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All right class - quiet down and try to pay attention. This weekend we'll be celebrating a special holiday. Does anyone know what it is?...Raise your hand and no yelling out...All right, who wants to answer first...Jeremy?...No, it is NOT the Fourth of July holiday. There is no such holiday called "The Fourth of July." The fourth of July is a date, the same as the tenth of October or the twenty-seventh of March. This holiday has it's own name. Does anyone else want to try?...Kaitlin?...That's right, it's Independence Day, which happens to fall on the fourth of July. Now who knows why it is called Independence Day?...I said no yelling out.
Michael, sit down please, I see your hand is up and stop groaning like that. You sound like someone in pain. What is your answer?...Yes, it was because of a war, but which war?... Right, the Revolutionary War and who did we fight during that war?...That's also correct, we fought against England, but the war wasn't over when we celebrated that first Independence Day so tell me what event it was that made the fourth of July Independence day?...Dan? No, it wasn't the release of the movie...Megan?... No, it wasn't the first fireworks display... Lakisha? That is correct; it was the signing of the Declaration Of Independence.
Jamie, stop talking please. It is not your turn and I don't remember seeing you raise your hand...That's better, now what is your question?...No, you cannot burp, that is not polite. Do you have a question about the Declaration Of Independence?...Then I suggest you sit quietly and listen to our discussion because this is an important part of our history.
All right, I need to see everyone looking at me...I said everyone...Joshua...Michael... Labaron...thank you...And I see some squirmy-wormies in here...Donny...Micah... Leshay...Put your feet under the desk...both feet please...thank you.
Remember that we talked about the Declaration Of Independence yesterday and when we talked about it we decided that one man wrote most of it all by himself. Who was that man?...Randy?...No, it wasn't Stephen King... Kelly?...Yes, he was a President, but not for a few more years...No, it was not Millard Fillmore...Tad? Right, Thomas Jefferson. He was our third President, but when he wrote the Declaration Of Independence we didn't have any Presidents...Now, after Thomas Jefferson finished writing the Declaration Of Independence where was it sent?...Staci? Right, it was sent to England. And who was the King of England at the time?...Sammy?...No, it wasn't Prince Charles. If he was a prince he couldn't be the king...Travis? Correct, King George the third.
Micah, I see the back of your head when I should be seeing your face...thank you. Darell, please put the glitter away.
Now why did the colonies want to be independent from England?...Kathy?...Yes, they were mad, but why?...Darla?..Yes, we didn't like King George, but why? I want one main reason...No, Roberto, it wasn't because he was a stinky-poo-poo-dummy. Anyone?...It was because of too many taxes.
We talked about taxes yesterday and I know that everyone remembers there was a popular slogan, which explained our feelings about the taxes. Now I want everyone to put on your thinking caps and think very hard and see if we can remember what that slogan was...quietly, QUIETLY...we can't think if we're talking...Rob...Dave... Now, who thinks they remember the slogan?...Blake?...No, it was not 'Better living through chemistry'...Jackie?...No, it was not 'All men are pigs'... Scott?...No, it was not 'Words mean things'...I'll give you a hint. One of the words is 'taxation'...anyone?... Ryan?... No, we do not need to know what Maria has hanging from her nose...I'll give you another hint. The last word is 'representation' ...Think hard now...Taxation and representation those are the two most important words in the slogan...Shannon?...That's RIGHT, 'No taxation without representation'...very good Shannon. The colonies did not think it was fair that taxes were placed on us, but we didn't have any say as to the kind of taxes or how much we would have to pay because we did not have any members in Parliament and that is what the slogan; 'No taxation without representation,' means.
One final question; why were taxes being placed on the colonies in the first place?... Ralphie?...No, it wasn't to pay for a bloated and wasteful federal bureaucracy...Amy? ...Yes, it was to help pay for a war, but which war?...Dannielle? No, the Vietnam war didn't happen for another two hundred years...Erika?...That's close, but the 'French and Native American War' is not the right name although I do think it is a better name than the correct one...Crawford?...Right, it was the French and Indian war, which was won by Great Britain, but it almost bankrupted the whole country so they needed more money to pay for the war.
Class, I must say I am very disappointed with your response. I think that many of you were not paying very much attention and that there were too many squirmy-wormies in here today. I know we're going into a holiday weekend, but you are all college seniors now and if you expect to go to graduate school it's important that you learn about our history.
All right; that's all for today. I'll see you next week...sit down, SIT DOWN! Remember, we don't leave our seats until we're dismissed and then we leave the room quietly and politely and we don't run do we?...Okay...you are dismissed...No Running, I SAID NO RUNNING!
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