Brite Star Kids "The Big Birthday"

The Big Birthday A Brite Star Kids Book Copyright © 2023 by The Brite Star Foundation, Inc., a 501 (c)3 All rights reserved.

Published by The Brite Star Foundation, Inc. 11411 Southern Highlands Parkway Suite 338 Las Vegas, Nevada 89141 Vincent W. Goett, Publisher

ISBN Paperback

979-8-89750-250-9

Digital

979-8-89750-251-6

No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.

When the Brite Star kids came to school they were all dressed in different costumes. Everyone was excitedfor a special school day.

Today they were going to have a big birthday party. But this would not be a normal birthday party. It wasn’t for one of the students. Today’s party was different.

“Good morning,” said Ms. Betty. “Today is a very special day because we will have a birthday party for our country, the United States of America. Every year, on July 4th, we celebrate the birth of our country. Does anyone know what we call this special day?”

Many children raised their hands.

Jimmy gave the answer, “We callit Independence Day.” “That’s right. Does anyone know why?”Ms. Betty asked.

“This is the day our country declared independence from England,” Alex said.

“It’s the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.”

“Right again,” said Ms. Betty. “You eachhad an assignment to tell us about one of our country’s founding fathers. They werethe men who helped create our country. When did Independence Day take place?” sheasked.

The whole class shouted, “1776!”

“Miles, please tell us about the founding father you researched,” said Ms. Betty.

“I chose George Washington,” said Miles. “He was our first president. But before that, he did many things to help create our country. He was a military hero in the French and Indian War and in the Revolutionary War he led the Continental Army. His strategy helped the colonists win the war and become independent from Britain.”

“What’s a colonist?” asked Karen.

“The United States was originally just 13colonies.

The people in the colonies were called colonists,” said Miles. “Washington was president for 8 years. Then he decided not to run for president again. He thought the country needed to change leaders. Future presidents followed his lead. Now, presidents can only serve for eightyears.”

“Great job, Miles,” said Ms.Betty.

Cynthia did her presentation next.She talked about JohnAdams.

“John Adams was vice president under George Washington,” she said. “Then he became our country’s second president. He appointed Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence. During the Revolutionary War, he asked France to help the colonists. Later he became the first ambassador to England.”

“His son, John Quincy Adams, became the6th president many yearslater.”

“John Adams died on July 4, 1826, on the same day as Thomas Jefferson.”

“Who’s that?” askedMaria.

“I can answer that when I do my report,” said Sarah.

“Thomas Jefferson was the second vice president and third president of our country,” said Sarah.

“Before that, he was best known for writing the Declaration of Independence. That’s the document that declared us free from England. It was signed on July 4,1776.”

“Right after the war, he became the first secretary of state. He ran for president against John Adams but lost so he became vice president. As president, he was known for the Louisiana Purchase, which doubled the size of the United States and only cost ten million dollars. He was president for 8 years.

He died July 4, 1826.As Cynthia said, it was the same day as John Adams.”

“Were all the founding fathers presidents?” asked Cynthia.

“No,” said Ms. Betty. “Let’s hear Alex’s presentation.”

“Alexander Hamilton was never president but he was still very important as a founding father,”said Alex.

“Alexander Hamilton grew up very poor. He fought in the Revolutionary War. He was an important military leader and led many important battles including the final battle at Yorktown,” said Alex. “After the war, he became the first secretary of the treasury. He created our banking and currency systems. He created the US mint, the Coast Guard, the national bank, and much more.”

“Unfortunately, Hamilton had many enemies,” said Alex. “He argued with Thomas Jefferson and many others. In 1804 he was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr, who was the vice president under Jefferson. Even though he was never president, Hamilton was a very important part of creating our country. His picture is on the $10 bill,” saidAlex.

“I will tell you about James Madison,” said Maria.

“James Madison was the 4th president. He is best known for writing one of the first drafts of the US Constitution and is sometimes called theFather of the Constitution.”

“He was one of the leaders of the Constitutional Convention. He presented the plan for three branches of government -- judicial, executive, and legislative which still exists today. He worked to get the constitution passed. Later he was one of many people who argued withAlexander Hamilton.”

