OUR HERITAGE OF BLESSINGSBY ROBERT AND NANCY PEAVY
ACT I: THE BEGINNING OF A NEW WORLD
SCENE I: Introduction
The Stars and Stripes Forever piano duet
NARRATOR: What is a patriot? Patriot comes from the Latin word “Patria” meaning fatherland or country. A patriot, according to Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language, is “a person who loves his country and zealously supports and defends it and its interests.” Thank you for joining us tonight as we honor those Patriots who came before us. Our purpose is to see how God’s hand moved in the making of our nation. We want all of us to leave here with a renewed spirit of patriotism and an undying zeal to pray earnestly for our country’s leaders. Let us remember what God says in II Chronicles 7:14:
ALL:If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face,
and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will
heal their land.God of Our Fathers
Daniel C. Robertshttp://www.digitalhymnal.org/dhindex.cfm
Two part harmony
ALL: God of our fathers, Whose almighty hand
Leads forth in beauty all the starry band
Of shining worlds in splendor through the skies
Our grateful songs before Thy throne arise.GIRLS: Thy love divine hath led us in the past,
In this free land by Thee our lot is cast,
Be Thou our Ruler, Guardian, Guide and Stay,
Thy Word our law, Thy paths our chosen way.BOYS: From war’s alarms, from deadly pestilence,
Be Thy strong arm our ever sure defense;
Thy true religion in our hearts increase,
Thy bounteous goodness nourish us in peace.ALL: Refresh Thy people on their toilsome way,
Lead us from night to never ending day;
Fill all our lives with love and grace divine,
And glory, laud, and praise be ever Thine.SCENE II: Columbus Discovers a New World
CHILD: “Columbus sailed the ocean blue
in fourteen hundred ninety-two.”CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS:
It was the Lord who put into my mind (I could feel his hand upon me) the fact that it would be possible to sail from here to the Indies. All who heard of my project rejected it with laughter, ridiculing me. There is no question that the inspiration was from the Holy Spirit, because He comforted me with rays of marvelous inspiration from the Holy Scriptures…I am a most unworthy sinner, but I have cried out to the Lord for grace and mercy, and they have covered me completely. I have found the sweetest consolation since I made it my whole purpose to enjoy His marvelous presence. For the execution of the journey to the Indies, I did not make use of intelligence, mathematics or maps. It is simply the fulfillment of what Isaiah had prophesied…
No one should fear to undertake any task in the name of our Saviour, if it is just and if the intention is purely for His holy service. The working out of all things has been assigned to each person by our Lord, but it all happens according to His sovereign will, even though He gives advice. He lacks nothing that it is in the power of men to give Him. Oh, what a gracious Lord, who desires that people should perform for Him those things for which He holds Himself responsible! Day and night, moment by moment, everyone should express their most devoted gratitude to Him.SCENE III: The Building of a Colony
WILLIAM BRADFORD: I am Governor William Bradford of New Plymouth. I sailed to the new World on the Mayflower with about a hundred other souls to begin this work which God of His Goodness hath blessed. As we approached Cape Cod, we drafted and signed the Mayflower Compact:
“In the name of God, amen. We whose names are under-written, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James by the Grace of God of Great Britain, France, Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc.
“Having undertaken, for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian Faith and honor of our King and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid, and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony. Unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape Cod, the 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our Sovereign King James of England…Anno Domini 1620.”
SCENE IV: The Great Awakening
GEORGE WHITEFIELD: Good evening ladies and gentlemen. My name is George Whitefield. Jonathan Edwards and I, along with others, were used by God during what you call the Great Awakening, 1740-42.
It is a pleasure to be back in the Savannah area. I first visited Savannah in 1738 with my friend James Habersham at the request of James Oglethorpe and John and Charles Wesley. I dreamed of establishing an orphanage in Savannah. I visited the Salzburgers at Ebenezer to study their orphanage before founding another. I donated a small bronze bell, cast in England, and later a larger bell, to Jerusalem Lutheran Church at Ebenezer. For our orphanage, England granted us 500 acres of land on the banks of what you now call the Moon River. Here is where we built Bethesda, greek for “house of Mercy.” While I was the founder, dreamer and fund-raiser for Bethesda, my friend James Habersham was the schoolmaster and administrator.
