Americanism Reports

SEPTEMBER AMERICANISM
submitted by Nancy Osgood, Chair

The month of September marks many historic events in our American history but none other than September 17^th 1787 and the birth of the US Constitution:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessing of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish the Constitution for the United States of America.

Although the colonies had won the war of independence in 1776, there was very little unity after that. States continued to hold onto their individual power, the central government had insufficient power to regulate commerce. It could not tax and was generally ineffective in developing any type of commercial policy across state boundaries. Nor could it effectively support a war effort. Congress was attempting to function with a depleted treasury; and paper money was flooding the country, creating extraordinary inflation. Anarchy was fast on the horizon as western Massachusetts farmers who were heavily in debt began to rebel against the harsh payment terms being made by the East Coast debt collectors and began to rebel. In what is known as Shays Rebellion this insurrection quickly led to the reality that the Articles of Confederation would not be adequate to address all the needs of this new fast growing and complex nation.

So in 1787 for four long hot months starting in May, 55 delegates from 12 states met in Philadelphia to try and craft a new framework of government-one that would keep the states unified. Known as the Constitutional Convention, founding fathers such as George Washington, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton needed to create a document that would go beyond the Articles of Confederation. On September 17 they finished, and the country and the world learned what they had produced—the Constitution of the United States, 4,500 words of collaborative genius.

How was this great document able to come into being? Many historians believe it was due to three significant factors:
1. The possibility of failure was too terrifying. What would happen to the states if a cohesive government could not be constructed?

2. It was the great leaders who were also men of the Enlightenment and saw politics as a kind of science that took on this enormous task. They studied what had worked in the past and what had failed. Europe especially had its share of experiments in governing.

3. But perhaps the most extraordinary feature of the Constitutional Convention is that they stuck it out. The delegates disagreed on almost everything. They disagreed on how power should be divided, they disagreed how senators and representatives should be chosen, how much power the executive should have and how much the court should have. And, most of all, they disagreed on slavery. Yet, on every issue—often after furious debates—they reached a compromise. The easy thing would have been to go home and denounce the entire project. A few did. But most didn’t. They knew they had to make this work. There was no good alternative.

Today, it is easy to become discouraged at the current state of the country-at the loss of morality, rule of law, respect for life and property, but we too must stick it out. Get involved! Don’t just complain and curse at the television or keyboard. TAKE ACTION. You’ll feel better! Join civic committees to make conservative values stronger than ever. Donate your time and/or money where you can. Write letters to the editors of any local newspapers. Attend school board meetings. It is and is making a difference. There are wins all around us-some big and some small: Roe v. Wade, the AZ “Free and Fair” elections initiative being struck down and off the November ballot, conservative school board candidates stepping up, Hispanic candidates across the country getting onto the ballot, to name just a few. We need to keep fighting the fight and just like our forefathers-stick it out. There are so many more of us than them and remember, “If God be for us, then who can be against us?” Romans 8:13

AUGUST AMERICANISM
submitted by Nancy Osgood, Chair

“In the Good Ole Summertime”
… There’s a time each year
That we always hold dear
Good old summertime
With the birds and the trees’es
And sweet scented breezes
Good old summertime
When your day’s work is over
Then you are in clover
And life is one beautiful rhyme
No trouble annoying
Each one is enjoying
The good old summertime
-Words and music by Les Paul & Mary Ford, 1952

