Chapter 6 - History 

• Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
  -George Santayana (1863-1952), The Life of Reason, Volume 1, 1905
  
  Why is the study of History so important? Because we can learn from our mistakes.
  Life is a series of trial and error. We can only advance if we learn not to make the same mistakes over and over again or better yet avoid making the mistake in the first place. Some people make the claim that this is a new case. That may be true in some cases, but not all. Common sense will help us distinguish between a new case and a recurring case. If this quote is true, then the corollary is also true. If we did something that was right, we should repeat it. Why reinvent the wheel?
  
  Watching the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, I'm often amused by the people that he interviews off the street. These "Jaywalkers" are your average American, students, teachers, office workers, blue collar type. What's amusing and sad is that they seem to have little knowledge of simple facts from our own history. They know all the pop culture related stuff and contemporary music and the latest celebrity's rumors. My question is - what are they teaching in our schools? In addition to the basic 3 R's (reading, writing, and arithmetic) the next two items that must be taught in our public schools should be history and finance. I'll have another chapter to deal with personal finance later. But history is a must. It is our roots, our common culture, our beliefs and our past that binds us. Our unique history is what makes America special. Every American should know it like the back of our hands. Take this simple test.
  
  1. How many branches of government do we have? And what are they?
  2. How many Supreme Court Justices are there and how long do they serve?
  3. What famous signature was on the Declaration of Independence?
  4. When was the Constitution of the US written? And what are the first 3 words?
  5. Who is the current Vice President of the US?
  6. Who were the two sides of the Civil War and what were they fighting about?
  7. What was the first Thanksgiving and who were they thanking?
  8. What event caused the US to enter WW II?
  9. What event ended the War with Japan in 1945?
  10. When did the first man land on the moon and what country is he from?
  11. What was Martin Luther King's famous speech?
  12. How many stars and stripes are on our flag?
  13. What 4 words appear on all our money?
  14. What is the American National Anthem?
  15. What is the Pledge of Allegiance?
  
  How did you do? Give the test to your parent and your kids and see how they do.
  
  Answers:
  
  1. 3 branches - Legislative, Executive, and Judicial.
  2. 9 justices appointed by the President and they serve for life.
  3. John Hancock
  4. 1787 - We the People%u2026
  5. Dick Cheney
  6. North and South - to preserve the Union and free the slaves.
  7. Pilgrims in the fall of 1621 - thanking God for the first harvest in the New World.
  8. sneak attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese - December 7, 1941
  9. Dropping of the Atom Bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki - 1945.
  10. 1969 - Neil Armstrong, US Astronaut, landed on the Sea of Tranquility and his first words were -"Here is one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind"
  11. His famous "I have a dream speech" was delivered in Washington DC on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in August of 1963.
  12. 50 stars - one for each State, and 13 stripes - for the original 13 States.
  13. "In God We Trust"
  14. "The Star-Spangled Banner"
  15. "I pledge allegiance to the Flag
  of the United States of America,
  and to the Republic for which it stands:
  one Nation under God, indivisible,
  With Liberty and Justice for all."
  
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Some links to my lens... 

The real Thanksgiving

The real story of Thanksgiving not politically correct to teach.

National Women's Party

History of NWP and a lost artifact...

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