American Identity and the Language of Liberty

This morning in one of my many dorky history notebooks, there was this quote from George Washington in a letter to James Warren, March 31, 1779.

"Our cause is noble...it is the cause of Mankind!"

Here is a link to the full letter.

Of course, in 1779, Washington was in the midst of fighting for the American cause in the American Revolution.  But as we are discussing the Revolution this week in class, I was intrigued by the quote.

So I asked my students, what do you think the American Revolution was about?

Often they tell me, freedom.  In class, I ask them to think about the "Language of Liberty" as part of our American dream.  Do all of the cultures interacting in the 18th century have access to that "Language of Liberty?"  Do women have access to this liberty? How do gender and race - even from the founding of our noble cause - calculate into the idea of freedom?

Perhaps there are more questions then answers, but we must examine Washington's cause of Mankind.

Asking the questions is the first step.

JJ

Comparing Mercy Otis Warren to Thomas Paine

I am working on a lesson for this week's Role of Women in History and I have decided to compare Mercy Otis Warren's writing with contemporary Thomas Paine.  Two quotes I am looking at:

Paine Thomas in Common Sense, 1776:
“Until an independence is declared the continent will feel itself like a man who continues putting off some unpleasant business from day to day, yet knows it must be done, hates to set about it, wishes it over, and is continually haunted with the thoughts of its necessity.”

Mercy via her husband's letter to John Adams, Nov, 1775:

“She [Mrs. Warren] sits at the table with me, will have a paragraph of her own; says you [Congress] 'should no longer piddle at the threshold. It is time to leap into the theatre, to unlock the bars, and open every gate that impedes the rise and growth of the American republic, and then let the giddy potentate send forth his puerile proclamations to France, to Spain and all the commercial world who may be united in building up an Empire which he can’t prevent.”

Observation - I should consistently refer to the authors by their last name or first names.  It is more common for women writers to be referred to by their first names.  There are just too many Thomas(es) or Warrens in Revolutionary literature.  

JJ

Making that first CONNECTION

I am starting this blog for my students, family and friends who ask me all the time to help them understand history.  I am dedicated to finding the path in history that enlightens us all.  Teaching American history, I encourage my students to connect the motivations and stories they are studying in class to the world around them today.  I ask them to CONNECT History.  #ConnectHistory

I am dedicated to this connection.  

Last week in a used bookstore, (Yes, I encourage you all to stroll through a used bookstore) I encountered a book titled Gems of Modern Wit and Humor published in 1903.  I immediately gobbled it up for a mere $5.  The binding is breaking and the pages are more than fraying.  It's heaven.