American Romanticism: What does it mean to be a Citizen?

What does it mean to be a citizen? Prejudice has always been a problem in history. As depicted in 19th century literature, the Native Americans and slaves endured hardship acquiring human rights as well as citizenship. For example, Elias Boudinot's "An Address to the Whites", Douglass' "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" and a children's ABC poem, "To Our Little Readers". In all of these pieces, it depicts how these particular races were isolated due to the color of their skin and their origin. Though "Americans", they did not receive their rightful privileges of citizenship, a…