1. The United States of America The Greatest Country in the World

2. 1776 “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.” -Jefferson The Declaration of Independence -

3. 1798 The Sedition Act is passed by Congress to quell criticism of the government’s undeclared naval war with France.

4. How?

5. “The Sedition Act made it a crime to publish ‘false, scandalous, and malicious writing’ against the government or its officials. “

6. …hey Congress Ever hear of the First Amendment?

7. The First Amendment of the Bill of Rights, passed only nine years earlier, guaranteed citizens the FREEDOM OF SPEECH!

8. Did this stop the government from jailing newspaper editors and others who criticized the country?

9. NO

10. 1831 After the passing of the 1830 Indian Removal Act, thousands of Native Americans are forced by the U.S. government to leave their homes and migrate west of the Mississippi River.

11. Why?

12. To gain possession of Native American land, of coarse.

13. By 1837 more than 47,000 Native Americans had been forced into the West.

14. However, not all Native Americans went peaceably. The Seminole tribe engaged American troops in a bloody war that lasted seven years (1835 – 42).

15. Thousands were killed.

16. 1942 Following the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor, the U.S. began relocating Japanese Americans into “War Relocation Camps.”

17. 120,000 people were forced out of their homes for fear that their loyalties to America were not absolute.

18. Why would the government doubt the loyalties of these people?

19. Only because of their Japanese heritage.

20. So… …why am I pointing out all of these events?

21. Think I’m committing treason?

22. Or, perhaps, just being a bit unpatriotic?

23. Well before you pull out the tar and feathers just listen.

24. I don’t criticize because I hate, but because I love.

25. Think of me as America’s nagging housewife.

26. Change is born from criticism.

27. Or think of it this way….

28. …every nation makes mistakes.

29. But the great ones are those who attempt to make amends.

30. And in 1988, President Reagan issued a formal apology for Japanese Internment during World War II.

31. 1.6 billion dollars worth of reparations were paid to those Japanese Americans who were still living.

32. Does this erase past injustice?

33. No But it helps.