THOMAS was a PAINE in Britain's Backside

Tom Paine was a failure at most normal jobs he worked at, until he discovered his true passion in life - as an essayist and a passionate advocate for democracy instead monarchy. Paine hated the way aristocrats lorded their power to govern over the rest of the people in England and recognized that the American Revolution was not just a struggle for independence, but a perfect example of how government could be created by and for the people. It was a way to prove that the best governments are those in which leaders are chosen by the people and not determined by heredity.

Today we get much of our persuasive opinion in the editorial section of the newspaper. For Homework #17, you can use some of the editorial pages I've collected here:

The NY Daily News, The NY Post, The NY Times,

For national news try USA Today or PBS Newshour Extra (Kids viewpoints about important isssues)

Here's a link to my shortened version of Common Sense and the questions that go along with it.

Here's also a link to the complete verson of Common Sense, all 40 pages worth.

AND THE WINNER IS...

The History Cafe' with a wopping three votes. Originally this blog title was tied with the original name, The Social Studies Space, but I think the name should be chosen by students.

Thank you to all of the students who voted!

PAUL REVERE'S WORLD

Hey kids,



As I said in class, Revere was a silversmith. I thought I'd show you some examples of his work lifted from the official Paul Revere House site. Click on the image to make it larger.

There's a great website with information about Paul Revere called The Midnight Rider Virtual Museum. If your interested in finding out more about Revere take a look at Hall 3 where you can explore Boston and the Revere house. In Hall 4, take the ride with Revere and learn about the important stops he made along the way. In Hall 5 you can listen to the melodies of popular Revolutionary War songs.

Questions to Think About:

1. After examining Boston's geography and features, can you think of reasons why the people who lived there would have been so passionate about their beliefs?
2. A lot of events took place during the first battles of the Revolutionary War. Why do you think Paul Revere's ride is one of the most popular stories from this period?
3. What does the story of the Midnight Riders represent the story of all American Revolutionaries?

When thinking about the Revolutionary War it's important to remember that the people who lived and fought through it were ordinary people who were part of an extraordinary sequence of events. Americans were truly different from Europeans in attitude, appearance, prosperity, and beliefs, but they didn't realize it until after they were already at war with England.





People like Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Dr. Prescott - the three riders who let to towns know that the "British were coming," chose to risk their lives and family's lives for a cause they felt strongly for. In Europe anyone committing the kind of disobedience the Bostonians were committing would have surely seen a lengthy prison sentence or worse, death. Yet the Bostonians felt justified and sure that they were on the right side of the issue.




Can you think of a time when you felt justified doing something you knew you might get in trouble for?

A LIST OF NAMES IDENTIFIED

Well, the call went out to students to think of some new names for the blog, and half a dozen of you answered with some terrific ideas. Special Thanks to TIFFANY, DIANE, and KAMILLE for giving it some real thought and giving us lots of creative possibilities. I haven’t included all your suggestions, but I tried to keep the best ones.

Look at all the possibilities and pick your three favorites. Comment on this post and make sure to include your votes. Voting ends Friday. Ok, now go and DISCUSS!

QUEST MONDAY - CHAP. 3, SEC. 4&5

STUDY up this weekend. Your can find the worksheet with terms and focus questions by clicking here. (Quest Worksheet)

Index cards will be worth extra credit. A complete set with all the terms, questions, and the definitions is worth 6 points for classes 700 - 709. For classes 721 and 721, index cards are worth 5 points.

CONGRATULATIONS! To Joshua, Jessica, Dencil, Deborah, Bryan, and Vinson from 721. They correctly answered the Final Jeopardy answer:

• Two reason why the colonists were upset by the Stamp tax.
• They correctly identified that the colonists 1) should not be taxed without representations and 2) that the colonists enjoyed freedom to govern themselves before the Stamp Tax.

They won with a score of 3700 - nice job.

Some students have emailed me about the focus QUESTIONS on the WORKSHEET. Use your textbook as the initial source of information to help you craft your answers. But we discussed the answers to these questions thoroughly in class. The point of studying is to find the best answers on your your own, and be prepared to use them on the quest.

In the future, if any of you are not sure how to answer a question, send me your answer first, and than we'll work on making it better. Emails of course, unless you want anyone from class to offer suggestions. Which, come to think of it would work as well.

NEW NAME NEEDED

Those of you who called out potential names for the blog during class Wednesday now have a place to try out your ideas. Students, let's float some names and see if anything sticks. If we can get a short list of names, then we can all vote on the best one.

Let's get creative, like the people that came up with these boat names on the right. Look at their design (the way something is made to look) for a second.

Do you think this is an example of good or bad design? Why?

BARACK OBAMA IS ELECTED 44TH PRESIDENT

Hey guys, first question for the blog:

• How successful wil the new President be? Will he serve only four years or will he be popular enough to serve for eight? Post you answers to this entry.