We have a new name, well duo on board.
Felisha Nyugen and Tessa Dalton have known me longer than anyone else on this list, I student-taught these kids in 2007. A time alternative known as the age of "Crank Dat Soulja Boy" at Pep Rallies. Felisha and Tessa had me for AP US History with Mr. Ted Thill, the man, the myth, the legend and someone I have contacted about helping out with the website as well. While Mr. Thill has not responded yet (keep the positive vibes going), I did get a yes from these two wonderful ladies and they will work together to write an awesome contribution. Here are the completed guest articles so far. Caitlin Lansing-Balancing individuality with the common good, one Chipotle bowl at a time. Austen Bundy-The Brexit is soooo 1776. Coming up very soon: Bob Hill and Tyler Anderson. Hope you had a good June kids, keep it real!
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In just a few hours it will officially be July.
July means hotter weather, beach vacations and of course, Independence Day! This Fourth of July is doubly special, it is the 240 year anniversary of the famed document and it is the focus of this website. So you better believe we are going to be celebrating big time in the next few days. More Gibson articles, more guest articles and more...well everything! Get excited, get involved and keep reading! This is written in response to the wonderful article by Austen Bundy, check it out here. Say what you want about Barack Obama’s policies or politics, but the man knows how to sell a campaign slogan. Change What a simple yet amazingly complicated concept. It was such a successful idea that even Obama’s opponent John McCain turned his campaign strategy to “change”. Nothing seems to bring people across the aisle like change. However, change is like the word “equality” or “liberty”; everyone is in favor of it in broad terms but when things get specific the unanimity quickly fades. Brexit gives UK its own Independence Day, How ours wasn’t much different. By Austen Bundy, Arizona State Student and political anchor on the Cronkite File (www.cronkitefile.net) Photo credit is linked here Early into Friday morning, the United Kingdom voted to essentially sign its own John Hancock on a Declaration of Independence from the European Union. In an approximate two year transition, they will have full control over their economy, foreign policy and domestic relations. It looks like they were given a taste of their own medicine. A foreign leader, in this case Angela Merkel of Germany, was making all approvals on any decisions made by the U.K. and Europe as a whole. Welcome to the club, Britain. The only differences in their ‘revolution’ and ours, besides the time periods, was the way they went about it, which was a vote rather than a war, and their leader, which, instead of a moderate George Washington, they were led by their equivalent of Donald Trump in Boris Johnson. But after this two year transition period is up, they’ll be left in the same predicament the U.S. was in. They’ll be left asking, ‘What now?’ But more on that later. Let’s focus on what exactly the Declaration of Independence did for us. The most common explanation is that it cut all ties from King George III’s Empire. That’s partly true. Instead of me giving you the technical details of the document, I’ll give it to you in plain language. (You’re welcome.) In that document we decided we wanted complete autonomy from the British crown and wanted to give our people (mainly white land owners) the chance to be represented in a new form of government. But while the Continental Congress did declare a separation from Britain, technically we weren’t separate at all. The Continental dollar was worthless compared to the British pound and where it was claimed the majority of the country wanted to be independent, it was a slim, uneducated majority fueled by patriotism. The Continental Army still used British money to buy supplies and food, and Loyalists were easy to come by in any part of the colonies. Just like the Brexit vote, the British pound is worthless compared to the Euro and only a slim, uneducated majority fueled by patriotism voted ‘leave’ on Friday. So after this ‘revolution,’ as it’s being called, settles down, where does the U.K. go from here? Will they now experience the same period of isolationism the newborn U.S. went through? Only time will tell. So as it seems, history really does repeat itself. Welcome to another age of revolution. So, who’s next? We continue our journey through the Declaration of Independence and we have now reached the final part of the most famous phrase in the document and, perhaps, American history.
This last inalienable right is very intriguing for two reasons. One, Jefferson is going off the Locke script and not saying "property" which the political doctor said was a natural right in his Two Treatises of Government. Two, Jefferson has the word "pursuit" in his right. In other words, we do not have an inalienable right to be happy but we have the right to "pursue" it. Are we pursuing it like Usain Bolt in the 100 meters or like Don Quixote's windmills? .Is this pursuit more like Captain America or Captain Ahab? Why jettison the word "property" and why replace it with such an odd phrase "the pursuit of happiness"? Let's try to figure it out. Our guest contributor this week is Austen Bundy, a former APUSH charge of mine who has moved on to the journalism program at Arizona State University.
Bundy apparently is going to connect the Brexit to this project which I was hoping would happen in the Saturday Open Forum but now he gets to lead the charge. Also officially joining the bandwagon for later July is Patty Smith, an absolutely incredible English teacher at the Appomattox Regional Governor's School. Her laundry list of accomplishments is too much for this small space right here, I will delve more into her awesomeness as we get closer to her post. Please know there is still room left to contribute an article. If that seems daunting please feel free to comment, tweet it out, do whatever you want, just make this a part of your summer plans! Let's make something awesome together!
I am going to go a bit off script here and yet it makes perfect sense for this website to have it on here at the same time.
