U.S. History The first important event that encouraged freedom was the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which recognized that women are human beings. Before the Nineteenth Amendment was passed, women were not considered citizens with full rights and privileges. Most importantly, women were unable to vote. A society cannot be free if fifty percent of its population is systematically oppressed.

The second important event that encouraged freedom in the United States since 1865 was the Emancipation Proclamation. The reason why the Emancipation Proclamation is not the most important thing that encouraged freedom is the fact that Reconstruction failed. After all the bloodshed of the Civil War, the American government failed to ensure that African-Americans would receive full reparations and the means by which to become instantly integrated into society. Moreover, there were no punishments for the slave owners who had committed brutal crimes. The slave owners simply continued their model of white supremacy for nearly a century longer. However, the Emancipation Proclamation was a good first step.

The third important event that encouraged freedom in the United States was the passage of Roe V. Wade in 1973. Roe...

Wade ensured that women were no longer forced to bear children they did not want, and helped to prevent countless unwanted children to be brought into the world. A society cannot be free when it forces women to bear children. Abortions need to be accessible to all people at all times, and should not be left up to the states to decide whether or not women living in that jurisdiction enjoy the right to determine their own destiny.
There have also been many events that detracted from and diluted freedom in the United States. The first important event that detracted from freedom in the United States was the general prohibition of drugs with the 1970 Controlled Substances Act and President Nixon's subsequent declaration of a "war on drugs." The drug prohibition laws that ensued have led to mass incarceration of innocent people, which is costly to society in terms of the breakdown of family and community. Mass incarceration of innocent people is inhumane and also costs taxpayers money that could be better spent on social services. Drug prohibition represents a dismal failure, as the United States did not learn from its lesson of the alcohol prohibition that ended with the passage of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution. Prohibition of drugs…