Birth

George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, to Mary and Augustine Washington in Westmoreland County, Virginia. If you’ve noticed President’s Day is in February, this is one reason why. George’s family was not extremely wealthy or poor but was in what was called a “middling class,” which had been growing in Virginia. George’s ancestors were from England and had moved to British Colonies in America. They were called the British Colonies because they were still ruled by Britain, not their own country yet. George’s father, Augustine, had a farm along the Potomac River and worked hard to make it a success. On the farm, they grew tobacco and had a mill for grinding wheat. When George was 5 the family moved up the Potomac River to the Little Hunting Creek Plantation and then later to the Ferry Farm, where little George spent most of his days growing up.  

Childhood

We know some things about George’s childhood, but not very much — which led to some myths about his childhood. One story said that he was so strong he threw a coin all the way across the Potomac River. Another said he chopped down his father’s favorite cherry tree and told his father about it because he would never tell a lie. These stories were made up, but we do know that George grew up helping on his family farm and was home-schooled by a local teacher where he learned math, geography, and Latin and read classic books. What George learned in books was useful, but most of his practical knowledge came from his days working on the farm, learning from the other workers, and the local woodsmen. 

When George was 11 his father passed away and his brother, Lawrence, took over the farm. George learned about the higher culture and how to act properly from his brother’s wife, Anne. 

Surveyor

Like many boys his age, George started his career very early, at age 16, when he became a surveyor. A surveyor is someone who uses different instruments to measure the size and layout of the land and make maps, so it can be bought and sold. In Virginia and the rest of The New World, there was a lot of lands, so the job of a surveyor was very important. George was soon traveling on his own, studying and surveying the land all over Virginia, and making maps. The experiences of being out on his own and camping every night made him tough and prepared him for later struggles in his life. George worked as a surveyor until he was 20 — when his older brother Lawrence died of tuberculosis. This made George the owner of his family’s farms, which was a very big responsibility for a 20-year-old. 

George loved the peaceful life of a farmer, but events nearby would soon change that. People from England lived in most of the Eastern coastal towns of the colonies, but many people from France, the French, lived and worked further inland as trappers and traders. For many years the English and French did not get along. As the French started to move into the land the English claimed as their own, the King of England became nervous that the French would take it over. He began sending soldiers to America to be sure this did not happen.

Major Washington

Around this time, George had become a major in the Virginia Militia. A militia is a small army run by a colony or state, and at the time the colony of Virginia had its own militia. George was asked by the king to take his small group of soldiers and tell the French living on their land to leave. By this time the French had built a fort called Fort LaBeouf and when George arrived with his soldiers, he did ask them to leave but the French politely refused! George hurried back to let his leaders know and then was told to return to attack the French at Fort Duquesne. A battle broke out and George’s army beat the French in one of the first battles of what became known as The French and Indian War. The French sent more soldiers and drove George Washington and his troops back to their fort, called Fort Necessity. Eventually, George and his troops had to surrender and leave the Ohio Valley. 

George was embarrassed at his loss, but word began to spread that he had fought valiantly against the French and his name began to be known through the American colonies and even in England. 

When the British General, Edward Braddock arrived from England with even more soldiers, George joined him with his militia and they left Fort Necessity to attack the French again. While marching on the road to attack the French, they were surprised by a French army which attacked them. The French and their Native American allies fired from the trees and the road. Bullets flew from every direction. The British soldiers scattered. They were unprepared for the attack. General Braddock was hit by a bullet and fell from his horse. George courageously rallied the troops and urged them to continue fighting. A bullet hit George’s horse and they fell over, but he jumped up and climbed onto another horse. Bullets flew through his jacket and hit his horse again. The fighting continued as the French and natives fired at the British from the cover of the trees and then swarmed them in the road. George climbed onto his third horse and kept fighting. He saw that there was no hope of winning this battle. He would have to escape or all of his soldiers would be lost. He ordered a retreat and the soldiers followed him away from the battle and back along the road. During their long march back to Fort Necessity, they were continually attacked from the woods but eventually made it back. The Battle of the Wilderness was a major loss, but George Washington was praised for bravely taking control of the situation and leading the soldiers out of danger.

French and Indian War

In August 1755 George was made commander of all of the militia troops in Virginia. He was only 23 at the time. His job was to protect the border of Virginia. Most of his soldiers were not well trained and lacked proper fighting gear. To make things worse, the Virginia government did not support him and his soldiers. After two years of this difficult duty, Washington became sick with dysentery and had to return to his home until he got better. 

In 1758 George rejoined his troops as commander and was ordered to take Fort Duquesne, which was held by his French enemies. Washington, with 6,000 troops made up of British soldiers and Virginia militia, attacked Fort Duquesne. The fighting was intense on both sides. Cannons boomed. Smoke filled the air. Musket balls zipped through the air. But Washington and the soldiers pressed on until they took the fort and the French fled or surrendered. Fort Duquesne was finally taken! It was a major victory for the British in the French and Indian War. Because they took the fort they were now in control of the Ohio River Valley. George Washington’s fame spread, but the fighting near his home was over, so like the soldiers who fought with him, George retired — which means he was no longer a commander and returned to his big farm in Virginia to continue taking care of it. But fortunately, it was one of George’s favorite things to do!

Martha Custis Washington

Not long after returning home, George met and married Martha Dandridge Custis, who was a few months older than he and had been married before. She had two children John and Martha, who went by the nicknames Jacky and Patsy. George came to love his adopted children, gave them lots of attention, and treated them as his own. Jacky and Patsy would end up being his only children as he and Martha never had any of their own children together. 

Martha Washington came from a wealthy family, so when she and George married he inherited even more land. He was also given land as a gift for his service in the French and Indian War. This all led to George becoming one of the richest landowners in all of Virginia. 

On his farm, George spent much of his time riding about, checking in on the workers, and was even known to take off his coat and get into the dirty work with them. He enjoyed horseback riding, fox hunts, and fishing. 

