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The Importance Of Opportunity In America

Decent Essays

Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence in 1776 for the citizens of the nation to become strong and united. He hoped that equality, rights, liberty, opportunity, and democracy would prosper and be sustained. The only question now is have Americans lived up to these ideals as Jefferson intended us too? Well, although we Americans are moving closer to the ideal of opportunity, we are also moving further from equality and rights. Opportunity has been constantly growing for citizens, yet their rights have been diminishing. In addition, equality, specifically racial and gender, has been causing many issues all around the world. Thomas Jefferson intended for Americans to live up to all the five ideals, but that has yet to be completely done.
Opportunity has thrived for Americans for many years now, which is a major contrast from the 1930's. In the 1930's, many Americans were going through a major economic collapse, also known as the great depression. During the great depression, many people were jobless and living on the streets, since their families were evicted from their homes. Not to mention that the average income dropped about 40% during this harsh time period. Since many were not making any money, opportunity was limited to them. As you can see from Place Card G, families were left very miserable and in deep poverty. You can tell that the mother's clothes and face are very dirty in the picture, as are her children's. It was a very difficult time for many,

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