The song is a country song by stalwart musician Martina McBride called, appropriately enough, "Independence Day" (which is coming up soon). Of course, if you know the song, there is nothing about Founding Fathers or revolution. There is definitely a cry of freedom and a violent one at that. I do not want to be too much of a spoiler so you can watch the video now if you'd like but the point is that a victim of domestic abuse gets her "independence" from her husband in one of the more permanent ways possible. This song and video were quite controversial at the time but it shed light on an important issue in our culture and this song served as a "declaration" of independence for countless women who heard the song. It is a modern day usage of a concept 140 years old (and in truth, much older than that). It also allows us to see how groups completely left out of the Declaration process have taken those words and engrained it in their own struggles and hopes. So listen to the lyrics and appreciate the vocabulary of the story it is presenting. ​Have a great Sunday! 140 years ago, America declared its independence from Great Britain.
Now the British people have just declared independence from the European Union, leading to the resignation of Prime Minister David Cameron and reports that the end of the United Kingdom is near. Is it all an overreaction? Is this another revolution? What are they rebelling for? If so, how does it compare to what America did 140 years ago? It certainly seems far less bloody but, then again, we are not done yet. Give me your thoughts on the decision, the comparison and where we all go from here. What can we learn from all this? Open forum so let your voice be heard! It seems easy to paint the Founding Fathers with one broad brush but these 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence are just as diverse as the interests they served.
While we all know about Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Ben Franklin, what would the tale of the lesser known signers tell us about this group of so-called revolutionaries? Look no further than our first entry, Carter Braxton, to show the complexity of this moment in U.S. History. Braxton was many things: rich, prestigious, influential, political and mercantile. Revolutionary seems like a bit of a stretch for someone like Braxton and yet his name will forever be affixed the most important document of the American Revolution. It almost never happened, Braxton only received an offer to attend the Continental Congress when Peyton Randolph died unexpectedly. Braxton was a last-second replacement and it seems that he did not fit in from the start. "Independence is in truth an elusive bait which men inconsiderably catch at, without knowing the hook to which it is affixed." These are the words of Braxton who famously took on John Adams and his plan with a pamphlet known as "An Address to the Convention". It may not have won him friends in New England or made him a lovable figure for history textbooks but it does show the conservative and hesitant nature to this revolution. Remember that these Founding Fathers were not the poor and down-trotten. They already had relative affluence and power, that is why they were so annoyed by Britain's attempts to usurp their local autonomy. It also led to difficulties in pulling the plug and declaring independence because so much was on the line for these dignitaries. A revolutionary loss would destroy the financial and political empires these men had created, particularly in the Old Dominion. After all, it was the British law that inspired this revolution and leaving that country means leaving the protection of the Magna Carta and the Petition of Right. Braxton eventually was won over that independence was the only viable option, but it was clear he did not relish the concept of severing ties with the mother country. "However necessary it may be to shake off the authority of arbitrary British dictators, we ought nevertheless to adopt and perfect that system, which England has suffered to be so grossly abused, and the experience of ages has taught us to venerate." In other words, our goal should be "to make Great Britain great again" not start completely anew. He took this concept with him after he was released from the Continental Congress and was sent back to the Virginia House of Burgesses. Being from the Tidewater area, Braxton had a prominent slave plantation called Chericoke for most of the Revolutionary Era where he owned over 12,000 acres and 165 slaves. He clearly did not want to re-establish a new world order but instead restore the gentry of Virginia back to power. He followed the Alexander Hamilton route of perfecting the British system in America. When thinking about the political impact of the Declaration of Independence, let us remember the men like Braxton who came to Philadelphia and the goals they purported. They knew their Enlightenment philosophers, Braxton even quotes Montesquieu in his famous written response, but they used them to re-enforce the past and not build some radical innovate new structure. This is the kind of convoluted revolution America was fighting. The internet is amazing at answering all the deepest philosophical questions.
If I were a color, what would I be? Which 1990s cartoon show am I? And now the answer to your most burning historical question; "If I were a rich, white 18th century dude in America, who would I be Mr. Gibson?" Wonder no more, here is a sampling of quizzes to try out for some Friday Fun. I put my results in the description just so you can see if we are on the same level. Usually this is my go-to for inane quizzes but it gave me John Adams so I'm a bit disappointed: www.buzzfeed.com/jamesgrebey/which-founding-father-are-you?utm_term=.hxdbAzpw9#.bu45bxY3D This one has the most variety, it gave me George Mason (no Button Gwinnett though) http://constitutioncenter.org/foundersquiz/ This one has few options but it's quick for those on the go (it also gave me John Adams so bleh): https://www.constitutionfacts.com/?page=foundingFatherShort.cfm This is another Weebly and it got me George Washington so here's some love: http://brainfall.com/quizzes/which-founding-father-are-you/ This one got me Ben Franklin so that's pretty ballin' http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/10/21/which-of-the-founding-fathers-would-you-be/ How did you do? Put your results in the comments or tweet at me @MrG_Unit. |
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August 2016
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