Mount Vernon

George was always interested in the latest scientific advances to improve his crops and to find better ways to raise animals and tend to his vast orchards of fruit trees. If you visit Mount Vernon today it is a beautiful plantation with a museum, crops still growing, flower gardens, and well-tended orchards. In fact, I visited it a few years ago with my wife and daughter and we had a great time walking through Washington’s home overlooking the Potomac River and strolling through the beautiful gardens.

Sadly, slavery was everywhere at this time in Virginia and other places in the American colonies. The slaves had been kidnapped from their homes in Africa and forced to work for no pay. Slavery was a horrible practice that didn’t end until after the Civil War. Like most of the farms in Virginia, over 300 slaves worked at Mount Vernon. Later in life, George was more open to ending slavery than other plantation owners. Sadly, he never decided to set free slaves during his lifetime, but after his death, he had all of his own slaves set free — but not Martha’s.

An interesting fact about George Washington is he had very bad teeth. Many times he complained about them aching and other problems. He had to have many of his teeth pulled over the years. For this reason, George wore dentures most of his adult life. Dentures are fake teeth that people wear to replace the real ones that were lost. Legend says that they were made out of wood, but the truth is that his dentures were made out of his lost teeth, some animal teeth shaped to look like human teeth and other metals. 

Far from Mount Vernon, life in the American colonies began to change. At this time the colonies were still part of the British Empire, controlled by King George and his parliament. After the French and Indian War, the King saw how expensive the war was and decided the colonies should pay for part of it. He began to tax items like stamps and later tea and other goods that they bought from England. A tax is when you add a cost to an item. For example, when they would go to buy tea, instead of it being $1 for a bag of tea, it cost $1.25. This made the people very upset. The King also told them they couldn’t buy and settle land past a certain point in the New World. This made them even more upset. As you can imagine, things were not going well between England and the colonies. Tune into our next episode, to learn about George Washington and the American Revolution, and His Presidency. In the meantime, when you’re not in bed look up pictures and videos of George Washington. Check out pictures of his beautiful Mount Vernon estate, and the clothes he wore which are in a museum, and see if you can find a picture of his false teeth! 

Work Ethic

Also, take some time to think about George Washington’s work ethic. This means that he spent his time improving his farm and making it a little better each day. He wasn’t afraid to get dirty to improve it. Think about how this applies to you with things that need to get done around your house. Can you help tidy your room each day or pick weeds in the yard — something I know we always need at our home. Hard work isn’t always fun, but after you’re done it feels good that you’ve done something challenging and chances are you’ll feel good that you made a little difference in your home, and as you see that things look better. The other day my son and I mowed the lawn together. It was the end of the day and we didn’t feel like doing it, but when we were done it looked so clean and nice, we had a great time playing around in it and enjoying it and the hard work was worth the beautiful result.

Also, think about George’s bravery as he went into battle. It can be hard to keep our wits about us during tough times. Think about ways you can stay patient and focused when someone makes you upset or you have to do something that requires bravery. I remember when I was younger I never liked to take the trash out in the dark. One time I had to just take a deep breath and tell myself “be brave!” and did it anyway. I was nervous, but afterward, I felt proud of myself for doing it! 

Listen to the audio

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Listen to the tale of a truly remarkable person – someone brave and fierce and a true patriot – someone who loves their country very much.  The date is April 26, 1777, in rural New York.  It is spring.  Farmers are in their fields preparing the land for new crops.  The sun glimmers across green pastures and small wooden homes surrounded by picket fences.  In the middle of town, a gleaming white church with a heavy bell tolls the afternoon hour.  But this is no ordinary day.  This is a truly momentous day.  On this day, New York is invaded by British soldiers.  Two years earlier, the British attacked Massachusetts, setting Paul Revere on his famous midnight ride to warn citizens of the invading army by sea.  

British Invasion

Now, Danbury, New York, is being invaded by sea.  And who will warn the citizens of this invasion and help save the city?  A rugged farmer?  A battle-trained officer?  A seasoned spy?  NO!  The hero of this story is a 16-year-old girl!  Sybil Ludington is a spunky teenager living on a farm in Paterson, NY, with her parents and 12 siblings.  She is strong and lively – she has to be with that many family members to support and feed!  She works the farm with her family after school and becomes an expert horsewoman.  She loves to ride through the hills and trails around her home.  Her favorite horse is called Star and they go everywhere – into town for supplies, across the rolling green hills of neighboring farms, or through the deep woods.  She loves riding in the fall when the forests are aflame with red, gold, and orange leaves.  Now it is spring and tiny green leaves are just sprouting from trees.  The days are crisp and sunny; the nights cold and moonlit.

Colonel Henry Ludington

This day, April 26, 1777, starts out like any other with chores to be completed and a riot of noisy siblings to supervise and feed.  Sybil’s father, Colonel Henry Ludington, is a farmer.  He is also the commander of local militiamen and volunteers who guard the towns.  They are called “Citizen Soldiers” and they help the Colonial Army in times of need, such as battles with the British.  These 400 New York Citizen Soldiers are ordinary folk – farmers and shopkeepers and local workmen.  They do not own fancy military supplies or uniforms.  They carry old muskets used by their fathers and grandfathers. 

Evening arrives and the sun sinks below the trees.  A knock is heard on the Ludington door.  Sybil’s father, the Colonel, opens the door to find a panting and exhausted rider leaning against the doorframe.  He quickly tells the colonel that the British have invaded Danbury, 25 miles away, and the city is under attack.  They must stop the British from taking over the city and surrounding towns.

The rider and his horse are exhausted; they can go no further.  The Colonel knows he must send a new rider to warn his neighbors and rally them to Danbury’s aid.  But who to send?  He knows he must stay at his farm to command the troops and march to Danbury.  Sixteen-year-old Sybil, who has been listening to this discussion, quickly volunteers to make the dangerous ride.  Her mother argues, stating the woods at night are no place for a young girl.  Who would help her if she was knocked off her horse by a hanging tree branch or fell into a shadowy ditch?  Sybil argues that she knows the woods like the back of her hands and has never fallen from her trusty horse, Star.  She can do this – she knows she can.  Besides, her siblings are too young and they certainly aren’t as good on a horse!  The colonel thinks about it and convinces his wife to let Sybil ride.  

