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?