Washington Tea Party and A Patriot’s History of the United States – Pt. 1

Sadly, I’m a little behind in this textbook-size history book.  My Nook encountered some problems last weekend, so I was forced to wait all week for Barnes and Noble to send me a replacement.  I will say, that they are very helpful if you have any problems with the Nook!

Last weekend, my family took a last-minute Saturday trip to Washington D.C. to attend the Tea Party rally  I had been toying with the idea all week, but decided that even if we were only three people in the crowd of thousands, at least we can tell our children and grandchildren we tried to stop the passage of the healthcare bill.  It saddens me that my son’s generation and future generations will be forced to pay the debt that we as a society have accrued.

I would like to add that the people I saw at the rally were everyday Americans.  I spoke to a Vietnam vet. who offered my family food and water.  He said that “we’re all family at these functions.”  I NEVER saw any of the racist acts that have been highly publicized in the media.  In fact, people sang patriotic songs together and talk openly about our great nation.

Nevertheless, I have read a large portion of A Patriot’s History of the United States.  Most of what I have read so far has given me flashbacks of the 7th grade.

Much of what I have read so far has focused on the discovery and exploration of the New World as well as the inception of the principles upon which our nation was founded.  While I did learn some of this information during my formal education, there were some interesting facts that stood out to me

- The Mayflower Contract established some of our very basic founding principles.

- Prior to the mid 1700’s, newborn babies were not named until they reached the age of 2 or 3, due to the high rate of mortality.  For the first years of their life, infants were often referred to as “it” or “our little visitor.”

- George Washington was a very disciplined General but had an emotional side, which was reserved for those close to him.  To keep his troops from breaking ranks, he often kept sharpshooters in the rear of his lines, who would shoot those soldiers who stepped out of line.

One aspect about our founding fathers that has been distorted in young-people’s minds is that our founding fathers were just a bunch of rich, white, slaver owners.  While many of them did own slaves, they often considered it a “necessary evil” of the time and wrote the constitution in a way that would allow for the abolishment of slavery.  Our founders treated their slaves well.  In fact, George Washington freed his slaves upon his death.

These are just a few of the many interesting facts that I’ve learned from reading A Patriot’s History of the United States.  I plan to catch up on more of the book this weekend, since I missed some during the week.

Check the book out, if you’re interested in learning some historical information you may not have learned in school!  Even if you did learn some of it before, it’s a nice refresher in these uncertain times.