Monday, July 4, 2011

History Visit: Happy Birthday America





















Today is July 4th, 2011. It is America’s birthday. I’m not sure how you celebrate a country’s birthday. Do you have a birthday party and make t-shirts? Do you bake a birthday cake? Do you light fireworks?






I decided I would celebrate America's birthday by writing a 4th of July blog  called “Happy Birthday America.”

More than 200 years ago, there were thirteen colonies in America. 






The colonists were mostly farmers. They were ruled by Great Britain and George III. George made life hard by demanding high taxes for things the colonists needed, like tea. 



The colonists decided they wanted to make their own rules and create their own government. The thirteen colonies formed the Continental Congress. 



They asked Thomas Jefferson, a young lawyer, to write a declaration of America’s independence from George and Great Britain. 



Two important statesmen, Benjamin Franklin



 and John Adams helped revise the declaration. 


The Declaration promised the people “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”  After many revisions, the declaration was sent to Congress and the fifty-six members signed it. 


John Hancock the leader of the Congress signed it so flamboyantly that his signature has become an icon, and we say "Put your John Hancock on this document."



Betsy Ross sewed the first flag to celebrate the new nation.



I'm sure someone baked a cake.


On July 4th 1776 the Declaration of Independence was adopted and America became a new country. Yea!




Now artists celebrate with art, like Jasper Johns with his "Three Flags" painting at the Museum of Modern Art.



The Declaration of Independence described our dream of how we wanted our country to be, We invented a system that would give people, all people, what they needed. Ben Franklin made his ideas for citizens clear when he said "every man is a property owner, has a vote in Public Affairs, lives in a tidy warm House, has plenty of good Food and Fuel, with clothes from Head to Foot..."


We celebrate our Declaration of Independence with fireworks every Fourth of July, even though the people of our nation are constantly working and voting to make the idea more of a reality. 




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