Adams and Jefferson. Each thinking the other still survived Sent from my AT&T iPhone. ~ Gail ~ On Jul 4, 2012, at 13:54, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote: > Happy 4th of July to all. > Two famous U.S. Presidents died on July 4th, but not in 1776. > Any guesses? > > Many of us recall singing at least the first verse of "America" as school > children, especially before assemblies. Do you remember the lyrics? > >> >> "AMERICA" (My Country, 'Tis of Thee) >> >> 1. My country,' tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing; land >> where my fathers died, land of the pilgrims' pride, from every mountainside >> let freedom ring! > > 2.My native country, thee, land of the noble free, thy name I love; I love > >> thy rocks and rills, thy woods and templed hills; my heart with rapture >> thrills, like that above. > > 3.Let music swell the breeze, and ring from all the trees sweet freedom's > >> song; let mortal tongues awake; let all that breathe partake; let rocks >> their silence break, the sound prolong. > > 4. Our fathers' God, to thee, author of liberty, to thee we sing; long may > >> our land be bright with freedom's holy light; protect us by thy might, >> great God, our King. >> [Source: http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh697.txt] > > And in those days, each classroom displayed an American flag. Upon > prompting over the P.A. by a principal, or by the classroom teacher, each student > stood, > right hand over heart and recited the "Pledge of Allegiance." > > "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." > > Historically, the word "God" was added to the original Pledge, and is > printed on > money of the United States of America. The use of the word God has been > challenged in both instances, under the guise of separation of church and > state. > > When teaching high school, many of my non-native born students refused to > participate claiming this is not their country. Yet, NYS required its > teachers to lead the Pledge, and often observed how teachers performed the task. My > response to > immigrant students was requiring all to stand in honor of the U.S. flag, as > a symbol of this country and all it afforded them and their families. > Recitation could not be forced, but at least I provided them with a reason they > must stand, just as I would do in their country of birth. R-e-s-p-e-c-t! > > Here's some historical links you may find interesting: > > http://www.ushistory.org/documents/pledge.htm > http://www.homeofheroes.com/hallofheroes/1st_floor/flag/1bfc_pledge.html > > God bless America! > God bless those who fought and continue to fight for our freedoms. > Fly those stars and stripes high and stand proud this 4th of July. > > Barb > Metro NYC Researcher > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message