Tag: america

1776: Jefferson’s Declaring Truths

ESSENTIONAL QUESTION:

Analyze the opening of the US Declaration of Independence.

CONTEXT:

After the French and Indian War (1754-1763) in America, relationships between Great Britain and her American Colonies began to sour. Britain saw the relationship in economic terms–the Colonies’ purpose was to support Britain, providing raw materials and a market for goods. The Colonies saw the relationship in increasingly political terms–Britain owed colonists the same rights and privileges of Englishmen in Britain. In April, 1775, British troops and American militia exchanged fire over an ammunitions cache at a local farm near Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts. Blood had been spilt. Through political actions and documents such as Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense”, more and more people became convinced that America could not remain as British colonies. On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia presented a resolution in the Second Continental Congress that the United States should be free and independent.

But not everyone was totally convinced. Some delegates to the Congress wanted to pursue diplomatic negotiations. After all, Britain was one of the most powerful nations in the world at that time; many Americans had economic ties with Britain; and the Colonies had no army or navy to speak of. If independence happened, it was going to require the help of foreign nations, especially France. So Congress decided to draft a statement to explain their actions.

For that purpose Congress established a Committee of Five, including Thomas Jefferson (of Virginia), John Adams (of Massachusetts), Roger Sherman (of Connecticut), Benjamin Franklin (of Pennsylvania), and Robert Livingston (of New York). The Committee asked Jefferson to do most of the writing (he was a talented writer), and Jefferson asked Franklin and Adams to look over his drafts. When the document went back to the Congress, other changes were incorporated. The Declaration was eventually adopted on July 4 and signed over the next several weeks. It was printed (it is unknown how many copies were printed) and distributed. This text is from the beginning of the Declaration of Independence. There are currently 26 copies of the original printing known to exist.

Jefferson would go on to be a governor of Virginia and the third President of the United States. Of the other 56 men who signed the Declaration, some served in Continental Militia, five were captured and tortured by the British, nine died from war wounds or hardships, and twelve saw their homes and farms burned by the British.

TEXT:

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, ….

INQUIRY:

  1. What was the purpose of this document, as stated in the first paragraph?
  2. What made this document necessary? Quote from the document.
  3. What two states did this document cause to happen? Quote from the document.
  4. What was the effect of using the phrase, “to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God”?
  5. Why was it necessary to “declare the causes which impel them to the separation”?
  6. What does it mean to be “self-evident”?
  7. One phrase of this document that has been controversial over the years is “all men are created equal”. When the Declaration was written, society still held women, enslaved people, non-property owners, and others in subservient roles, without political voice. Thus in this case “men” meant all humanity. How has the meaning of “men” changed over the centuries?
  8. What two references to God are found in this document? Why do these strengthen the argument?
  9. What are “unalienable rights”? What three unalienable rights are listed?
  10. At this time the “pursuit of happiness” meant the pursuit of a good character, virtue, and becoming a good citizen. Do we still pursue this kind of happiness? Give examples.
  11. Before editing, the phrase “pursuit of happiness” read “pursuit of property”, meaning owning things, mainly property. How did the changing of this one word change the meaning of the phrase? (Life, liberty and property were natural rights as put forth by philosopher John Locke).
  12. What is the purpose of government?
  13. From where does government get its power?
  14. The Declaration of Independence is not a law. But why is it so important in America?
  15. The purpose of these paragraphs is to declare, not to persuade. What is the document declaring?
  16. The Declaration closes with the statement, “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor..” What did this statement suggest?
  17. Investigate John Locke and the other influences on Jefferson’s writing.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript

https://jeffersonpapers.princeton.edu/declaration-of-independence/

https://www.si.edu/spotlight/american-revolutionary-war/signers-declaration-independence

https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/signers-factsheet

1814: Key’s “Rockets Red Glare”

ESSENTIAL QUESTION:

How does The Star Spangled Banner represent America?

CONTEXT:

Francis Scott Key (1780-1843) was an amateur poet and well-known lawyer who argued before the US Supreme Court. From Frederick, Maryland, he wrote a poem entitled “The Defense of Fort M’Henry” which would eventually become “The Star Spangled Banner.”