NARRATOR:: During his 32 years of ministry, Whitefield crossed the Atlantic 13 times, and preached an estimated 16,000 sermons which comes to approximately 10 per week. He was known as the “prince of preachers.” Hear what Benjamin Franklin had to say about George Whitefield:
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN: Yes, Whitefield was quite the preacher. I heard him myself upon several occasions. I happened…to attend one of his sermons, in the course of which I perceived that he was going to finish with a collection, and I silently resolved that he would get nothing from me. I had in my pocket a handful of copper money, three or four silver dollars, and five pistoles of gold. As he proceeded I began to soften and concluded to give the coppers. Another stroke of his oratory made me ashamed of that and determined me to give the silver, and he finished so admirably that I emptied my pocket into the collector’s dish, gold and all. Oh yes! I will always remember George Whitefield!
My Country ‘tis of Thee
Samuel F. Smithhttp://www.discoverynet.com/~ajsnead/patriotic/usasongs.html
CHILD'S SOLO:
My country, ’tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims’ pride,
From every mountainside,
Let freedom ring!JR. CHOIR
Our fathers’ God, to Thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing;
Long may our land be bright
With freedom’s holy light;
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God, our King.SCENE V: The Journey to Independence
NARRATOR: The British and French fought many wars over who would control the land in America. The final war that ultimately established British control was fought in North America from 1754 to 1763. The war left England with a huge war debt. England thought the American colonies should help to pay that debt. Therefore, England passed a series of taxes which united the formerly quarrelsome American colonies against England.
JR. CHOIR:
STUDENT 1: In 1763, the British put a tax on surplus tea. (Colonists dressed as Indians rush on stage whooping “Let’s throw that tea into the Boston Harbor!!)
STUDENT 2: The Boston Tea Party led to The Intolerable Acts of the British against Massachusetts.
STUDENT 3: The Sugar Act of 1764
STUDENT 4: The Stamp Act of 1765
STUDENT 5: The Quartering Act of 1765
STUDENT 6l: “Taxation without representation is tyrany!!”
The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
FOUR STUDENTS, ALTERNATING STANZAS
JR. CHOIR SEATED ON FLOOR LOOKING AT STORY TELLERSLISTEN, my children, and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-Five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.He said to his friend, "If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower, as a signal light, --
One, if by land, and two, if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country-folk to be up and to arm."Then he said "Good-night!" and with muffled oar
Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where swinging wide at her moorings lay
The Somerset, British man-of-war;
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
Across the moon like a prison-bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
By its own reflection in the tide.Meanwhile, his friend, through alley and street
Wanders and watches with eager ears,
Till in the silence around him he hears
The muster of men at the barrack door,
The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,
And the measured tread of the grenadiers,
Marching down to their boats on the shore.Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church,
By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread,
To the belfry-chamber overhead,
And startled the pigeons from their perch
On the somber rafters, that round him made
Masses and moving shapes of shade, --
By the trembling ladder, steep and tall,
To the highest window in the wall,
Where he paused to listen and look down
A moment on the roofs of the town,
And the moonlight flowing over all.Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead,
In their night-encampment on the hill,
Wrapped in silence so deep and still
That he could hear, like a sentinel's tread,
The watchful night-wind, as it went
Creeping along from tent to tent,
And seeming to whisper, "All is well!"
A moment only he feels the spell
Of the place and the hour, the secret dread
Of the lonely belfry and the dead;
For suddenly all his thoughts are bent
On a shadowy something far away,
Where the river widens to meet the bay, --
A line of black, that bends and floats
On the rising tide, like a bridge of boats.Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,
Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride
On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.
Now he patted his horse's side,
Now gazed on the landscape far and near,
Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
And turned and tightened his saddle-girth;
But mostly he watched with eager search
The belfry-tower of the Old North Church,
As it rose above the graves on the hill,
Lonely and spectral and somber and still.
And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns!
A hurry of hoofs in a village street,
A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet:
That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,
The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.He has left the village and mounted the steep,
And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;
And under the alders that skirt its edge,
Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,
Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.It was twelve by the village clock,
When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.
He heard the crowing of the cock,
And the barking of the farmer's dog,
And felt the damp of the river fog,
That rises after the sun goes down.It was one by the village clock,
When he galloped into Lexington.
