“Congrats!” Cam said.
“What do we win?” Freedom asked.
“You each win a special field trip to the place of your choice. You can choose from your favorite restaurant, your favorite movie theater, or the ice-skating rink,” I replied.
“Oh, cool, thanks, Mr. Revere! I’ll have to think about this,” Freedom said with a big smile.
“Yeah, thanks!” said Tommy, smiling.
“And you can each bring a friend, too. I will give your parents a call and give them the details,” I said.
“Awesome!” Freedom seemed genuinely thrilled. “Oh, by the way, Liberty is back,” Freedom whispered.
“Does she mean your horse?” asked Ed. “She must have really good hearing. Hey, how does he get inside the school? Wait, don’t tell me. He can open doors, too.”
“No worries, Ed,” I said. “He’ll stay outside until class is dismissed.”
Ed exhaled, looking a bit confused. “That’s a relief because you do not want to see me break out in hives.”
A car horn honked three times. Ed looked at his watch and said, “That’s my mom. She’s picking me up for band practice.”
“You have band practice on a holiday?” I asked.
“Well, my mom is the band teacher,” Ed said, grinning. “And today I get to organize all of the instruments in the new storage cabinets we have. Thanks for inviting me, Cam. This is the most fun I’ve had in a class, ever.” He gathered his bag and instrument case and scrambled out the door.
“I hope Ed doesn’t run into Liberty in the hallway!” Cam said.
“He won’t,” said Freedom. “Liberty’s waiting for us outside. He says he has a surprise for Cam.”
“For me?” Cam asked. “Why me?”
Freedom smirked, “Oh, you’ll see. He said it has something to do with a bet the two of you made with each other.”
Cam’s brow rose for a second as he thought about what it could be.
Chapter 10
As we walked outside by the big oak tree it was apparent that Liberty had been busy. The entire schoolyard looked like it was growing with lollipops. Someone or, more accurately, some horse had stuck hundreds of small lollipops into the grass as if they were growing like multicolored dandelions. I’ll admit, it was very impressive. Cam’s jaw dropped when he saw the candied display. Suddenly Liberty appeared from the corner of the building as he galloped along a path through the lollipops.
“What’s that on Liberty’s head?” Tommy asked.
“No way,” said Cam, laughing.
“It looks like a horn made out of a carrot,” said Tommy. “Wait, is he supposed to be a unicorn? He realizes we wear costumes for Halloween not the Fourth of July, right?”
“He knows,” said Freedom. “Cam bet Liberty that the Land of Lollipops and Unicorns didn’t exist.”
Cam took out his phone and took a picture of a smiling Liberty galloping by with an authentic-looking unicorn-horn carrot strapped to his head.
* * *
After Liberty’s antics had ended, Cam agreed that Liberty pulled it off and chuckled as he posted an Instagram photo to all his friends with the caption, “Unicorns really do exist!”
“Let’s meet by the large flagpole at the entrance of the school,” I announced. “Since it’s the Fourth of July, Liberty and I have something special planned.”
We all gathered at the base of the flagpole. The crystal blue sky was the perfect backdrop for the large American flag that was gently waving in the summer breeze.
“I’ve asked Liberty to share something he memorized. See if you can guess what he is reciting.”
Liberty looked around to make sure we were alone. Knowing that everyone was listening closely, he decided to make the most of it. Liberty cleared his throat, took a deep breath, and said in a booming voice, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
“Anyone want to take a guess where these words are from?” I asked.
“I bet it has something to do with the flag,” said Freedom.
“Yeah, the flag or the Fourth of July,” said Tommy.
Seeing another opportunity to perform, Liberty said, “Wait, wait, maybe you need for me to say it again, only this time with a little more passion, a little more heart. . . . Fear not, I have you covered!”
All three kids laughed at Liberty’s dramatics.
“Liberty, please go ahead and recite the same part again,” I urged.
“Well, if you insist,” Liberty said. He took a deep breath and continued: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Freedom clapped and said, “Good job, Liberty, you’re the best!”
“Here’s a hint,” I said. “The Continental Congress adopted these words on July 4th, 1776.”
“The Constitution?” Freedom asked.
“Very close, Freedom, but this one declared something . . .” I hinted.
Tommy smiled and confidently piped in, “I got it! It’s the Declaration of Independence!”
“That’s absolutely right,” I said, smiling. “Well done, Tommy! To be exact, what Liberty recited is the Preamble, which means the introduction to the Declaration of Independence.”
I explained that every year Americans celebrate the Fourth of July, almost like a birthday for the country, even though the actual independence of the United States of America came five years after the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776.
Cam scratched his head and said, “So if we didn’t actually win the war on the Fourth of July, why do we celebrate it every year? I mean there are lots of barbecues and fireworks and flags and stuff at the base. It’s usually a big party. Everyone says ‘Happy Independence Day!’ So I always thought that meant it was our country’s birthday.”