In 1814 the British Army burned Washington, DC, and a friend of Key’s, William Beanes, was arrested by the British and taken to a prison ship. With the permission of US President Madison, Keys went to Baltimore, Maryland. With the help of an American agent for prisoners of war, Keys located his friend and secured his release. However, they had overheard plans for the upcoming British attack on Baltimore, and thus they could not return to shore until after the battle.

The British began to fire upon Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor on September 13; the attack lasted 25 hours. Key witnessed the bombardment throughout the night, not knowing how the battle was going. But in the morning on September 14 he saw the large (30 X 42 feet) American garrison flag flying over the fort (the flag is now in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History). The flag Key observed had 15 stripes and 15 stars (the current 13 stripes limit was not adopted until 1818). Key began composing his poem on the back of a letter he kept in his pocket. It was published first as a broadside that week and was soon set to song lyrics. By the Civil War it was a popular song for national unity and the US military began using it in the 1890s for flag ceremonies.

Although it is a difficult song to sing and some lyrics are considered controversial, it became increasingly popular and was the unofficial national anthem by the end of the 19th century. In April 1930 the House of Representatives passed a bill introduced by Representative John Linthicum of Maryland to make “The Star-Spangled Banner” the nation’s official anthem. Despite critics who disliked the melody or felt the law unnecessary, the Senate passed the bill the following year, and President Herbert Hoover signed it into law on March 2, 1931.

TEXT:

O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight
O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there,
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream,
’Tis the star-spangled banner – O long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore,
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion
A home and a Country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash’d out their foul footstep’s pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand
Between their lov’d home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with vict’ry and peace may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the power that hath made and preserv’d us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto – “In God is our trust,”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

INQUIRY:

  1. Key was a slave owner, although as an attorney he represented several slaves in their search for freedom. He was a leader in the American Colonization Society, although he was against the abolition movement. The third verse is often seen as controversial, with its reference to slave and hireling; but many historians see this as a reference to the British Army in the War of 1812, including the Corps of Colonial Marines, British free troops of color who had formerly been slaves. How might this be misunderstood by an audience today?
  2. Examine the last two lines of each stanza of the poem. How does the image of the star spangled banner change? What is the progression?
  3. How does the punctuation of the last line change from stanza to stanza? What does that represent?
  4. What is the effect of repeating the last line at the end of each stanza?
  5. What does the sight of the flag represent in the first stanza? Does that change over the course of the poem? Justify your response.
  6. Remembering that this was originally a poem written during a battle, what was the tone of this work? What was the mood?
  7. Why do you believe the first stanza was adopted as our national anthem? What does it say about the US?
  8. Choose a national anthem from another country (see https://nationalanthems.info/ for information). Research the anthem and the country and compare it to the American national anthem. How does that anthem represent the country from which it originates?

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

https://amhistory.si.edu/starspangledbanner/the-lyrics.aspx

https://guides.loc.gov/star-spangled-banner/beginning-your-research

https://www.loc.gov/collections/patriotic-melodies/articles-and-essays/star-spangled-banner/

1776: Paine’s Common Sense

ESSENTIAL QUESTION:

How did Thomas Paine use language to convince colonists that independence was the proper course for America?

CONTEXT:

In January of 1776, only months after the Battles of Lexington and Concord, times were tense in the American colonies. The Declaration of Independence would not be signed for another six months. Many believed that reconciliation with Great Britain was unlikely; yet, independence from Great Britain was unthinkable.

Thomas Paine (1737-1809), a magazine editor in Pennsylvania, anonymously published a pamphlet entitled “Common Sense” which quickly became a best seller. 47 pages long, it sold thousands of copies in three months and would often be read aloud in taverns.

Paine used moral and political arguments, written in plain language, to declare that independence was the only logical choice for the Colonies. While not everyone agreed, his work was immediately popular and widely read. It helped clarify and move public opinion towards independence and encouraged recruitment in the continental army.

