The Topic: Patriotism Easier - Patriotism is a love of and loyalty to one's country. A patriot is someone who loves, supports, and is prepared to serve their country.   Harder - The word patriotism comes from a Greek word meaning fatherland. For most of history, love of fatherland or homeland was an attachment to the physical features of the land. But that notion changed in the eighteenth century, when the ideals of democracy, socialism, and communism strongly emerged into political thought. Patriotism was still a love of one's country that included connections to the land and people, but then also included its customs and traditions, pride in its history, and devotion to its welfare.   Today most people agree that patriotism also involves service to their country, but many disagree on how to best perform such service. Some believe that the national government speaks for a country; therefore, all its citizens should actively support government policies and actions. Others argue that a true patriot speaks out when convinced that their country is following an unwise or unjust action.   You'll find that most of our links focus on patriotism in the United States, but we've also tried to identify key websites related to other countries including Canada. Let us know if you have other links that should be considered.   Declaration of Independence from the National Archives and Records Administration http://www.nara.gov/exhall/charters/declaration/decmain.html 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. Other Related Websites: 2) Declaration of Independence from Surfing the Net with Kids http://www.surfnetkids.com/declaration.htm 3) Declaration of Independence http://www.really-fine.com/history.html 4) Declaration of Independence http://www.law.emory.edu/FEDERAL/independ/declar.html 5) Declaration of Independence from The History Channel http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/declaration/main.html 6) Declaration of Independence from the Independence Hall Association http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/ 7) Declaration of Independence: A History http://www.wae.com/freedom/dechist.html 8) Declaration of Independence: Right to Institute New Government from Library of Congress http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/jefferson/jeffdec.html 9) Virginia Declaration of Rights from the National Archives and Records Administration http://www.nara.gov/exhall/charters/billrights/virginia.html   Flag of the United States of America http://www.usflag.org This site tells of the evolution and history of the flag, its symbolism, the flag code, and much, much more. Other Related Websites for the American Flag: 2) American Flag http://userpages.aug.com/haywire/flag.html 3) Betsy Ross Homepage http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/index.html 4) Facts About the United States Flag from The Smithsonian Institution http://www.si.edu/resource/faq/nmah/flag.htm 5) Flag of the United States http://www.usflag.org/toc.html 6) Star-spangled Banner from The Smithsonian Institution http://americanhistory.si.edu/ssb/ 7) Star-spangled Manners http://chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/allhands/ah0697/jun-pg18.html 8) United States of America http://www.fotw.stm.it/flags/us.html   National Anthems, Flags and Facts http://www.imagesoft.net/flags/flags.html Here you can listen to national anthems and view flags of many countries around the world. Related Websites: 2) Flag Facts http://www.govspot.com/features/flags.htm 3) Show Your Patriotism from PC Teach IT http://www.pcteachit.com/patriotism/   Sir Wilfred Laurier's Speed to the Canadian Club of Ottawa http://www.canadianclub.ca/Laurier.htm Sir Wilfrid Laurier's famous speech on Canadian patriotism was delivered January 18, 1904 at the first annual banquet of The Canadian Club of Ottawa. Related Canadian Patriotism Websites: 2) Canada Day Resources http://www1.sympatico.ca/Contents/Travel/summer2001/canadaday.html 3) Canada Day 96 http://www.southam.com/nmc/ohcanada/index.html 4) Canadian Federation http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/2/18/index-e.html 5) The Middle ... O Canada http://oakwoodvoices.tripod.com/themiddle2.htm 6) Oh Canada http://www.southam.com/nmc/ohcanada/news/frank95.html 7) Pearson Education Canada/Civics 10 http://www.pearsoned.ca/civics/wlinks.html 8) What is a Canadian http://www.pollara.ca/new/LIBRARY/surveys/dec24.htm     After visiting several of the websites for patriotism, complete one or more of these activities.   