The Declaration of Independence
W hen in the Course of hum an events 1 it becom es necessary for one people to dissolve 2
the political bands w hich have connected them w ith another and assum e 3 am ong the
pow ers of the earth, the separate and equal station 4 to w hich the Law s of N ature and
of N ature’s G od entitle 5 them , a decent respect to the opinions of m ankind requires
that they should declare the causes w hich im pel 6 them to the separation.
W e hold these truths to be self-evident 7 , that all m en are created equal, that they are
endow ed 8 by their Creator w ith certain unalienable 9 R ights, that am ong these are
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of H appiness 10 . – That to secure 11 these rights,
G overnm ents are instituted am ong M en, deriving 12 their just 13 pow ers from the
consent 14 of the governed, – That w henever any Form of G overnm ent becom es
destructive of these ends 15 , it is the R ight of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to
institute new G overnm ent [… ]
1
the Course of human events (here:) history 2to dissolve to end 3to assume sth. to take sth. up, to begin to
use or have sth. 4station position 5to entitle sb. to sth. to give sb. the right to sth. 6to impel sb. to sth. to
drive sb. to sth. 7self-evident obvious 8to endow sb. with sth. to provide sb. with sth. 9unalienable (old
use:) inalienable, impossible to take away 10pursuit of Happiness Streben nach Glück, Zufriedenheit,
existentieller Sicherheit 11to secure sth. to guarantee sth. 12to derive sth. from etwas herleiten von 13just
gerecht 14consent permission, agreement 15whenever … these ends wenn je eine Regierungsform sich als
diesen Zielen abträglich erweist
Comprehension questions you can answer on this sheet:
1. What are the “unalienable rights” mentioned in paragraph 2?
2. Who gives people these unalienable rights?
3. According to the authors of the Declaration of Independence,
from what source does government get its power to govern?
4. When can the people form a new government?
The 1st Amendment
The first ten amendments to the US Constitution are called “The Bill of Rights”. They were written shortly after the
Constitution itself because people saw a need for a document listing the individual rights of every citizen.
[… ]
Congress shall m ake no law respecting an establishm ent of religion, or prohibiting
the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the
right of the people peaceably to assem ble, and to petition the G overnm ent for a
redress of grievances.
[… ]
The five freedoms the 1st Amendment lists are:
Choose one of them and describe situations / contexts in which it does not apply unlimited:
James Truslow Adams: The American Dream (“The Epic of America”)
The American historian and writer James Truslow Adams coined the phrase of the “American Dream” in his book
“The Epic of America” which was published in 1931, just two years after the beginning of the Great Depression (=
economic crisis). The following is an excerpt from this book.
[…] there has been also the American Dream, the dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and
fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for
the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary1 and
mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of a social order in which
each man and each woman shall be able to attain2 to the fullest stature3 of which they are innately4 capable, and
be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous5 circumstances of birth or position. [...]
No, the American Dream that has lured6 tens of millions of all nations to our shores in the past century has not
been a dream of merely material plenty, though that has doubtless counted heavily. It has been much more than
that. It has been a dream of being able to grow to fullest development as man and woman, unhampered7 by the
barriers which had slowly been erected8 in older civilizations, unrepressed by social orders which had developed
for the benefit of classes rather than for the simple human being of any and every class. And that dream has been
realized more fully in actual life here than anywhere else, though very imperfectly even among ourselves. [...]
The point is that if we are to have a rich and full life in which all are to share and play their parts, if the American
Dream is to be a reality, our communal spiritual and intellectual life must be distinctly higher than elsewhere,
where classes and groups have their separate interests, habits, markets, arts, and lives. If the dream […] is to
come true, those on top, financially, intellectually, or otherwise, have got to devote9 themselves to the “Great
Society”, and those who are below in the scale have got to strive10 to rise, not merely economically, but culturally.
We cannot become a great democracy by giving ourselves up as individuals to selfishness, physical comfort and
cheap amusement. The very foundation of the American Dream of a better and richer life for all is that all, in
varying degrees, shall be capable of wanting to share in it. […]Lincoln was not great because he was born in a log
cabin11 , but because he got out of it – that is, because he rose above the poverty, ignorance, lack of ambition,
shiftlessness of character, contentment with mean things and low aims which kept so many thousands in the huts
where they were born.
If we are to make the dream come true we must all work together, no longer to build bigger, but to build better.
[…]The epic loses all its glory without the dream. The statistics of size, population and wealth would mean nothing
to me unless I could still believe in the dream. [...]