Sybil is ecstatic – and a little nervous, too.  She races around the house, gathering a coat and her father’s musket.  Next, she dashes to the stable and saddles Star.  The last thing she does is pick up a long, sturdy branch.  She can use it to whack on the doors of homes while saying on her horse, saving valuable time during the long, dark ride.  She has no lamp or torch; she will have to ride by moonlight and memory.

Sybil Sets Off

She jumps on Star, yells farewell to her family, and gallops away, racing across their fields into the woods beyond.  Her first stop is her neighbor.  She races into their yard.  Their lights are still on.  She bangs her stick against the door and yells the news:  The British are attacking Danbury; everyone needs to meet at her father’s farm.  And off she rides to the next house, and the next, and the next.  

The night gets colder and her fingers tingle on the reins.  She has to keep a firm grip or risk falling off Star and not completing the ride.  She has warned all her neighbors in Paterson.  She must now ride to the neighboring towns of Carmel, Mahopac, Kent Cliffs, Stormville, and Peckville.  She and Star race into more forests, following familiar dirt trails.  It is pitch dark and Star suddenly rears and whinnies.  A dark figure jumps out of the woods and demands money.  Sybil grabs her musket, heart pounding, and points the barrel at the man, telling him she will shoot if she has to.  The man can tell she is serious and darts away.  Sybil looks behind her.  She can see flames rising from Danbury and can smell smoke in the chilly night air.  She must hurry.

Sybil Spreads the News

On Sybil races with Star.  Door after door, and town after town, they spread the news that the British are here!  She rides all night, a total of 40 miles, twice the distance covered by Paul Revere in Massachusetts two years earlier!  

She arrives home at dawn, shaking and exhausted.  Scores of men have gathered at her father’s farm and marched to Danbury, driving the British back to the coast.  During the night, the British destroyed many of the town’s food, weapons, and supplies, including cots, boots, and tents.  They drank barrels of rum and set the town on fire. However, the brave militia from neighboring towns pushed the British back to the coast and stopped them from advancing any further or invading more towns.  New York is saved – and much of it is owed to 16-year-old Sybil Ludington and her courageous midnight ride.

Sybil Ludington may not be as famous as Paul Revere; however, she is just as heroic.  Many are amazed that such a young girl could ride 40 miles alone in total darkness without getting lost or hurt during a momentous invasion.  Due to Sybil’s bravery, horsemanship, and courage, she saved many towns and people that night.  

Later Life

After her famous ride, she returned to farm life, helped raise her siblings, then married and had one child Henry.  She worked on her husband’s farm and started an inn.  She passed away at 78 years old.

A statute now stands in the center of Paterson, NY, showing a teenage girl astride a charging horse, her arm raised and her ponytail flying.  Every year, Sybil’s ancestors hold a celebration at the statue to honor her historic ride.  

What do you think of Sybil and her midnight ride to save rural New York?  Can you imagine riding a horse alone for 40 miles through dark forests riddled with thieves and deserters? Today people can spread news in seconds thanks to cell phones, social media, and the web.  

Conclusion

I think this story tells us that anyone can be a hero, no matter how young or old, male or female.  Every person has worth, and skills, and value.  By doing what is right and acting in the service of others, people can achieve great things.  When you are feeling sad or unsure or afraid, think of Sybil and her midnight ride.  How can you tap into YOUR strengths and pursue YOUR midnight ride?

The post History of Sybil Ludington for Kids appeared first on Bedtime History: Podcast and Videos For Kids.

But if someone had asked a young Frederick Douglass these questions, he wouldn’t have been able to answer some of them.  Frederick was born into slavery in the early 19th century, in the state of Maryland. Not only was he considered the property of his white master, but many other things were also denied to him and his fellow enslaved workers. Frederick never knew his birthday, or exactly how old he was. He never knew his father, though there were rumors that his master was his father. He barely knew his mother: she was forced to work on a farm miles away from Frederick. She wanted so badly to see her son that, whenever she could, she would walk for miles after a long day of fieldwork to visit him late at night. Sadly, these visits stopped when Frederick was seven. He would only learn later that his mother had died.

This was how life looked for millions of enslaved people at the time. Birthdays and close family members are important parts of who we are, but slave masters didn’t want their slaves to have these connections. They didn’t want them to learn to read or write. Family, birthdays, and books might give the enslaved worker things to care about and hope for that had nothing to do with working for their master from dawn til dusk, and work was what the master wanted.

Not long after his mother passed away, Frederick’s grandmother took him to a different plantation. Once there, the master made her leave. Frederick stayed. At 8 years old, he would get a taste of what life as an enslaved worker was like. He was given two long shirts to wear, but no pants, shoes, or even a blanket. He slept on the floor, sometimes stealing a flour sack to keep warm under. He saw the grown-ups go off to the fields to work before dawn, and not return until it was dark, so tired they were ready to collapse. He saw his aunt whipped for talking to a man she liked.

But soon, Frederick’s enslaver decided he’d be of better use elsewhere. He sent Frederick to live with his relatives in Baltimore, Hugh, and Sophia Auld. There, he would live in a house and be given better clothes to wear. But this wasn’t exactly a privilege: Frederick was going there to be a servant to the Auld’s son. 

Still, for a brief time, Frederick got a glimpse of a better life. But the nice house, the big, bustling city, and the real clothes were just a small part of that better life. His new mistress, Sophia Auld, gave him something far more valuable than those things..in fact, more valuable than even she realized. She taught him to read. 

Sophia Auld did not come from a family that kept slaves. She didn’t know it was illegal to teach them to read, and maybe she didn’t realize what a powerful thing reading was. But she was delighted to see how quickly Frederick learned, and he loved his lessons. 

Hugh Auld was not so pleased. He scolded Sophia that reading would ruin Frederick as a slave. He thought, like many other slaveholders, that if slaves knew how to read they might learn about ideas that made them question slavery. They might start thinking about freedom and democracy. They might rebel or run away. 

Sadly, Sophia came around to her husband’s way of thinking. She stopped teaching Frederick. She became distant and cold. Frederick wrote later that “slavery proved as injurious to her as it did to me.” It made her less kind and less human.

