Instructions
- Step 1: Declare your independence Read the Declaration of Independence, which announced the colonists’ rebellion against the British monarchy. Focus on the second sentence, which embodies the American spirit.
- TIP: Learn more about the nation’s founders by holding a fantasy draft for a Second Continental Congress All-Star Team.
- Step 2: Light up Put two small lamps in one of your windows to honor patriot Paul Revere and his attempt to warn the colonists of the British army’s approach across the Charles River in Massachusetts.
- Step 3: Speak out Exercise your right to free speech, guaranteed in the first amendment to the Constitution. Celebrate by having a lively but civil discussion with people who disagree with your position.
- TIP: Keep an open mind in your debates — the delegates at the Constitutional Convention took more than three months to hammer out the U.S. Constitution.
- Step 4: Cool down Make a batch of iced tea in honor of the Boston Tea Party, when American colonists banded together to protest the British policy of taxation without representation.
- Step 5: Choose or lose If you’re 18 or older and haven’t yet registered to vote, do it. The right to vote is so important that numerous amendments to the Constitution are devoted solely to it. If you’re already registered or are under 18, sign up people in your community.
- Step 6: Meet the people Go out and see America. Marvel at its natural wonders, enjoy your fellow citizens, and discover the land of the free and the home of the brave.
- FACT: One of the members of the Second Continental Congress was named William Williams.
You Will Need
- Declaration of Independence
- 2 lamps
- Debate
- Iced tea
- Voter registration forms
- Patriotism
