On 7^thJune,Richard Henry Lee, a Virginina, asked the Continental Congress in Philadelphia to consider declaring independence from Great Britain. The Congress appointed a committee of five to write the formal declaration. Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft of “The Declaration of Independence” (1776) and a few changes were made by John Adams, Benjamin Frankin, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston, the other members of the committee. On 4^thJuly, 1776,the Founding Fathers adopted the Declaration of Independence, in which the British colonies announced their disengagement [dt. (hier): Loslösung] from Great Britain.

Quote:

“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”

~ excerpt out of a transcription of the Declaration of Independence (preamble by Thomas Jefferson)

[dt.: „Wenn es im Lauf menschlicher Ereignisse notwendig wird, dass ein Volk die politischen Bande, die es mit einem anderen verbunden hat, auflöst und unter den Mächten der Erde die getrennte und gleichberechtigte Position einnimmt, zu der die Gesetze der Natur und des Gottes der Natur sie berechtigen, erfordert ein anständiger Respekt vor den Meinungen der Menschheit, dass sie die Ursachen erklären, die sie zur Trennung veranlassen.”]

Additionally, principles of the American democracy were defined in the Declaration of Independence. The principles such as human rights, equality, liberty and pursuit of happiness did not yet apply to all people, but only to men.

Quote:

“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.”

~ excerpt out of a transcription of the Declaration of Independence

[dt.: „Wir halten diese Wahrheiten für selbstverständlich, dass alle Menschen gleich geschaffen sind, dass sie von ihrem Schöpfer mit bestimmten unveräußerlichen Rechten ausgestattet sind, darunter Leben, Freiheit und das Streben nach Glück“]

Jefferson draws on John Locke’s political theories from his book “On Civil Government“. Jefferson begins the document by proclaiming a set of natural rights held by all and the responsibility of the government to protect these rights. In lines 1-27, he provides a general philosophical justification (on the basis of natural rights). It is necessary to dissolve political bands for self-evident reasons. God has created all men equal (Deism), natural rights of life, liberty & pursuit of happiness entail that the government is established to secure these rights. If the government is unable or destructive, the people have right to alter, abolish or institute new government (social contract). He then cites specific ways in which King George III. has violated the colonists’ rights, which forms their justification for seeking independence.

In lines 27-87, he enumerates a “list of grievances”: He enumerates King’s wrongdoings with “he has” anaphora. George III has weakened American legislature, manipulated jurisdiction, kept his army in America during times of peace and made US subject to laws against their own constitution (trade limiting taxes such as the Sugar Act 1764, Stamp Act 1765, Tea Act 1773, Intolerable Acts 1774-5), he has declared war, has excited domestic insurrections and attacks by Native Americans (Indian savages). The conclusion of this list of grievances is that such a tyrant is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. Jefferson repeats that they warned the monarchy of unwarrantable jurisdiction, circumstances of settlement and insists that they must accept the necessity and separate as friends in peace & enemies in war.

In lines 88-end, we’ve got the conclusion to the “Declaration of Independence”: The General Congress for the good of people solemnly publishes and declares that “these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States”; free from British Crown and State. It goes on to state the following: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance as the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor“ (113-116). “The Declaration of Independence” can be classified as a bold political argumentation and propaganda, not a legally binding decision. It uses the style of syllogism (classic logical deduction): general – specific – conclusion. In a similar way as Paine does in his pamphlet “Common Sense”, Jefferson and his co-authors use different ways of speaking to different addressees (propaganda for common people, philosophy for intellectuals). As revolutionary as this document was, it is important to point out that this is a white-men-only document that excludes Black people and women.

America was influenced by the Era of Enlightenment and since 1787/88 the US Constitution has guarded the separation of powers across executive, legislative and judiciary branches. The separation of power has been necessary for liberty, which is one of the democratic principles mentioned above. Nevertheless, for a number of activists the constitution was too imprecise [dt.: ungenau, unpräzise], which is why amendments were requested.

The United States Bill of Rights is the name given to the first 10 amendments to the US constitution. It was created in 1789 and fully ratified by all states in December 1791. The Bill of Rights was based upon the English Bill of Rights of 1689, and the Virginia Declaration of Rights of 1776. The purpose of these rights was to protect the freedoms and rights of the individuals from the federal government, and they include the right to bear arms, the right to free speech, as well as the rights to trial by jury, protection from search and seizures, and the prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.

To some degree, the Bill of Rights incorporated John Locke‘s claim that civil society was created for the protection of property (or that which is one´s own, i.e. life, liberty, and estate). While Antifederalists insisted on the inclusion of a bill of rights, Federalists argued that a bill of rights was unnecessary and even ran the risk of being incomplete, which would imply the abandonment of rights not listed.

Amongst the Mayflower Compact (1620), the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the US Constitution (1787/88), the Bill of Rights has also been one of the cornerstone documents in American history.

Important Amendments:

Amendments are articles or passages that are added to the Constitution.Amendments improve or complete a paper and can change a country's political system. Amendments are often added to regulate a subject in more detail. The United Sates Constitution now has 25 functioning amendments. 27 amendments were ratified in total, but one of these, the 18th, was Prohibition (the ban of alcohol) and another, the 21st, was the repeal of Prohibition. An amendment may be proposed by a two-thirds vote of both Houses of Congress, or, if two thirds of the States request one, by a convention for that purpose. The amendment must then be ratified [dt. ratifiziert] by three-fourths of the State legislatures, or three-fourths of conventions called in each State for ratification.

The Reconstruction amendments were the 13^th Amendment that abolished slavery, the 14^th Amendment granting citizenship to all people born in the United States and the 15^th Amendment, which made it illegal to deny the right to vote because of race. The Reconstruction amendments attempted to integrate newly freed slaves into society after the Civil War.

Former Confederate states were required to ratify the Reconstruction amendments in order to be represented at a federal level once more. When the war ended, slavery had been abolished in Washington, D.C., and in some states, but not at the national level. The 13^th Amendment, initiated by Charles Sumner and other senators, abolished slavery nationwide. The 14^th Amendment allowed former slaves to become citizens of the U.S. and punished states that limited citizens' rights. The 15^th Amendment was ratified in 1870 and prohibited states from preventing citizens suffrage based on race.

Die Entwicklung und die Prinzipien der amerikanischen Demokratie und der Verfassung gehen mit derImmigration in Amerika, dem „American Dream“ oder auch Amerika als „Land der unbegrenzten Chancen und Möglichkeiten“ einher. Die USA wird häufig als Einwanderungsland und als Ort der Selbstverwirklichung gesehen. Bezüglich Aspekten des American Dream und wie diese zustande kommen, ist es notwendig auf die Geschichte einzugehen. Dabei geht es zum Beispiel um Werte wie „pursuit of happiness, liberty, democracy and separation of powers“, die erstmals bereits in der Declaration of Independence genannt werden und sich somit auf den Beginn der amerikanischen Geschichte beziehen lassen. Die geschichtlichen Jahreszahlen sind bisher nicht explizit abgefragt worden, jedoch ist es wichtig die Zusammenhänge verstanden zu haben und in den Text gegebenenfalls miteinzubringen, um den amerikanischen Patriotismus, Lebensstil und den „American Dream“ plausibel zu erklären.

Auf Aufgaben, die sich zwar hauptsächlich auf den American Dream (aber explizit erwähnt auch auf Amerikas geschichtliche Wurzeln beziehen können) werden 35 – 40BE vergeben.