Aim: Why is “The Declaration of Independence” symbolized as a valuable document for our society?
Do Now: Why do you believe an individual’s rights are so important to society?
Our team said that it gives everyone the chance to express themselves, get an education and defend themselves. Other teams said it is to create a world where everyone won’t discriminate against anyone and to give anyone the freedom they deserve. Also, another group stated that the government exists to secure our rights and if we don’t have rights, we won’t be able to do the things we enjoy and focus on our society. Mrs. Peterson said that we as a society take this for granted and that’s why we fight so hard because we’re used to this. Other countries don’t have the same rights as us and that’s why so many people want to come to America.
Later, the class read an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence. Here is the excerpt:
“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. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.”
The Declaration of Independence
Teamwork: After that we split into our teams and grouped up to answer the questions.
Interpret what you believe the writers meant by “life,” “liberty,” and “the pursuit of' happiness”?
I think that what the writers meant by “life” was that every person should have the freedom to be alive and our team agreed that those words, as a whole, meant that someone could and should live their life the way they want. I think by “liberty” they should be able to express themselves without any consequences and by “the pursuit of happiness” that everyone could better themselves and improve. Other teams stated that the writers meant ‘opportunity’ and not happiness itself since then, why would it say “pursuit” of happiness (group 1 and 6)? Peterson said that if she was unhappy because of a kid and wanted to push them out the window, if she did, it would make her happy, but she can’t because all those laws restrict her even though it might be happy. There are limitations to what we want and what we’re allowed to do.
2) Evaluate whether or not the typical person in the United States today has these rights. How do you know?
Our team wrote that we know the typical person in the U.S has those rights because someone in the United States can express themselves how they want and have the right to protest when they don’t like a decision. Team 6 wrote that there are limitations, such as if someone was growing drugs in their backyard, they aren’t affecting anyone but it is still illegal to protect themselves. Team 4 said that everyone has rights but the majority of people are still affected by the time when they had no rights and were discriminated against.
3) Identify and explain the variety of things we do in the U.S. (today) to try to guarantee “equality”? How would you grade/determine their success/failure? Why/Why Not?
Things we do in the U.S to try to have “equality” are to have a Bill of Rights and programs to help the less fortunate. We also have free public education, an unemployment program, the FBI, and many, many more. Our team agreed on a 6 out of a 10 since some laws have limits on how they restrict us. The class agreed that education and healthcare is an example of “equality” but not really since the quality of other places and other schools may differ but still everyone could get an education and high school diploma. Certain doctors and healthcares are better than others, but everyone could still go to one.
4) What alternative(s) would you suggest?
Our team stated that some alternatives to increase equality would be to have free healthcare and free college education. Peterson said that the juristive system is corrupted and an example is that no one knows how to “ equal” the laws because a clerk, who ultimately makes the decision in a court, will most likely pick the one with more money and influence then say, a regular person. Team 2 said that millionaires and billionaires should pay, another person argued that people who made that money should keep it, as they themselves earned the money and the right to keep it.
5) Do you believe these alternative ideas/methods might be more effective? Why/Why Not?
My entire team agreed that this would help and be more effective because they would help ease the burden on everyone else. Sadly, because of a fire drill we were not able to have a class discussion on this question.
Reflection: Today, I learned more about the Declaration of Independence and what it represented. From the excerpt and our class discussions, we were able to create a deeper understanding of the why and how our rights were important and essential in our society. I learned deeper on why we have the laws we have today (to make sure no one gets hurt) and how it deeply affects us, the people living under those laws. This deeply affects me because although I am still young and have yet to pay taxes yet, I am still restricted by the laws and have an education in a public school so I am still surrounded by government influence. If it wasn’t for the government, I probably wouldn’t have been able to learn here and live here. I also understand that I am responsible for my own happiness and that the United States can only grant us opportunities and are not responsible for our own actions and decisions of pursuit. Law and equal rights are not a topic I understand fully, but I hope to learn more about them someday.
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