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You’ve probably heard people say, “It’s as American as mom, baseball and apple pie.” As we celebrate the 4th of July and our country’s independence, we can ponder these and other things that are all-American.

We all know that mom isn’t strictly an American invention, what about baseball?

Did you know that kids played baseball in schools here as early as the 1850s? At E-how’s the history of baseball for kids, http://www.ehow.com/about_5374427_history-baseball-kids.html, you can learn this and other fun baseball facts. Of course, there are those that question baseball’s origins. Some contend baseball was just a combination of several other stick and ball games.

 

For a humorous look at the other side of the story, check out http://www.brownielocks.com/baseball.html. Don’t forget to check out the Baseball Hall of Fame,  http://baseballhall.org/hall-famers/members/bios, where you can read about all the really great baseball players. And of course, what trip through baseball history would be complete without a stop at our favorite team’s Web site. Visit the Rockies’ Kid’s Dugout at http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/mlb/kids/index.jsp?c_id=col.

What’s more American than the “Star Spangled Banner?” After all, it’s sung before every baseball game, right? But do you really know the words to the song? And even if you do, do you know what a “ramparts red glare” is? And did you know there are more than two verses to the song? (I must admit I didn’t.) Read the full text at http://www.usa-flag-site.org/song-lyrics/star-spangled-banner.shtml. You can also read the lyrics to other patriotic songs like “America the Beautiful,” “Yankee Doodle Dandy” (and no, he did not stick a feather in his cap and call it macaroni), and “Halls of Montezuma” at http://www.usa-flag-site.org/songs.shtml. (By the way, a rampart, in this instance, is part of the fort facing the water.)

While we’re talking patriotic, I bet you think that the fourth of July was the date that the colonists defeated the British and won the Revolutionary War. But no, my friends. The 4th is actually the day the colonists declared independence. So in essence it was the beginning of the war. And each of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were committing treason by signing it. They knew that if they were captured by the British, they would be hung as traitors.

 

Take a peek at the document our founders risked their life for at http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_zoom_1.html. Although you can’t read the words very well here, you can still faintly make out the large John Hancock at the bottom on the page. (That’s why you’ll hear people say, “put your John Hancock here” when they want you to sign something. It’s because his signature is the largest. Now surf to http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html to read the words they used to, as my father would have said, “tell King George to go jump in a lake.”

Finally, there is nothing more American than the Flag. As you know, there were originally 13 stars and 13 stripes to represent each of the thirteen original colonies. Can you name them? Check out a map of them at http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/graphics/13mapnew.htm. Try to guess the name of each state, then put your cursor over the state to see if you’re right. As more states joined the Union, more stars were added.

 

Did you ever wonder what would happen if we added more states today? Well right before Alaska and Hawaii were admitted to the Union, a high school student wondered what a 50 star flag would look like and decided to design one for a class project. Did he get an A for this project? No. His teacher was less than impressed. Read the story at http://www.united-states-flag.com/50-star-flag.html.