Key Takeaways
1. American Citizenship: A History of Contradictions and Evolution
There is no notion more central in politics than citizenship, and none more variable in history, or contested in theory.
Central concept. Citizenship is a fundamental political idea, yet its meaning has constantly shifted throughout history and remains a subject of intense debate. In America, it was always in principle democratic, but this ideal was immediately contradicted by the reality of chattel slavery, the most extreme form of servitude.
Profound impact. The institution of black chattel slavery, existing within a modern representative republic dedicated to "the blessings of liberty," profoundly shaped American thought on citizenship. This inherent tension between radical claims for freedom and the absolute denial of it to slaves continues to haunt the nation, leaving lasting consequences.
Beyond static views. American citizenship has undergone significant transformations due to constitutional, institutional, demographic, and international changes, including several constitutional amendments. Political theorists must engage with this dynamic history, rather than discussing citizenship in a static, idealized vacuum, to truly understand its complexities and avoid an uninteresting flight from politics.
2. Beyond Rights: Citizenship as Social Standing and Inclusion
Under these conditions citizenship in America has never been just a matter of agency and empowerment, but also of social standing as well.
Social dignity. Beyond legal rights and political power, American citizenship has always conferred a crucial sense of social standing and dignity. This "standing" implies one's recognized place in society, defined by factors like income, occupation, and education, even if it conflicts with an acknowledged democratic creed.
Exclusion's impact. The significance of this social standing is most evident to those historically deprived of it. For excluded groups—such as women, poor white males, and black freedmen—voting and the opportunity to earn were not merely tools for self-interest, but fundamental attributes of an American citizen, without which they felt dishonored and scorned by their fellow-citizens.
Quest for recognition. The struggle for citizenship in America has primarily been a demand for inclusion in the polity, an effort to dismantle barriers to recognition. This contrasts with an aspiration for deeply involving civic participation, highlighting the profound desire to simply belong and be respected as a full member of society.
3. The Enduring Shadow of Slavery on American Civic Identity
The enormous impact that not merely the institution of black chattel slavery but servitude as an integral part of a modern popular representative republic, dedicated to “the blessings of liberty,” has had on the way Americans think about citizenship.
Defining freedom. From Colonial times, the dignity of work and personal achievement, alongside contempt for aristocratic idleness, became central to American civic self-identification. This was not only a defiant cultural and moral departure from the corrupt European past but also a stark contrast to the condition of slaves, where paid labor explicitly separated the free man from the enslaved.
Value of the ballot. Similarly, the value of political rights, particularly the ballot, was enhanced by its denial to slaves. The vote served as a certificate of full societal membership, primarily valued for its capacity to confer a minimum of social dignity and distinguish free citizens from those in servitude.
Lasting conflicts. The continuous tension between America's promise of equal political rights and persistent anti-liberal dispositions like slavery, racism, nativism, and sexism has shaped its tortuous development of citizenship. This enduring conflict, rather than a smooth liberal progression, defines the real history of its citizens, marked by "glaring inconsistencies."
4. Voting: The Primary Emblem of Full Membership and Dignity
The ballot has always been a certificate of full membership in society, and its value depends primarily on its capacity to confer a minimum of social dignity.
Historical struggle. The right to vote, though seemingly a simple act, has been ardently pursued by disenfranchised Americans for centuries. Its denial to large groups made it a powerful mark of social standing, signifying full citizenship and distinguishing one from inferiors like slaves and women.
"Slave" comparison. In all four major expansions of suffrage—for colonists rebelling against English rule, white males disenfranchised by property qualifications, freedmen after the Civil War, and finally women—the language of political argument invoked slavery. To be denied the vote was to be "reduced to the level of slaves," a powerful, though sometimes exaggerated, metaphor that underscored the degradation of voicelessness.
Value of standing. The indifference of eighteen-year-olds to the Twenty-sixth Amendment, which granted them the vote, starkly illustrates that the franchise's value derives from the standing it confers. Unlike fixed conditions of race or gender, youth is temporary and not degrading, thus the vote did not enhance their social position or dignity, leading to a lack of interest.
5. The "Slave" Metaphor: A Powerful Tool in the Fight for Suffrage
To be less than a full citizen is at the very least to approach the dreaded condition of a slave. To be a second-class citizen is to suffer derogation and the loss of respectable standing.
Revolutionary rhetoric. Before the Revolution, Americans frequently complained that British rule reduced them to "slaves," a rhetoric deeply informed by the actual condition of black chattel slaves. This was not mere metaphor for reduced political independence but a concrete fear of losing social standing and being degraded, a nightmare for whites due to the condition of indentured servants.
White male suffrage. In the Jacksonian era, disenfranchised white Westerners in Virginia passionately argued that without the vote, they were "slaves" to the slave-owning Eastern minority. This fear of becoming a "slave" to out-of-state buyers or political dominance underscored the vote's importance for their identity as free males, distinguishing them from women and actual slaves.
