Pledges of Allegiance

Tuesday, April 15, 2003 | 9:44 a.m.

Gettysburg Address

One of the documents the students are required to recite is Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Here is the speech Lincoln read at Gettysburg on Nov. 19, 1863:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon 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 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 can not dedicate - we can not consecrate - we can not hallow, this ground - The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have hallowed it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here; while 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 these dead shall not have died in vain; that the 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.

Did you know? There are five known copies of the Gettysburg address. The copy presented here is widely regarded as the copy Lincoln read at Gettysburg but differs from contemporary transcripts in that Lincoln ad-libbed parts of the address, notably adding the words "under God" in the passage "that this nation [under God] shall have a new birth of freedom...."

The presidents

The students also had to list the presidents in chronological order. Here is a list of all the presidents including their party affiliation and time in office:

George Washington Federalist 1789-1797

John Adams Federalist 1797-1801

Thomas Jefferson Democratic-Republican 1801-1809

James Madison Democratic-Republican 1809-1817

James Monroe Democratic-Republican 1817-1825

John Quincy Adams Democratic-Republican 1825-1829

Andrew Jackson Democrat 1829-1837

Martin van Buren Democrat 1837-1841

William H. Harrison Whig 1841

John Tyler Whig 1841-1845

James K. Polk Democrat 1845-1849

Zachary Taylor Whig 1849-1850

Millard Fillmore Whig 1850-1853

Franklin Pierce Democrat 1853-1857

James Buchanan Democrat 1857-1861

Abraham Lincoln Republican 1861-1865

Andrew Johnson National Union 1865-1869

Ulysses S. Grant Republican 1869-1877

Rutherford Hayes Republican 1877-1881

James Garfield Republican 1881

Chester Arthur Republican 1881-1885

Grover Cleveland Democrat 1885-1889

Benjamin Harrison Republican 1889-1893

Grover Cleveland Democrat 1893-1897

William McKinley Republican 1897-1901

Theodore Roosevelt Republican 1901-1909

William Taft Republican 1909-1913

Woodrow Wilson Democrat 1913-1921

Warren Harding Republican 1921-1923

Calvin Coolidge Republican 1923-1929

Herbert C. Hoover Republican 1929-1933

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Democrat 1933-1945

Harry S. Truman Democrat 1945-1953

Dwight David Eisenhower Republican 1953-1961

John Fitzgerald Kennedy Democrat 1961-1963

Lyndon Baines Johnson Democrat 1963-1969

Richard Milhous Nixon Republican 1969-1974

Gerald R. Ford Republican 1974-1977

James Earl Carter Democrat 1977-1981

Ronald Wilson Reagan Republican 1981-1989

George H. W. Bush Republican 1989-1993

William Jefferson Clinton Democrat 1993-2001

George W. Bush Republican 2001-Present

Mornings at Estes McDoniel Elementary School could put a star-spangled lump in any patriot's throat.

First there's a school-wide Pledge of Allegiance beneath the outdoor basketball hoops.

Then it's 30 seconds of silence. Suddenly the national anthem blares through the school's PA system, across the schoolyard and into the surrounding neighborhood.

High-pitched and occasionally unsure voices join in. Latecomers wheel backpacks across the playground.

It's the morning ritual at the Henderson school where patriotism (pre 9-11, even) lines the hallways in the form of a "Freedom Shrine" and other national symbols.

Last week, however, the routine was particularly endearing for Principal Linda Goodman.

The school's seven Great Americans, an ambitious cluster of fifth graders with academic and patriotic zeal, took turns at the makeshift podium reciting historical documents and celebrating national pride.

Each had achieved the steps of a "Great American:" In one fell swoop they could sing the national anthem, recite the Gettysburg Address and the preamble to the U.S. Constitution, list the U.S. presidents in order (by first and last name), recite each state and capital alphabetically and perfectly write the Pledge of Allegiance.

They had studied hard, some since the beginning of the year, then made an appointment with Goodman.

"They come to the office. I shut the door. Everyone knows I'm not to be interrupted," Goodman said. "They get nervous. It's a big deal.

"We introduce it as one of the most prestigious awards they can earn."

The award, a trophy, is distributed at an evening ceremony. The students don suits and ties, skirts and dresses. Retired Air Force Capt. Gordon Doughty delivers a speech on patriotism. Red, white and blue balloons hang from the ceiling.

Later their names are added to a plaque that hangs outside the school's office and scrawled onto a red, white and blue bulletin board in the fifth grade hallway.

The opportunity to become a Great American is an optional extracurricular activity. For those who achieve the title, there is little effort spared in recognition.

"On the first day our teacher first told me about it and I wanted to do it," said Adam Lucero, one of this year's Great Americans. "I read a lot about our freedom and I thought it would be a cool thing to recite things from memory and things past. I like to read a lot but I've read most of my books. This gives me something to do in my extra time."

Creating a tradition

The Great American Award can be traced to Boulder City teacher Clare Tobler, who began it 20 years ago as an enrichment program for students who finished their homework ahead of others.

Tobler taught at Mitchell Elementary. When he moved to the newly built Martha P. King Elementary School, the award continued. Other teachers picked it up and it became school wide.

"Since then, fifth grade teachers at Andrews Mitchell and Martha King have moved out and the program spread," Tobler said. "There's quite a few schools who have adopted it."

A handful of Clark County elementary schools, including Christensen and Cunningham, now offer the program.

"It just tickles me," Tobler said. "I never had an idea it would be this popular ... We wanted to keep the standards really high. Then it means something. It builds confidence in them. Usually the parents get involved in it."

Tobler is somewhat legendary among Boulder City for creating the fifth grade water-balloon Civil War reenactment taking place each spring that draws thousands of balloon-carrying participants and community spectators.

"They're in full uniform," Tobler said. "You gotta bring history alive. If a teacher doesn't get excited about a program, the kids aren't going to be excited about it."

This could explain some of the zeal at McDoniel, where Goodman's enthusiasm is passed on to the students.

Bringing history alive

Goodman began the Great American program at McDoniel when she became principal three years ago.

A former Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador in the late 1970s, Goodman said she returned to the United States and saw little gratitude for the benefits of being an American.

"People take it for granted and it just breaks my heart," she said.

But Goodman takes little credit for the Great American Award. She instead gives it to the students and their parents who help them study and memorize its six elements. Last year 38 students at the school participated.

"These kids are pretty self motivated," Goodman said.

"It takes some longer than others. Even if they don't learn it all, they learn that it's important to be patriotic. They truly feel they are great Americans. They feel proud they've learned this important information."

Makeba Rutahindurwa, who had just finished reciting the Gettysburg Address at the school's morning gathering, said she was proud to have earned the title.

"I wanted to know about our country and how it happened," she said. "My sister did it before me and she encouraged it. It feels really good."

In addition to Rutahindurwa and Lucero, other Great Americans include Lauren Graham, Taylor Mitchell, Clarke Knight, Chris Gubler, Matthew Hill and Carolina Volynchuk.

Gubler said he used his spare time, including his winter break, to work toward the award.

"The Gettysburg and presidents were difficult," Gubler said. "It doesn't come easy for me to remember."

Gubler says that his parents were instrumental to his achieving the Great American Award.

"They're a big part of this," Gubler said. "They helped me a lot."

When asked if he was patriotic, Gubler abruptly pulled the plastic retainer from his mouth and held it before him.

It was an American flag.

archive