2nd Continental Congress Reflection

Our 2nd Continental Congress reenactment has come and gone, and I could not be more proud.  I saw some students do some amazing things last week.  Even those that I honestly did not think would do well, absolutely rocked it!  I have to give an extra special shoutout to Red 1...You guys made me feel like I was actually there!

During our congress, we debated three things.  First up was whether we should send an Olive Branch Petition to the king.  Every class said yes on this one.  I think the letters you received from your constant assemblies helped you decide.  Then we discussed if we should form a Continental Army with George Washington as commander.  Again every class said yes.  You all talked about the need to prepare for war in case the King rejected our Olive Branch Petition, and pointed out the fact that fighting had already begun.  Most importantly we asked this difficult question: Should we declare independence from Great Britain?  This passed every time with 12 Yays, 0 Nays, and 1 abstention (Thanks New York...).  

I hope you all really learned more about these issues that we discussed and I also hope that you were able to appreciate both arguments that were being made for each issue.  Our forefathers did not always agree, and they all were able to make good arguments.  I also hope that you have a greater appreciation for our Founding Fathers and how they risked their lives to declare to the world that we are an independent nation.  I have also taken into consideration all of the suggestions that were made to make it better for students next year.  I also just want to say THANK YOU to all of you who gave it your all in bringing this to life.  You all have no idea how proud I am of this group of students.  I cannot wait to see what the rest of this year has to offer!