Unit 3 Reflection

For years societys have stuggled to reach perfection.  Even today in some of the most wealthy and advanced nations, the relationship between government and it's people is not flawless.  While I realize that society will probably never be flawless, this unit has helped in recognizing the duties of leaders and the duties of those who they lead in order to benefit everyone.  Writers such as Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King Jr, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton have influenced society in trying to maintain equality and balance between the government and people.
Thomas Jefferson, a founding father of the United States, not only insisted on separation from British rule in his Declaration of Independence, but also set the stage for our new democratic country.  He stated ideas that the duty of the government was to allow people to be free and persue their own goals.  Jefferson's document is still legitmate today, and since written has become a basis for the rights of American people and our government's expectations.  By refusing to be controlled by a tyrant king, The Declaration of Independence complied with duties of the government and in return, the American people made our country one of the most powerful and wealthy in the world.
Martin Luther King Jr. lived during a time when the American government did not fulfill duties that a government should.  Before the civil rights movement, black citizens were treated as inferior peoples because of their skin.  King points out this inequality in his speech I Have a Dream when he juxtaposes how he "dreams" American American people should be treated in order to stress the repression of his people.  The government was supposed to protect the rights of all citizens, no matter what race.  Failure to do so resulted in protest by those who believed in equality and natural rights.  Had the government provided African Americans with liberty and protection, there would have been no outrage or protest by citizens like Martin Luther King.
Another oppressed group in American history was women.  Even before the foundation of the country, women were looked down upon as a week gender although they contributed as men did to society.  Recognizing that women should have rights from the government, Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote a speech to women gathered at the Seneca Falls convention.  In this speech Stanton references Jefferson's Declaration of Independence to show how the nation was founded on equality and the government's duty to it's people.  From reading this speech, I believe that Stanton based the entire speech about how women's rights were ignored by the government.  Much like the civil rights movement, people complained.
Overall, this unit has opened my eyes what makes up a well-functioning society.  As a citizen, I have a duty to obey the rules of the government, and in return, they have a duty to protect and provide me with personal freedom and opportunity.   These writers, Jefferson, King, and Stanton, have written pieces that show what happens when a government is oppressive.  In order for society to maintain a structured system, there must be a balance.  This has made me recognize not only when the government is demanding, but when the people are being unjust to the government as well.