According to what the Founding Fathers wrote in the Declaration of Independence, all men and women are created equal and endowed with the rights of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” which is the principle of ultimate responsibility that the government must uphold. Although the foundation of American democracy was based on equality, history proves otherwise. The most overbearing issue still affecting society today is discrimination and America certainly succumbs to numerous acts of injustice during different periods of the nation's existence. Throughout American history, many people have faced various forms of discrimination and, over the years, have worked to break down barriers of opportunity based on gender, class, national origin, and race. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In the nineteenth century, American women lived in an era characterized by gender inequality. They had few social, legal and political rights and were limited to the cult of domesticity that privatized women's opportunities to study, work, express their opinions and propose reforms. As a result, feminist movements were established to resist the inequalities that women have faced for centuries. Two prominent nineteenth-century activists were Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, both advocates for greater freedoms and rights for American women. In her short story, The Yellow Wallpaper, Gilman depicted the psychological impact of traditional gender roles in society on women. Gilman used the narrator's imagination to portray the traps of domesticity on women. In her delusion, the narrator believed she saw women trapped in the yellow wallpaper when she says, “sometimes I think there are a lot of women behind it… and they're always trying to climb up. But no one could overcome this scheme: it strangles so much. The motif symbolizes the imprisonment of women by the conventions of early 19th century society, where they were expected to live according to the cult of domesticity. Furthermore, the women behind the wallpaper represent the personal identity that many American women felt at that time in the male-dominated society. While Gilman introduced the theme of gender inequality into his works, Stanton also used his voice to call for change in society's treatment of women. In 1848, at the Seneca Falls Convention, she discussed the importance of women's rights and condemned the domination of men over women. In her Declaration of Sentiments, she referenced the Declaration of Independence to show parallels between the struggles of the Founding Fathers and women. She stated that to remain true to the Founding Fathers' belief in justice, women should be able to "insist upon immediate admission to all the rights and privileges belonging to them as citizens of the United States." In view of the unjust laws inflicted on women, Stanton proclaimed that men and women should be granted equal rights as citizens in social, political, and economic affairs. Overall, Gilman and Stanton's involvement in the nineteenth-century feminist movement began a great success on the path to women's rights success as they introduced the topic of gender inequality to many Americans of the time. Overall, their works early influenced women's suffrage and provided the foundation of later feminist movements in America. During the revolutionAmerican industrialist, class injustices expanded as the economy of that time strictly defined people's positions in society. The revolution developed in the late 1700s and early 1800s in response to the country's need to increase its technological capabilities. In the midst of the revolution came industrial cities, where the creation of mills grew for the sake of producinggoods in the economy. Industrialization soon led to a growing gap between rich and poor. Income inequality increased due to technological innovations as the wealthy expanded their businesses and the middle and lower classes were given industrial jobs that paid extremely low wages. Hanson Robinson expressed the growing social divide in her biographical book, Life Among the Early Mill Girls, in which many job options for American women were limited to factory work only. He stated that “leading nineteenth-century economists asserted that the “Iron Law of Wages” required all prudent businessmen [to] maintain low wages, long hours, and depressing conditions.” The Lowell Mills girls illustrate the discrimination between social classes as the wealthy took advantage of the workers as they knew many of them had no other choice when it came to work. To combat the harsh treatment, factory girls led the first labor movement in the mid-1800s to protest low wages and poor working conditions. The labor movement thus succeeded in ending child labor, receiving health benefits, and providing aid to injured or retired workers. In light of these facts, the labor movement fought for social and economic rights that still apply to American workers today. During times of war, America fell victim to the definition of discrimination based on national origin. In particular, during World War II, the civil liberties of many Americans were denied in the name of national security, even though there was concrete evidence of disloyalty to the nation. Japanese Americans represent a case in history where extreme levels of hatred were imposed on people based on their national origin. After the Pearl Harbor event, Japanese Americans faced discrimination as a widespread fear of betrayal by the Japanese grew among Americans. As a result, in 1942, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which authorized the relocation and internment of tens of thousands of Japanese Americans in inland camps for 4 years. The actions taken by the US government were viewed by Tokyo as “diabolical savagery… in which the constitutional rights of American-born Japanese were ruthlessly trampled upon in the heat of resentment aroused by American political and military blunders.” The Japanese people considered the burials inhumane and unjust as they were oppressed because of their race by a cruel nation that deprives its citizens of their rights. The protests and feelings expressed by the Japanese pushed the American government to look for a solution as more and more people learned about it and then protested against it. As many argued that this contradicted the true values ​​of the Constitution and military intelligence soon after concluded that Japanese Americans posed no threat, President Ronald Reagan signed legislation apologizing for the burials and paid reparations of approximately $1.6 billion. of dollars to the victims. While the apology was certainly an understatement of the horrific oppression against Japanese Americans, it has.