He saw the gilded weathercock
Swim in the moonlight as he passed,
And the meeting-house windows, blank and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
As if they already stood aghast
At the bloody work they would look upon.It was two by the village clock,
When be came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock,
And the twitter of birds among the trees,
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadows brown.
And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,
Pierced by a British musket-ball.You know the rest. In the books you have read,
How the British regulars fired and fled, --
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
>From behind each fence and farm-yard wall,
Chasing the red-coats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.
So through the night rode Paul Revere;
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm, --
A cry of defiance and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo forevermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beat of that steed,
And the midnight-message of Paul Revere.PATRICK HENRY: In this year of 1775, I am Patrick Henry, and no man thinks more highly than I do of patriotism. But different men often see the same subject in different lights, and therefore I hope it will not be thought disrespectful if I speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony.
They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance, by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak, if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat, but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.
It is vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry peace, peace, but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that the gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!
Yankee Doodle
Unknownhttp://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/lyrics/yankee.htm
JR. CHOIR WITH FIFE ACCOMPANIMENT
ALL: Yankee Doodle went to town, A-riding on a pony,
He stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni,
Yankee Doodle keep it up, Yankee Doodle dandy;
Mind the music and the step, and with the girls be handy.SOLO: Father and I went down to camp along with Captain Gooding
And there we saw the men and boys as thick as hasty pudding.
Yankee Doodle.............SOLO: And there they had a swamp'n gun as big as a log of maple
Upon a little ducied cart, a load for father's cattle.
Yankee Doodle...........SOLO: And every time they fired it off, it took a horn of powder;
It made a noise like father's gun, only a nation louder.
Yankee Doodle...................SOLO: But I can't tell you half I saw, they kept up such a smother,
So I took my hat off, made a bow, and scampered home to mother.
Yankee Doodle...................
IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of AmericaWhen in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
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. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
ACT II: THE BIRTH OF A FLAG
Betsy Ross Sketch
Warren SagerTo order the Betsy Ross Sketch, go to: www.scriptsbywarren.com
Flag Person 1: The first official flag of the U.S.A. had 13 stars and 13 stripes. They represented the original 13 colonies.
ACT III: THE FORMATION OF A NEW GOVERNMENT
Scene I: The Constitution
The Constitution of the United States of America
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
NARRATOR: The three branches of the U.S. government were inspired by the Bible. Isaiah 33:22 says “For the Lord is our Judge (judicial branch); the Lord is our lawgiver (legislative branch); the Lord is our King (executive branch); it is He who will save us.”
Scene II: Our Nation’s Early Leaders Speak on God and HisWord
NARRATOR: Our Nation’s early leaders had much to say about God and God’s Word. These are just a very few examples. (Say each man’s name before he speaks)
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN: In the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible of danger,
we had daily prayers in this room for Divine protection. Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a superintending Providence in our favor…And have we now forgotten this powerful Friend? Or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance?I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: “that God governs in the affairs of man.” And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?
I therefore beg leave to move that, henceforth, prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven and its blessing on our deliberation be held in this assembly every morning before we proceed to business.
GEORGE WASHINGTON: As your general, I most earnestly require and expect a due observance of those articles of war established for the government of the army, which forbid profane cursing, swearing and drunkenness. And in like manner, I require and expect of all officers and soldiers not engaged in actual duty, a punctual attendance of Divine services, to implore the blessing of Heaven upon the means used for our safety and defense.
GEORGE WASHINGTON: It is impossible rightly to govern the world without God and the Bible.
JOHN JAY: Providence has given to our people the choice of their Rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation, to select and prefer Christians for their Rulers. I render sincere and humble thanks for His manifold and unmerited blessings, and especially for our redemption and salvation by his beloved Son….Blessed be his holy name.
JOHN ADAMS: It must be felt that there is no national security but in the nation’s humble acknowledged dependence upon God and His overruling providence.
THOMAS JEFFERSON: God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed the conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever.
