Please join us in our mission to
incorporate America's Four United Republics discovery-based
curriculum into the classroom of every primary and secondary
school in the United States by July 2, 2026, the
nation’s 250th birthday.
Students and Teachers of US History this is a video of Stanley and Christopher Klos presenting America's Four United Republics Curriculum at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. The December 2015 video was an impromptu capture by a member of the audience of Penn students, professors and guests that numbered about 200.
Please purchase a curriculum TODAY for your local school or public library.
Stanley Yavneh Klos and Loyola University Honors’ November 14th, 2015, presentation of America’s Four United Republics Curriculum at the National Social Studies Teachers Conference was well received. Both the presentation and primary source exhibits were a success with several major school systems brainstorming on how the new pedagogy could be implemented in their districts. Boston officials were especially open to the reorganization of the U.S. Founding into four distinct republics & were surprised by the scope of Presidential hospitality duties Dorothy Hancock performed as "First Lady" in the Continental Congress republics.
America’s Four United Republics book & curriculum sales to individual teachers & schools were also robust.
It was an enjoyable conference due
to booth
neighbors like the Library of Congress, Brown University,
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, C-Span, Nat Geo, US
Mint, Columbia University, Colonial Williamsburg, Historical
Society of Pennsylvania, Mount Vernon, Ronald Reagan Library,
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello,
Louisiana Archives, The US Constitution Center, National WWII
Museum, and James Madison's Foundation.
Moreover, The Library of Congress,
National Archives, National Parks Representatives and even
Freedom Riders came over to the booth after the AFUR presentation
and had their pictures taken with the First Federal Court Decree: Pennsylvania v Connecticut (1782), the 1803 Congressional Printing of the Louisiana
Purchase & Martin Luther King, Jr.'s signed Letter From A Birmingham Jail.
The transformation of the United States of
America from thirteen British colonies into the
current republic was a complex political process
that spanned nearly 15-years. To describe
this development, most governmental institutions
-- the United States Department of State, for
example, and the Smithsonian
Institute
-- divide the U.S. Republic into two distinct
founding stages: the Continental
Congress, first,
and
then the current U.S. Constitution of
1787 governmental system.
[i]
Historians, educators, and secondary school
textbooks have been more thorough and have
expanded this dichotomy by dividing the
Continental Congress Era into the First
Continental Congress
,
The Second Continental Congress
,
and the Congress of the
Confederation
.
[ii]
The nomenclature used to describe the different
“stages” of the rapidly evolving United States,
however, has resulted in confusion regarding even
the most basic founding facts: for example, the
USA birthdate of July 4th, 1776,
conflicts with Delaware’s designation as the
“first US State,” (based on that state’s status
as first to ratify the current US Constitution –
on December 7th, 1787). A short
list of just a few important national election
and event dates demonstrates the
challenges:
|
America’s Four United Republics booth at the National Social Studies Teachers Conference in New Orleans with the 1782 Decree of Trenton and 1803 Congressional Printing of the Louisiana Purchase displayed on table for teacher photo opportunities. |
v
What
is the birth date of the USA?
Resolution for Independency – July 2,
1776; Declaration of Independence
- July 4th, 1776; Articles of
Confederation enactment – March 1, 1781;
Constitution of 1787 enactment – March
4, 1789.
v
Who
was the 1st United States Head of
State?U.S.
Continental Congress President John Hancock –
July 4th, 1776; United States in
Congress Assembled President Samuel Huntington –
March 1, 1781; United States Constitution of 1787
President George Washington - April
23rd, 1789
v
What
is the birth date of the U.S.
Constitution?
Articles of Confederation framed
November 15th, 1777 and enacted March
1st, 1781;
Constitution of 1787 framed September
17, 1787 and enacted March 4,
1789.
v
Which
State was the First U.S. State?
New Hampshire first to vote for Independence from
Great Britain – July 2nd, 1776;
Virginia first to ratify the Articles of
Confederation – December 16th,
1777; Delaware first to ratify the
Constitution of
1787 on December
7th, 1787
v
Who
was the First Postmaster
General?
Continental Congress elected Postmaster General
Franklin on July 26th, 1775; United
States in Congress Assembled elected Ebenezer
Hazard - January 28th, 1782;
Presidential appointment Samuel Osgood -
September 26th, 1789
v
Who
Was the First Treasurer?