Hugh Weld was right about one thing though. Reading gave Frederick power.  Like many enslaved people, Frederick had wished for freedom even before he could read. But in books, he found people who argued that he deserved freedom, who said he was just as human as any white person. He learned about people and ideas that gave him the strength to keep hoping – for his own freedom and that of all enslaved people. 

Frederick didn’t want to stop learning. He befriended white children in the streets of Baltimore. He convinced them to help him with his reading and writing. Like Sophia, they didn’t know that they weren’t supposed to. They saw Frederick as just another little boy. Many of these children were hungry and poor, so Frederick would take a little extra bread from the Auld’s kitchen to share with them. By the time he was 12, he convinced many of these children that he should be free when he grew up, just like them. They could see what the grown-ups all around them couldn’t: Frederick was a child just like them, and he deserved the same freedom they had. 

Eventually, Frederick was sent to work on Hugh’s brother’s farm. Thomas Auld was far more strict than Hugh, and he and Frederick clashed from the beginning. Frederick would sometimes let Thomas’s horse run off. He knew the horse would always wander to a particular neighbor’s house, and that neighbor would give Frederick a good meal when he went to retrieve the horse. But maybe he secretly wished that escape could be so easy for him. Thomas soon got tired of this behavior. He thought he knew how to teach Frederick to be obedient and meek. He sent him to live with a man named Edward Covey. 

Covey was the worst person yet. He wasn’t a new master, who just wanted Frederick to work and obey his orders. Covey’s job was to break slaves who weren’t behaving the way their regular masters wanted. He worked Frederick harder than any other master had, and punished him more cruelly. He whipped and beat him almost daily. But Frederick stayed strong. He never gave in, and finally, one day, he had had enough. He fought back. The two fought with each other for hours, but finally, Covey gave in. From that day on, Frederick knew he could stand up to even the worst treatment. More than that, he knew he could escape.

Frederick was sent back to the Aulds in Baltimore. He had one goal now: to free himself. To go north, where he could make his own decisions and fight for the rights of others to do the same. 

In Baltimore, he met a free black woman named Anna. The two fell in love, but Frederick didn’t want anything to get in the way of his goal of freedom. He told Anna he would marry her when he was a free man.

Finally, he found a friend who was willing to help. The friend was a free black sailor in Baltimore, and he let Frederick use his identification papers. Wearing a rumpled sailor uniform that didn’t quite fit, Frederick got on a train to Delaware, then a ship to Philadelphia and freedom. He settled in New York and sent word to Anna to join him.

Freedom for himself wasn’t enough though. Frederick knew that millions of other enslaved people still suffered – children without mothers who didn’t have enough to eat or wear; grownups who worked every moment of the day with no pay and no choices in life. He began to speak against slavery, and in August of 1841, he traveled to a meeting of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. Someone in the hot, crowded meeting hall had heard him speak before and urged Frederick to address the meeting. 

Frederick was nervous because he’d never spoken in front of such a large group. His voice shook. But soon after he began, he saw the sympathetic expressions on the faces in the audience. He told about his struggles to learn to read and about the harsh treatment he’d endured under Edward Covey. How he didn’t know his age or birthday, and never really knew his mother.

After that, Frederick joined the Anti-Slavery Society and began to tour the free states, speaking about his experience. His perspective was valuable since many in the North had not witnessed slavery up close. He wrote his autobiography, revealing the terrible things he and other enslaved people experienced every day.

None of this was safe or easy. Having his name in newspapers and pamphlets, then on a published book, meant that people in the south might realize who he was, and Frederick’s old master might send slave catchers to kidnap and bring him back. After his book came out, Frederick traveled to England. In England, all people were free. Frederick spoke to groups there about American slavery, convincing many British people to speak out against the system. Two English friends raised money to buy Frederick’s freedom. For 710 dollars and 96 cents, the Aulds officially gave Frederick the freedom he’d known all along was his right. 

Frederick returned to America as a free man in 1847. By this time, many Americans were starting to think that they would never be able to resolve their differences about slavery peacefully. Civil War broke out in 1861 between the Northern, free states, and slaveholding states in the South. Frederick knew this conflict would determine the fate of the millions of people still enslaved in America. 

Frederick was one of the most famous men in America by now. He met with President Lincoln in the White House and helped convince him to allow black men to fight in the Union army. He then recruited black men to fight, including two of his sons. He attended Lincoln’s second inauguration, and when he was turned away at the door for a reception afterward, Lincoln insisted the guards let him in. Lincoln asked Frederick his opinion of his speech, saying there was “no man in the country whose opinion I value more than yours.” Frederick told the president that it “was a sacred effort.”

Frederick lived three more decades after the civil war. He kept working to help black people get to vote, get their education, and enjoy the rights that had been denied them for so long.

Frederick was born enslaved–denied a mother, a birthday, and his freedom. He was taught to read almost by accident, and that one forbidden activity opened a world of ideas–of freedom, justice, and opportunity to him. He discovered that words were powerful. With his speeches and writing, Frederick opened the minds and hearts of masses of people, even a president, to the experiences of enslaved people. He made them see these people as people, made them care, and made them act. Frederick’s voice may have shaken at first, but it grew strong and clear and deep. And it could never be broken. 

Sources

https://www.hup.harvard.edu/features/frederick-douglass/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7716878/

https://www.nps.gov/frdo/learn/historyculture/confronting-a-president-douglass-and-lincoln.htm

Douglass, Frederick. (1845) Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave. Anti-Slavery Office, Boston. 

Pinkney, Andrea Davis. (2012) Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America. Disney, New York.

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Have you ever looked at paper money and wondered about the people whose pictures are on the bills in your country?  Most countries have images of important people from history on their coins and bills.  In America, most of the bills contain images of past presidents who did important things.  But as you know, from listening to this podcast, there are many people throughout history who have done important things that are not presidents!

This is why right now, in the United States, the government is working on plans to have the $20 bill redesigned.  The new version of the bill will have a picture of a woman that not everyone knows.  But she was an important person in American history.  Her name is Harriet Tubman.  When the bill goes into circulation, she will be the first African-American woman to be featured on American money. 

