Happy Independence Day

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America:
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
— That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,...

What an inspirational document - one every American should read and ponder at least annually - yes, reading and discussing even the list of grievences as well. That document, the Declaration of Independence, is in the news today on this, it's 234th birthday.

Some sites of interest:

The Declaration set to song, as published in the LA Times.
An interesting commentary by Stephen Henderson at the Detroit Free Press.
A comparison of the original draft, reported copy, and final copy at the US History.org site.
And, of course, the wonderful primary resources available at the Library of Congress.

Happy birthday to the Declaration of Independence and all that it stands for. May we as a people study it, embrace it, and try to understand it.
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FFQF: Peter Brown

FFQF: Founding Fathers Quote Friday

“But God in mercy to us fought our battle for us and altho’ we were but few and so were suffered to be defeated by them, we were preserved in a most wonderful manner far beyond expectation, to admiration, for out of our regiment there was about 37 killed, 4 or 5 taken captive, and about 47 wounded….
If we should be called into action again I hope to have courage and strength to act my part valiantly in defence of our liberties and our country, trusting in him who hath yet kept me and hath covered my head in the day of battle….”

The above quote was contained in a letter written by Peter Brown to his mother on June 28, 1775 from Cambridge, Massachusetts. The event described involved the battle of Breed’s Hill – better known as the Battle of Bunker Hill, outside of Boston on June 17, 1775. Outnumbered, ill-trained against the legendary British army, the colonials made their stand, lost the day, but were willing to go on. While I found the letter in a book titled The Spirit of Seventy-Six, edited by Henry Steele Commager and Richard B. Morris, it’s also online at the Massachusetts Historical Society’s Bunker Hill Exhibit and is referenced many other places on the Internet.

Peter Brown would ‘fight valiantly’ throughout the Revolution, and would pass away in 1892, ‘honored among his countrymen’.

When I read the quote, I wondered if Brown could be considered as a ‘founding father’. He was, after all, not a political statesman, he didn’t sign the Declaration of Independence or Constitution… he wasn’t even an officer. He was a corporal in the loosely organized Massachusetts militia.

Founding fathers is a term this is often used, and it is assumed that everyone knows the meaning of it. The results of searching the Internet to find out exactly what the definition of a ‘founding father’ was?

The general consensus was that a Founding Father was: 1. A member of the convention that drafted the U.S. Constitution in 1787; 2. a man who founds or establishes something, such as George Washington was the father of his country. Wikipedia definition: The Founding Fathers of the United States were the political leaders who signed the Declaration of Independence or otherwise participated in the American Revolution as leaders of the Patriots, or who participated in drafting the United States Constitution eleven years later.

I think the Wikipedia explanation – while more comprehensive – is more accurate. Peter Brown was a common soldier who stood up for liberty and was willing to serve, suffer, and run the risk of injury or death for his service.

How willing are we today willing to stand for liberty?

Essential Question: How do we insure that students understand the terminology teachers are using?

Founding Fathers Quote Friday is hosted at Meet the Founders blog.