THE ORIGINAL COLONISTS AND THE AMERICAN DREAM?

• Roger Williams - founded Rhode Island• Patrick Henry – governor of Virginia• William Penn – founded Pennsylvania

Early representation of the American Dream

ROGER WILLIAMS

• Although at first he sought only to reform the church of England, he later wanted to separate entirely. • Believed in Puritanism• Believed in purchasing land from Native

Americans, not stealing it from them. He thought this would be a better way to claim a title on the land.• He was tried in Salem for these beliefs, as a result

he was banished from Massachusetts. • Later he purchased land from the Narragansett

Indians and established Providence, Rhode Island.

ROGER WILLIAM’S BELIEFS

• Complete religious toleration• Seperation of church and state• Political Democracy

• Rhode Island became a safe haven for those refugees who were being persecuted for their religious beliefs.

WILLIAM PENN

• Persecuted in England for his Quaker faith, Penn came to America in 1682 and established Pennsylvania as a place where people could enjoy freedom of religion.

• In a 1682 Penn guaranteed absolute freedom of worship in Pennsylvania. Rich in fertile lands as well as religious freedom, the colony attracted settlers and grew rapidly.

• Later Pennsylvania would serve as the birthplace of our nation.

PATRICK HENRY• A natural leader and a brilliant speaker, believed in individual rights

and independence from the British government.

• As a young lawyer, he astonished his courtroom audience in 1763 with an eloquent defense.

• He believed each person was born with natural rights, the political theory that humans are born with certain inalienable (incapable of being taken away) rights.

• At the time those rights included the following: • Life• Property• Liberty

• The idea of natural rights is central to the Declaration of Independence.

THE THIRTEEN COLONIES• The Thirteen Colonies were

British colonies in North America founded between 1607 and 1732.

• Although Great Britain held several other colonies in North America and the West Indies, the colonies referred to as the "thirteen" are those that rebelled against British rule in 1775 and proclaimed their independence on July 4, 1776.

• They are the first 13 states of the United States of America.

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

• Drafted by Thomas Jefferson between June 11 and June 28, 1776, shared on July 4, 1776. • Jefferson expressed the convictions in the minds

and hearts of the American people. • What Jefferson did was to summarize this

philosophy in "self-evident truths" and set forth a list of grievances against the King in order to justify before the world the breaking of ties between the colonies and the mother country.

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

This masterpiece of legislation does two things for the colonies:

1. Voices the discontent of the masses

2. Gives rise to the revolution.

THE REVOLUTION

• The war itself, we know American wins. BUT…

• What we are concerned with in this course is how did this battle shape the hopes and dreams of every American?

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE COLONIES AS A RESULT OF THE WAR?

• Ideological demands always came before class!• Patriots were a 'mixed lot', with the richer and

better educated more likely to become officers in the Army.• Patriots viewed independence as a means of

freeing themselves from British: oppression, taxation, and reasserting what they considered to be their natural born rights.• Most farmers, craftsmen and small merchants

joined the patriot cause as well, demanding more political equality.

THE RESULTS…

• The results of the American Revolution were both unique and radical. It was an event that produced deep changes and would have a profound impact on future world affairs.

• In terms of the American Dream the Revolution helped bring the following issues to the forefront:

• REPUBLICANISM• NATURAL RIGHTS• REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

REPUBLICANISM

• In political theory the term ‘republicanism’ is generally used in reference to a loose tradition or family of writers in the history of western political thought.

• The writers in this tradition emphasize many common ideas and concerns, such as the importance of civic virtue and political participation, the dangers of corruption, the benefits of a mixed constitution and the rule of law.

NATURAL RIGHTS

• Political theory that maintains that an individual enters into society with certain basic rights and that no government can deny these rights.

• In the 17th century natural law doctrines were modified to stress the fact that individuals, because they are natural beings, have rights that cannot be violated by anyone or by any society.

NATURAL RIGHTS• The most famous formulation of this doctrine is found

in the writings of John Locke, who assumed that humans were by nature rational and good, and that they carried into political society the same rights they had enjoyed in earlier stages of society:

• 1. freedom of worship• 2. the right to a voice in their own government• 3. right of property

• The most important elaboration of the idea of natural rights came in the colonies where the writings of Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, and Thomas Paine made of the natural rights theory a powerful justification for revolution.

REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

• Founded on the principles of popular sovereignty (Most important term in gov’t)• Representatives are chosen by the people they

govern and are charged with the responsibility of acting in the people's interest• The representatives are chosen by the majority of

the voters in elections. • Representatives hold the power to select other

representatives, presidents, or other officers of government.• Ensures the protection of liberties.

THE CONSTITUTION• Largely the work of James Madison.• The U.S. Constitution is one of the most influential

legal documents in existence. Since its creation some two hundred years ago, over one hundred countries around the world have used it as a model for their own.• It is a living document. It is one of the world's

oldest surviving constitutions. • The Supreme Court continually interprets the

Constitution so as to reflect a rapidly changing world, its basic tenets have remained virtually unchanged since its inception, and unchallenged as well.

POP CULTURE• Pop culture is the widespread cultural elements in any

given society that are perpetuated through that society's language.

• It comprises the daily interactions, needs and desires and cultural moments that make up the everyday lives of the mainstream.

• It is what happens around us everyday. You see what is popular everyday no matter were you go or what you do.

• Pop culture is also the latest trends and styles that the people wear everyday. It can include any number of practices, including:

• Mass Media • Entertainment• Sports• Clothing• Literature