Showcases+of+Learning+-+American+Revolution


 * [|Read about how the Showcase of Learning came to be.]**

//Displaying your Learning//

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 * [|Clayton]**

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 * [|Raiya]**

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 * [|Sepehr]**


 * Jonathan**'s [|Benjamin Franklin pamphlet]

//Stating your purpose// > > //“It does not require a majority to prevail but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set bush fires in people’s minds.” -Samuel Adams// > > "Something I’ll never understand is people who fight //over// something as opposed to fighting //for// something. What I find, is that those who are a part of a minority truly understand what it means for fight //for// something. You never see them arguing over meaningless disagreements, or anything that’s worth money value – they fight for a right, fight for survival, and fight for something just a little bit better. The people that lead these fights, the believers, are what I believe are a minority within a minority. And these people are the ones that prevail. Not only are they a minority, they are the irate and tireless people, powered by all the right anger. And this is exactly what the Founding Fathers of America were."
 * **[|Jenna]**

//Supporting your Main Ideas// > > "The events leading up to the [|American Revolution] were a power struggle waiting to happen. The British were using their position of power, having given support to the Americans during the Seven Years War, to exploit America of its goods and money. Unfair taxes were being placed on the New Englanders, every man between thirteen and seventy was drafted into the British Navy, and British men were being positioned in homes around the colonies."
 * **[|Kelly]**

//Connecting to others' work, and Current Events//

> "When the Declaration of Independence was written and signed by the founding fathers, they were pioneering democracy which, by definition is “[|a] [| state of society characterized by formal equality of rights and] [|privileges.] “, or, as Alvin put it “ [|the Right to be unique] “, or the right to be who you are, and the freedom to do what you want so long as it doesn’t violate the law, regardless of other factors. People like Benjamin Franklin were trying to set up a state where free will was encouraged and practiced. While the reason why they did this [|is in question], either to genuinely promote freedom or simply to gain more power, the fact remains that they created a place where liberty came before all else. > > "However, I do not believe that is the case today. Take for example the TSA and their new security protocols regarding airport security. They’re forcing passengers to be looked at by full body scanners, invading privacy and giving up what I consider to be an essential liberty, in exchange for temporary security, for if someone is truly dedicated, they can find [|a way around security procedures] . So, using the logic of their own founding father, America deserves neither liberty nor safety. The deteriorating state of our freedom today is reminding me more and more of the book [|Little Brother], a story of how San Fransisco is nearly turned into a police state." > > [|"“So why do the middle **and** lower class citizens look to the upper-class to lead them?”] Lovely question Iris, I believe the answer to this is because the rich were educated, very wealthy, and had the means and connections to actually go somewhere. A person cannot do anything without money.That alone would motivate the lower classes to somewhat idolize and want to follow the rich. If you dont believe me, then ask yourself this: Why do you admire and respect famous people? One of the main reasons is because they are successful, and you aspire to be like them. So as Raiya so nicely sums it up: [|During the American Revolution, the **rich** were the ones in power. Why? Because as we’ve learned, wealth equals power]."
 * **[|Nick]**
 * **Donya**

//On the source of your quotation//

> "...coming from James Madison, this quotation is very interesting. Madison was the fourth president of America, obviously somebody with a great deal of power. He was one of the prominent writers of the United States Constitution, a charter stating what Americans can and cannot do. In writing this, Madison allowed civilians to have rights, but not a great deal of say in how the country functioned. He had power, and he knew that he should be mistrusted because of it. He once said, ‘[|Democracy is the most vile form of government… democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention: have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property: and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.]’**"**
 * **[|Kelly]**

> "At the time, approximately 20 years after the revolution, the United States was still a very young and weak nation. It was trying to assert itself in the world, while at the same time trying to figure out and do what the leaders of the country believed America stood for. Do they stay close to the ideals of the revolution, promising freedom and equality for all? And if they did, how far would this extend? To all people, or just a chosen few? > > "One of the first major displays of what they believed came with the signing of treaties with the Barbary states. The North African pirates, sponsored by the Pasha of each region, were capturing American merchant shipping and demanding huge ransoms. At one point a rumour even made its way around the US that Benjamin Franklin had been captured by them on a trip from France to Philadelphia, causing great consternation among the American populace. > > "Without a standing navy, let alone one capable of forcing other states into submission, the Americans were forced to pay tribute to the Barbary states in exchange for the safe passage of their ships. To make life easier for American shipping, the US gave a huge sum to each of the Barbary states in exchange for a treaty. The Treaty of Tripoli was one such ‘agreement’."
 * **[|Liam]**

> I think this conundrum can be compared to a magician. Imagine as a child, being awe-struck by the phenomenal things you were seeing on stage, and you truly believed that everything he did was real magic. And then he comes out at the end of the show and tells you that magicians are not really magic. And you should never believe it again, because that is just silly. > > It would be heartbreaking, and maybe, just maybe, you might strategically forget about it. So when the next show comes around, you believe it all, and never start to question. > > So is that it? Did James Madison really think that people should not trust him, or any of the Founding Fathers, as much as they did? And people just seemed to have forgotten that he said it? > > Or was it something else… > > Was it that this magician, back to the magical metaphors, was really just saying that the //other// magicians weren’t really magic. But simply failed to mention that he was one of them too…
 * **[|Megan]**

//Blending references into quotations// > "In 1776, Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, George Washington, Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton had had enough. They went secretly to Philadelphia and wrote a Declaration of Independence. This started a Revolution that “ was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America.”"
 * **[|Michelle]**