Having grown up in the East, summer break from school was mid-June to after Labor Day, and the month of August was the epitome of summer. There was always lots of swimming at Silver Lake, as well as the Hudson River (as polluted as it was!) backyard grilling, Yankee’s and Met’s baseball games and eating the most incredible Jersey corn, tomatoes and cucumbers imaginable. For me it’s always been *the* month of vacation, relaxation and fun. Maybe that’s why so much of what’s good about our country comes to mind in August-our beaches, boardwalks, National Parks, interstates,
arts and music to name just a few. Let’s Go!:
Beaches- Hawaii’s beaches are just second to none.
On August 21, 1959 this territory became the 50^th state of the union. If you’ve ever read James Michener’s, Hawaii, you’ll remember that US missionaries pleaded with US officials for years to annex the islands (though not until 1898) quickly as they witnessed a heavy infiltration of the Japanese.
What a jewel these islands are!
More natural beauties reside in over 400 national parks across the US, District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Saipan, and the Virgin Islands. covering 84 million acres! Check them out here https://www.nps.gov/findapark/index.htm In Arizona alone, there are 31 national sites or monuments under the auspices of the National Park Service or Bureau of Land Management. https://arizonajourney.org/arizona-national-parks-and-monuments/ The Grand Tetons remains on my bucket list!
Boardwalks- Having grown up just a couple of hours from Atlantic City with its great boardwalk, I am a bit nostalgic about these. After the big hotels and railroads were built along the beaches of Atlantic city, the problem of what to do with all that sand coming into the hotels needed a solution. In 1870 a train conductor and hotel owner came up with the idea to build a mile long boardwalk. It worked so well that within 10 years they built an even bigger one and soon they were popping up all over coastal cities. This is the only time I’ll ever mention CNN-I promise!
Here’s a list of some of the best America has to offer-https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/america-best-boardwalks/index.html.
And what would summer be without a road trip?? Gotta hit the highway and the most common way to get from one national park to the other is the Interstate. US highways were modeled after what then Army General Dwight D Eisenhower witnessed while commanding in Germany during World War II-the reichautobahnen or imperial highway. By 2020, there were close to 49,000 miles of interstate miles in the US. How many of you remember when I-10 stopped in Phoenix and drivers would have to reroute themselves along surface streets to pick it up again in the West Valley? It wasn’t until August 10, 1990 that the final section of I-10 was completed (the elevated Papago Freeway Tunnel) after decades of freeway revolt. And for the record, the cost of gasoline averaged $1.15 a gallon.
And while you’re driving down that endless highway, what better tunes to crank up than some jazz or rock n’ roll? One of the most influential jazz musicians was born on August 4, 1901. “Sachmo”, better known as Louis Armstrong, rocketed jazz into a serious art form. After being passed back and forth between his mother and father who were separated shortly after he was born, Sachmo at age 11, took up singing in the streets with other boys who sang for money. Shortly thereafter, he learned the trumpet and the rest is history. The month of August is also the 53^rd anniversary of the infamous Woodstock Music Festival held on Max Yasgir’s dairy farm in Bethel, New York from August 15-18th. More than 400,000 hippies showed up to what was billed as “3 days of Peace & Music” after 186,000 tickets were bought in advance. Check out the movie, Three Days that Defined a Generation.”
I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer
in the best country on Earth!

“Seems to me, it ain’t the world that’s so bad but what we’re doin’ to it. And all I’m saying is, see, what a wonderful world it would be if only we’d give it a chance. Love baby, love.
That’s the secret…” Louis Armstrong

July 2022–Sandra Day O’Connor–*First woman to U.S. Supreme Court*

https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:0c10b713-0b42-3fbb-892e-dfc1dfc90177

June 2022–TheFlag
https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:ff6bce75-78f6-3e80-a0af-2f9bd3da43c6

May 2022–Military Appreciation Month

https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:a13ac989-3225-3ad0-bfd6-5185d9a21827

https://www.military.com/memorial-day/support-troops-and-families.html

https://avosba.org/avoba-membership/veteran-owned-businesses-by-state/

https://nvf.org/support-veterans-make-difference/
https://usowishbook.uso.org/

https://www.va.gov/phoenix-health-care/work-with-us/volunteer-or-donate/

“This will remain the land of the free so long as it is the home of the brave.” — Elmer Davis
“These fallen heroes represent the character of a nation who has a long history of patriotism and honor — and a nation who has fought many battles to keep our country free from threats of terror.” — Michael N. Castle

May 2013 –Red Skelton’s Pledge of Allegiance

January 2022–For Such A Time As This

WOW_053016