Question

What did Barbara Jordan believe were the responsibilities of the government and those of the people to create unity within the country? Write a response to this question and cite evidence from the speech to support your response.

Answer 1

Barbara Jordan believed that both the government and the people had responsibilities to create unity within the country by upholding principles of democracy, ensuring equal rights and opportunities, and actively engaging in civic participation.

Step-by-step explanation:

Barbara Jordan believed that both the government and the people had responsibilities to create unity within the country. In her famous speech, she emphasized the government's responsibility to uphold the principles of democracy and ensure equal rights and opportunities for all citizens. She also highlighted the people's responsibility to actively engage in civic participation and hold the government accountable.

Jordan stated, "We have a positive vision of the kind of people we want to be, we have a positive vision of the kind of nation we want to be, and that is why we are here today."

By expressing this vision, she emphasized the shared responsibility of both the government and the people in creating unity within the country. Through active civic engagement and holding the government accountable, Jordan believed that unity could be achieved.

Answer 2

Jordan retired from Congress in 1979 to become a professor at the Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. She became an active public speaker and advocate, amassing 25 honorary doctorates. Her vehement opposition helped derail George Bush’s nomination of Robert Bork (who had opposed many civil rights cases) to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Jordan, who had suffered from multiple sclerosis since 1973, was wheelchair-bound by the time she was invited to give her second Democratic convention keynote address in 1992. Until her death she remained private about her illnesses, which finally included diabetes and cancer.

In 1994 Bill Clinton awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor. Jordan died of leukemia-related pneumonia on January 17, 1996. Breaking barriers even in death, she became the first African American to be buried among the governors, senators and congressmen in the Texas State Cemetery.