Complete an Internet Treasure Hunt on Patriotism. Follow the directions found at Pursuit of Patriotism by C. Shulof.   Make A Suncatchers American Flag. Follow the directions found at Suncatchers - US Flag from Kids Domain to make a bead-crafted flag emblem.   Complete A Patriotic WebQuest. Follow or adapt the procedures found at one of the following webQuest sites: Celebrating America's Birthday (Grades 3-5) by P.G. Brasher http://www.netease.net/des/July4/July4.htm Four Freedoms WebQuest (Grades 4-10) by M. Newman http://www.broward.k12.fl.us/parkspringsele/Media%20Center%20Web%20Pages/webquest s/The%20Four%20Freedoms%20WebQuest/#Top%20of%20Page Independence Day! (Grade 3) by J. Williamson http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/activity/indepday/ Patriotic Symbols by C.J. Chamberlain http://www.electricteacher.com/webquest/ Patriotic Symbols, Landmarks, & Practices by B. Murphy & P. Rice http://www.pavenet.org/FTP/Users/all_share/Cohort1/5319Project/murphy_rice_webquest/Pa trioticSymbolsLandmarksPractices.htm Patriotic Themes in Country Music (Grades 5-8) by P. Petty http://www.pampetty.com/countrymusic.htm Proud to be American http://www.ri.net/schools/smscranston/computer/USPride/USPride.html Why Does Our Flag Look the Way It Does? (Grade 1) by M. Amory http://www.geocities.com/amorymr/WebQuest.htm   Write To A Military Serviceman. American Family Radio, in conjunction with its parent organization American Family Association, is sponsoring a "Dear American Soldier" letter writing campaign. You can learn how to write either a traditional letter or an email at the website: Dear American Soldier.   Debate Patriotism and the Bill of Rights. The online articles below can provide additional information and opinions about the Bill of Rights. Should personal freedoms insured by the Bill of Rights be relaxed in favor of increased government safeguards for security? You decide what is most important and why. 1) Bill of Rights from the National Archives and Records Administration http://www.nara.gov/exhall/charters/billrights/billmain.html 2) Bill of Rights from the National Constitution Center http://www.constitutioncenter.org/sections/history/1b1.asp 3) Bill of Rights http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/D/1776-1800/constitution/amends.htm 4) Bill of Rights: A Brief History from American Civil Liberties Union http://www.aclu.org/library/pbp9.html 5) Bill of Rights Issues at About.com http://law.about.com/cs/billofrights/ 6) History of the Bill of Rights from Massachussetts American Civil Liberties Union http://www.aclu-mass.org/issuebriefs/histbillrgts.html 7) James Madison Proposes the Bill of Rights to the House of Representatives http://www.jmu.edu/madison/madprobll.htm 8) Miseducating the Young on Freedom: The Patriotism Enforcers by N. Hentoff at the Village Voice http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0201/hentoff.php   What Is the Best Form of Patriot? Patriotism and what it means to be a patriot have varied with geographic location and historic times. Analyze the personal characteristics that you think are necessary to be a good patriot in today's world. You may find some thought-provoking and sometimes opposing ideas from articles like the following: 1) Americans Are World's Most Patriotic People from University of Chicago http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/98/980630.patriotism.shtml 2) Flag Fever: the Paradox of Patriotism by B. Hardin from The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20011001monday.html 3) In Dire Need of a Patriotism of Dissent by L.J. Averill from October 3, 2001 Chicago Tribune http://www.commondreams.org/views01/1003-03.htm 4) Lesson In Patriotism by M. Freund, September 21, 2001 Jerusalem Post http://www.livingontulsatime.com/wtc/lesson.html 5) Miseducating the Young on Freedom: The Patriotism Enforcers by N. Hentoff from The Village Voice http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0201/hentoff.php 6) Patriotism by J. Alter from Newsweek http://www.msnbc.com/news/634434.asp?cp1=1 7) Patriotism & Censorship by Peter Hart and Seth Ackerman from November/December 2001 Extra http://www.fair.org/extra/0111/patriotism-and-censorship.html 8) Patriotism, a Menace to Liberty by E. Goldman, 1911 http://www.connix.com/~harry/emma.htm 9) Patriotism or Nationalism? by J. Sobran http://www.sobran.com/columns/011016.shtml 10) Thinking Through Patriotism from the November 20, 2001 Christian Science Monitor http://www.csmonitor.com/2001/1120/p11s1-leca.html   Compare and Contrast Nationalism and Patriotism. Identify the similarities and differences between nationalism and patriotism. Put your findings into a chart or graph using software like Inspiration, Illustrator, or other graphic software package.   