These are my rough notes from the Forsskål symposium 2024, “Amerikanska friheter och ofriheter i historia och samtid” - American freedoms and unfreedoms in history and now.
The main presentation was by Dag Blanck from the Swedish Institute for North American Studies at Uppsala University. This was followed by a panel, but I had to get to an appointment and left directly after the first part of the main talk. Unfortunately this means I ducked out right at the part where it was starting to go into the situation today!
These notes were taken hastily in two languages, one of which I’m still learning, so expect mistranslations/typos/inaccuracies. I translated them mostly to English for this post.
“Freedom” as an American keyword/nyckelord
Uppsala Forum serves as a platform for exploring and discussing the state of democracy globally. Through its guest researcher programs, workshops, and seminars, it focuses on researching democratic principles and challenges.
“Freedom” is a very central word in the US - maybe more central than “democracy”. It has many meanings: freedom from, freedom to, freedom for individuals, freedom for the group.
“No idea is more fundamental to Americans’ sense of themselves as individuals and as a nation than freedom” - Eric Foner, author of The Story of American Freedom.
The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution both emphasize “liberty” as an inalienable right.
- American freedom: rights, possibilities, democracy
- American unfreedom: Slavery, begränsningar (borders/limitations?), illiberalism
“Vem hör till?”. Who belongs? Univermalism vs particularism.
Rights
The Bill of Rights (1791) protected inalienable rights like free speech, etc. In theiry these rights were designed to apply to everyone in the U.S., not just citizens. But this ideal often clashed with the reality. Voting rights, t.ex, were historically limited to “free white persons,” illustrating how freedom and unfreedom coexisted.
Ofriheter, slavery, and its consequences
In the 1860 census, the Deep South had areas where over 70% of the population were slaves. Even as figures like Lincoln worked to abolish slavery, questions lingered: What would happen after emancipation? Where would freed people live, and under what conditions?
Additionally, brutal reality of slavery was sometimes obscured by romanticized portrayals in media, which distorted public perception.
Resistance and fear
- Stono Rebellion, South Carolina, 1739
- New York Conspiracy, 1741
- Gabriel’s Conspiracy 1800
- Nat Turner’s Rebellion 1831
The Catholic danger
Catholic immigrants to USA were a bit of a weird bunch. They were white and European so they could become citizens, but also faced a lot of discrimination. There have been two Catholic presidents in US history: John F. Kennedy and Joe Biden.
Acts of exclusion
- 1790 - Naturalization act ‘free white persons’
- 1882 - Chinese Exclusion Act
- 1924 - Immigration act –(quotas?)
- 1952 - Immigration Act
Nu: Talk of mass deportations, bans, etc.
The book “Illiberal America” talks about a powerful illiberalism deep seated in the American past. The illiberal will of the community overrides individual rights, grounds of race, religions, gender, economic status, or idelogoy.
Universal or particular speech?
Unversal exmaple: Harris, 2024 campaign: “On behalf of every American, regardless of party, race, gender, language your grandmother speaks, etc…”
Particular: J.D. Vance på Republican convention 2024. “But America is not just an idea. It is a group of people with a shared history and a common future. It is, in short, a nation.”
Particular speech is more restrictive, borderd, “ingroup” based.
Pendulum swings, or ‘cycles of American hisstory’
There are pendulum swings in American history. Go to far into left-wing inclusionism etc, pendulum will swing back to restrictive, and vice versa.
