I, Unit IV Journal

After the ratification of the Bill of Rights, the Americans believed their lives could be better than they had lived during colonization. However, there were challenges especially for the women and the blacks. As a woman during this time, it could have been challenging because women had been seen as second class citizens who had no role in politics o the nation. Although free from colonization, I would still feel suffocated because as the men had opportunities to engage in what they liked, I was still fighting to have equal opportunities as a woman in the society. I would have helped fight for equality of women as started by Judith Murray in her fight for equality in all sexes. This means the women were not free but were still fighting for their freedom. In the current world, things have become easier and women have equal opportunities like men where they can be educated, take up political seats in the government and other civil service offices, and are economically empowered.

Among the amendments, I believe the first and eighth amendment. The first amendment brought about the freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. This allowed the people to worship freely, hold meetings and assemble, make petitions to the government when they felt things needed a change, and share their views and opinion on what the government does freely. The laws made during the first amendment protected the people against being denied their freedom by the government for unreasonable reasons. The eighth amendment brought about the eight Bill of right which protected the people from excess fines, bails, or cruel and unusual punishments. This made sure there is justice served and people get reasonable punishments according to the crimes they have committed. This protected people against discrimination and injustices that they might face within the justice system.

A good example is, during the colonial time before the bill of rights and during the fight for freedom, the American people could not assemble as they were denied this right. Some like the blacks or slaves and other American people had no say in what was going on in the society and could not challenge the rules of the British government or their masters for the slaves. In addition, the slaves were beaten cruelly and subjected to some unusual punishments. This could not be done anymore after the ratification of the bill of rights and the American people felt a sense of freedom. In the current world, everyone in American society has equal rights and enjoy similar freedoms as stated in the amendments like the first amendment without any discrimination.