Take a Different View. What is it like to be a partriot in a different country from your own? Take the perspective of a person living in another country. Would you consider the citizens of this country patriotic? Why or why not? How do they show their patriotism?   More Patriotic Websites  Constitution of the United States from the National Archives and Records Administration http://www.nara.gov/exhall/charters/constitution/conmain.html Here you find an online copy of this historic U.S. document and more. Related Website: 2) A More Perfect Union: The Creation of the U.S. Constitution from the National Archives and Records Administration http://www.nara.gov/exhall/charters/constitution/conhist.html 3) Constitution of the United States http://www.law.emory.edu/FEDERAL/usconst.html 4) Founding Fathers: Delegates to the Constitutional Convention from the National Archives and Records Administration http://www.nara.gov/exhall/charters/constitution/confath.html   Patrick Henry: Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death http://libertyonline.hypermall.com/henry-liberty.html Here is the famous speech made inside the Henrico Parish Church (Today known as St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church) on East Broad Street in Richmond, Virginia, Thursday, 23 March 1775. Related Websites: 2) Patrick Henry http://darter.ocps.k12.fl.us/classroom/revolution/henry.htm 3) Patrick Henry http://www.history.org/Almanack/people/bios/biohen.htm 4) Patrick Henry http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/henry.htm 5) Patrick Henry - Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death from Yale Law School http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/patrick.htm 6) Patrick Henry Writings and Biography http://www.lexrex.com/bios/phenry.htm   Patriotism from The National Flag Foundation http://66.199.128.240/us-docs/patriotism-page.htm This site has lots of information about the flag and its display plus some of the early American documents and more. Related Websites: 2) Archiving Early America http://www.earlyamerica.com/freedom/index.html 3) Scanned Originals of Early American Documents http://www.law.emory.edu/FEDERAL/conpict.html#const   President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address http://www.insiders.com/civil/t06sb1.htm President Lincoln followed Edward Everett's two hour address from the podium. “Four-score and seven years ago,” Lincoln began his now-famous speech. He spoke just two minutes and uttered a mere 272 words. He considered the talk a failure. Related Websites: 2) Gettysburg Address from the Library of Congress http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/gadd/ 3) Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/gettysburg.htm   Thomas Paine Library from Liberty Online http://libertyonline.hypermall.com/Paine/Default.htm Thomas Paine was an author and revolutionary activist who took part in three revolutions. John Adams said: "Without the pen of Paine, the sword of Washington would have been wielded in vain." Paine's impact on philosophy and politics helped mold the age of democratic revolutions and reverberates down to this day. Related Websites: 2) Biography of Thomas Paine (1737-1809) http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/B/tpaine/paine.htm 3) Paine, Thomas: Common Sense http://www.bartleby.com/133/ 4) Remains of Thomas Paine from PBS Liberty http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/chronicle/paine.html 5) Thomas Paine http://www.ushistory.org/paine/   Pledge of Allegiance - A Short History by J.W. Baer http://www.vineyard.net/vineyard/history/pledge.htm and http://www.ifx.net/~wjohnson/pledge.htm You may be surprised by some of the history of the Pledge of Allegiance. Related Pledge of Allegiance Websites: 2) Red Skelton: I Pledge Allegiance http://home.att.net/~poofcatt/july.html and http://www.shrineclowns.com/skelton.html   Frances Scott Key http://www.alltel.net/~davefowler/FSK.html Here you find a brief biography of the man who