Scene III: The Birth of a National Anthem
Flag Person 2: In 1796, our second official flag was designed with 15 stars and 15 stripes, Vermont and Kentucky
having joined the original 13. Although several more states had joined by the time of the War of 1812, this was the flag Francis Scott Key viewed as he wrote our national anthem.The Star-Spangled Banner
Francis Scott Keyhttp://www.treefort.org/~rgrogan/web/flag3.htm
TWO PART HARMONY
Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
Flag Person 3: : By the time of our third official flag in 1818, the number of states was 20. Congress agreed that it would be impractical to continue adding stripes and stars to the flag. They decided to go back to 13 stripes and have a star for each state.
Scene IV: Pre Civil War Leaders on God and His Word
(Guys are in a line on stage with their backs to the audience. As the narrator calls each name, the actor steps out,
faces audience, walks around if he wants, and speaks his lines. This is done each time there are several characters
giving speeches.)JOHN QUINCY ADAMS: The first and almost the only Book deserving of universal attention is the Bible.
ANDREW JACKSON: The Bible is the rock on which our republic rests…. Go to the Scriptures…the joyful promises it contains will be a balsam to all your troubles.
ROBERT E. LEE: I believe a kind God has ordered all things for our good. My reliance is in the help of God. At present I am not concerned with results. God’s will ought to be our aim, and I am contented that His designs should be accomplished and not mine. We must suffer patiently to the end, when all things will be made right. I can only say that I am nothing but a poor sinner, trusting in Christ alone for salvation.
ROBERT E. LEE: There are things in the old Book which I may not be able to explain, but I fully accept it as the infallible Word of God and receive its teaching as inspired by the Holy Spirit.
JEFFERSON DAVIS: Reverently let us invoke the God of our fathers to guide and protect us in our efforts to perpetuate the principles which by his blessing they were able to vindicate, establish, and transmit to their posterity; and with a continuance of his favor, ever gratefully acknowledged, we may hopefully look forward to success, to peace, to prosperity.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN: It is the duty of nations, as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God and to recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN: We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us! It behooves us, then to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.
ACT IV: THE CIVIL WAR
STUDENT: Whether you call it the Civil War, the War Between the States, the War for Southern Independence, or the War of Northern Aggression, it was the most tragic time in our country’s history. The war began following Abraham Lincoln’s election as President in 1860. Eleven southern stated seceded and became the Confederate States of America with Jefferson Davis as President. The war ended in April, 1865 when General Lee’s army surrendered at Appomattox.
Scene I: Civil War Songs
NARRATOR: Many famous songs came from the Civil War era. Here are two favorites.
Dixie
By Daniel Emmetthttp://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/lyrics/dixie.htm
ROWDY!
Oh I wish I was in the land of cotton
Old times there are not forgotten
Look away, look away,
Look away Dixieland.
In Dixieland where I was born
Early on one frosty morning
Look away, look away,
Look away Dixieland.Oh I wish I was in Dixie,
Hooray, hooray,
In Dixieland I will make my stand
To live and die in Dixie
Away, away,
Away down south in Dixie
Away, away,
Away down south in Dixie
The Battle Hymn of the Republic
Julia Ward
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/3819/lyrics_the_battle_hymn_of_the_republic.htmTWO PART HARMONY
Mine eyes have seen the glory
Of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage
Where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning
Of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.Chorus
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.
Scene II: The Gettysburg Address
ABRAHAM LINCOLN: Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it as a final resting place for those who died here that the nation might live. This we may, in all propriety do. But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.
It is rather for us the living, we here be dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth."
Scene III: Post Civil War Leaders on God and His Word
ULYSSES S. GRANT: Hold fast to the Bible as the sheet anchor of your liberties; write its precepts on your heart and practice them in your lives. To the influence of this Book we are indebted for the progress made, and to this we must look as our guide in the future.
WILLIAM MCKINLEY: The more profoundly we study this wonderful Book and the more closely we observe its divine precepts, the better citizens we will become and the higher will be the destiny of our nation.
BENJAMIN HARRISON: God has placed upon our head a diadem and has laid at our feet power and wealth beyond definition or calculation. But we must not forget that we take these gifts upon the condition that justice and mercy shall hold the reins of power and that the upward avenues of hope shall be free to all the people.
