Reflection on Freedom (Essay Sample)

What is Freedom and who gets to define it? Freedom is power. Control over yourself and your choice is what comes with freedom. To be free, you must not carry the weight of other people. What is intriguing is that based on my observations those who already have this freedom/power, get to define it in others. You can’t govern someone else's freedom if you don’t have your own. While everyone deserves freedom, not everyone gets it fairly. 

Jefferson and the founding fathers drafted the Declaration of Independence. A group of powerful white men got together and drafted a document that defined laws and norms that only applied to white men.  The founding fathers are white men, and when they designed this declaration it was meant only for other white men. “ ‘Men are born and remain free and in equal rights’ ...Pierre Lemerre’s phrase, Jefferson’s phrase” This is from France’s declaration but it got it shares the same message as what Jefferson wrote in the US declaration. Black people were not addressed in the Declaration of Independence, which I believe is quite significant. There was no representation for the enslaved. A group of men decided on the best course of action for them.  The enslaved still deserve life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in 1776. If an American wasn’t a white man, to the founding fathers, they weren’t human. It's dreadful not to be included in this revolutionary writing as a woman. Women and non-white individuals, I believe, were also enraged. In this case, freedom was defined by people who had freedom and power previously. 

Freedom comes from power as I stated before. Americans who were wealthy were considered free. “To the Americans, owning and controlling property was the difference between freedom and slavery.” Wealth and power are inextricably linked. Affluent people are treated with respect, and respect equals power. Enslavers clearly obtained their power in this manner. This is how they were able to enslave and take control of others.

During slavery, freedom can be found through several types of resistance. These actions could be cultural, working, or more aggressive, such as instigating revolts. All of these methods assisted people in gaining a sense of liberation. I find it incredibly motivating that people braved such risks for the sake of freedom. While under such strict control, they discovered methods to feel free and connect to their culture. Furthermore, huge aspect of resistance was using AAVE. AAVE is a dialect of English that is said to have emerged during slavery. “AAVE began by mixing various West African languages with English to create a new means to communicate, and that over time this creole converged with standard English.” Speakers of AAVE used it to communicate with each other in ways that enslavers could not completely understand. It is English but it is a dialect with different rules and different tenses making it something special that enslaved people were able to use. 

Freedom is not having a burden on other people. Enslaved people were forced to work and once in slavery, they owed that work to the enslavers. Sugar cravings were soaring during the 1700’s so slave labor to help produce it was highly sought out for. “Slave labor was valuable because it produces cheap sugar that everyone wanted to buy.” A well known rule about slavery was that the descendants of an enslaved person were born into slavery. That was something that enslaved people owed their enslavers. Once they were considered free that responsibility vanished. In addition, another example of ridding a burden is Haiti, which was the first free black state. Their freedom was seen as threatening to countries who still legalized slavery. That is why they were taken advantage of. In Haiti, the Haitians, “have to pay France 150 million francs to secure its independence, or suffer the consequences.” Only until they paid off the money they were able to be truly free and out of control from France.  

Overall, it is clear that freedom is complicated. The Oxford dictionary says that freedom is, “the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.” I think this definition is somewhat lacking the deeper meaning. Freedom is the right to be yourself and express it. That is what is shown through speaking AAVE and other forms of resistance people did while enslaved. To be free, you must not be plagued by the weight of others. Finally, people who have freedom are able to define it in others.