Three most significant events in american history between 1877 and 2014 - Essay Example

The shortchanging of the minority groups by judicial misinterpretations of the Declaration of Independence in the 1800s, the Watergate scandal in the 1970s, and the assassination of John Kennedy in the 1960s are some of the most significant events that have shaped American history. Despite the promises heralded by the new laws after the dawn of independence, it is plausible that the former slaves, their descendants and all other ethnic and racial minority populations were not accorded equal regard and treatment under the law.

As if to seal the fate of the Native Americans and African Americans who continued to be subjected to oppression, the highest court in the land delivered a landmark ruling in 1886 with the assertion that State authorities had the power to separate people into different races. The major caveat here was that the separation was justified provided that the separation facilities remained equal. The apparent “separate but equal” doctrine was a clear demonstration that even though independence had arrived in the United States, people of color had to wait a bit longer to reap the fruits of this freedom.

The contradiction that persisted between the existence of slavery in America and the claim that all men are equal became a subject of debate when the Declaration was first published. As one media commentator wrote, the most truly ridiculous object in nature around that time was the country’s decision to sign independent declarations with one hand “and the other brandishing whip over its affrighted slaves “(Armitage 77). Even to this day, the idea of equality and freedom remains as paramount as ever to American politics and culture.

One thing remains clear; the story of equality and freedom in America remains forever unfinished. The colored populations in America can only remain hopeful that as new definitions of freedom continue to emerge in the twenty-first-century, the true meaning and intentions of the Declaration will become clear