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fandomhigh2010-09-17 07:42 am
screwyoumarvel) wrote in fandomhigh2010-09-17 07:42 am
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Battles that Changed (American) History, Second Period, 10-17
Steve skipped straight past a traditional greeting this morning in favor of "'When in the course of human events,'" he began in his best inspirational orator tones--which were, it must be noted, pretty darn good, "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.'" He smiled at the class, and said, "In other words, we have decided to break with you, and here is our list of reasons why. The first sentence of the American Declaration of Independence, the first formal step in breaking ties with Great Britain. It hadn't actually been written at the time of the battles we're going to be talking about today. They took place on April 19, 1775. The Declaration of Independence wasn't signed until July 4, 1776, by which time the war was already well underway.
"The second sentence is more famous, and is regarded by many as the basic philosophy of American government." And then back to orator tones: "'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,'" and then back to normal. "All men are created equal. A radical notion in a time of kings, and something not everyone can quite agree on even today. Some people are still, unfortunately, more equal than others. The Declaration goes on to drop a bombshell into the status quo: 'That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.' Governments exist to protect rights. Also a radical notion. Furthermore, the people have the right to throw the government out if it's not doing that. They have the right to revolt and form a new government." He paused. "Gentlemen. Welcome to the age of revolution. More relevant for our purposes, welcome to the American Revolution.
He paused for a moment, then moved on to, "The battles of Lexington and Concord. The shot heard 'round the world. It wasn't the first shot of the war, actually, but it was the first major battle, the milestone for history. Paul Revere's ride, not as epic as some people will have you think it was. History tends to pick up a gloss along the way like that," he said wryly. "The rebelling colonists' victory was quite shocking to them--actually, the fact that either side had actually fired on the other was shocking to them. No one really knew what to expect. Some people thought Britain would just let the colonies go; some thought the rebels weren't serious and this would all be over quickly. But once Lexington and Concord happened, everyone knew it was for real, and it was going to be violent and messy. So, my question for today is, what does it take for you to jump into something as major as armed rebellion without the faintest idea how it's going to come out?"
"The second sentence is more famous, and is regarded by many as the basic philosophy of American government." And then back to orator tones: "'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,'" and then back to normal. "All men are created equal. A radical notion in a time of kings, and something not everyone can quite agree on even today. Some people are still, unfortunately, more equal than others. The Declaration goes on to drop a bombshell into the status quo: 'That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.' Governments exist to protect rights. Also a radical notion. Furthermore, the people have the right to throw the government out if it's not doing that. They have the right to revolt and form a new government." He paused. "Gentlemen. Welcome to the age of revolution. More relevant for our purposes, welcome to the American Revolution.
He paused for a moment, then moved on to, "The battles of Lexington and Concord. The shot heard 'round the world. It wasn't the first shot of the war, actually, but it was the first major battle, the milestone for history. Paul Revere's ride, not as epic as some people will have you think it was. History tends to pick up a gloss along the way like that," he said wryly. "The rebelling colonists' victory was quite shocking to them--actually, the fact that either side had actually fired on the other was shocking to them. No one really knew what to expect. Some people thought Britain would just let the colonies go; some thought the rebels weren't serious and this would all be over quickly. But once Lexington and Concord happened, everyone knew it was for real, and it was going to be violent and messy. So, my question for today is, what does it take for you to jump into something as major as armed rebellion without the faintest idea how it's going to come out?"
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