1
to grow weary of sth. etwas leid sein 2to attain to succeed in arriving at sth. 3stature
position, respect 4innate sth. you are born with 5fortuitous lucky 6to lure (an)locken
7
unhampered unbehindert 8to erect to establish 9to devote for sich ganz widmen
10
to strive to struggle, to try very hard 11log cabin small house made of wood
Questions:
1. What are the major elements of the American Dream as described by Adams?
2. What, according to Adams, must be done and what must be avoided in order to make the dream a reality?
J. Hector S. John de Crèvecœur: What is an American? (“Letters from an American Farmer”)
Crèvecœur came to Canada in 1754 to serve in the war and he settled down as a farmer in Orange County, New
York in 1765. That is where he wrote his “Letters from an American Farmer” (1770-1775).
What then is the American, this new man? He is either a European, or the descendant of a European, hence that
strange mixture of blood, which you will find in no other country. I could point out to you a family whose
grandfather was an Englishman, whose wife was Dutch, whose son married a French woman, and whose present
four sons have now four wives of different nations. […]
Here individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men, whose labors and posterity1 will one day cause
great changes in the world. […] The Americans were once scattered all over Europe; here they are incorporated
into one of the finest systems of population which has ever appeared, and which will hereafter become distinct
by the power of the different climates they inhabit. The American ought therefore to love this country much
better than that wherein either he or his forefathers were born. […] His labor is founded on the basis of nature,
self-interest, […] to clear those fields whence exuberant crops2 are to arise to feed and to clothe them all; without
any part being claimed, either by a despotic prince, a rich abbot3, or a mighty lord. […]
The American is a new man, who acts upon new principles; he must therefore entertain new ideas, and form new
opinions. […] – This is an American.
1
posterity: all the people who will live in the future
exuberant crops: fruit, vegetables or other plants growing strongly
3
abbot: the head of a monastery (=Kloster) or an abbey (=Abtei)
2
Questions:
1. According to Crèvecœur, what happens to Europeans settling down in America?
2. What is the difference of being a farmer in Europe compared to being a farmer in America?
3. What is the consequence of this, according to Crèvecœur?
The American Dream
The compulsory assignments (=the ones that everybody has to do) are printed in regular print. The ones in italics
are optional assignments. You should be able to do at least one or two of the optional assignments.
Use this page to tick all the assignments that you have completed (if necessary for homework). File all your
sheets in the according order. Content, language, quantity and appearance are all important. Due date: 16th June
The Declaration of Independence
Read the text. (You do not need to understand every single word!) Answer the questions on the sheet.
Make a mind map of the rights mentioned in the excerpt from the Declaration of Independence and your
associations to each of these keywords (What do they mean? What concrete aspects do they include?) You
can add more aspects while/after working on the other assignments.
Choose one (or more) of these rights and write a paragraph about how this particular right could be in danger
today / could have been in danger in the past.
The 1st Amendment to the US Constitution
Read the text and do the two tasks on the worksheet.
Choose one of the cartoons to be found in the classroom and write a text about it: Describe what you see and
then analyze its meaning. They all deal with the topic “liberty vs. security”.
Find information about the “USA PATRIOT Act”. Write a text commenting on the question whether it violates
the First Amendment.
James Truslow Adams: The American Dream (“The Epic of America”)
Read the text and mark passages that answer the questions below the text.
Visualize your answers to the questions neatly on a separate sheet. Complete sentences are not necessary.
There is a lottery for Green Cards (= US work permits) every year. This proves that the “Dream” is still attractive
for many people outside the USA. Are you tempted to immigrate to the USA or not? Write a text giving reasons.
Choose one of the following contemporary celebrities and find out about his/her life: Arnold Schwarzenegger,
Chris Gardner, Jay-Z, John Paul DeJoria, Liz Murray, Oprah Winfrey, Ursula Burns.
Write a text briefly describing his/her life in one paragraph and then discussing whether he/she lives according
to the American Dream depicted by James Truslow Adams.
J. Hector St. John de Crèvecœur: What is an American? (“Letters from an American Farmer”)
Read the text and answer the questions below the text in complete sentences on a separate sheet.
Analyze the cartoon on the bottom of the page connecting it with Crèvecœur’s ideas.
Crèvecœur describes America as a melting pot (=Schmelztiegel). This is a well-known metaphor, but also an
outdated one. Nowadays the American society is often compared to a salad bowl or a quilt. Compare the
metaphor of the melting pot to one of the newer ones and justify which one you consider more appropriate to
describe the American society of the 21st century.