What does America stand for?

Remember how the country started....

• Religious persecution brought many people here

-In England they were told what to believe

• Britain made the colonies follow laws that didn't seem fair:

  -Taxation without representation

  -Illegal search and seizure

  -​Long and unfair trials (often all the way over in England)

  -Monarchy held the power while the people had little say

Who do we want to be?

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What do we change so that our country is better? ​

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This made the founding fathers really think....

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The decided some things were really important....

• Liberty (freedom)

• Justice- Including ​speedy and fair trials

  -All citizens are presumed innocent until found guilty​

• Equality for all

  -Did we really have equality for all?

• A government by the people for the people​

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Also called "Natural Rights," this means that all people should be entitled to these rights as human beings, regardless of who they are. ​

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What rights should we all be entitled to?

They even called some of these Inalienable Rights​...

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​The American's Creed

• Written by William Tyler Page as an entry into a contest about patriotism

• Won the contest

• Accepted by the United States House of Representatives on April 3, 1918.

• Part of our national identity​/symoblism