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Oppressive Lives of Early Americans Throughout history many American classes, such as slaves, laborers, and women, were subjected to oppressive conditions, which made them ignorant to the most vital words of our nations Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” (Jefferson p45). This statement did not always hold quite as true, as most people would like to believe. America was not always a land of opportunity, but a land where thousands were forever entrapped by their race, gender and education level. There was a point in time, where oppression not only mocked the lives of both slave and free African Americans, but flogged the lives of women, and uneducated male laborers, trying to make an honest living. When exploring oppression the African American community was faced with slavery, racism, and no sense of dignity. They were taken from their homes, and what little family they had, and put on plantations and forced to work against their will. A prime example of an unfortunate black man is Frederick Douglass. His younger ye