1. The American Dystopia
Essential Question: How can a government, attempting to protect the rights of individuals, actually cause chaos and conflict among the members of society?

2. The Social Contract Theory
Protection
Government
People
Permission to rule
The idea that the citizens have formed a contract with the government:
The government is supposed to protect the rights of the citizens, and in return, individual citizens agree to allow the government to create rules for society.

3. The Social Contract Theory
Protection
Revolt!!
Government
People
Permission to rule
The idea that the citizens have formed a contract with the government:
The government is supposed to protect the rights of the citizens, and in return, individual citizens agree to allow the government to create rules for society.
If the government abuses the rights of citizens, the citizens have the right to overthrow the government and establish a new one.

4. Think about it!
Can you think of a time when the government did not protect the people’s rights? How did the people respond?
Think Ahead: What happens if the citizens do not uphold their end of the deal?

5. The Big Picture
The Social Contract Theory teaches us that the most important role of government is to...

6. The Social Contract Theory
Protections
Government
People
Permission to rule
The idea that the citizens have formed a contract with the government:
The government is supposed to protect the rights of the citizens, and in return, individual citizens agree to allow the government to create rules for society.
If the government abuses the rights of citizens, the citizens have the right to overthrow the government and establish a new one.
If a citizen breaks the laws established by the government, the government can remove their right to freedom and punish the criminals.

7. How does the United States Government Protect citizens’ rights?
Many of our rights are guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.
The rights listed in the Bill of Rights set the “baseline” or foundation of citizens’ rights.
Some examples include:
right to practice our religious beliefs
the right to not be punished for expressing our ideas either in speech or print
the right to privacy
Legal rights when we are charged with crimes such as the right to question witnesses that testify against us and the right to have a public trial

8. The Purpose of the Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights was originally meant to protect citizens from their government, not the actions of other citizens.
This means that the government could not limit our right to practice our religion by making a law that limits our ability to do so.
Each of the Bill of Rights was included because there had been a time that the British government had not protected those rights for the colonial citizens.

9. Historical Reasons for each Amendment
Examples:
1st Amendment – protects citizens right to express their ideas through various means
The British government had punished Colonists who published ideas against the King, even if those ideas did not cause violent action against the government.
2nd Amendment – protects an individual’s right to own weapons
The King ordered British soldiers to take the guns away from Colonists --- this is what the soldiers were attempting to do at the Battles of Lexington and Concord when the Revolutionary War began.
3rd Amendment – prevents the government from forcing citizens to allow soldiers to stay in their homes
The British Parliament passed the Quartering Act which required the Colonists to keep soldiers in their homes
4th Amendment – prevents government officials from searching you without reason
Parliament passed the Writs of Assistance which allowed British soldiers to search Colonists and their possessions to check and make sure they weren’t breaking the King’s laws w/o reason

10. Your Turn: Can you draw conclusions?
Look at the text of the 8th Amendment:
“Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”
Why do you think the Founding Fathers included this amendment?

11. The American Utopia? Or Dystopia?
In class, you have been discussing how a society’s attempt to create utopia, can quickly turn into a dystopia.
As our society has progressed over the past years, the meaning of the Bill of Rights has been questioned.
THOUSANDS of court cases have come up about our rights, and what those rights actually mean.
Many times, the courts have to settle issues because what was originally intended to protect people, has actually caused conflict.

12. How can our rights create conflict?
How that right can lead to Dystopia…
Freedom of Speech
Many forms of speech, including unpopular and “hate speech” are protected – which can offend many people and even lead to violence
Freedom of Religion
You have the right to practice your religious beliefs, but you also have to allow others to do the same
Freedom of the Press
The media can print stories about government corruption or criticizing our leaders – this can lead to distrust of the American government in general
Right to own guns
People use guns to commit illegal acts – either threatening or actually harming others
Right to privacy
People have the right to privacy, which allows many people to hide criminal activity and can therefore make it difficult for police officers to prevent crime
Suspected criminals are presumed innocent
Many criminals could go free

13. The Modern American Dystopia
Economic Inequality: the top 1% of the richest Americans own 90% of the nation’s wealth – meaning 99% of us share the remaining 10%
American citizens being killed overseas – thousands of American soldiers have been killed since 9/11 in foreign wars
Gender inequality – women still make only $.77 of what men make, in the same job, with the same qualifications
Marriage inequality – gay marriage is illegal, but you can marry your second cousin in NC
Achievement Gap – minorities consistently earn lower grades than white students – for reasons that do NOT include their race
Gun violence – thousands of Americans are killed every year by guns; guns that are owned legally as well as illegally
Violations of our right to privacy in the name of national security – the NSA has been collecting records on approximately half of American citizens including reading our s, tracking our phone calls/conversations/voic s, and even monitoring our internet use

14. Continue Thinking…
How can a government create a utopian society? Can they?
Even governments that have the best intentions cannot remove all societal conflict. The job of a government (at least our government) is to try and protect individual freedoms, as long as an individual does not use their freedom to infringe on the rights of others. It is a constant balancing act between our freedoms and our rights, which inevitably causes perpetual conflict.

15. Famous Dystopian Moviesw
Ridiculous Laws
law-in-every-state