wrote the words to the 'Star Spangled Banner.' Related Websites: 2) Francis Scott Key 1780-1843 http://www.usflag.org/francis.scott.key.html 3) Star Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key http://www.ceai.org/tip05.html   Directory of Holidays from Miama-Dade County Public Schools http://www.patriotism.org/page2.html This web site features information of the people and the events surrounding our patriotic holidays. Related Websites: 2) Fireworks and Web Sites: Have an Online Fourth of July from Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune http://www.startribune.com/idea/cgi-bin/theme.cgi?theme_id=385 3) Frequently Asked Veterans Day Questions from the Department of Veterans Affairs http://www.va.gov/vetsday/page.cfm?pg=11   Websites For Teachers Americana Vest & Shirt and Patriotism from Hobby Industry Association http://www.i-craft.com/teachers/plans98/vest.html The students will recognize and explain the importance of various patriotic symbols and create a patriotic vest.   Celebrating America's Freedom from the Department of Veterans Affairs http://www.va.gov/pubaff/celebam/caindex.htm Here you find fourteen essays about America's national symbols and customs, plus a list of possible school activities for Veterans Day.   I Pledge Allegiance to the ... What ?!? by D. Blumberg Drossner http://www.constitutioncenter.org/sections/teacher/lesson_plans/html/10208bg.asp This lesson uses a multidisciplinary approach to experiencing loyalty and patriotism. Students investigate the Pledge of Allegiance and develop an understanding of the meaning of the words recited.   Lessons of Liberty Booklist from the Council for Basic Education http://www.c-b-e.org/makediff/qlessonslib.htm Here is a suggested reading list from the Parents' Choice Foundation.   Memory Shall Be Ours: Celebrating Memorial Day by L. Starr at Education World http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson119.shtml This lesson plan article activity ideas for introducing the meaning of Memorial Day into the classroom.   Nationalism and the Olympics from Copernicus Education Gateway http://www.edgate.com/summergames/inactive/lesson_plans/lp8.html Pride in one's nation is important, but feelings of patriotism should not infringe on the rights of others. Related Website: 2) Olympic Games from eduScapes 42eXplore http://eduscapes.com/42explore/olympics.htm   Patriotism from Scholastic http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonrepro/lessonplans/profbooks/patriotismactivities.pdf Here is a collection of activities on patriotism for the classroom. Be patient, this pdf is a little slow loading.   Patriotism vs. Civility from CNN http://fyi.cnn.com/2001/fyi/lesson.plans/11/05/stereotypes/ What is a stereotype? Use this article and corresponding questions to discuss prejudice and discrimination with your students.   Pen-Pal Patriotism from Time for Kids http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/news/story/0,6260,185339,00.html Learn how a U.S. Navy warship in the Persian Gulf has adopted a fifth grade class from California.   Veterans Day (Grades 6-12) from Miami-Dade County Public Schools http://www.patriotism.org/veterans_day/page2.html This lesson is designed to enhance student understanding of the Veterans Day observance.   Renewed Glory of Old Glory (Grades 6-12) by A. Zimbalist and J.Khan from the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20011001monday.html In this lesson, students investigate how increased patriotism as a reaction to national crisis can serve as both a uniting and a dividing force. Students discuss their views on the issue and interview adults representing different generations to gauge their historical perspectives.    patriotism freedom liberty government critical thinking democracy national anthem constructive flag code Declaration of Independence tolerance diversity 'Old Glory' Constitution of the United States patriotic dissent loyalty Bill of Rights heritage flag censorship respect veteran civil liberty constitutional rights tradition terrorism peacemaker treason 'flag waver' unity 'founding fathers' values justice Revolutionary War symbol citizen Olympics pledge of allegiance elections 'stars and stripes' national security fireworks superpatriot independence defend colonial life 'un-American' culture nationalism history service politics country patriot        Created by Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson, 2/02.