The Founding principle of American Culture was the belief that everyone has the right to equality and freedom. Freedom -the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint- was a primary reason many colonist fought against the British during the American revolution. They were seeking for freedom from the unjust ruling of King George III. Equality was also a driving force. The king had not given them many rights and had taken away some of the few rights they had as English men. This included representation in parliament and having a standing army, because of this many colonist felt that when the constitution was formed it should allow the freedom and equality for all. All though in theory this was what many colonist wanted, including the founding fathers, many did not practice this belief. At the end of the pledge of allegiance it states “and to the republic for which it stands...with liberty and justice for all.” Now if you change liberty for freedom and justice for equality you get two central points found in the constitution; establish Justice and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity. That being stated the purpose of America was to create a country were freedom and equality reigned above all. Clearly this was not the case. Since the start of the country there existed this hypocritical notion that freedom and equality is found in America even though not everyone in America was free. Many of the founding
1. How can an understanding of the complexities of culture help us make sense of the day-to-day world which we live? Give an example from your life to illustrate your answer.
The American Revolution was founded on the notion that all men were created equal, and because of that no government could impede upon their inalienable rights. In the early 1700’s, British citizens emigrated to America in search of political, religious and socio-economic equality. England forced unjust taxes upon its former citizens, and, seeking justice, the colonists rebelled against their former homeland. The
America was founded on the principles of establishing and protecting liberty, which is described by The Declaration of Independence. The Constitution of the United States was written to provide a unified and functioning government and also to protect individual rights. The colonists disagreed with the workings of the British government and decided to become an independent state. Once the Constitution was put in place, “the First Congress of the United States proposed 12 amendments to the Constitution.” The
The United States of America was founded on a Constitution that was supposed to preserve our freedoms and certain liberties. All Americans at that time wanted to keep America a free an independent nation with rights for its people. However there was two different groups, the Federalists lead by Alexander Hamilton and the Democratic-Republicans led by Thomas Jefferson, which thought this could be achieved in very different ways.
American history has had many ups and down especially between 1730 to 1770. The country had been recently colonized and the colonists were just beginning to establish a government where a set of rules would be included that the people had to follow. During this time period, many colonists were aiming for a government system where they can have representation within it and be treated fairly. Most of the time that did not turn out to be the case. American people did not feel comfortable with the idea of a powerful authority making decisions for them. Instead, they wanted to have a chance to have a voice for themselves and to be heard everywhere around the world. Colonists felt like they were just as important in making necessary decisions as was the Parliament. When the Parliament (during the Stamp Act) tried to take away the colonists rights for a fair jury and had imposed a stamp on paper products. They were furious with Britain's decisions and wanted the Stamp act to be changed immediately. In many of the present documents; the topic of freedom and gaining independence from authority came several times. Americans wished to have a voice and some type of representation in Parliament; they were tired of not being able
Ideological rationales where offered to garner Patriotic support to openly revolt against British rule in America. The ideological beliefs where based on the basic rights of man, which the Patriots believed the British monarchy and government where violating. These rights included that Americans should have the right to local autonomy, a government by consent, and that all mankind is born free and equal. That everyone is “equal” led to the belief that no one had a right to govern without the consent of those being governed, thus providing justification for the American Revolution (1765-1783). These arguments persisted, of course, even with the hypocrisy of the Founding Fathers who claimed “all men are created equal” even while providing justifications for racism and enslavement. For example, in Thomas Jefferson’s “Notes on the State
One of the preeminent factors provoking the former Colonists to revolt from the British was concerned with liberty for all; this concept was expanded upon in Constitution, and subverted by the white men who wrote the Constitution. When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independance in 1776, one of opening paragraphs decrees the Americans right to liberty: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”(Thomas Jefferson). Jefferson starts the document addressing the repressed liberty of the Americans in order to demonstrate the importance of fundamental rights. However, though Jefferson says “all men are created equal,” he does not specify a distinction of men, implying all Americans are equal. In the Constitution, the Preamble expresses the need for equality by declaring: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the
America went through many trials and tribulations to earn their freedom, they faced many wars and casualties, the biggest step America took to gain independence was the written document of the Declaration of Independence. There was three basic parts to this document they were basic rights, British wrongs, and the creation of a new nation. The person in charge of theses three basic parts was Thomas Jefferson in his first argument he claims that all men were created equal and that they should be able to be happy and have freedom. Jefferson says this by saying “equal station to which the laws of nature and which Nature’s God entitles them”, also by saying this he mean that men should people to have their own opinion and thoughts. In this document Jefferson makes an even more valid point of why men should have basic rights he says “they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that are among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” , Jefferson says this in a very refound way.