“That is a very good observation, Cam. Patriots from the thirteen colonies declared their independence from Britain after the battles at Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill. They were drawing a line in the sand, basically saying enough is enough, we want to have our own free country with our own laws and rules. As you can imagine, after King George saw how prosperous the colonies had become from the time that the Pilgrims arrived, he was not eager to give up control of the land or the people. George Washington and his American army continued fighting for another five years, if you can imagine that, before there was actual independence.”
Tommy raised his hand and said, “I think the Patriots were kinda telling King George to take a hike, right, Mr. Revere?”
“In a manner of speaking, yes,” I said. “July Fourth is the day the Patriots officially listed all of the ways King George and the English government, or Parliament, mistreated the colonists and declared in writing that they wanted to be their own country. Essentially, it was the day the Patriots penned their breakup letter to the King of England.”
“It was bound to happen,” Liberty said. “Long-distance relationships are so hard.”
“Ohhhhh, I get it,” exclaimed Tommy. “The Declaration of Independence is sort of like when my older sister texted her boyfriend to say she was breaking up with him. He was not happy. I bet King George wasn’t happy when he got our text.”
Liberty chuckled. “Imagine if we swapped out the word text as in text message for the word declaration. Hey, did you get my declaration? Yeah, I already declarationed you back. Well, I didn’t get it so declaration me, again!” The kids all laughed at Liberty’s commentary.
I added, “Picture it this way. Since Tommy is a quarterback for the Manchester Lions, let’s use him as an example. What if Tommy played quarterback for King George’s British Empire team? What if the King benched Tommy and said he couldn’t play anymore unless he played by the King’s rules? But his rul
es made Tommy a robot. His rules forced Tommy to do anything the King wanted no matter what happened to Tommy or in the game. What if the rules were unfair and somehow hurt Tommy or his family? Would you just keep playing by those rules? Or would you eventually say, hey, enough is enough?”
“I’d say enough is enough,” Tommy said.
Cam blurted, “Oh boy, if my mom found out that my coach was like that, she’d march right over to his house and give him a piece of her mind.”
I smiled and said, “And that’s exactly what America did. The Declaration of Independence was a piece of our mind to King George.”
Cam smiled and said, “I would’ve loved to have been a fly on the wall when King George first received the Declaration of Independence.” Cam put on his best King George British accent and said, “ ‘Oh, look, a letter from America. Let’s see what it says.’ ” Cam cleared his throat. “Dear King George: We think you smell like rotten cheese, and we are not letting you bully us anymore!”
Everyone laughed. I looked up at the clock and then out the window. Two cars pulled up, one right after the other, at the school bus drop-off area.
“It looks like your families are arriving,” I said. “Since this is our last summer school class I want you to know how much I’ve enjoyed being your teacher. The three of you are exceptional students.”
“We think you’re an exceptional teacher,” said Tommy.
“With a pretty exceptional horse,” added Freedom, winking.
I swallowed hard, surprised by the swell of emotions I felt. “I hope you have a wonderful Fourth of July and I look forward to seeing you next school year.”
“You better still be teaching, Mr. Revere,” said Cam. “Or my mom will hunt Principal Sherman down and give him a piece of her mind.” Again, we all laughed.
“Do you need a ride home?” Tommy asked Cam.
“Nah, my mom is coming to pick me up; thanks anyway,” said Cam.
“By the way, did you find Little Liberty?” Tommy asked Liberty.
“He is safe back in Lexington,” said Liberty, “munching on a big bag of grain.”
“Awesome,” replied Tommy. “See ya,” he said as he raced off to his car.
Without saying anything, Freedom hugged Liberty around the neck. They stared at each other before Freedom hugged Liberty again. “Bye, Mr. Revere,” said Freedom. “Life sure would be boring without American history.”
“Amen,” I said. “And keep painting. I want to see other moments in history through your eyes.”
“I will, for sure,” said Freedom as she waved a final time and dashed for her ride.
“I think life would be boring without Pop Rocks,” said Liberty. “Seriously, have you tried those? Wow! When I ordered the lollipops online they threw in a small box of Pop Rocks. Those things are zippy!”
“Wait, you actually ordered something online?” Cam asked, surprised.
“Well, of course! I use voice control on Rush Revere’s computer. I can’t very well walk into a candy store and order from the counter.”
“Good point,” Cam said, nodding.
Cam and I received a text at the same time. I looked at my phone and saw it was from Danielle. It read:
Cam & Mr. Revere. I lost track of time and now I’m late for an impt appt. I’ll be back in an hour. Hoping Mr. Revere can take you home when you finish your class. Thanks. See you soon Cam. Can’t wait for us to be a family tonight.
“Awesome!” Cam replied after reading his text.
“Have you tried Pop Rocks, too?” Liberty asked, clueless about the text message.
“No,” said Cam. “I don’t have to go home right away. We could go on another adventure.”
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” I asked Cam, who was smiling.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Cam asked me. Of course, I was smiling as well.
“I want to be thinking what you guys are thinking but all I can think about is food,” said Liberty.
I fed Liberty a couple of carrots and pulled myself onto Liberty’s saddle. Cam jumped up behind me.
