Is This the Country the Founders Envisioned?

(Winning Voice of Democracy Speech by Kaden Polt)

“Legacy. What is a legacy? It’s planting seeds in a garden that you never get to see.” This is one of my favorite quotes from the musical “Hamilton.” It has led me to the realization that the founders of America never got to see the result of their efforts and contributions, yet they planted their seeds and left their legacy in the hope that the United States would become what they envisioned.

From there, millions of Americans fought in wars and gave their lives to protect these seeds, risking everything so that one day they could grow and prosper. Today, because of the devotion and service of these veterans, those seeds have blossomed into a beautiful garden where everybody can be free and accepted.

However, this begs the question of whether or not the plants in this garden are the same ones that the founding fathers were trying to grow. In other words, do we live in the country that the founders envisioned? To put it simply, yes. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple though. To prove this we’ll have to compare the founders’ hopes for America with what America is like today.

First of all, it is paramount to know that beliefs and ways of life in the 18th century were tremendously different from how they are today. For example, only white men could vote, and women were not encouraged to gain an education or a professional career.

Furthermore, owning slaves was a common practice at this time in the United States, and even some of the founding fathers prospered from it. However, as contradictory as this sounds, many of these men still advocated for the abolishment of slavery and spoke out against it. This makes it difficult to know precisely how the founding fathers stood when it came to the topic of slavery.

It was controversial back then just as much as modern forms of slavery are now, and not all of the founders agreed. However, something that they did all agree on is the belief that America should be a place that is built on the foundation of liberty for every citizen and a place where everybody can live together as equals without fear of persecution. They envisioned America as a diverse melting pot of different types of people and understood the strength that would arise from this. These are just a few of the many seeds that the founders planted many years ago.

Now, let’s take a look at what those seeds became. A lot has changed since the 1700s. For example, not a single citizen who is at least 18 years old can be denied the right to vote. Women have broken through their societal constraints and now dominate the workforce and the education system.

The U.S. is home to people of innumerable ethnicities, sexualities, religions and much more, all living together as one nation. Furthermore, slavery was abolished in America in 1865; however, many modern forms of slavery, such as human trafficking and forced labor, are still very common. Even racism continues to be a prominent issue that the U.S. struggles with. Nevertheless, many people have

Nevertheless, many people have begun to stand their ground. Millions of Americans have united to march in the streets and protest what they know is right. They have joined hand in hand to stand up against a society and a government that has not kept its promise of liberty and equal rights to every U.S. citizen. The unity and progress that is exemplified by these situations are just a couple of examples of what became of the seeds that the founders planted many years ago.

Now, let me reiterate what I said before: I believe that we live in the country that the founders envisioned. Returning to the topic of slavery, the founders’ views may have been mixed, but I believe that they would predominantly be proud of the progress America has made, and they would agree that the abolishment of slavery epitomizes the core values that they created for America.

I also believe the founders would find great joy seeing the multiculturalism that has been established in the U.S. After all, they created America in the hope that everybody could live together as equals, and, though we still have some work to do before we can truly say this is true, the U.S. grows more inclusive and accepting every day.

Finally, I know that the founding fathers would celebrate if they could see the unity and strength that has emerged in the face of resistance. Just like the founders hoped, people are taking advantage of the strength that emerges when they unite as one irresistible force and are using this strength every day to make their nation a better place for all to live.

It’s people like this that remind me how grateful I am to have the opportunity to live in this beautiful garden that we all call home — a garden planted by our persistent founders and protected by our fearless veterans. We have both to thank for the many sacrifices they made in order to sculpt America into what it is today.

Our founders never got to see what their seeds grew into, but they didn’t have to. They understood that it was their duty to create a foundation for America to build upon and leave behind a legacy that would guide us through the many troubles that they knew we inevitably would have. This unforgettable legacy has

This unforgettable legacy has taught us two very valuable truths that are still being taught all across the country: (1) powdered wigs should never be brought back into style ever again, and (2) although America still has some work to do, it was created as a leading symbol of liberty, acceptance, and unity, and it’s not showing any signs of stopping.

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