Continental Congress elected Treasurer Michael
Hillegas; July 29th, 1775,
Constitution of
1787’s Presidential appointment
Samuel Meredith - September 11th,
1789
v
When
was the first Dollar issued?
The Continental Congress first enacted the United
Colonies Dollar on June 23rd, 1775,
United States Dollar on July 22nd, 1776 and the
Constitution of 1787’s
An act establishing a mint, and regulating the
Coins of the United States
on April 2, 1792
v
Who
was the first Commander-in-Chief?
Continental Congress elected George Washington on
June 15th, 1775; Constitution of
1787, George Washington - April
23rd, 1789
v
Name
of the first bank chartered by the U.S.
Congress?
Bank of North America - May
26th, 1781; First Bank of the United
States - February 25th, 1791
v
Who
was the First U.S. Secretary of
War?
U.S. Continental Congress elected Benjamin
Lincoln - October 30th, 1781; United
States in Congress Assembled elected Henry
Knox - March 8th, 1785
v
When
was the first U.S. Federal Court
Decision issued? “Pennsylvania v Connecticut ” - December 30th,
1782; Supreme Court “West v. Barnes” -
August 3rd, 1791
Consequently, the convolution of these U.S.
Founding events and dates are ubiquitously
apparent in everything from school textbooks to
Library of Congress
exhibits
under the current pedagogy.
[iii]
Even the U.S. Supreme Court
,
in its opinions, confuses the lawful difference
between the United States “Continental
Congress” and
the Articles of Confederation
’s
“United States in Congress Assembled
.”
[iv]
Utilizing Primary Sources, Stanley Yavneh Klos’ shucks the confusing First, Second, and Confederation “Continental Congress" labels unveiling that current United States Republic was preceded by three distinctly different United American Republics:
· First
United American Republic:
United Colonies of North America: Thirteen
British Colonies United in Congress
was
founded by 12 colonies on September
5th, 1774, and expired on July
2nd, 1776, with the enactment of the
Resolution for Independency
.
The republic was governed by a British Colonial
Continental Congress which, by 1775, provided for
the security of its members with the formation of
a Continental Army headed by a
Commander-in-Chief, establishing military
hospitals, the appointment of a Postmaster
General, and even the issuing of its own
currency. Peyton Randolph and George Washington
served, respectively, as the republic's first
United Colonies Continental Congress President
and Commander-in-Chief;
· Second
United American Republic:
The United
States of America: Thirteen Independent States
United in Congress
was founded by 12 colonies with the passage of
the Resolution for Independency on July
2nd, 1776 and expired on March
1st, 1781, with the enactment of the
Articles of Confederation. The republic was
governed by the United States Continental
Congress, which conducted the war for
independence and elected foreign ministers to
negotiate treaties and alliances. John Hancock
and George Washington served, respectively, as
the republic's first United States Continental
Congress President and Commander-in-Chief
;
· Third
United American Republic:
The
United States of America: A Perpetual
Union
was
founded by 13 States with the Articles of
Confederation
’s
enactment on March 1st, 1781, and
expired on March 3rd, 1789
.
The republic was governed through the United
States in Congress Assembled, which concluded the
Revolutionary War, ratified the Treaty of Paris,
and primarily governed through Congressional
Committees and Executive Department Heads.
Samuel Huntington and George Washington served,
respectively, as the republic's first United
States in Congress Assembled President and
Commander-in-Chief;
·
Fourth
United American Republic:
The
United States of America: We the
People was
formed by 11 states with the United States
Constitution of 1787
’s
enactment on March 4th, 1789.
This, the current republic
of the United States, governs through The
United States House of
Representatives and
Senate in Congress Assembled (Bicameral
Congress),
The President of the United States of America
(U.S. President), United States Supreme
Court (U.S.
Supreme Court).
George Washington served as both the
Republic's first President and its
Commander-in-Chief.