Liberty finished his carrots and said, “Well, I know what this means! I better get moving!”
“Right again!” I said.
Do you know what this important document is? Along with the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence is one of the most important American documents. It was written by Thomas Jefferson with the help of John Adams and Benjamin Franklin.
Liberty starting moving forward at a good pace and said, “Rush, rush, rushing to history.” The time portal opened, and with my feet firmly in the stirrups, I yelled, “July 4th, 1776, the Pennsylvania State House, Philadelphia.” We galloped toward the time portal and jumped into the past.
* * *
Liberty landed under the shadow of a large oak tree and alongside a small brick building. It appeared our arrival had gone unnoticed. As we moved around the small building I immediately recognized the large statehouse, now known as Independence Hall. It was a majestic looking building constructed from red bricks. Along the front and sides were many large windows trimmed in white. However, the most impressive part was the large bell tower and white steeple that reached up into the deep blue sky.
“Welcome to Independence Hall,” I said.
“Awesome,” replied Cam. “Should we go inside now?”
“Liberty, you realize you’ll need to . . .” I said.
Liberty harrumphed. “I know, I know. I can’t go inside. I’ll wait out here and warn you if anyone tries to storm the castle!” he said sarcastically.
Soon Cam and I approached Independence Hall. We paused at the side of a cobblestone road to let a horse and carriage pass by. As we reached the front of the building, I opened the heavy wooden door and we entered into the large hallway. We walked along the smooth hardwood floors as we followed the many voices that led us to the distinguished gathering of our Founding Fathers.
We quietly slipped into a hidden corner at the back of the room. The room was filled with more than fifty men, most sitting on velvet-covered wooden chairs. There were five men standing in the middle of the room around a large desk.
Cam whispered, “Hey, that looks like Mr. Hancock, sitting behind that desk.”
Sure enough, Cam was right! The last time we saw the Patriot leader was when we went to the Hancock-Clarke House with Paul Revere to warn Hancock and Samuel Adams that the British were coming to capture them! So much had happened since the Battle of Lexington.
I felt my heart pounding in my chest—I couldn’t believe that this was the actual Congress and we were here!
“Why is Mr. Hancock sitting behind that desk?” asked Cam.
I spoke as softly as possible. “John Hancock is the representative from the colony of Massachusetts. He was elected as the president of the Continental Congress,” I replied. “If you look at the Declaration of Independence document, you will see that John Hancock’s name is the largest signature at the bottom.”
“Who are those other men and why are they standing up?” Cam asked.
“Oh, they are all on the five-man committee that was assigned to draft the Declaration of Independence. They all gave their opinion on what should be kept in the document and what should be left out. Those brave men are the very same Patriots who wrote the lines that Liberty recited by the flagpole,” I replied.
I was so excited and thrilled to be sharing this moment with Cam. This was a history teacher’s dream come true. I was like a child at Disneyland.
“Can you guess which one is Thomas Jefferson?”
This is John Hancock, looking relaxed. He signed his name in large print on the Declaration of Independence.
Cam looked thoughtful. “Um, is he the tall man with the reddish hair holding the document?”
“Yes, that’s him!” I blurted out in a louder voice than I intended. “Oh my! That must be the actual Declaration of Independence in his hand. This is absolutely incredible!”
Cam looked at me sideways, probably thinking his teacher was a little bit nuts.
“Do you recognize the older man with the longer white hair beside him?” I asked after composing myself a bit.
“It looks like Benjamin Franklin, right?” Cam whispered. “I never got a chance to meet him but I remember how funny it was when Tommy told me that Liberty brought him back to Manchester Middle by mistake!” Cam laughed, holding his hand up to cover his mouth.
I whispered back, “I’m still trying to forget that ever happened.” I refocused on the five men and asked, “How about the shorter man there on the front right, standing in front of John Hancock’s chair?”
“Hmm, I’m not sure about him,” Cam said, lifting up on his tiptoes to see better. “I know it’s not Patrick Henry. I’d recognize him, anywhere.”
“I’ll give you a hint, his last name is Adams.”
“Samuel Adams? The guy that was with John Hancock in Lexington?” Cam guessed.
“Good guess but no,” I answered. “That is the future second President of the United States, John Adams—Samuel Adams’s cousin. We met him when we visited the First Continental Congress awhile back. John Adams worked closely with Benjamin Franklin to edit Thomas Jefferson’s writing of the Declaration of Independence.”
Thomas Jefferson was an American Founding Father, the main author of the Declaration of Independence, and the third president of the United States.
The Second Continental Congress meets to debate the Declaration of Independence in 1776. The five men selected to draft the document were John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman.
I explained to Cam that it was really amazing to have representatives from different colonies all in the same room. In those days it took a long time to get from one place to another; there were no airplanes to make it a quick commute. Jefferson was from Virginia, Adams was from Massachusetts, and Franklin was from Pennsylvania. The other men standing were Robert Livingston of New York and Roger Sherman of Connecticut.
Rush Revere and the American Revolution Page 16