ACT V: FIFTY STATES, ONE NATION, ONE FLAG
SCENE I: The Completion of a Flag
Flag Person 4: Since there was no official rule about how the stars should be arranged, there were many different designs. It was not until 1912 that the arrangement of rows was selected as the permanent design. Today our nation boasts the grand 50 star flag. It is the emblem of the land we love.
You’re a Grand Old Flag
George M. Cohanhttp://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/lyrics/grandold.htm
You're a Grand Old Flag
You're a high flying flag
And forever, in peace, may you wave!
You're the emblem of the land I love,
The home of the free and the brave!Ev'ry heart beats true 'neath the Red, White, and Blue,
Where there's never a boast or brag.
But should auld acquaintance be forgot
Keep your eye on the Grand Old Flag!
SCENE II: The Forming of Our National Pledge
NARRATOR: In 1892, Francis Bellamy penned these words:
FRANCIS BELLAMY: “I pledge allegiance to my flag, and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible – with liberty and justice for all.”
NARRATOR: At the first National Flag Conference in Washington D.C., on June 14th, 1923, a change was made for clarity: the words “the Flag of the United States of America” replaced “my flag.” In 1942 Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance. In June of 1954 an amendment was made to add the words “under God.”
Our General in World War II and our President in time of peace, Dwight D. Eisenhower, spoke of our pledge:PRESIDENT EISENHOWER: In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America’s heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country’s most powerful resource in peace and war.
The Pledge of Allegiance
JR. CHOIR
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.
And to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible.
With liberty and justice for all.SCENE III: The Forming of Our National Motto
NARRATOR: In 1864 the Congress of the United States of America approved adding “In God We Trust” to the two cent coin. In 1908 legislation was passed and “In God We Trust” was mandatory on all coins. In 1955 “In God We Trust” became mandatory on all U.S. coins and paper currency. In 1956 “In God We Trust” became the national motto of the United States.
ACT VI: ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL?
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
By Milton E. P
This skit came from Instructor's Big Book of Plays, Scholastic Inc. 2931 East McCarty Street,
Jefferson City, MO 66102 Copyright 1983 by Instructor Publications, Inc.
Search for a copy online.
America the Beautiful
Katharine Lee Bateshttp://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/lyrics/america.htm
MALE SOLOIST
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!
ACT VI: WE WILL REMEMBER!
SCENE I: Memorial Day Celebration
LEST WE FORGET
By Eleanor W. MaloneThis skit came from Instructor's Big Book of Plays, Scholastic Inc. 2931 East McCarty Street,
Jefferson City, MO 66102 Copyright 1983 by Instructor Publications, Inc.
A few copies are still available online.
Over There
By George Cohanhttp://www.discoverynet.com/~ajsnead/patriotic/usasongs.html
SENIOR BOYS, IN MILITARY UNIFORMS, WHILE MARCHING IN PLACE
Over there, over there,
Send the word,
Send the word over there,
That the yanks are coming,
The yanks are coming.
The drums rum-tumming ev’ry where.
So prepare, say a pray’r
Send the word,
Send the word to beware,
We’ll be over,
We’re coming over
And we won’t come back till it’s
Over over there.VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA COLOR GUARD PRESENT COLORS AND
REMAIN BESIDE STAGE AT ATTENTION THROUGHOUT REMAINDER
SCENE II: Honoring the Heroes in our Audience
(Students representing the navy, air corps, army, marines and coast guard come onstage.)
NARRATOR: Please join us now in honoring our heroes in our audience today. If you or a member of your family has served our country in the army, navy, air force, marines or coast guard, please stand as you hear your song!
(During each of the military songs, volunteers pass out certificates of thanks from Actors' Christian Theatre, rolled
up and pinned with patriotic pin.)
ARMY: THE CAISSONS GO ROLLING ALONG
Edmund L. Gruberhttp://www.lilesnet.com/patriotic/music/caissons_go_rolling_along.htm
Over hill, over dale
As we hit the dusty trail,
And the Caissons go rolling along.
In and out, hear them shout,
Counter march and right about,
And the Caissons go rolling along.
Then it's hi! hi! hee!
In the field artillery,
Shout out your numbers loud and strong,
For where e'er you go,
You will always know
That the Caissons go rolling along.
NAVY: ANCHORS A WEIGH
Revised by George D. Lottmanhttp://www.lilesnet.com/patriotic/music/anchors_aweigh.htm
Anchors Aweigh, my boys, Anchors Aweigh.