Who was Harriet Tubman?

Harriet Tubman was a human rights activist and former slave.  She fought during her lifetime for the end of slavery.  This is known as “abolition.”  She helped many people escape slavery during her lifetime.  She helped them get to freedom through a secret route called the “Underground Railroad.”  But let’s go back in time and see how she became such an amazing woman.

Birth

Harriet Tubman was born in 1820 in Maryland.  Her original name when she was born was Araminta Harriet Ross.  She had 8 brothers and sisters and her parents were slaves.  Her parents gave her the nickname “Minty” which was short for Araminta.  

Minty’s life as a child was hard because she lived in slave conditions.  A “slave” is the legal property of another person and forced to obey them.  Minty loved her family, but they were separated when she was young.  Three of her sisters were sold to a different families and moved to the south to work on cotton plantation farms.  As slaves, Minty and her family often suffered violence.  Minty was beaten as a child by her “owners” which caused her to have injuries that lasted her whole life. 

Minty was inspired by her father, who spoke out when their “owners” wanted to separate their family even further.  They were planning to sell Minty’s younger brother to a different family to work on their farm, by Minty’s dad didn’t want any more of his children sent away.  Her father resisted this and was successful.  To “resist” means to stand up against an action that you don’t believe in. Watching her father stand up for his family set a strong example that inspired Minty. 

When she was a teenager, Minty was hurt very badly.  She had been sent to the store to buy supplies for the farm and she came across a slave that had left the fields where he worked without permission.  The man’s “overseer” told Minty to help him get the runaway slave back.  She would not help.  The man threw a large weight at her and it hit her in the head.  She had headaches and trouble sleeping for the rest of her life. 

These experiences as a child and seeing how African-American people around her were treated inspired Minty to want to help end slavery as an adult. 

John Tubman

In 1844, Minty met a free black man named John Tubman.  Around that time, around half of the  African-American people in Maryland were free.  There is not much that is known about John Tubman, but Minty married him and changed her name to Harriet Tubman when she did.  The couple lived together for a number of years and were together when Harriet began her work with the Underground Railway.

Harriet Escapes!

In 1849, Harriet’s owner died.  She decided that she would escape slavery in Maryland and move to Philadelphia.  Two of her brothers, Ben and Harry, decided to come with her.  Her husband did not decide to go along.  On their way to Philadelphia, the three siblings saw a “wanted” poster with their pictures on it.  It offered a $300 reward if anyone captured and returned the three of them.  

The brothers were scared by this poster and decided to return to their owner’s plantation.  Harriet, however, refused to go back to living as a slave.  Instead, she continued heading north towards Pennsylvania.  

The Underground Railroad

Harriet travelled along a network known as the Underground Railroad.  The Underground Railroad wasn’t an actual railroad for a train, it was a path that ran from states that had slavery to states where all people were free. Harriet travelled this path for nearly 90 miles to get to Philadelphia.  She is quoted as saying, “When I found I had crossed [the line into Pennsylvania], I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person.  There was such a glory over everything; the sun came like gold through the trees, and over the fields, and I felt like I was in Heaven.”

Harriet was truly happy to be free in a free state.  But rather than remaining safely in the North, Harriet decided that it was her mission in life to rescue her family and others living in slavery back home. 

In 1850, Harriet helped much of her family make the journey to Philadelphia via the Underground Railway. This was the first of many trips that Harriet made along the route to help guide others.  

Because of her work and leadership guiding others to safety and freedom, she was given the nickname “Moses” by the people that she helped.  This was a reference to the leader in the Old Testament who led the people of Israel out of slavery. Over time Harriet was able to help guide her parents, most of her siblings and approximately 60 other people to Pennsylvania where they could live free. 

Because so many slaves had escaped, the States passed laws allowing for former slaves that had escaped their home state to be captured and returned to slavery.  So Harriet changed the route of the Underground Railroad to Canada, where slavery was not allowed.

The Civil War

Harriet continued to help others during the Civil War in America.  She worked for the Union Army as a cook and a nurse, and later as an armed scout and spy.  Harriet was the first woman to lead soldiers in the war. She led a raid at the Combahee River that liberated more than 700 slaves in South Carolina.  Liberated means freed from imprisonment or slavery.

In 1859, a Senator who was also an abolitionist sold Harriet a small piece of land in Auburn, New York. Harriet moved there after the war and got remarried and raised children there.  Much of her family came to live with her there as well. 

Even though Harriet became famous for her work to lead slaves to freedom, she did not have a lot of money.  Others who believed in her cause gave money to her to help her live and she shared this money generously with her family and others who needed help. 

When Harriet was an old woman, the head injuries she had gotten as a child became more painful.  She went to a hospital in Boston to get brain surgery to help relieve the pain and the “buzzing” that she had regularly in her ears.  Unfortunately, she because sick with pneumonia following the surgery and died in 1913. Harriet was buried with military honours at Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn.

Harriet’s Legacy

Harriet was known very far and wide while she was alive and she became an American hero and icon after she died.  An icon is a person or thing that is regarded as a symbol. Today, she continues to inspire Americans struggling for civil rights and their allies with her bravery and actions.  Because of her amazing legacy, the U.S. Treasury Department announced in April 2016 that she would replace Andrew Jackson on the new $20 bill.  She was a freed slave and a freedom fighter, and for that, she emerged as the top choice for the first American woman to appear on U.S. currency. 

From Harriet Tubman, we can learn a great deal about overcoming hardships and the impact that an individual person can have.  Harriet dedicated her life to helping others.  She believed strongly in the cause she was working for, to free slaves, and took action and worked tirelessly to bring about her dream. 

Are there injustices that you have experienced or that you can see in the world around you?  What are some ways that you can take action to make the world a better place for all and to improve the lives of those who may be suffering?

The post The History of Harriet Tubman for Kids appeared first on Bedtime History: Podcast and Videos For Kids.

