Core American Values

The United States was founded on the belief that every man has “certain inalienable Rights.” Not until ninety years later, however, when slavery was abolished did the United States actually offer these “Rights” to all of its citizens. The 19th century was turbulent time of stress and change for America. One of the most controversial dilemmas was the issue of slavery. Slavery was conceived by many to be morally wrong, and it undermined America’s most valued beliefs. Despite this inconsistency, slavery was still widely supported and permitted out of economic necessity in the South.

Throughout America’s history, we have believed that humans have individual rights that should be protected and supported by the rulers of our country. The Constitution’s Bill of Rights was created to protect these rights, and the Declaration of Independence even proclaims that “all men are created equal”. However, there were hundreds of people scattered throughout the colonies, and then states, in America who did not have these same rights and were not always seen as human, such as African Americans, women, and Native Americans.

America by far is the most diverse country on the face of the earth. America today is known for freedom, equality, democracy, and a defender against tyranny. The foundation of American values lay in a belief of independence, nationalism, capitalism, and religion. However, many conflicts have arisen over these values in the past. Capitalism and other characteristics have made America great, but they have brought about their own set of inequalities. Those inequalities have deep roots in race, culture, gender, and wealth. In the 1800s two of the biggest conflict lies with the issue of slavery and women’s rights.

Freedom is a fundamental human right that all Americans enjoy today. Foner defines freedom as the ability of an individual to do as he/she wishes as long as long as the actions are within the law and respect the right of others (2). Accordingly, freedom is among the rights that are anchored in American constitution to protect the civil liberties of all Americans. Today, America is regarded as a democratic country that operates within the rule of law partly because of its respect for human rights (Romano 3). However, history shows that the freedom that African Americans enjoy today did not come easily; rather came after a long and enduring struggle by Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968). It is noted that, unlike white Americans who enjoyed freedom to do as they wished in the early 19th century, African Americans were denied the freedom to operate freely like their white counterparts (Foner 6). Therefore, because curtailing the freedom of African Americans were denying them the opportunity to advance socially, economically and politically, the Civil Rights Movement was formed by Martin Luther King Junior and colleagues to fight against racial segregation and to ensure that African Africans gain equal rights as the whites. This essay seeks to explore the Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968) struggle for freedom and

Despite its precepts of liberty and justice for all, America has a long history of preventing certain segments of the population from enjoying all of the liberties they are entitled to. While America has made several key advances since the days of the Founding Fathers, there is still progress to be made. Civil liberty issues of the past have not been fully resolved, as shown by racial separatism, unequal democratic participation, and interference with freedom of speech. As shown by racial separatism, civil liberty issues have not been resolved.

On July 4th, 1776, one document was ratified that would change the international and intranational relations of America unto the present day. This document was named, promptly, the Declaration of Independence. This declaration stated the ideals and customs that of which the American population would live by. With the annexation of the thoughts of liberalism and democracy, ideals such as life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and that all men are created equal were made the hallmark of the American lifestyle. The continuation of these ideals, and the improvement of society upon these ideals have been under contention of whether or not the American society has lived up to them. Although people such as Claude Mckay, being a black man, suggest that America “sinks into my throat her tiger’s tooth, stealing from my breath of life”, the American ideals that of equality, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness have continued to thrive, and direct society through the abolishment of race based society, the abolishment of sexist based society, as well as the continuation of the unalienable rights that all men and women hold so dear in America.

America is treasured because of its ability to offer equal opportunity to all people, no matter what race, gender, or religion. However, America’s prized equality has not been available all through the country’s lifespan. Many acts and laws have had to be put in place in order to create an egalitarian country. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 both were both created on the same topic: creating a fairer country that provided equal opportunities to all. Essentially, they work hand in hand, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 provided equal opportunity and rights to those with parents born in other countries, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited any sort of prejudice or discrimination concerning sex, religion, and race.

The United States transpired into a predominant globalist nation and has perpetuated its position for numerous years despite its brief 239 year history. Even with its brief history, the United States has had a substantial and controversial impact on the world's civilization. It is utterly impossible to disregard the formidable circumstances which not only permitted but encouraged the belief of racial supremacy in the initial years of the United States. In this regard, the United States has radically transitioned through various stages which have been solely based on the demand of citizen’s civil rights, such as the abolishment of slavery and the subsequent implementation of federal policies. The implementation of these federal policies were

In recent years, there has been an attack on a basic American right, a right so fundamental and deeply rooted that it defines the basis of American culture. With the ever growing and sweeping power of the U.S. government, society is beginning to feel like this right has been crushed and forgotten. Wars were fought and people sacrificed their lives in the name of protecting the right worth dying for. What defined one’s livelihood, gave one a personhood, ensured democracy, promoted labor, and maximizes the happiness of the people will all come crumbling down. What was once an indicator of the elite leaders of a democratic society has become nothing more than a pawn in a political game.

n the founding years of America, there has been a struggle for justice amongst treatment of the nation. Equality has been the belief that people of all race, gender, or sexual orientation are created equal, without preference to some groups, until the day that preference to race and gender began to occur within the education frontier. In the hopes of improving chances of like-minded individuals who experienced direct discrimination, Universities were obliged to improve educational opportunities of groups who have experienced prejudice in the past, though a practice called Affirmative Action. The Civil Rights Act was created in 1964 to prohibit discrimination against race, color, religion, or origin in order to create a fair nation. The

Despite the United States having great ideals of freedom and exemplifying this throughout history there have been moments where

Understanding the Term American Ideology Ideology is a set of core beliefs, formulate answers to political questions and problems, the freedom to be whatever you want to be. In a broad sense American Ideology is considered be the freedom to be whatever you want to be, to be different, to have diversity in the greatest sense, to be free from political and religious persecution. In this essay I will look in depth into the fundamental aspects exist in the American Ideology. I will then look at aspects across US History to determine how, if at all, the Ideology has changed, focusing primarily on Black Civil Rights from the Post Civil War era to the Civil Rights period of the 1960's.

Many ideas are important within the American culture, but to the American sense of patriotism, freedom is most fundamental. The idea of freedom is central to the American politics – which is at times referred to as liberty. Since the birth of the nation, freedom has been the vocabulary of the American language and its importance cannot be underestimated. The Declaration of Independence, for instance, ranks liberty as an inalienable right. On the other hand, the Constitution reckons that it purposes to protect civilians’ liberty. The importance of freedom has even stretched further than the political arena and has prompted the birth of civil rights movements and other activist protests. The Cold War and the Civil War were all for the cause of freedom. The importance that Americans attach to freedom can also be demonstrated from the erection of statues, banishment of slavery, use of liberty poles and a right to vote for adults. For many years, women and the African Americans have for a long time fought against denial and infringement of their freedom . However, given the importance that Americans affiliate to freedom in the conceptualization of their country, it has been the subject of modifications over the course of years especially before the Revolutionary War.

A concept of freedom (or liberty) has been the foundation of the United States since its founding in 1776. After all, its Declaration of Independence states that every citizen deserves the rights to “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”. However, “Liberty” doesn’t just mean a literal freedom from captivity, or the right to live independently from the rule of a monarch. The Constitution preserves multiple different types of Liberty, including the freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and many more.

Core values are a person or an organization's fundamental beliefs, these principles prescribe behavior along with helping people understand the difference between right and wrong, “values are what motivate you in life. They are what guide you along the path of fulfilment, so essentially your values are the foundation of who you are” (C.Worsley). These values are important to have because they are what shape you, they make every person unique. Having a spirit of adventure, perseverance, and having patience are only some of my core values. Knowing what you cherish is very important and is something many people should revise.