The founders of the United States of America understood that certain rights were inalienable and endowed by the creator or nature itself. They established a government of laws, not for the purpose of granting rights but rather for protecting them. Only in America did the founders recognize this and understood if these rights were not explicitly
This infers that the American founding fathers wanted to ensure the people of the country with liberties that their colonizer had taken away from them over time. From the beginning of the colonies, the Americans were used to the British having a hold and control over them. They wanted to break this trend in order to promote their independence and strength. The nationalism that the Americans wanted to promote was to start allowing people to see themselves apart of the new nation they had come to live their life in rather than looking to their native countries as home. Their Americans hoped their government would be “a form of patriotism that exalted a particular lifestyle, connected it with a specific citizenry, and promoted the territorial
The United States was founded on the principals that every person was due equality, liberty and freedom as per the nations Constitution. The Constitution declared these principals not only for the citizens of the United States, but in principal expressed these rights to the people of the world. It was the expression of these rights that has led the United States to stand on the World Stage and work to insure that those who cant peruse or defend these opportunities have the help that they need to be successful in the dream of freedom.
When America was first created, the founding fathers made it under the idea that all men were created equal. Note, they only stated men, more specifically white men. It wasn’t until years after that, 1920, when women finally got their rights, to finally vote and to finally speak their own opinions, and to not have to hide behind whatever male figure was in their life, and instead make their own decisions for themselves. It wasn’t until years later, in 1964, when it was made possible for the African American and other race men became equal and had the freedom to be able to live and do the same thing as whites. So in other words, the constitution has changed for the better on that note. On the other hand, the government has also changed for the worse, and a few different ways. Today the government changed the laws for the protection of people. The second amendment, which has been around since America was made because obviously the founding fathers knew it was important to protect yourself, is possibly being changed because the Americans feel that it is harmful to have or own a gun, and that is something that half the people of America agree with, and half don’t. There are other laws that are being changed, because the government seems to want everyone happy, but obviously that cannot happen because not everyone thinks the same so it is
When our country first began, the founders desired a country with freedom to make their own choices, worship in any way they desired, and choose their own government. The first colonists fought the Revolutionary War against Britain, paying whatever price was necessary in order for their children's children to enjoy being raised in a free country. After a victorious defeat of the British army, our founding fathers wrote the Constitution of the United States of America. These men which we now considered some of the more brilliant and courageous men of our history, were scandalous rotten scum, guilty of betrayal in the eyes of British authority. Now, however, they live on in our history as men of honor, bravery, stature and respect. It took courage for these men to think outside of the box of limitations Britain had placed around them. Their desire for freedom pushed them to establish a document that would preserve the rights for which they had fought.
American culture refers to the traditions and practices of the people of the United States. Culture comprises of the nature of buildings, religion, music language and marriage. The population of the United States is more than 320 million people making it the most culturally diverse country in the globe. Books such as Crabgrass Frontier, Manifest Destination and Muscular Christianity are important sources of information about American culture. This paper is a reflection on the methods that these books use in providing information about the evolution of the US culture. The paper examines the relationship between these three sources and ways they challenge or inform an understanding of the American society during the late 19th and early 20th century. There is an analysis of the efficiency of the issues tackled by these books in influencing the contemporary discourse surrounding American culture. The major argument of this paper is that Crabgrass Frontier, Manifest Destination and Muscular Christianity provide reliable information about the evolution of the US culture and they supplement each other through the use of relevant examples.
The United States of America being the third largest country in the world with more than 315 million inhabitants, consists of multicultural societies with ethnically diverse population. Since there are a lot of foreigners, the US culture has evolved in such a way accepting and tolerating other foreign cultures. US is very much influenced by protestant work ethics according to which people believe in themselves and their efforts to attain the goal of self-actualization and success. The rich diversity in the culture brought by foreigners, prevailing values of protestant ethics, hard work etc. have helped US to emerge as a superpower in the past years. Nearly every religion had its impact on US culture in one way or the other. The