The Idea of America, Nikole-Hannah Jones

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGp8evzwA48&t=3s*** 1.What examples of hypocrisy in the founding of the U.S. does Hannah-Jones supply? What evidence can you see for how “some might argue that this nation was founded not as a democracy but as a slavocracy”? (Think also: how you connect this to Frederick Douglass "What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?") 2.The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were all signed into law during Reconstruction. What examples of persisting racial inequalities in the years following Reconstruction does Hannah-Jones mention? What institutions and ideologies made this possible? 3.“The Idea of America” is bookended by personal stories; it begins with Hannah-Jones’ memory of her father’s attachment to the American flag, and ends with a story about a middle school class assignment. Why do you think the author includes personal anecdotes in her essay? Why do you think she writes in first-person throughout? What rhetorical effect do these choices have on how you experience the essay?