Lesson 1: Freedom - An Idea Whose Time Has Come 
Reading Assignment: 

The Making of America, pages xv-12 

Pre-lesson questions for homework study and review: 

1. Generally speaking, who are the people we call the founding fathers of our country? (Pages 
xv-xxxi) 

2. Identify six of the founders whose descriptions particularly impressed you, and tell why. (xv­ 
xxix) 

3. Show statistically how the Constitution elevated the United States to the wealthiest nation on 
earth. (1) 

4. Name seven revolutions that have occurred in human history, and tell which one was the key 
to the others. (2-3) 

5. Tell the reasoning given by Charles Pinckney which motivated the founders to invent a whole 
new system of government. (3-4) 

6. Explain the founders' view of human nature. (4) 

7. Sometimes we refer to the establishment of America as a "miracle." Support that position with 
quotations from the founders. (5) 

8. It was considered good fortune that Providence had blessed America with the ideal "cultural 
soil" in which freedom could nourish. Tell how John Jay, the first chief justice of the U.S. 
Supreme Court, described this American culture. (5-6) 

9. Describe the founders' vision for America in terms of geography, population, and worldwide 
int1uence. (6-8) 

10. Even before the ink was dry on America's founding documents, foreigners realized that the 
American system was the hope of the world. Who were some of these foreigners, and how did 
they express their enthusiasm for America? (8-9) 

11. What was the occasion of Samuel Langdon's 1788 speech before the Massachusetts 
legislature? What advice did he give about electing people to public office? (9-10) 

12. In what ways did the founding fathers differ from each other? How, then, do we explain their 
remarkable unanimity in fundamental beliefs? (10-11) 

13. What do you think the founders would say today, more than 200 years later, about how well 
we have preserved the system they gave to us? This course is designed to help each 
participant experience the thrill of walking down the "freedom trail" which the founders 
already blazed. Are you ready? (11-12) 

14. Among all the things America exports to foreign lands today, what should be our greatest 
export of all? (12) 

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