Facts
Concepts 1
Concepts 2
Vocabulary - nouns and adjectives
Vocabulary - verbs and adverbs
100
1776
When did the USA declare its independence from Britain?
100
self-reliance
What is the price paid for individual freedom?
100
Because without a social framework defined by nobility and titles, they didn't have another way to judge social status.
Why did Americans use material wealth to measure success and social status?
100
aspect; trait; characteristic
What is "facet"
100
to challenge
What is "to defy"?
200
James Madison
Who is "the father of the American Constitution?"
200
Competition
What is the price paid for equality of opportunity?
200
Because in recent years, changes in the world economy have meant that many more Americans are stuck in low-paid jobs with few benefits, and their opportunities to "go from rags to riches" have been much reduced.
Why do many Americans now have less faith in the traditional "American Dream?"
200
basis or groundwork of anything, whether a building or idea
What is "foundation"?
200
done in a striking or impressive way
What is "dramatically"?
300
1787
When was the US Constitution written?
300
Hard work
What is the price paid for material wealth?
300
"They enable a nation of enormous diversity to create and maintain a national identity."
Why are the six paired values of individual freedom/self-reliance, equality of opportunity/competition, and material wealth/hard work so important for the USA?
300
a negative attitude toward an entire category of people, often an ethnic or racial minority.
What is "prejudice"?
300
to receive possessions (money, a home, land), physical traits (height, eye shape), or other characteristics (personality, style of laugh) from an older relative.
What is "inherit"?
400
...the belief that if people take responsibility for their lives and work hard, they will have the individual freedom to pursue their personal goals and a good opportunity to compete for success.
What is "the American Dream?"
400
They separated church and state, and they expressly forbade titles of nobility.
How did the "founding fathers" prevent established religions and the aristocracy (which had limited social mobility and controlled ordinary people in the immigrants' home countries) from achieving power in the new USA.
400
Because they might feel useless and unwanted in a society that gives so much prestige to those who compete well. This might explain why they sometimes do not have as much honor and respect as they have in other less-competitive societies.
Why might many Americans not feel happy after they retire from their jobs?
400
deeply insightful; deep understanding
What is "profound"?
400
to get rid of
What is "eliminate"?
500
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal by their Creator with certain inalienable right, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
What is the preamble to the American "Declaration of Independence?"
500
Because to an American, this means that a person values material wealth above everything else, and most Americans like to think that they value other things (family, religion, education etc.) apart from wealth and possessions.
Why do most Americans find it offensive to be described as "materialistic"?
500
He wrote, "we all share a common set of values that make us American.....We are defined by the rights we have.....Our rights are our history, why the first European settlers came here, and why millions more have come here since.
Who is John Zogby?
500
overpowering
What is "overwhelming"?
500
prohibit; refuse to allow something to happen or exist
What is "forbid"?
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