The Actual Meaning of Liberty - Essay Example

Because liberty is a term that started to be used by many different countries even before the beginning of the 18th century, it had many different meanings according to many different countries. While liberty means something different today, it had a different meaning in different countries in the 19th century with the United States being a good example. While liberty refers currently to the state of a free person, exemption from subjection to the will of another claiming ownership of an individual or service; it is freedom opposed to slavery, bondage, subjection, or serfdom, these documents (referenced) shows that in the United States during the late 19th century, liberty referred to a superstition artificially created and maintained through a series of lies and falsehood and which robed man of his self-respect and dignity, and raised his arrogance and conceit (The Emma Goldman Papers, 2).

Conceit, arrogance, and egotism were essentials of liberty by then. This is because people who had the luck of some certain spot considered themselves better, nobler, grander, and more intelligent compared to the other people inhabiting any other spot. It was therefore the duty of everyone living in that chosen spot to fight, kill, and die in an attempt to impose his superiority upon all others.

By doing this, the actual meaning of liberty as known today was denied to many people because their rights and freedom were denied and violated, directly and indirectly, using any means possible. For instance, while slavery had been abolished and everybody is given a chance for self-defense and defending the state, citizens denied each other this liberty by fighting and killing each other with no mercy. Everybody, therefore, had to stay and remain in his place of birth without entering other places.

The justice system was also full of impunity with no justice being granted. Many people were accused falsely and even sentenced to imprisonment without any reasonable reasons but due to what was viewed as granting and protecting the liberty of all citizens. There are many different cases in these documents that have shown this with that BUCK v. BELL, 274 U.S. 200 (1927) being a good example (U.S. Supreme Court, 2).

People were also restricted from moving from one country to the other (immigration). There were strict laws that were implemented to govern and prevent people from moving out or into the United States. Those who were found to have violated this law- immigrating from or to the United States- were usually sent to life imprisonment hence the freedom of movement was fully curtailed (The US Survey Course on the Web, 14). To ensure this, the military was formed with people being ready to kill or die in the name of protecting their land or country.

Generally, in the United States during the late 19th century, liberty meant that every citizen remained in his place of birth without going beyond borders and was ready to do everything that it takes to prevent their territory including killing or dying. People were not allowed to move freely, associate, or own property.