Close your eyes and imagine that you are hiking through a dense jungle in Mexico.  The leaves around you are thick and wet. You use a sword to chop your way ahead. Sometimes you stumble and fall on roots or get stuck in vines that block your path. The weather is hot and humid. Your body is covered in sweat. You are thirsty and your muscles are tired and ache, but you keep moving. You keep pressing on. A long line of fellow Mexicans are hiking with you, moving quietly towards your goal. You and your fellow soldiers are determined to defeat the Spanish who rule your country. You want them to leave so you can rule it yourselves. Leading your group is a priest who has great ideas of how Mexico can be independent, can become its own country, free from Spanish rule.  You are following one of the most famous Mexican men in history: Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, also known as the “Father of Mexico.”

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Mexican Catholic priest who called for a revolution, or rebellion, against the Spanish government in 1810.  Hidalgo, as he is commonly known, is thought of as the “Father of Mexican Independence” due to his role in helping the mexican people fight against Spanish rulers. 

In 1753 Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was born near Guanajuato, Mexico.  At that time, the name of the country was not Mexico, but rather it was called “New Spain” because Europeans from Spain had settled in the area and claimed it as their own. But most of the people living in Mexico weren’t from Spain, they and their ancestors had lived there long before the Spanish arrived and conquered their lands. 

Miguel was the second son of Cristobal Hidalgo y Costilla and Ana Maria Gallaga Mandarte y Villasenor.  Miguel’s dad was an administrator, or government worker of the hacienda, or town. 

When Miguel was growing up, his family was fairly rich, so he had a good, easy life.  He was considered to be a “creole” person, which means his ancestors were Spanish.  He had loving parents and had fun with his older brother Jose Joaquin.  

When Miguel was 12, his father sent him and his brother Jose Joaquin to the city of (Vaya-dolid) Valladolid to go to school.  Miguel studied religion and after completing a lot of courses on various religious topics, or courses about God and the meaning of life, he became a Catholic priest in 1778.  

After he was a priest, Miguel Hidalgo became known as Father Hidalgo. He returned to his hometown university to teach philosophy, which means the study of how humans think, and theology, which means the study of God.  

Now that Miguel was an adult and a priest, he was able to travel and meet people.  He loved to learn and was particularly interested in European ways and thinking.  This was not the normal path for a Mexican Catholic priest in the 18th century!  Most priests stayed in their church area and spent their days praying.  But Miguel was too curious about the world and too social to stay in one place and not ask questions and learn new things. This is the best way to learn new things, be curious and ask questions! 

Even thought he was different from most priests at the time, Miguel became the rector, or leader, of the church of San Nicolas in 1790.  Unfortunately though, the other priests in the area did not like the way he behaved, so he was only in the role as rector for two years. 

Father Hidalgo moved on to lead the churches in the towns of Colima and then San Felipe Torres Mochas and later Dolores. Besides studying, he also grew grape vines and olive trees in the church gardens.  He opened a pottery-making studio, or art area, and taught himself to make pots. He had many hobbies to keep his life interesting. 

Father Hidalgo was very giving and showed compassion for poor people in the towns where he lived.  Compassion means concern for someone’s suffering. Father Hidalgo put on classes to teach poor people skills that they could use to make money, like carpentry, or woodworking, and blacksmithing, which means to make things out of iron or metal. 

Because of his interest in learning and philosophy, Father Hidalgo became very involved with the small group of educated people that lived in his town.  These educated people had gone to university and learned about politics and government and they weren’t happy with the way that Spain was controlling their country of New Spain. Remember at this time Spain controlled Mexico and didn’t let them vote or make their own decisions.  

In 1808, a new Spanish leader named Joseph was put in charge of the Spanish territories, including New Spain, where Father Hidalgo lived.  The people of New Spain did not like their new rulers, as they were mean and greedy.  He and his friends planned to remove the Spanish rulers from being in charge and get their old king, the King of Spain, released and put back in place as their leader. 

The Spanish rulers learned that there was a secret plot to take over, so Father Hidalgo and his friends had to speed up their plans. In Dolores, Father Hidalgo climbed to the top of the church where he lived and with all of his might rang the church bell.  This was the signal that their fight against their Spanish rulers had begun. Then, he went outside the church and waved a banner of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe. This was September 16, 1810 and became a famous event called the Grito de Dolores or “Cry of Dolores”. This was the beginning of the Mexican people’s fight for freedom.

Father Hidalgo’s second in command was a military captain named Ignacio Allende.  Together Father Hidalgo and Captain Allende led a group of creole and first nations men into towns and cities near where they lived.  They gathered more men in the towns and cities and slowly the size of their group grew.  With each town they moved through, the group took control of the Spanish government and replaced it with their own. 

Unfortunately as the group grew bigger, so did it’s problems.  Father Hidalgo’s goal was to take power back from the Spanish. But the group of men that became his followers grew more and more violent.  The Catholic Church was not happy about what they saw happening.  They removed Father Hidalgo from his role as priest and member of the Church.

Miguel was no longer called “Father Hidalgo” anymore, but that didn’t stop him from his mission of removing the Spanish from power in his country.  Miguel and his followers continued to move through more cities until they finally arrived at Mexico City, the biggest city in Mexico.  

There, the Spanish were ready with their army. Gunshots rang out, smoke filled the air, a battle broke out between the Spanish army and Miguel’s army. Soon Miguel and his army had to retreat or move back to safety, in a city called Guadalajara.  There, Miguel formed a new small government that declared that they were in charge.  One of the first things his government did was declare an end to slavery and promise to return lands to the Indigenous people.  These were very modern ideas for the time. 

In Guadalajara, Miguel also started a newspaper called El Despertador Americano, which means “The American Alarm Clock.”  The newspaper published stories and information about the revolution.  Revolution means a forced overthrow of the government. They were determined to become free from Spanish rule. 

In January 1811, Miguel and his men gathered at Calderon Bridge outside of the city of Guadelajara to meet a small Spanish army for a battle.  The Spanish army was well trained and well armed. Weapons were fired. The Spanish had a better army and Miguel and his soldiers had to run away.  After this loss, Miguel’s friend, Captain Allende, became the new leader of the group of rebel fighters.