In 2015, America’s Four United Republics: Curriculum Supplement (AFUR), was developed for middle, high school and college students to analyze America’s Four Republics: The More or Less United States’ reorganization of the United States founding by employing rhetorical strategies to scrutinize primary source evidence. Instead of memorizing the convolution of notable founding facts and events during the Continental Congress period, students are challenged to evaluate AFUR’s reorganization of the 1774-1790 United States founding period based on the credibility and timeline of the historic record. This curriculum supplement is specifically designed for students to deduce historical conclusions backed by inductive documentary evidence that supports, challenges, and/or refutes AFUR’s Dispositio. Most importantly, the AFUR curriculum ensures that participating students will have a renewed sense of the fundamental experiences and influences that birthed the United States of America.
|
America’s Four United Republics exhibit at the National Social Studies Teachers Conference with a close-up view of the display case. Primary Sources exhibited include: President Peyton Randolph signed three pound Virginia note, 1774 printing of the Articles of Association, 1775 Richard Henry Lee Autograph Document Signed, 1776 Journals of the Continental Congress opened to the Declaration of Independence printed by John Dunlap, 1777 Journals of the Continental Congress opened to the Articles of Confederation, printed by John Dunlap, John Hancock document signed as President, Continental Congress First Lady Sarah Livingston Jay signed document, 1781 Journals of the United States in Congress Assembled opened to the enactment of the Articles of Confederation, Samuel Huntington document signed as President, Thomas McKean signed document as President, Annis Boudinot Stockton 1786 printing of the first published poem by a woman in the United States, John Jay Autograph letter signed as US Foreign Secretary, August 1787 printing of the Northwest Ordinance, Arthur St. Clair Autograph letter signed as Northwest Territorial Governor, September 1787 printing of the Constitution of 1787, and a November 1789 printing of the 12 Constitutional Amendments commonly known as the Bill of Rights. |
INDEX
Definition Challenge: What is a Republic?
Page 5
Challenge: When Did the First United American
Republic Begin?
Page 6
Debate: When Was Independence Day?
Pages 7 - 8
Setting the Scene: The Articles of
Confederation
Pages 9 - 10
You be the Judge: The Forming of the Fourth
United American Republic
Pages 11 – 12
Challenge: Did the United States gain its
independence and
sovereignty as a result of the Definitive Treaty of Peace signed
in Paris on September 3rd, 1783? Pages 13 – 14
sovereignty as a result of the Definitive Treaty of Peace signed
in Paris on September 3rd, 1783? Pages 13 – 14
Debate:
Who were the first United States’ Head of State
and First Lady?
Pages 14 - 18
Debate:
Which Colony was the first U.S. State?
Pages 19 – 21
Challenge:
Which city was the first U.S. “Capital”?
What building was the
first U.S. Capitol? Pages 22 – 23
first U.S. Capitol? Pages 22 – 23
You be the Judge: Was the 1782 Decree of Trenton
the first Federal
Court Decision? Pages 24 – 25
Court Decision? Pages 24 – 25
Why did the 1789 Congress approve a dysfunctional
first amendment,
Article the First, to the Constitution of 1787? Pages 26 – 29
Article the First, to the Constitution of 1787? Pages 26 – 29
The Historian: Unit
Assessment
Page 30
End Notes
Page 31 - 32
UCCC, USCC, USCA, & US Presidential Duties
& Powers
Chart
Insert
http://www.historic.us/p/nchc-partners-in-park.html
[i]
See, for example, Department of State,
Common Core Document of the United States
of America ... “In 1783 the
Continental Congress
voted
to establish a federal city, and the specific
site was chosen by President George
Washington in
1790.”
Washington D.C., 2012
http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/179780.htm and
Smithsonian
Institute,
Traveling exhibit: A Glorious Burden, The
American Presidency, “John
Hanson was
the First President of The Continental
Congress,"
http://americanhistory.si.edu/presidency/home.html.
[ii]
See, for example, Kenneth R. Bowling,” 'A Tub
to the Whale': the Founding Fathers and
Adoption of the Federal Bill of Rights
.”
Journal of the Early Republic 8
(Fall 1988), 225.
[iii]
See, for example, Alan Brinkley, who
declares, “The first elections under
the Constitution took place in the early
months of 1789. Almost all of the newly
elected congressmen and senators had favored
ratification.…” New York
:
McGraw Hill, 2007, p. 168, and Library of
Congress
Creating
the United States Exhibit:
“Confederation Congress Elects Its First
President John Hanson
”
Charles Thomson
to
George Washington
,
November 5, 1781 letter, Manuscript.
America’s Four Republics
The More or Less United
States
Autographed Second Editions
Stan Klos
PO Box 15696
New Orleans, LA 70115
(202) 239-1774