TEXT:

…Here then is the origin and rise of government; namely, a mode rendered necessary by the inability of moral virtue to govern the world; here too is the design and end of government, viz. Freedom and security…

I draw my idea of the form of government from a principle in nature which no art can overturn, viz. that the more simple any thing is, the less liable it is to be disordered, and the easier repaired when disordered; and with this maxim in view I offer a few remarks on the so much boasted constitution of England That it was noble for the dark and slavish times in which it was erected, is granted. When the world was overrun with tyranny the least remove therefrom was a glorious rescue. But that it is imperfect, subject to convulsions, and incapable of producing what it seems to promise, is easily demonstrated…

In England a King hath little more to do than to make war and give away places; which, in plain terms, is to empoverish the nation and set it together by the ears. A pretty business indeed for a man to be allowed eight hundred thousand sterling a year for, and worshipped into the bargain! Of more worth is one honest man to society, and in the sight of God, than all the crowned ruffians that ever lived…

I challenge the warmest advocate for reconciliation to show a single advantage that this continent can reap by being connected with Great Britain. I repeat the challenge; not a single advantage is derived. Our corn will fetch its price in any market in Europe, and our imported goods must be paid for buy them where we will… Even the distance at which the Almighty hath placed England and America is a strong and natural proof that the authority of the one over the other, was never the design of Heaven.

I am not induced by motives of pride, party, or resentment to espouse the doctrine of separation and independence; I am clearly, positively, and conscientiously persuaded that it is the true interest of this Continent to be so; that every thing short of that is mere patchwork, that it can afford no lasting felicity,—that it is leaving the sword to our children, and shrinking back at a time when a little more, a little further, would have rendered this Continent the glory of the earth.

As Britain hath not manifested the least inclination towards a compromise, we may be assured that no terms can be obtained worthy the acceptance of the Continent, or any ways equal to the expence of blood and treasure we have been already put to.

If there is any true cause of fear respecting independance, it is because no plan is yet laid down. Men do not see their way out. Wherefore, as an opening into that business I offer the following hints; at the same time modestly affirming, that I have no other opinion of them myself, than that they may be the means of giving rise to something better. Could the straggling thoughts of individuals be collected, they would frequently form materials for wise and able men to improve into useful matter. [Paine then outlines his ideas for the organization of government in America].

A government of our own is our natural right: and when a man seriously reflects on the precariousness of human affairs, he will become convinced, that it is infinitely wiser and safer, to form a constitution of our own in a cool deliberate manner, while we have it in our power, than to trust such an interesting event to time and chance…

We ought to reflect, that there are three different ways by which an independancy may hereafter be effected; and that one of those three, will, one day or other, be the fate of America, viz. By the legal voice of the people in Congress; by a military power; or by a mob: It may not always happen that our soldiers are citizens, and the multitude a body of reasonable men; virtue, as I have already remarked, is not hereditary, neither is it perpetual. Should an independancy be brought about by the first of those means, we have every opportunity and every encouragement before us, to form the noblest, purest constitution on the face of the earth. We have it in our power to begin the world over again. A situation, similar to the present, hath not happened since the days of Noah until now. The birthday of a new world is at hand, and a race of men, perhaps as numerous as all Europe contains, are to receive their portion of freedom from the events of a few months. The reflection is awful, and in this point of view, how trifling, how ridiculous, do the little paltry cavilings [petty objections] of a few weak or interested men appear, when weighed against the business of a world…

INQUIRY:

  1. What did Paine list as the reason governments exist?
  2. What did he see as the purpose of government?
  3. Why did Paine advocate a simple government?
  4. Why did Paine see Britain’s government as no longer right for America?
  5. What criticisms did Paine offer of the King of England? Do you agree?
  6. What economic reasons did Paine offer for independence?
  7. Why did Paine advocate independence now and not later?
  8. How did Paine attempt to convince those who disagreed with independence?
  9. What three ways did Paine offer to achieve independence? Why did he recommend the first of these three ways?
  10. To what did Paine refer when he said, “the birth of a new world”? Do you agree? Why/why not?
  11. Paine used several appeals in his argument. Within the text, identify an appeal to authority (history); an appeal to emotion; an appeal to logic.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/historic-document-library/detail/thomas-paine-common-sense-1776

https://www.loc.gov/item/18016803/?loclr=blogser

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/147/147-h/147-h.htm