The Origins of Our
Country
The Constitution of
the United States
The Federal Convention
convened in the State House (Independence Hall) in Philadelphia on May
14, 1787, to revise the Articles of Confederation. Because the
delegations from only two states were at first present, the members
adjourned from day to day until a quorum of seven states was obtained
on May 25. Through discussion and debate it became clear by mid-June
that, rather than amend the existing Articles, the Convention would
draft an entirely new frame of government. All through the summer, in
closed sessions, the delegates debated, and redrafted the articles of
the new Constitution. Among the chief points at issue were how much
power to allow the central government, how many representatives in
Congress to allow each state, and how these representatives should be
elected--directly by the people or by the state legislators. The work
of many minds, the Constitution stands as a model of cooperative
statesmanship and the art of compromise. For the complete text click
here.
The Declaration of
Independence
Drafted by Thomas
Jefferson between June 11 and June 28, 1776, the Declaration of
Independence is at once the nation's most cherished symbol of liberty
and Jefferson's most enduring monument. Here, in exalted and
unforgettable phrases, Jefferson expressed the convictions in the minds
and hearts of the American people. The political philosophy of the
Declaration was not new; its ideals of individual liberty had already
been expressed by John Locke and the Continental philosophers. What
Jefferson did was to summarize this philosophy in "self-evident truths"
and set forth a list of grievances against the King in order to justify
before the world the breaking of ties between the colonies and the
mother country. For complete text click here.
The National Anthem
of The United States of America
"The Star
Spangled Banner", was ordered played at military and naval occasions by
President Woodrow Wilson in 1916, but was not designated the national
anthem by an Act of Congress until 1931. The words were written in 1814
by Francis Scott Key, who had been inspired by the sight of the
American flag still flying over Fort McHenry after a night of heavy
British bombardment. The text was immediately set to a popular melody
of the time, To Anacreon in Heaven. The National Anthem consists of
four verses. On almost every occasion only the first verse is sung.
One of the goals of the League of Veteran and Military Voters is have
all four verses sung at all official functions of city, state and
federal functions. Our children barely know the first verse, we need to
help them understand the history of our country in all of the ways we
can. For the Words click here.
The Pledge of
Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America
"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."
The Pledge of
Allegiance to the Texas state flag
"Honor the
Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one and indivisible."
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