Social Studies

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Fact from History

" GOD bless this great country "

A Dollar Bill -- Take out a one-dollar bill and look at it.

The one dollar bill you're looking at first came off the presses in 1957 in its present

design. This so-called paper money is in fact a cotton and linen blend, with red and blue

minute silk fibers running through, it is actually cloth. We've all washed it without it

falling apart. A special blend of ink is used; the contents we will never know. It is

overprinted with symbols and then it is starched to make it water resistant and pressed to

give it that nice crisp look.  If you look on the front of the bill, you will see the United

States Treasury Seal. On the top you will see the scales for the balance, i.e., a balanced budget.

In the center, you have a carpenter's T-square, a tool used for an even cut.  Underneath is

the Key to the United States Treasury. That's pretty easy to figure out, but what is on the back

of that dollar bill is something we should all know. If you turn the bill over, you will see two

circles. Both circles, together, comprise the Great Seal of the United States. The First Continental

Congress requested that Benjamin Franklin and a group of men come up with a Seal. It took them four

years to accomplish his task and another two years to get it approved.  If you look at the left hand

circle, you will see a Pyramid.  Notice the face is lighted and the western side is dark. This country

was just beginning. We had not begun to explore the West or what we could do for Western Civilization.

The Pyramid is uncapped, again signifying that we were not even close to being finished. Inside the

capstone you have the seeing eye, and ancient symbol for divinity. It was Franklin's belief that one

man couldn't do it alone, but a group of men, with the help of God, could do anything. "IN GOD WE TRUST"

is on this currency. The Latin above the pyramid, "ANNUIT COEPTIS," means, "God has favored our undertaking."

The Latin below the pyramid, "NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM," means, "a new order has begun." At the base of the pyramid

is the Roman numeral for 1776. If you look at the right-hand circle, and check it carefully, you will learn

that it is on every National Cemetery in the United States. It is also on the Parade of Flags Walkway at the

Bushnell, Florida National Cemetery and is the centerpiece of most heroes' monuments. Slightly modified, it is

the seal of the President of the United States and it is always visible whenever he speaks; yet no one knows

what the symbols mean.  The Bald Eagle was selected as a symbol for victory for two reasons: First, he is not

afraid of a storm; he is strong and he is smart enough to soar above it. Secondly, he wears no material crown.

We had just broken from the King of England. Also, notice the shield is unsupported.  This country can now stand

on its own.  At the top of that shield you have a white bar signifying Congress, a unifying factor. We were coming

together as one nation.  In the Eagle's Beak you will read, "E PLURIBUS UNUM," meaning, "one nation from many people."

Above the Eagle you have thirteen stars representing the thirteen original colonies, and any clouds of misunderstanding

rolling away.  Again, we were coming together as one.  A Dollar Bill. Notice what the Eagle holds in his talons. He

holds an olive branch and arrows. This country wants peace, but we will never be afraid to fight to preserve peace.

The Eagle always wants to face the olive branch, but in time of war, his gaze turns toward the arrows.  It is said

that the number 13 is an unlucky number. This is almost a worldwide belief. You will usually never see a numbered 13

 or any buildings with a 13th floor.

 But, think about this:

      13 original colonies,
      13 stripes on our flag,
      13 steps on the Pyramid,
      13 letters in the Latin above,
      13 letters in "E Pluribus Unum",
      13 stars above the Eagle,
      13 plumes of feathers on each span of the Eagle's wing,
      13 bars on that shield,
      13 leaves on the olive branch,
      13 fruits and, if you look closely,
      13 arrows and, for minorities, the 13th Amendment.
Too many veterans have given up too much to ever let the meaning fade. Many veterans remember coming home to an

America that didn't care. Too many veterans never came home at all.

1863 Assault of Battery Wagner and death of Robert Gould Shaw  On this day, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and 20 of his troops are killed in an assault on Fort Wagner,

near Charleston, South Carolina. Shaw was commander of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, perhaps the most famous regiment of African-American troops during the war.

Fort Wagner stood on Morris Island, guarding the approach to Charleston harbor. It was a massive earthwork, 600 feet wide and made from sand piled 30 feet high. The only

approach to the fort was across a narrow stretch of beach bounded by the Atlantic on one side and a swampy marshland on the other. Union General Quincy Gilmore headed

 an operation in July 1863 to take the island and seal the approach to Charleston.  Shaw and his 54th Massachusetts were chosen to lead the attack of July 18. Shaw was the

scion of an abolitionist family and a veteran of the 1862 Shenandoah Valley and Antietam campaigns. The regiment included two sons of abolitionist Frederick Douglass and

the grandson of author and poet Sojourner Truth.  Union artillery battered Fort Wagner all day on July 18, but the barrage did little damage to the fort and its garrison.

At 7:45 p.m., the attack commenced. Yankee troops had to march 1,200 yards down the beach to the stronghold, facing a hail of bullets from the Confederates. Shaw's troops

and other Union regiments penetrated the walls at two points but did not have sufficient numbers to take the fort. Over 1,500 Union troops fell or were captured to the

Confederates' 222.  Despite the failure, the battle proved that African-American forces could not only hold their own but also excel in battle. The experience of Shaw

 and his regiment was memorialized in the critically acclaimed 1990 movie Glory.

Links

OLD NORTH CHURCH The Freedom Trail

Salem Witch Museum online Museums

Arlington Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery2

TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER FACTS