Evolving ideas of freedom by different historical time frames Essay

Evolving ideas of freedom by different historical time frames - Essay Example From freedom as a complex combination of individual freedoms and rights to freedom as the full abolition of slavery, ideas of freedom in America gradually evolved to become the main guiding principle in the development of democracies in all parts of the world. The beginnings of democracy in America were marked with a hot debate between Federalists and anti-Federalists on what it really meant to be free. The time of Washington and Monroe, that was also the time when the idea of freedom was still in its infancy, but the concept of individual freedoms and rights was slowly turning into the central ingredient of future democracy. Anti-Federalists argued that the Constitution had to give Americans full protection of their individual rights, including the right to speak freely, the right to enjoy the benefits of free religious choice, and the right to be protected against unreasonable searches. In the meantime, nothing was done to battle the issue of slavery: apparently, then political lea ders were confident that freedom and slavery could continue walking hand in hand.