When the five boys were
back in their classroom at Norwood Elementary School, the teacher reminded the
class of the importance of Independence Day. She wrote five words on the blackboard: “Revolutionary,
Declaration, Minutemen, Celebration, Constitution.” For the next two weeks, there would be all
kinds of written reports and oral reports. There would be weekly pop quizzes and tests
about the history of “The Big Fourth.” Of
course, the history lesson would begin with the American Revolutionary War and
continue up to the present time. “I
would like to remind the class,” said Ms. Smith, “that the American frontier
colonies were first sponsored and supported by the British government. There
were many investors in the British government that sponsored and supported all
kinds of business activities in America. The American colonists and British citizens
in general were loyal to their king. It was the Founding Fathers who wrote and
signed the Declaration of Independence to be free of Great Britain and secure
the people’s unalienable rights.” Ms.
Smith further taught that it was adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4,
1776, as a proclamation by “the thirteen united States of America” to be
independent. Years later, the
Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights would guarantee in
writing certain privileges and rights that had never before been granted by
government in recorded history of the world. The Constitution was signed and published in
1787. It begins with the Preamble “WE
THE PEOPLE of the United States …” and was amended in subsequent years. In 1791, the majority of state legislatures
ratified amendments which became the first ten, called the U.S. Bill of Rights. The first amendment was to protect our
freedom of religion, speech, the press, and so forth.
The teacher then
pointed out that if America had lost the Revolutionary War, every one of the
men who signed the Declaration of Independence would have been treated as a
traitor and either shot, hung or imprisoned by the British government. This was
one of the reasons that John Hancock signed his name so large on the original
document. He wanted to make sure his name would stand out above all the other
signatures. Hancock was making absolutely sure that the British government
would see his large signature and be assured that his name was part of this
conspiracy that he wholeheartedly believed in and supported this document.
The five boys were not
surprised to hear what came next. “Your
homework assignment for the weekend is to pretend that you are in the fireworks
in the battle of the Revolutionary War. Explain to the class what you feel, what you
see and hear, and what the battle means to you personally. All of these reports
will be given in front of the class by the person who writes the report. The
first ten volunteers will automatically receive at least an ‘A-’ for classroom
participation! Of course, the best reports in the class will have an ‘A+’
marked on the papers,” Ms. Smith explained.
After school the boys headed
home to tell their parents about the assignment. Next, all five met at the public library to
find some books on the Revolutionary War. Over the weekend, the boys worked together on
their individual reports at the tree Fort, where everything was quiet and conducive
to writing about their experience from a soldier’s point of view. After two days of almost continuous writing, a
little brainstorming for ideas, and lots of snacks, they finished their paper
for the weekend.
On Monday the five boys
were sitting in class, waiting with anticipation. Ms. Smith asked for volunteers. Five hands went up immediately from the five
boys. Ms. Smith was not surprised at
their eagerness. They always seemed to
be the leaders in the class and out on the playground. Ms. Smith admired the boys’ confidence to
become future leaders, and encouraged them and the rest of the class to pursue
a leadership role in life. “Have courage
to take risks in life!” she said. “Be
not the first to always try the new, but be not the last to put some old ideas
aside.” This was one of her favorite
sayings, adapted from a poem by Alexander Pope (1688-1744), and she would often
repeat it throughout the year.
The boys had previously
agreed which of them would go first and what order they would follow. They all knew that Lester, Butch, and Robert
were the scholarly bunch, and like a relay race in track, the fastest runners
were usually placed at the back of the line to close the gap or to win the
race. Ronald was the first to raise his
hand. He stood in front of the class and
began to read his report. “I pretended
like I was the drummer boy leading the troops into battle by setting the
cadence of the movement forward. I saw grown men all around me fall to the ground
from gunshot wounds and cannon explosions. I was so scared that I wet my pants. …” Nobody
in the classroom made a sound. The
students were all sitting up forward in their desk with their eyes and ears
tuned in on Ronald’s report. Ronald
concluded his report by stating, “Some of these experiences I read about in the
library were taken from actual events in the Revolutionary War. I tried to
imagine what it would be like to see these things happen with my own eyes.” A round of applause was given to Ronald by his
classmates when he sat down in his seat.
Allen was next to
volunteer. “My report is about a man who
is scared to death to go into battle. He is constantly fighting with himself
and his conscience. ‘I don’t want to die!’ he kept saying to himself. He kept
looking back over his shoulder to see if anyone else was running away from the
battle. He thought to himself that he would pretend like he was dead and
perhaps the enemy would go on past him. He thought about what his fellow
soldiers would think, and what they would say about him if he were found dead,
shot in the back! He just couldn’t handle the pressure, so he curled himself up
into a little ball and hid behind….” Allen
stopped reading and said to the class, “I wanted whoever heard or read this
story to finish the story by drawing their own conclusion.” Another thunderous round of applause was
given by his classmates.
Robert came to the
front of the class. “My report is based on a soldier’s religious view about
doing God’s work for the good of mankind. This minuteman named George became a
soldier as he was studying to become a minister, when he was called into battle
by his fellow citizens.” They were called minutemen because in a minute’s
notice they would drop whatever they were doing and join in the fight against
the British. Robert continued, “George
was well known throughout the community for two reasons. He always had a Bible
in his hands, and he could quote all kinds of scripture. It was also a known fact
throughout the colony that George was one of the wealthiest men around, if not
the wealthiest man in America. The good book says, ‘Thou shall not kill.’ But
it also has been said that ‘There is no greater glory to God than for a man to
be killed in battle for his country,’ George would say. George seemed to be at
odds with his conscience and his religious views. His fellow men were counting
on him to fight with them in battle against his fellow men, but his religious
training weighed heavily on his mind to refrain from violence. George would
often be seen looking up at the sky and asking his Heavenly Father to forgive
him. Then he would give a strong hand signal to charge and attack the enemy. ‘To
become a leader of men is one of the hardest things I ever had to do in my life,’
he was overheard saying to a fellow officer. The officer replied, ‘It is the
will of God!’ So I tried to put myself into George’s shoes and think what I
would do if I were in his position.” said Robert. “Then I found myself thinking, “We are all
sometimes put into a survival position like an animal. We have to make a
decision to either stand and fight or run to survive. If ‘survival of the fittest’
means only the strong will survive, we make our own choice. After reading many
scenes about the bloody battles in the Revolutionary War, I pray to God every
night to keep me from ever having to make such a decision.” When Robert went back to his seat to sit down,
it looked like he had tears in his eyes. The class remained very quiet for a while then
everyone broke out with a cheer.
(Part One of the
novella by George F. Kohn, author of Holiday Favorites series available on
Amazon.com)
For the rest of the
story, order your copy of The Big Fourth, published for Kindle
e-readers and paperback. Amazon search: Holiday Favorites by George F.
Kohn.)