But some of the survivors of the battle followed Miguel north to join a group that was setting up in what is now the American city of San Antonio.  Along the way they were captured by the Spanish army near a town called Coahuila. The group members were put on trial and were found guilty of fighting against the ruling Spanish.

Miguel and his fellow soldiers had fought bravely but did not survive to continue fighting with their fellow countrymen. But the revolution that he started continued even after he was gone.  In 1821, Mexico eventually won the war against Spain and became independent. If you live in the United States, this event was similar to Independence Day when Americans became free from British and the King’s rule.

September 16 is now celebrated as Mexico’s Independence Day, similar to the 4th of July in the United States. This is the day Mexico became its own country. Every year on this date, Mexican people celebrate their heritage and brave people like Miguel Hidalgo who fought for their freedom.  Usually the President of Mexico will do the same thing Hidalgo did, go to the church’s bell tower and ring the bell to signal the start of the war of Independence called the “Grito de Dolores” or “Cry of Dolores.”

After he died, Miguel’s remains were buried in a monument in Mexico City, now called the Angel of Independence monument.  This monument celebrates the “Father of Mexican Independence” which is Miguel Hidalgo’s nickname.  There is also a state in Mexico named after Miguel, called Hidalgo, and the town that Miguel was originally a priest at is now known as “Dolores Hidalgo.”

We can learn a lot from Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. He was very curious and was always learning. He also had many hobbies to keep life interesting. He was also very brave and risked his life to push out the Spanish rulers who controlled his country.  He was organized and a strong leader, and passionate about freedom, and because of this he had many people who followed him into battle and believed in his cause.  Because of his bravery and beliefs, Miguel is now remembered as the “Father of Mexican Independence.” 

Learning about Miguel is also a great chance to learn more about Mexico, it’s people and its culture. Mexico has a vibrant culture with delicious food, music, dancing, and artwork. Family is very important in a culture where they take care of each other and meet often to eat and enjoy time together. Mexican culture has also become a big part of American culture, seeing that over 36 million people living in the United States are of Mexican ancestry.  Be sure to look up some videos about Mexico and Mexican culture. One of our family’s favorite movies is Pixar’s “Coco.” Be sure to check it out if you haven’t yet.

Thanks for listening to this episode about Miguel Hidalgo and be sure to tune in next Monday for a new episode!

The post History of Miguel Hidalgo for Kids appeared first on Bedtime History: Podcast and Videos For Kids.

When you think of Great Britain, what do you think of? A modern country with a prime minister, democratic elections, and people from all over the world? Or maybe you think of the kings and queens who ruled for hundreds of years; or the royal family of today, with Queen Elizabeth, Prince Edward, and Prince Harry. Or maybe you think of it as your home! 

Today, we’re going to travel to Britain, but it will be the Britain of almost 2,000 years ago. This was before the kings and queens we think of as being a major part of England’s history, before the modern country with a prime minister and parliament.  We are going to meet a queen though. This queen ruled an ancient tribe called the Iceni (eye-seen-eye). She inspired her people and made great sacrifices for them when they needed it most. They needed an inspiring leader, because this was a troubling time for them. This was a time when their island was becoming part of the Roman Empire. 

But wait, isn’t Rome in Italy? Yes, it is, you don’t need to check your atlas. Although the city of Rome is in Italy, and has been for thousands of years, in ancient times, Rome was also an empire. This meant that they went out and conquered, or took over control of many areas far from their original city and surrounding region. By the first century before the common era, the Roman empire had reached Britain’s doorstep, and they didn’t plan to knock politely and ask to be let in. 

Before the Romans came along, much of England was inhabited by people called Celts (Kelts). There were many Celtic tribes with many names. They shared a similar culture and similar languages. Together, these tribes were often called the Britons, and you’ll hear me use that term as well today. Sometimes the tribes fought with each other, but they had a thriving and complex society. They worked both iron and bronze to make tools, jewelry, drinkware and other items. They worshipped their own gods, built houses and forts, farmed the land, and issued their own coins. The Iceni (eye-seen-eye) were one of these tribes. 

The Celtic people had followed this way of life for centuries, but things started to change when Julius Caesar invaded Britain in the first century BCE. At that time, Rome didn’t take over completely. They let the Celtic tribes live pretty much as they always had, but they did force many of the local rulers to pay tribute to Rome. This meant they were expected to send money or gifts to Rome, and support the Romans against their enemies. These local kings were now ruling over client kingdoms. Being a client kingdom of Rome often meant they’d eventually try to make you part of the Empire officially. Later, in the middle of the first century CE, that’s exactly what happened. The Roman Emperor Claudius conquered the southern part of Britain, and made it an official Roman province in 43 CE. 

The Roman conquest meant big changes for the Celtic tribes who lived in the area or nearby. The Romans sent a governor to run the province and set up a capital city. They brought along many new luxuries from the continent as well, such as food and drinks, glassware, and jewelry. The Romans wanted to teach the Celtic people how to live like Romans, but they also needed places for their retired soldiers to live. The Roman empire had made a promise that if you joined the military, they would give you a piece of land to farm when you completed your service. Many poor citizens thought this was a great offer. Most of the land closer to Rome, in Italy, belonged to a few very wealthy nobles, who used slaves to farm it. This left very little land for the poor to live on or farm. So part of the reason Rome conquered so many other tribes and kingdoms was to give their poorer citizens, especially soldiers, someplace where they could own land. 

There were still many independent tribes in Britain, even after Claudius set up the Roman colony. The Iceni were one, and they lived in the eastern part of England. After Claudius set up the Roman province of Britain, he let the Iceni live as a client kingdom under their own king. His name was Prasutagus. Prasutagus had a wife named Boudicca and two daughters who lived with him. The Romans allowed him to keep control over his small kingdom. When Prasutagus passed away he left his home and land to his two daughters and to Rome.

But Romans acted as though he had left it to Rome alone. They treated his widow, Boudicca (Boo-DI-kuh) and his daughters very badly, even beating them. They also took away all the land, possessions, and money he had wanted his daughters to have. 

The Roman veterans had also begun treating the local British people very poorly, stealing their land and even forcing some of them into slavery. This made them angry. When they saw how Boudicca and her daughters were being treated, they became even angrier and began to rebel.

