Midterm
1. According to Foner, how did liberty expand from the colonial
period through 1815? How was it limited? Provide and explain
three examples total.
Throughout the colonial period to 1815, Americans began to view
themselves as a nation of liberty. People had more opportunities to
vote, there was more freedom of religion, and the philosophy of the
Enlightenment created a new conception of natural rights. But the
reality, as noted by Eric Foner, was that this expansion occurred
alongside profound exclusions on account of race, gender, and
class. A look at the growth of voting access, the Great Awakening,
and the Enlightenment philosophy suggests the ambivalence of
liberty in early America.
Perhaps the best example of the extension of liberty would be the
increased voting franchise for white men. By the middle of the
eighteenth century, the ability to vote had been extended to
between 50 and 80 percent of white men in the colonies, in contrast
to the mere 5 percent extending to England (Foner, Give Me Liberty!,
Vol .1, 5e , p. 111). This po ints to the incl usion of a wider secti on of
society in the political process. Yet, this inclusion was highly
restricted by race and class. In colonies like South Carolina, free
Blacks were stripped of the right to vote, despite being landlords
(Foner, Voices of Freedom, Vol.1, 4e, p. 84). While many white men
became included in the expansion of liberty, entire classes were
excluded.
The expansion of religious revivalism also contributed to broadening
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