We Declare Ourselves Free!

"But....when a long series of abuses and stealing of freedoms has occurred by the Government, which are all meant to achieve the goal of putting the People under their rule of violent tyrants, it becomes the right of the People-even more it becomes the duty of the People- to defeat and cast away that Government and create a new Government and new safeguards to protect their freedom."

     This is exactly what happened to the thirteen colonies under British rule. They patiently waited and suffered under British rule and reached a point where they had no choice but to alter their current system. Their freedoms and been abused, and they were fed up! Discussing the Declaration of Independence led to thought provoking "rabbit trails", and I am pretty sure we solved all of the world's problems for them:) Our biggest rabbit trails came from discussing the 7th point made in the Declaration about the King trying to prevent people from coming to live in the U.S. The King refused to let foreigners migrate here, which was a contention of the colonist, but we have the opposite problem here now.  Where do we draw the line? It is an interesting question. I love how insightful you all are. You each had valid points and concerns about the future of our nation.

     During this time of war, The Revolutionary War, we were fighting so desperately for our freedom and trying to establish our own government. It is not an easy thing to do as will will discover in the next weeks. They often faced harsh conditions while fighting in the wilderness and survived on meager food rations. We sampled the most common food during the bitter war, Hasty Pudding. Why is it called pudding? It is nothing like smooth, creamy chocolate pudding. However, it can be quite delicious and easy to make.  It was often served with salt sprinkled on top or honey. We all decided that honey is the best topping for Hasty Pudding.

     Today was a special day in our class. Brooke celebrated her 15th birthday! I am so honored that she chose to come to class and spend time with us on her special day! In honor of her birthday, we had brownies with cookies baked on top. And to be clear, I will bake for each one of you on or around your birthday. I love the fellowship that comes with eating desserts for someone's birthday. Thank you for spending a part of your day with us Brooke.

     In this upcoming week, you have some reading to do and thinking through what it meant to set up our own system of government. The Constitution is a remarkable document that has served our nation for over 200 years. We need to understand the provisions of the Constitution so that we can understand our Federal system. Here is what you need to do this week:

1. Write down Philippians 2:14-15
2. American Voices- "The Federalist Number 10" ( we will discuss the Federalist Papers in class)
3. Bible- Read Psalm 119 and answer questions. You will turn these in.
4. No Unit Project this week!!! 
5. Take notes for your Timeline

Thank you for another wonderful, stimulating, discussion-filled class. I love spending time with you discussing history and current events. We missed Rodney today and look forward to having him back in class soon.