Farewell to college joys, we sail at break of day, day, day, day!.
Through our last night on shore, drink to the foam,
Until we meet once more:
Here's wishing you a happy voyage home.AIR FORCE: THE WILD BLUE YONDER
Robert Crawfordhttp://www.lilesnet.com/patriotic/music/off_we_go.htm
THE MARINES’ HYMN
L.Z. Phil
http://www.lilesnet.com/patriotic/music/images/marines_hymn.htmFrom the halls of Montezuma
To the shores of Tripoli,
We fight our country's battles
In the air, on land, and sea.
First to fight for right and freedom,
And to keep our honor clean,
We are proud to claim the title
Of United States Marines.COAST GUARD: “SEMPER PARATUS"
http://www.lilesnet.com/patriotic/OurMilitary/US_Coast_Guard.htm
SCENE III: THE KINGDOM CLOGGERS, Red, White, and Blue RoutineSCENE IV: Our President Charges Us to Remember the September 11 Tragedy
NARRATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States, George W. Bush!
HAIL TO THE CHIEF
Sir Walter Scotthttp://lcweb2.loc.gov/cocoon/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.200000009/default.html
FEMALE SOLOIST
Hail to the Chief we have chosen for the nation,
Hail to the Chief! We salute him, one and all.
Hail to the Chief, as we pledge co-operation
In proud fulfillment of a great, noble call.Yours is the aim to make this grand country grander,
This you will do, that's our strong, firm belief.
Hail to the one we selected as commander,
Hail to the President! Hail to the Chief!NARRATOR: Unfortunately, I have just been informed that President Bush is unable to be with us this evening (afternoon, morning). He has sent a representative to speak for him. Please join us in remembering the president's state of the union address following the tragedy of September 11, 2001.
Representative:
In the normal course of events, presidents come to this chamber to report on the state of the union. Tonight, no such report is needed; it has already been delivered by the American people.
We have seen it in the courage of passengers who rushed terrorists to save others on the ground.
We have seen the state of our union in the endurance of rescuers working past exhaustion.
We've seen the unfurling of flags, the lighting of candles, the giving of blood, the saying of prayers in English, Hebrew and Arabic.
We have seen the decency of a loving and giving people who have made the grief of strangers their own.
My fellow citizens, for the last nine days, the entire world has seen for itself the state of union, and it is strong.
Tonight, we are a country awakened to danger and called to defend freedom. Our grief has turned to anger and anger to resolution. Whether we bring our enemies to justice or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done.
I thank the Congress for its leadership at such an important time. All of America was touched on the evening of the tragedy to see Republicans and Democrats joined together on the steps of this Capitol singing "God Bless America.".
And on behalf of the American people, I thank the world for its outpouring of support.
It is my hope that in the months and years ahead life will return almost to normal. We'll go back to our lives and routines and that is good.
Even grief recedes with time and grace. But our resolve must not pass. Each of us will remember what happened that day and to whom it happened. We will remember the moment the news came, where we were and what we were doing
I will not forget the wound to our country and those who inflicted it. I will not yield, I will not rest, I will not relent in waging this struggle for freedom and security for the American people. The course of this conflict is not known, yet its outcome is certain. Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know that God is not neutral between them.
In all that lies before us, may God grant us wisdom and may he watch over the United States of America. Thank you
SCENE V: We Are Proud to be Americans!
GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.
By Lee Greenwoodhttp://www.friendsacrossamerica.com/godblessusa.html
http://www.lilesnet.com/patriotic/music/god_bless_the_usa.htm
VERSE ONE: MALE SOLOIST, HARMONY ON REFRAIN
VERSE TWO: FEMALE SOLOIST, HARMONY ON REFRAIN
REPEAT OF REFRAIN: ENTIRE CAST IN TWO PART HARMONYNARRATOR:
PLEASE PRAY FOR ALL THE LEADERS OF OUR COUNTRY
PLEASE PRAY THAT WE NOT FORGET THAT IT IS GOD WHO HAS GIVEN THIS COUNTRY OUR HERITAGE OF BLESSINGS
ENTIRE CAST:
TO GOD BE ALL GLORY!!