Question

What are the values stated in the Declaration of Independence? In what ways can you see those values working in contemporary U.S. society? In what ways can you see them failing? What examples of hypocrisy in the founding of the U.S. does Hannah-Jones supply? What evidence can you see for how "some might argue that this nation was founded not as a democracy but as a slavocracy"?

a) The values stated in the Declaration of Independence include freedom, equality, and the pursuit of happiness.
b) The values are working well in contemporary U.S. society through various civil rights movements and legal reforms.
c) The values may be failing in instances of systemic inequalities and discrimination.
d) Examples of hypocrisy include the contradiction between proclaiming equality while supporting slavery.
e) Some evidence supporting the argument of a slavocracy includes the continuation of slavery despite democratic ideals.

Answer 1

The Declaration of Independence enshrines the values of freedom, equality, and the pursuit of happiness. These have been reflected in U.S. society through civil rights progress, yet contradicted by the historical reality of slavery, leading some to critique the nation's founding as hypocritical and slavocratic.

Step-by-step explanation:

The values stated in the Declaration of Independence include freedom, equality, and the pursuit of happiness. These ideals are at the heart of American democracy and have served as a model for individual rights and governance around the world. In contemporary U.S. society, we can see these values at work through various civil rights movements and legal reforms aimed at broadening the scope of equality and protecting liberties. However, these values sometimes fail in instances of systemic inequalities and discrimination that persist despite the promises of the Declaration.

One example of hypocrisy in the country's founding, as Hannah-Jones might argue, is the existence of slavery at the same time the founding documents were proclaiming the equality of all men. This contradiction lends credence to the argument that America was founded not only as a democracy but also as a slavocracy. This term reflects the undeniable reality that slavery was a deeply entrenched institution that shaped the nation's economic and social structures, even as the founders spoke of universal rights and freedoms.