2. _Personal and political liberty_—freedom from political
tyranny and oppression.
3. _Economic liberty_—freedom to use brain, brawn, and
initiative to earn the best living possible.
4. _Intellectual liberty_—freedom of opinion, speech, assembly,
and press.
5. _Cultural liberty_—freedom to establish institutions and to
practice certain traditions and customs.
The _search for human freedom_ can be advanced, with historical warrant,
as the basic reason for the presence in this country of about 130,000,000
people. Without question, this is the common denominator of our democracy.
_Religious Liberty_
The vanguard of those seeking refuge from religious persecution arrived
on the Mayflower and settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts. John Winthrop
founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a refuge for Puritans. Maryland,
later on, became the haven for persecuted Catholics. Rhode Island was
founded by Roger Williams and his group of independent, religious free
thinkers. Here, the Quakers found a ready welcome and the Jews, driven
out of Europe, were allowed to build their synagogues. Toward the end of
the seventeenth century, William Penn and his Quaker followers settled in
Pennsylvania and cultivated the most friendly relationships with Indians,
colonists, and new settlers alike.
To Manhattan Island and South Carolina came the French Huguenots, a group
of French Protestants, whose guarantee of religious liberty had been
revoked by the Edict of Nantes. During the nineteenth century, one of the
early acts of the Mormons after settling in Utah was to contribute money
toward building a Catholic church.
_Personal and Political Liberty_
To escape political tyranny and oppression, thousands of people left
their homes and crossed the Atlantic. Following their unsuccessful
rebellion against the English, the Irish came in large numbers. So did
the Germans when the Revolution of 1848 failed. Likewise, the Jews left
Russia toward the close of the nineteenth century in order to escape
intolerable conditions.
Among the great champions of personal liberty has been Thomas Paine, who
turned the tide of victory during the Revolutionary War when he declared,
“This is the cause for which we are ready to suffer and to die—Freedom
for ourselves and the rest of the world.” Another outstanding champion
of personal liberty was Carl Schurz, one of the German forty-eighters,
who supported men of principles and worthy causes regardless of political
affiliations.
_Economic Liberty_
Coupled with other motives, the newcomer has almost always been imbued
with the hope of making a livelihood or of making profits for himself
or for his employers. The first permanent settlement was established at
Jamestown by the London Company to profit from gold mining and trade. New
Hampshire was founded by Georges and Mason for the purpose of profit from
trade and farming. The Carolinas were founded by a group of nobles for
the same purpose. It was a similar motive which led the Swedes to settle
on the Delaware, the Netherlanders to settle on Manhattan, the English to
conquer New Amsterdam, and Berkeley and Carteret to settle New Jersey.
It was the hope of gain which brought the French to Louisiana and the
Spaniards to Florida, New Mexico, and California. Likewise, at the close
of the nineteenth century, it was the high wages and high standards of
living which attracted the tide of people who poured in from south and
eastern Europe.
_Intellectual Liberty_
The fight of man to establish freedom of opinion, freedom of speech, and
freedom of assembly is as old as man himself. For the last two hundred
years, his fight for the freedom of the press has been equally important.
Peter Zenger, who founded the _New York Weekly Journal_ in 1733,
registered a great triumph for the freedom of the press when he won his
fight against Governor Cosby of New York. Men of strong principles and
ideas have always clashed with those who would mold them to a definite
pattern and so enslave their minds. In this country, the thoughts and
ideas of all men may be expressed freely and analyzed by everybody.
_Cultural Liberty_
The United States has been greatly enriched as the result of cultural
liberty. Here, the immigrant has often found the opportunity to practice
and pass on to others those customs and traditions which have been
handed down to him by his ancestors. The Christmas tree, Easter bunny,
and New Year festivities are German in origin. Many of the festivals in
California and the rodeo are Spanish in origin. Singing societies, folk
dancing, games, cookery, and home life have been enriched by customs
introduced from other lands.
Immigration has indeed proved to be a “wind that blows democratic ideas
through the world.”
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