John Adams: America's First Dictator?

John Adams had a miserable presidency. I honestly feel bad for him.  He was an excellent public servant leading up to, and during, the Revolutionary War, but sadly his legacy is tarnished with his time as president. His personality was not well suited to be an executive (he was short-tempered, easily offended and too smart for his own good) and he was constantly being compared to Washington.  Following in Washington's footsteps led to constant, and unfair, criticism that he was not able to handle.

Two things define Adams' presidency: The XYZ Affair and the Alien/Sedition Acts.  Of those two, the most damaging incident was the Alien/Sedition Acts.  Rather than explain them to you, I want you to explore these two websites: Website A and Website B.  On Website A, be sure to click the link for the "Virginia & Kentucky Resolutions" at the end of the reading because you need to read that as well.

For the comment section, give your thoughts on the following questions: Was Adams justified in passing these acts? Did these acts violate the Bill of Rights?  If they did, should he have been impeached? Should the government ever be allowed to "overstep their boundaries" in the name of "public protection"?

George Washington: Father Of Our Nation or Deity?

George Washington was our first president. You know this. Heck, Caedmon probably knows this. So, what's the big deal about Washington? Was he really that smart and great?

For this week's blog, you are going to read an eyewitness account of George Washington's inauguration and analyze a piece of art called "The Apotheosis of Washington" which is painted on the ceiling in the U.S. Capital Building. Be sure to read the accompanying explanation of the painting on that website.

For the comments section, please complete the following:
1-Write 50 words on your reaction to the inauguration story.  What do you think the "feeling in the air" was on that day?
2-Write 50 words on your reaction to the art.  What does this art say about how Americans view Washington?

End Of The Semester: Reflection

Wow! You guys have worked very hard this semester! We have covered a lot of material and you have had great attitudes. Thank you for all of your hard work.

For this week's blog, please reflect on what we have studied since August.  In the comments section, discuss the one topic or lesson that has impacted you the most and why.  Please give this some real thought and reflection.

The U.S. Constitution: Our Second Attempt At Creating A Government

As you are going to learn this week, the U.S. Constitution was not the original set of laws for America.  During the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress wrote, and the states approved, the adoption of the Articles of Confederation & Perpetual Union. The AOC would serve as our official governing document from 1781-1787 when they were replaced by the Constitution.

The AOC attempted to create a government where the people (states, voters etc.) retained most of the power within the government.  We had just rebelled from a system of government where one man (King George III) and one governing body (Parliament) had full access to all political power, leaving "the people' often helpless.  Naturally, in creating our new government we were going to spread the power around rather than centralize it in the federal government (Congress, President, Supreme Court etc.)  This sounds good in theory, but an essentially powerless central government can get nothing accomplished which causes lots of problems for the states.  Soon the leaders of America were rethinking the effectiveness of the AOC and chose to write a new document where power was more evenly distributed.

This decision to change, but eventually do away with, the AOC came in the summer of 1787.  Men from all over the country convened in Philadelphia (just like they had done in the 1st and 2nd Continental Congresses) to author a new governing document.  What emerged from those months of meetings and debates is our Constitution.  Adopted in 1787, the Constitution has withstood over forty different presidents, multiple wars (including the Civil War) and various other crises.  If you think about it, it is fairly remarkable that the AOC last about ten years and the Constitution has lasted 226 years. That was quite an improvement!

For this week's blog, visit this website and watch the videos on The President, The Legislative Branch & The Judicial Branch.  Each video is approximately 20 minutes in length, so you'll need to plan your time accordingly.  In the comments section, you will write three paragraphs.  Each paragraph should be 100 words long and summarize what you learned from each video.  This week's blog will be worth triple the points (150 instead of 50).

Chords Of Change: Music Of The Revolutionary War

This blog will be our last on the topic of the Revolutionary War.  This critical conflict was such a pivotal force in the creation of our country that it took three blogs to cover!

This week you will be examining some popular songs, on both sides of the war, during this time period.  Visit this website, listen to the five songs listed on the left and read the lyrics as you listen.  In the comment section choose two (2) lyrics to quote that really stood out to or that you thought were particularly insightful about this time period.

Valley Forge: The Worst of Times//The Best of Times

Washington and his men spent a difficult winter at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania from the end of 1777 to the early months of 1778.  One of the strange customs of war from the 18th Century is that armies would basically call a cease-fire when the weather turned cold.  As winter would approach, each army would find a place to hibernate until the fighting would resume in spring.  Washington's choice was Valley Forge.

It is well documented how miserable his men were during this time.  There was little food, adequate clothing or proper shelter to protect the men from the winter winds.  Washington, in display of one of his best qualities, refused to live in comfort while his men suffered.  He remained in the camp until winter thawed out.

As difficult as this time was, the men in Washington's camp received the best training of their "careers" up to that point.  Prussian military leader Friedrich Von Steuben came to the aid of Washington and drilled his men until they were an actual fighting force.  For this week's blog, I want you to read this story, watch part one and part two of this video series and in the comments write about your impression of Washington, Von Steuben and the soldiers in light of their struggle at Valley Forge.

Women & Slaves: Overlooked People Groups of the American Revolution

Like the title of the blog suggests, the role women and slaves played in the American Revolution is often overlooked.  Most people think about Washington, Jefferson, Adams etc. when they think about the 1770s, and those people were important! But, there were other groups who played strategic roles in the fight against Britain.

Visit these two links (women & slaves) and in the Comment section discuss why you think each group chose to play a part in the war.  Do you think they got what they wanted or did they help out and then were forgotten?