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American Freedom Today

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Abraham Lincoln once said, “Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up, and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better. This is a most valuable – a most sacred right – a right, which we hope and believe, is to liberate the world” (Charters, 2014, Inspiring Quotes, pg. 1). America was founded on the backs of people who had the ability to stand up and fight for freedom and a new found government. There were many aspects that brought the development of American freedom as it exists today. However, American freedom is not what it used to be. “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves,” …show more content…

This document gave freedom to the 13 colonies/ states (Declaration of Independence, 2015). The Constitution of the United States which was founded in 1788, however, gave the world’s first blueprint of modern democracy (Constitution, 2015). A few founding fathers of this country had the idea that the laws portion of the constitution was giving the government too much freedom, so they added the Bill of Rights to ensure that the citizens of this country had the correct amount of freedom they deserved (Constitution, 2015). Alexis de Tocqueville said, “Liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith” (Tocqueville, 2015, Alexis de Tocqueville quotes, pg. 1). This adopted document meant the beginning of a wonderful country built on freedom, faith and modern democracy (Constitution, 2015). The definition of a democracy is a, “government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system” (Dictionary.com, 2015, Democracy, pg. …show more content…

Rights to personal gain include examples like: rewarding innovation, profit and responsibility, and decisions in career or production (Constitution, 2015). Rights to equal economic opportunity includes the following examples: open class system, competition, and economic mobility (Constitution, 2015). Last but not least, equal legal rights include the following: right to free contracts, private property, and ,of course, constitutional guarantee (Constitution, 2015). However, “No fair-minded person contends that the private enterprise system is perfect. It is operated by human beings who are full of imperfections. Many of us deplore the fact that a few of our corporate entities seem to lack that social consciousness proportionate to their power and the privileges granted them by the state. Some businesses apparently still fail to recognize that there are social and spiritual values as well as profits that should be considered in their operations. Neither do our needs always correspond to our demands under the free enterprise system” (Charters, 2014, Inspiring Quotes, pg. 1). The American Free Enterprise is not what it used to be; in the beginning of our flourishing country this system seemed flawless but as this country has grown over the past 30 years, a “generation now” America has been teaching the people to depend

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