Opportunity is defined in Webster's Dictionary as 'A good position, chance or prospect for achievement'; which is easily connected to the idea of The American Dream. After all, isn't America known as 'The land of opportunity';? Most people came to America, and still come for that matter, in search of a better life through hard work and dedication to their cause. In 'China man's Chance: Reflections on the American Dream'; by Eric Liu, it is stated that '...it (the American Dream) does demand the opportunity to achieve progress-and values the opportunity as much as the achievement.'; This statement is imperative because it gives recognition to those who try to reach their goals, even if they cannot achieve them fully.
B. African American men were granted the right to vote.
- Only days after the end of the American Civil War, in 1865, Frederick Douglass, elected president of the <u>Convention of Black Americans</u>, spoke during a meeting of the African Slavery Society, explaining why the black men required the right to vote and the need to make justice for them. Here is an excerpt of what his speech:
<em>“…If the Negro knows enough to pay taxes to support government, he knows enough to vote; taxation and representation should go together. If he knows enough to shoulder a musket and fight for the flag for the government, he knows enough to vote…What I ask for the Negro is not benevolence, not pity, not sympathy, but simply justice.”
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- Thus, in 1869, while this issue was being discussed in the Congress, 150 black men from several states gathered for the <u>Convention of Black Americans</u>, which took place in Washington, D.C. and was the first one in the U.S. history.
- After debating in the Congress, the 15th Amendment, which granted male African American the right to vote, was finally adopted in 1870. Moreover, the Article 1 of such Amendment states that <em>"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
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I think that fiscal gains best justifies the opening of Central Park in NYC in 1857
When they started to establish factories in the cities
