Was America Ever Really Great?

Trump supporters are rallying behind Donald Trump in hopes that he will "Make America Great Again." The question is: when has America been great for everyone? What era of the United States has every single person been afforded the same rights? Same sex marriage was just legalized last year.

Here are different incidents in America’s history when it was “great."

1. Slavery 1776-1865

Since the nation began, America allowed slavery until 1865. It became prosperous off the enslavement of an entire race. America did not view African Americans as people but rather as property. In the Supreme Court decision Dred Scott v. Sanford in 1857, it was declared African Americans were not viewed as citizens and could not sue in the court of law.

2. Indian Removal Act 1830

The American government under Andrew Jackson authorized the removal of Native Americans from their lands. This resulted in The Trail of Tears. In 1838 and 1839, the Cherokee were forced to march from their territory east of the Mississippi River to a designated area in the Oklahoma area. Over 4,000 Cherokee died.

3. Jim Crow Laws 1877-1965

Jim Crow laws made racial segregation legal in the South. Whites thought of themselves as the superior race. Blacks and Whites were not allowed to drink from the same water fountain or use the same restrooms. White drivers had the right-of-way in all intersections. There were different schools for each race. These laws were put in place to try to keep African Americans in a subservient position.

4. Red Scare 1919-1920

After World War I, an irrational fear of immigrants swept over the nation. Many Americans believed immigrants wanted to overthrow the government because of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. The labor strikes in 1919 contributed to these fears. In 1921 two Italian immigrants, Sacco and Vanzetti, were executed for armed robbery and murder. They were not properly identified by eyewitnesses. There was no evidence connecting them to the money. In 1925, Celestino Madeiros confessed to participating in the crime with a gang. However, Sacco and Vanzetti were still executed in 1927.

5. Japanese Internment Camps

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. After that, any person of Japanese descent in America was under suspicion. Their assets were frozen by the government and their homes were raided for anything connecting them to Japan as contraband. President Roosevelt issued an executive order to relocate anyone of Japanese descent to internment camps. The majority of the people relocated to concentration camps were born in the United States.

There are many more instances I can provide, like voting rights, but I feel as if my point has been made. What era is this greatness that everyone is speaking of?