Perhaps when John Winthrop left England for the New World he did not fully realize the wealth he would be giving up. In all probability he would not have cared, because above all he sought religious freedom. On the surface religious freedom doesn't sound like an equality issue, but closer examination reveals that it is. Religious freedom is but one issue that sought answers on the New World's shores; equality of taxes, women's rights, the abolishment of slavery, or the right to own slaves are all extended issues of the original fight for freedom and equality. All the writers discussed here argue their case according to how they view equality and the issue they are arguing. The letters of Mary Paul discuss and argue on several women's rights issues as well as issues on fair pay and working conditions that affected men as well. This she did without intending to prove a point. In the end each author, whether realizing it or not, makes it evident that equality does not exist, and cannot exist, in the New World we now call the United States of America.
The argument that equality does not exist in the United States is self-evident. One need look no further than a city's ghettos or to the streets where the homeless wander, to recognize that all things are not equal. The questions then must be asked: is equality possible; can it be achieved in a free and democratic society, and would we want it if it were possible. In Of Thee We Sing Dale R. Steiner presents the stories of 13 men and women who came to the United States as immigrants and what they confronted when they arrived here. Not all of them were welcomed with open arms when they arrived, and none of them could be said to be equal with everyone else, nor did they wish to be. Some, as William Penn and John Logan, came of their own free will. Others, like Venture Smith, came by force. "Born around 1729" Venture Smith was taken as a slave when still a young boy. Eventu...