Letter to Frederick Douglass Outline

Question: Does everyone have the right to carry out their personal freedoms without having others infringe upon them? Then if one is not given an equal chance at utilizing these personal freedoms, how can they have a legitimate American Dream?

·      This letter is going to revolve around equality

·      Reasons for infringement circulate around gender and race.

·      I am going to use the historical figures and material culture to answer the first question and the place and blog to answer the second

Historical Figures: they are going to be used to illustrate how people were unable to carry out their personal freedoms (Anne Hutchinson) and how people infringed upon the personal freedoms of others (Thomas Jefferson).

Anne Hutchinson – use her to talk about how the personal freedoms of women were greatly suppressed and how these freedoms were overridden to keep the hierarchal leaders’ social structure intact.

 " The ‘dictatorship’ or ‘oligarchy’ ruling the churches of Massachusetts Bay, comprising a hierarchy of ministers, elders, teachers and deacons, were all male, chosen by men; it controlled the terms of acceptance into church membership – as much social and formal recognition of visible salvation as an individual could get,"

“To accept her doctrine would mean the abandonment of the fundamental belief for which the Puritans had crossed the water – the belief that truth for man was to be found in the Bible. It would mean a complete change in their daily lives, in their church, and in their state,” (pg. 637) - Morgan

Thomas Jefferson – use him to show the contradiction between who is allowed to fully utilize their freedoms.

“Thomas Jefferson declared to the Kaskaskias that whites and Indians were both ‘Americans, born in the same land,’ and that he hoped the two peoples would ‘long continue to smoke in friendship together,’” (pg. 45)

“Ultimately, for Jefferson, Indians as Indians would not be allowed to remain within the borders of civilized society,” (pg. 47)

“Seeking to do more than demonstrate and affirm the intelligence of blacks, Banneker also scolded the author of the declaration of Independence for his hypocrisy on the subject of slavery,” (pg. 66)

Material Culture:

The Cross: represents the prominence of religion in the Puritan Era as well as the socially subordinate because the people of the church (hierarchal men) controlled who was allowed to participate in their society. – Anne Hutchinson

The Declaration of Independence: represents a beckon of hope for America and the betterment of the American society, yet it does not fully serve the needs of minority groups because the writers of the Declaration did not have all Americans in the forefront. – Thomas Jefferson

Place & Blog:

 St. Olaf is a place were equality is promoted and no one is suppressed from exercising their personal freedoms. However, people at St. Olaf are restricted from choosing to use their personal freedoms when they violate social standards that cause disrespect to fellow Oles. For example, the library has different floor levels to permit the freedom of choice, but the social standards for one's loudness on specific floors impedes on one's ability to choose which floor they study on. 

My friend and fellow student, Katie Hewett echoes this point by stating, “The individual matters.  We can only define our culture through the individuals who create it, and it is necessary to attempt to place each voice into the equation before attempting to speak for the group,” During Week One at St. Olaf, we learned the phrase “Never Leave An Ole Behind” With this phrase, St. Olaf helps contribute to one’s achievement of the American Dream because Oles’ take pride in helping everyone reach their full potential and achieving their dreams.