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personal/individual, but also communal! Dream: dream of... Lpersonal: freedom, dignity & happiness économic: prosperity and success; rising from poverty to fame & fortune •Social: equality (of opportunity) & a classless society. G religious religious freedom in a promised land" chosen by God political: democracy. Historical background ● * ● •* religious persecution, political oppression & poverty. ● Mayflower America is built on immigration 1620: Pilgrim Fathers, members of the English Separatist Church (a radical faction of Puritanism that represented the protestant reformed principles) fled from Great Britain to escape persecution at home they sailed across the Atlantic on the Mayflower and found the first permanent colony, the Plymouth Colony in what (Massachusetts) many others were also sent there for criminal offences and others were given land there many Native Americans lived in America before the pilgrims arrived → instead of assimilating the Native's culture, they stole their land and started to kill thousands of them → the Pilgrim Fathers formed a society based on bloody fights they had permission as God's chosen ones: Americans have the right to guide the whole world and to overspread it completely "e pluribus unum": people from many colonies, states or ancestries came to America, lived there together and became a unity Declaration of Independence (4th of July 1776); * written by Thomas Jefferson ( the AD were summarized in here) to King George idea from the Founding fathers to establish their own government built on democratic ideals * declared the 13 colonies free and independent -> political connection with GB dissolved * all American citizens are created equally * all men have unalienable rights: life: leading a secure life protected by the law government in military. liberty: personal and religious freedom pursuit of happiness: (personal & material) success and wealth - optimism and believe in anticipated success individual ways of pursuing one's and realizing one's goals equality: equal rights for men and women & for people from different ethnicities and social backgrounds * these rights are granted by god * governments receive their power to reservier these rights from the people * the people can abolish their government when it does not respect their rights Constitution (1789) * establishes the principles for a democratic government Bill of rights (1791) * first 10 amendments to the American Constitution * limitations of government's power * written because some delegates feared that the American government would threaten everyone's ability to achieve personal freedom and the pursuit of happiness guarantee/ensure American citizens certain invalid rights, e.g. freedom of religion, freedom of speech and the press, as well as the rights to equal justice + right to bear arms (2nd amendment): pro: American birthright con: high number of incidents of gun violence Freedom - The Statue of Liberty • given to the USA As a gift from France in 1886, to celebrate the first 100 years of American independence from Britain • located in Upper New York Bay a robed Woman, holding a lit torch in her right and a tablet in her left hand, showing the date of the Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776) • Symbolizes enlightenment, independence, liberty and freedom Manifest Destiny (god-given-mission) was coined by the American journalist John L. O'Sullivan in 1839: Stands for the belief that America has been chosen by God to: * expand from east coast to west coast -> from Atlantic to Pacific. ocean AND * spread democracy, American beliefs and western way of living across the globe -> it was to justify and validate westward continental acquisitions • America = A country that is superior to all other countries. as it being the "promised land" => American's patriotism is deeply rooted in the concept of Manifest destiny "I'm proud to be American". -> strong national pride because they see themselves as the chosen people The Frontier (myth) * border between civilization and wilderness The Puritans (English protestants) were members of a religious reform movement (Puritanism) that arose within the church of England toward the end of the 16th century believed that the church of England was too similar to the Roman Catholic Church -> intention: to purify the Church of England from Roman Catholic practices and traditions The New Canaan (concept) in the Bible "Canaan" was the land God promised to the Israelites • he ordered Moses to lead the people from captivity in Egypt to Canaan as "a land of milk and honey" => America sees itself in this tradition as the "New Canaan" -> closely linked to Manifest Destiny