“While he was president, there was a second war with England called the War of 1812.He continued the hard work of George Washington and others to help expand our country.”

Landon shared next, “My founding fatherwas not president, but he was very important to the road to independence. SamAdams was one of the leaders of the Sons of Liberty,” he said. “That group was formed to fight taxes England was trying to put on our country.”

“Sam Adams helped organize the BostonTea Party, which was an important step towards the Revolution. He signed the Declaration of Independence, along with his cousin John Adams. He later became governorof Massachusetts.”

Hudson spoke next. “My report is on Thomas Paine. He was a writer who wasvery important in theRevolutionary War,” said Hudson. “In 1776,he wrote Common Sense, an article that helped encourage many colonists to support the Declaration of Independence.

After the war, he wrote many other important books such as Rights of Man and The Age of Reason supporting the FrenchRevolution.

Though he was not president, he wasfriends with most of the early presidents and often visited with them.”

“Patrick Henry was the first governor of Virginia and an important founding father,” said Karen. “Before the war, he gavespeeches to encourage support of independence. He is famous for saying, ‘Give me Liberty or Give me Death’ to show how strongly he believed in freedom. He was one of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence.”

“After the war, he helped write the first ten amendments of the Constitution, now referred to as the Bill of Rights. He later became governor of Virginia.”

Jimmy smiled before beginning his presentation. “My founding father is one of the most interesting. Benjamin Franklin was never president, but his picture is on the $100 bill! He’s known as an inventor who helped us understand electricity, printing presses, lightning, refrigeration, eyeglasses,batteries, and many other things.”

“He was also an important leader before, during, and after the war. He helped write the Declaration of Independence, created the Treaty of Paris when the war was over, and helped create the Constitution.He also wrote important historicalbooks such as Poor Richard’s Almanac. He published newspapers, too.”

“You all did a wonderful job,” said Ms.Betty.

“Wait! We have a surprise for you,” said Jimmy. The kids came to the front of the class to show Ms. Betty their surprise.

“We made a Statue of Liberty,” Hudsonsaid.

“France gave the United States the Statue of Liberty in celebration of ourfriendship,” said Sarah.

“It’s now on Liberty Island in New York,” added Miles.

“The Statue welcomes immigrants fromaround the world as they come toAmerica,” added Landon.

“She represents freedom to people around the world,” added Alex.

“She’s an important symbol to America and we are happy to present this to you for America’s birthday,” said Karen.

Ms. Betty smiled. “I am so proud of all of you.

You’ve done a wonderful job with your reports and now this wonderful surprise! Brite Star School and our friends have a surprisefor all of you, too,” said Ms. Betty. “I’ll see you all back here at school tonight,”she said.

“Wow, I wonder what the surprise is?” Miles said. Everyone was excited to come back to school that evening.

That night the entire town of Brite Star gathered around the flagpole. Today was a special day so Janitor Brad had left the flag up even though it was night.

Suddenly there was a loud bang and a big flash of colorful lights. It was fireworks!The beautiful American flag was lit up by the bright fireworks.

“We celebrate America’s birthday with fireworks. It’s a tradition that was suggested

by John Adams and goes all theway back to our firstbirthday in 1777,”said Janitor Brad.

Everyone cheered and the whole town sang happy birthday to America.

The Big Birthday Party was a lot of fun. It’s a tradition that continues every year at Brite Star.

Think About It

1. What date do we celebrate the birth of our country?

2. Who wasthe first President of the United States?

3. Who is knownfor writing the Declaration of Independence?

4. Which founding father waskilled in a duel?

5. Who is known as the Father of the Constitution?

Let’s Work Together!

It’s important to know the history of howour country cameto be. Knowing it will help you appreciate your freedom and the many struggles for freedom and equality this country has worked for over the years.

I Will . . .

• Read books about the beginning of the United States.

• Learn about the warsfought to gain our freedom.

• Respect our flag and the efforts this country makesfor justice and equality.

It’s easy to take freedom for granted. But, if you also learn about people in countries whoare not free then you’ll appreciate the freedoms you have.

Learn about freedom and stand up for the rights of those whodon’t have the freedom you enjoy.

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