Introduction
Democracy and America are two terms that seem to go together in this day and age. America has a reputation of upholding the rights of all its citizens and giving those citizens a right to vote. We all know however that America was not the America we know today. There have been several changes to our government system and to our rights as individuals. Let us explore how America became the great country of democracy that we know today amd how it has grown since the colonial age.
Task
We all view America as being one of the most democratic countries if not the most democratic country in the world. But what were the intentions of the first contienental congress? What were some of the rights for the people? Was democracy really meant for everyone in this new country?
Process
We can see that since the formation of our country and the Declaration of Independence from Great Britian, that democracy and rights have always been a priority. This would make sense because of the scare that many of colonial americans had that Great Britian was going to take their rights away. Our founding fathers wanted to establish a system of government that would protect our liberties in a way that they would not be tarnished. The Declaration of Independence created a Bill of Rights that laid out some of basic rights that we hold true today. Such as, Freedom of speech, freedom of press, and freedom of religon. The list goes on and on but the right to vote was not given to everyone in the early formation of our country. Only wealthy, white landowners were allowed to vote. Other basic rights such as this one were also witheld from women and slaves. So as one might notice, early colonial America was not for everyone.
Evaluation
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Beginning 1 |
Developing 2 |
Accomplished 3 |
Exemplary 4 |
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What were the intentions of the Contiental Congress?
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Freedom |
Independence from Great Britian |
Declare Independence and create a new system of Gov. |
Declare Independence from Great Britian and create a system of government that would give people individual rights. |
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Was colonial America really meant for evferyone?
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some not for most |
A small miniority of people. Not like in America today. |
Basic rights were only given to wealthy white landowners which really meant that at this time that they were the only ones who could enjoy basic freedoms. |
Basic rights were only given to wealthy white landowners neglecting slaves and women, meaning that colonial america was not necessarily for everyone. |
Conclusion
Democracy in America has always been a solid truth. However it did take a few revisions and ratifications to form democracy as we know it today. It has taken many decades and even a Civil War for us to truly grasp what democracy is.