Question

In what ways did the ideals of America provide an ideal to strive for rather than a lived reality?

Answer 1

In many ways, the founding of America represented a radical shift in the course of history. Drawing upon classical principles of democracy in ancient Greece and republic in ancient Rome, the founders of America outlined an ideal of government defined by equality and freedom. This is evident in the Declaration of Independence, which states that "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." The constitution later outlines the specific framework and goal of American government, noting that "in Order to form a more perfect Union. establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States." This gives us considerable insight into the initial goals and ideals of America: freedom, liberty, justice, tranquility,and equality. These frameworks also tell us that the founders intended rights to help secure these principles.

The problem with these ideals at the time they were written is that they did not describe the society that was immediately created by these words. Although the words of the founding outlined equality, slavery was still a massive and profitable industry in early America. Another radical ideas of America's founding-- that the people themselves should get a say in governance which would then help secure their rights--was also severely limited to the realm of white men. Women, people of color, and other disadvantaged groups were summarily excluded from democracy.

While this might imply that we should be pessimistic about how American democracy is able to live up to its goals, we should, however, consider the whole span of American history. Although the founding principles of America may be incredibly lofty--so high that they may never be fully realized--America's democracy and the ability of the people to shape government has throughout history helped expand the rights and freedoms for many groups. So while these ideals may never be a lived ideal, democracy gives us a real mechanism to work towards even the loftiest goals of freedom, equality, and liberty for all.