Black and women's suffrage. Frederick Douglass declared, "Slavery is not abolished until the black man has the ballot," emphasizing the vote as the public sign of freedom and a means to self-protection and social advancement. Similarly, early feminists, though sometimes controversially, used the analogy of domestic "slavery" to highlight their lack of economic and political independence, despite the resentment it sometimes caused among women who felt degraded by the comparison.
6. Earning: The Second Essential Pillar of American Citizenship
To be a recognized and active citizen at all he must be an equal member of the polity, a voter, but he must also be independent, which has all along meant that he must be an “earner,” a free remunerated worker, one who is rewarded for the actual work he has done, neither more nor less.
Civil society's role. Modern citizenship extends beyond political activities into "civil society"—the marketplace, work, and voluntary associations. Here, Americans find their social place, standing, and self-respect. Earning and spending, though seemingly private, are publicly sanctioned and affect the entire republic.
Independent earner ideal. The model of the independent citizen-earner developed in contrast to both idle aristocrats and unpaid slaves, both anomalies in a republic of equal citizens. This work ethic, rooted in the Jacksonian era, became the ethical basis of democratic citizenship, replacing outdated notions of public virtue and retaining its powerful appeal.
Dignity of labor. The idea of the dignity of labor, a radical departure from historical disdain for physical work, flourished in America. Benjamin Franklin, a "self-made" printer, exemplified this, linking industriousness to independence and civic contribution, a vision that inspired Jacksonian youth against "paper aristocracy" and unearned wealth.
7. The American Work Ethic: Forged Between Aristocracy and Servitude
The American work ethic, which seems so odd to many social observers now, becomes perfectly comprehensible when it is understood not as a reflection of the class values of pre-industrial artisans, but as the ideology of citizens caught between racist slavery and aristocratic pretensions.
Jacksonian ethos. In Jacksonian America, the independence of the working and earning majority was seen as constantly threatened by idle, aristocratic elites and by slavery. This republican ethos, emphasizing self-directed "earning" as the ethical foundation of democratic citizenship, has maintained its powerful appeal, enduring because the political conditions it responded to have not disappeared.
"Do-somethings" vs. "do-nothings." Jacksonian radicals defined aristocracy not just by wealth, but by wealth gained through governmental favor or used to buy political influence, creating "artificial inequality." The moral threat was the "idle rich" who showed contempt for work, contrasting sharply with the "do-somethings" (producers) who formed the democratic party and whose "sole reliance" was the equality of rights.
Slavery's degradation. Slavery was recognized as the institution that most profoundly brought labor into contempt, associating toil with baseness. The fear that "wage-slavery" could degrade Northern workers to the level of actual slaves, or that the spread of slavery would degrade all labor, fueled the Free Soil and Republican parties' commitment to making labor honorable.
8. The Peril of "Wage-Slavery" and the Loss of Earning-Based Standing
The fear of sinking into slavery was certainly real enough among the new factory workers, not least because Southern propagandists assured them that they were worse off than black chattel slaves.
Industrial anxieties. As industrialization advanced, Northern workers, facing declining independence and income, began to complain of "wage-slavery." While they knew they weren't actual slaves, the loss of autonomy and the feeling of being mere factors in production evoked the specter of servitude, a profound threat to their republican citizenship.
Lincoln's vision. Abraham Lincoln forcefully rejected the "mud-sill" theory of labor, which claimed a permanent class for menial duties. He emphasized that a wage earner was not "forcefully fixed for life" and held the hope of self-employment, particularly as an independent farmer, reinforcing the ideal that hard work could lead to independent citizen-proprietorship.
Unemployment's disgrace. After the Civil War, even with unions improving conditions, unemployment remained a profound threat to standing. During the Great Depression, losing one's job and relying on assistance was seen as a shameful loss of independence, reducing individuals to "nobody" and effectively to second-class citizens, a condition often associated with the historical lot of black people.
9. The Unfulfilled Promise: A Presumptive Right to Earn for All Citizens
The consciousness of the claim can have a political effect.
Enduring beliefs. Despite the realities of industrial work and job dissatisfaction, the work ethic and the ideal of the earning citizen persist, reinforced by the fear of unemployment. This complex set of beliefs, rooted in historical fears of slavery and aristocratic idleness, means that not to work is not to earn, and without earnings, one is "nobody."
Welfare's stigma. Welfare dependence has become the modern focus of Jacksonian fears, with recipients often treated with parentalism and contempt, seen as less than full citizens. Workfare, though not about economics, aims to restore civic conduct by compelling earning, highlighting the deep-seated belief that active earning is essential for civic equality.
A right to work. Given that American public ethos overtly condemns the non-earner to a loss of public respect and second-class citizenship, there is a strong argument for a presumptive "right to work." This is not a constitutional right to self-respect, but a right not to be deprived of one's standing as a citizen, implying a minimal political obligation to create paying jobs with living wages and advancement opportunities.
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