Jeferson is selected to write the Delceration of Independence

     How was it that Thomas Jefferson was chosen to write the Deceleration of Independence? It started with a vote for who should be involved in the writing. The two people with the most votes were Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. When Thomas Jefferson offered to let John Adams write the first draft of the Deceleration of Independence, Adams refused saying that there were three reasons Thomas Jefferson should write it instead of him. The first was that Thomas Jefferson was from Virginia and that a Virginian should be at the center of it. The second was that a lot of people didn't like John Adams and that wasn't the case for Thomas Jefferson. The third, John Adams claimed that Jefferson could write ten times better than he could. So the job was given to Thomas Jefferson.

Patrick Henry's Famous Speech.

       Patrick Henry is famous for a speech he gave while leading opposition against the stamp act. Patrick Henry was born poor with out the resources to be taught literature, but what he had was a love for his country. A love that would give him strength to stand up to the powerful British.
       "If we wish to be free; if we mean to persevere inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending; if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained- we must fight! To say Patrick Henry had a way with words would be an understatement. He delivered a speech that would be quoted for centuries.
         Patrick Henry encouraged people to take a stand saying, "They tell us, sir, that we are weak- unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? will it be next week or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when British guard shall be stationed in every house? shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction?... Sir, we are not weak, if we make proper use of those means which God of nature hath placed in our power." Probably his most known quote is what he finished his speech with, "Give me liberty or give me death!"

Mercy Otis Warren: A Mighty Pen

     Mercy Otis Warren was born in Barnstable, Mass. in 1728. Mercy received a typical education from her mother. She learned cooking, sewing and soap making. Unlike most girls, Mercy was taught literature, history, politics and other subjects by her brothers tutors. Through her education Mercy realized that there is a lot of power in written words.
     Despite being married and having five sons, Mercy found enough time to write a play call The Adulateur, which was a play that made fun of the British government. Her work was published in the Massachusetts in 1772. Mercy was concerned what people would think of her writing plays so she published it with anonymously. She didn't need to worry, her plays were very well received. Her next two plays, "The Defeat" published in 1773, and "The Group" in 1775, were also very well received.
     Mercy's plays were more that just jokes about the British government. They were powerful a propaganda for the patriots. In  a lot of her plays she correctly predicted wars or other events. Sometimes she would you curse words or harsh language, but that was to get across how the soldiers talked. John Adams said that she had been "entrusted with powers for the good of the world" and that "it would be criminal to neglect them"

Sybil Ludington's Midnight Ride

  
  Everyone knows the story of Paul Revere's midnight ride, but very few have ever heard of a young girl named Sybil Ludington. Sybil's midnight ride was probably the more impressive of the two.
     Late one April night in 1777, there was a loud knock on the door of the Ludington house. There was a price put on Col. Henry Ludington's head placed by the British, so they were worried it was someone trying to capture him. However, it was a courier from Danbury. When Col. Ludington opened the door for the exhausted man he found out that the British had set fire to the town of Danbury.
     Col. Ludington needed someone to go warn the other towns and tell the Militia to join up at his house. But the courier was to tired to go on such a run. Without hesitation his daughter stepped up to take the challenge. Sybil was as comfortable on a horse as she was on her own two feet so she was confident she would succeed. By the time the night was over Sybil had rode over forty miles, and when she got home there roughly 400 men at her fathers house. They were all there because of Sybil Ludington

Essay Questions

Why was the location of the First Continental Congress so important? What did Carpenter's Hall represent to the delegates?


     Carpenter's Hall was the town hall of Philadelphia. The colonial leaders chose Philadelphia because at the time it was the biggest and most comfortable city in America. It provided the colonial leaders a welcoming place to go and if it was to be a lengthy process they were in the perfect city for an extended stay. Carpenter Hall represented a meeting house where the leaders could come together, sit down, have conversations, and make decisions.

First to Defy, First to Die

      This story is about a man named Crispus. He was born in 1723 when there was a big demand for slaves. His father was Prince Yonger, but even he couldn't escape the slave trade. So Prince Yonger was shipped to the new world. He worked for a man named Colonel Buckminster. While working there he found wife, he name was Nancy Attucks. Their son was name Crispus.
      Crispus hated being labeled as someone elses property and he always dreamed of being free. Crispus was sold to Deacon William Brown. After ten years working for Deacon William Brown, Crispus had a chance to be a harpoonist on a whaling ship. He decided not to return to his master.
       As Crispus was hiding in Boston when he heard a commotion, he rushed over. It was the start of the Boston Massacre. Crispus ended up at the front crowd. He heard the cry of "FIRE" He felt a pain in his chest. And he died. Crispus was the first man to die in the Boston Massacre.

Jamestown, Captain Smith, and Pocahontas

This a very well know story so I won't dwell on it too much.

Captain John Smith was one of the head honchos at the Jamestown settlement. He, unlike many others, believed that the Native Americans were not ignorant savages but highly developed people just like himself. He helped build a fort protecting Jamestown. One day while he was out scouting he was captured by the Powhatan Indians and taken back to their camp to go on trial. The chief of the Powhatans decided to kill Captain Smith but before he could, his daughter Pocahontas rushed forward to protect Captains Smith and saved his life. Captain Smith and Pocahontas would go on to become very close friends and there was peace between the Natives and the Settlers