America relies on trade as a form of survival. It is how we gain our foundation, crops, and trade. However, within this idea comes the question to what extent we sacrifice ourselves and moral values in exchange for neccescities. In the works of Hinton Helper titled The Impending Crisis of the South: How to meet it, Helper discusses the agency that we as citizens have to create a more just and democratic society, away from a totalitarian govenment. She mentions in her work “Too long have we yielded a submissive obedience to the tyrannical domination of an inflated oligarchy; too long have we tolerated their arrogance and self-conceit; too long have we submitted to their unjust and savage exactions. Let us now wrest from them the sceptre of power, establish liberty and equal rights throughout the land, and henceforth and forever guard our legislative halls from the pollution and usurpations of proslavery demagogues” (28, Helper). Here we see the agency of Helper in refusing to conform and adjust to individuals. This idea of a submissive dominance also comes from a place of conformity. Individuals here fall under the trap of pleasing others to gain something that they want. We have too long sacrificed our own well being for rewards. However, these rewards are basic human rights that individuals do not need to work for. Clean water, access to good hygiene, food, and shelter should not require someone to be placed in harsh conditions sacrificing their mental health or physical body. I agree with Helper’s argument that we have not waited far too long to enact social change, it is time for individuals to apply the pressure and change that we want to see as a society.
Similarly, George Fitzhugh discusses in his work titled Sociology For The South or The Failure of Free Society that the richest trade and crops are exchanged with those from poorer regions. Through her work, she expresses “Under the system of free trade a fertile soil, with good rivers and roads as outlets, becomes the greatest evil with which a country can be afflicted. The richness of soil invites agriculture, and the roads and rivers carry off the crops, to be exchanged for the manufactures of poorer regions, where are situated the centres of trade, of capital and manufactures” (15, Fitzhugh). Here we can see the systematic discrimination that exists within such society. I compare such an argument to the argument of Helper; for too long we have sacrificed so much of ourselves to comply with the majority. In order for us to move forward in sustainable change, we must stand up to the oppressor and create change that will be beneficial to us. While here we learn that trade becomes the biggest form of evil in situations where poorer regions are involved. However, what many fail to acknowledge is that these specific revisions are not poor because they want to, but because the system has failed them. It is time to hold individuals accountable and create a safe and just environment for all. Will you join this movement?