Anne Elizabeth Murphy  
Drop-in Assignment #4

THE FUTURE OF OUR COUNTRY

Introduction:

    Every generation cries to have a say and longs to make a difference.  Children, from many generations, have said and will say, "Parents just don't understand."   Like a conditioned response, adults have emphasized and will emphasize, "When I was your age things were different."  The cycle constantly repeats itself as children become adults and forget the struggles of their younger years.  However, time does change and with it, so do philosophies and practices.  In an Article posted in the April 1940 issue of Liberty , Eleanor Roosevelt stated:

When you and I were young, there was no need for a youth congress. We sat and listened to our elders. We went out, when the time came to earn a living, and we' found jobs—at low wages, to be sure, and with pretty hard working conditions; but that was what we expected to find. We did the jobs, and a surprising number of us managed to find new avenues opening up, new opportunities, new worlds to conquer. The rest of us lived and died in drab and difficult surroundings, with our enjoyments frequently curtailed to some rather elemental things.

    On the 4th of July, 1936, youths from around the country met and composed what is called The Declaration of Rights of American Youth.  These youths were growing up in a world that had been turned upside down.  They wrote to express what they wanted and why they felt that they were justified in wanting certain privileges.
 
Assignment:

Read, The Declaration of Rights of American Youth, and then answer the following questions:

1.  Think of any of your family members who were around your age in 1936.

2.  In the text, identify three (3) rights that you believe today's youth also struggle to obtain.

3.  For each right you identified, explain why you feel that it should be guaranteed.  Do you think the youth of 1936 felt the same way?  Why or why not?

EXTRA CREDIT:  If possible, have a conversation with an elder member of the family, neighbor or friend, who was around your age in 1936 and see what they thought was "unfair" in their adolescence and write a three (3) paragraph essay.  The essay should deal with: similarities, differences and a conclusion.


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