Throughout history the rights of the American people have changed over time, due to differing circumstances. Today all Americans are granted the right of freedom, but during antebellum in the Old South only a few social groups were granted this right. Before the Civil War the Old South contained three distinct groups of people who were defined by the right of freedom; slaves who were denied the right of freedom and white non-slave holders and …showed first 75 words of 990 total…

…showed last 75 words of 990 total…able to acquire all that they felt was necessary, the lower classes in Old Southern society had to live more modestly, but all were free because they had the ability to make their own choices. In contrast, the blacks were not able to enjoy the right of freedom until after the Civil War. At one point in time blacks were seen as outsiders, but today all Americans are view as equals in society. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**