1. Founding Ideals Warm-Up
1. All Americans are equal.
a. strongly disagree
b. mildly disagree
c. mildly agree
d. strongly agree
2. Some Americans have more rights than others.
3. Americans have all the freedoms they deserve.
4. All Americans have the same opportunities to succeed in life.
a. strongly disagree
b. mildly disagree
c. mildly agree
d. strongly agree
5. Wealthy people have a more powerful voice in American democracy than do others.

2. What are America’s founding ideals, & why are they important?
Defining & Debating America’s Founding Ideals (equality, rights, liberty, opportunity, & democracy)
What are America’s founding ideals, & why are they important?

3. Declaration of Independence (1776) Thomas Jefferson
“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.” – Declaration of Independence
What are rights & who gets them?
Does the death penalty infringe upon right to life &/or abortion?
What does liberty mean? Who does it apply to?
What do you think of “the pursuit of happiness”?
John Locke was inspiration for these rights, but his statement was “life, liberty, and the pursuit of property.” Why did Jefferson change this?

4. Ideal & Excerpt from the Declaration of Independence
Definition
Influence of the Ideal
in 1776 &Today
Equality
“All men are created equal.”
The ideal situation in which
all people are treated the
same & valued equally
Rights
“They are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.”
Powers & privileges granted to people either by agreement or by law
Liberty
“That among these [rights] are
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness.”
Liberty can mean different
things: political freedom; civil liberty; moral & religious freedom; opposite of slavery
Opportunity
The chance for people to
pursue their hopes &
dreams
Democracy
“That to secure these rights,
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
System of gov’t
based on the consent of the
governed

5. Influence of the ideal in 1776 & today
Equality
“All men are created equal.”
Rights
“They are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.”
Liberty
“That among these [rights] are
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness.”
Opportunity
Democracy
“That to secure these rights,
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
Influence of the ideal in 1776 & today
Equality:
1776: Christianity taught that all people are equal in God’s eyes. The colonists rejected the inequality found in Europe. Still, some held slaves, & women were treated unequally.
Today: Progress has been made in expanding equality, but some argue that “equality of condition” needs to be provided to all.

6. Influence of the ideal in 1776 & today
Equality
“All men are created equal.”
Rights
“They are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.”
Liberty
“That among these [rights] are
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness.”
Opportunity
Democracy
“That to secure these rights,
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
Influence of the ideal in 1776 & today
Rights:
1776: Jefferson argued in favor of natural, or universal, rights belonging to all humankind.
Today: Americans have many rights that are found in the Constitution & the Bill of
Rights. However, some people still argue for an expansion of rights.

7. Influence of the ideal in 1776 & today
Equality
“All men are created equal.”
Rights
“They are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.”
Liberty
“That among these [rights] are
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness.”
Opportunity
Democracy
“That to secure these rights,
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
Influence of the ideal in 1776 & today
Liberty:
1776: Liberty was extremely important to the colonists, & they fought for freedom from Great Britain. However, 1/5 of the population was enslaved.
Today: Americans agree that liberty provides the ability to make choices & that limits must be placed on those choices. Americans debate about where to set those limits.

8. Influence of the ideal in 1776 & today
Opportunity:
1776: Americans held a strong belief in opportunity from the early colonial period. Opportunity encouraged new settlers.
Today: Opportunity still brings newcomers, but some wonder whether true opportunity is available to all.
Equality
“All men are created equal.”
Rights
“They are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.”
Liberty
“That among these [rights] are
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness.”
Opportunity
Democracy
“That to secure these rights,
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

9. Influence of the ideal in 1776 & today
Equality
“All men are created equal.”
Rights
“They are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.”
Liberty
“That among these [rights] are
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness.”
Opportunity
Democracy
“That to secure these rights,
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
Influence of the ideal in 1776 & today
Democracy:
1776: Americans used democracy on a local
level throughout the colonial period. Yet some wondered whether democracy could work on a larger scale & who should speak for “the governed.”
Today: All citizens over the age of 18 can now vote, yet not everyone participates.
(14th, 15th, 19th, 24th, 26th Amendments)