The tribes in Briton decided to join forces. They chose Boudicca to lead them. She was a powerful woman. A later Roman historian describes her as very intelligent and strong-willed. She was tall, with fierce eyes and long hair the color of a lion’s mane. She led the Britons in an attack on the capital of Roman province, Camulodunum. The Romans thought it was very strange and inappropriate for a woman to lead an army. At first, they may have thought she couldn’t do a very good job. The Roman leader didn’t send enough troops to defeat the rebels. The governor himself was with his army in another part of England, trying to win even more new territory for Rome. 

But, having Boudicca as their commander wasn’t that unusual for the Britons. Women from the Celtic tribes often did lead soldiers in battle. This allowed the Britons to win their first victory at the Roman capital easily. Next, they went on to attack and raid the towns of Verulamium and Londinium. You might know Londinium by its modern name, London.

As the Britons continued their march, the Romans finally decided to take Boudicca’s rebellion seriously. The Romans returned to the area with an even bigger army. 

Boudicca encouraged her troops before each battle, riding among them with her two daughters in a chariot. She told them she was with them not as a queen, but as one of the people who had lost her freedom and been mistreated just like them. She told them it was better to live a simple, poor life with freedom, than to give up their freedom and have all the luxuries the Roman had brought to the island. Her plan was that they would either win their freedom, or fall trying.

Unfortunately, though Boudicca led her people valiantly, they fell trying. The Britons lost the battle with Suetonius’ army. Boudicca died alongside many of her people. Their part of Britain was now Roman. Over the next 20 years, the Romans would expand their territory in Britain almost all the way to Scotland, in the north of the island.

But although her rebellion wasn’t successful in the end, Boudicca left a legacy that people have looked to for inspiration for thousands of years. Artists and poets, especially many from Britain, have found inspiration in Boudicca’s story. Poets like Alfred Lord Tennyson and William Cowper wrote poems celebrating her story, and many artists have memorialized her in paintings and sculpture. A bronze sculpture of Boudicca stands near the Palace of Westminster in London, where the British government meets. It shows Boudicca and her daughters riding in their chariot as she rallied the soldiers. Boudicca also helped inspire women in England to fight for the right to vote in the early twentieth century. These women, called suffragists, would carry a banner with Boudicca’s name on it as they marched in the streets, demanding that they be allowed to vote.

Standing up for what you believe is right isn’t always about winning. And you don’t have to win every time in order to inspire people and make progress. Boudicca stood up not just for her family, or her tribe, but for her entire culture. She stood up for ideals like freedom and self-determination, even when it was clear that she would most likely not succeed. Standing up for what is right, even if you don’t win, is always worthwhile!

Poems:

https://www.bartleby.com/41/320.html

https://allpoetry.com/poem/8473297-Boadicea-by-Alfred-Lord-Tennyson

Sources

Cassius Dio Roman History  Bk 62 https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/roman/texts/cassius_dio/62*.html

Tacitus Annales Bk 14.29-37

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_conquest_of_Britain

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prasutagus

https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/celts

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Close your eyes and picture that you are sitting in a grand concert hall.  The year is the 1762 and the hall is a large and beautiful hall in Europe.  It is full of wealthy people dressed in beautiful and fancy clothes. On the stage is a large orchestra of musicians, playing the most beautiful music you have ever heard.

You can’t believe how beautiful the music is.  After the orchestra is finished, everyone jumps to their feet and claps with loud applause, including you.  It is a magnificent show!  Then, to your surprise, the composer of the music comes on stage.  He is a young teenager and is only twelve years old!  His name is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Wolfgang Mozart was an Austrian composer who wrote many operas, concertos, symphonies and sonatas that shaped classical music in a very significant way.  He was one of the most talented and productive musical composers of all time.  

Wolfgang was born in the year 1756.  He was very gifted and was able to play a number of different instruments from a very young age. Wolfgang’s father Leopold was a successful composer, violinist and assistant concert-master. Wolfgang’s father introduced him and his older sister Nannerl to music at an early age.  When Wolfgang was three, he watched his seven year old sister learn piano.  He started to copy her playing and at a very young age, he started to show that he understood music and could play himself.  

Wolfgang’s father started teaching both his children how to play, even though Wolfgang was so young.  However, Wolfgang and his sister practiced a lot and worked on perfecting their playing.  Wolfgang soon showed signs of excelling beyond his father’s teachings.  He wrote his first piece of music at age five and learned how to play the harpsichord, the violin, the piano, organ and the viola.

When Wolfgang was young, Europe was divided into many small city-states which were run by the wealthy aristocrats.  Aristocrats means someone who is related to the king or queen of a country and is usually rich.  The aristocrats were so wealthy that they would pay artists and musicians to entertain and inspire them and their guests. When Wolfgang was six, his father took him and his sister across Europe to play music in these different cities for the aristocrats who paid to hear them play. Wolfgang’s first show was for the court of Bavaria in Munich.  He was only six years old! 

The Mozarts travelled to many cities and played in Paris, London, the Hague and Zurich.  These trips were long and difficult. They rode in vehicles like wagons and it was very uncomfortable.  Many times Wolfgang and other members of his family became very sick.  However, there were many good things about the time that Wolfgang spent touring as a child.  During the many tours his father took him on, Wolfgang met many musicians and got to know their music.  This included Johann Christian Bach in London, who had a big influence on Wolfgang. 

When Wolfgang was thirteen, he traveled from Salzburg to Italy where he lived with his father.  On this trip, Wolfgang’s sister stayed home with their mother, as she was at the age that she was supposed to get married.  The custom of the time was that when a girl was at the age to get married, she was not allowed to perform music in public anymore.  A custom is a traditional way of doing something.

Wolfgang and his father travelled to many cities and put on many shows during their time in Italy.  They were there for two years because they were trying to build the largest audience they could for Wolfgang’s talents.  One time, when Wolfgang was in Rome, he visited the Sistine Chapel and heard a song/concert called Miserere composed by Gregorio Allegri.  He later wrote out the entire score from memory and only had to go back and make a few small edits.  A score is the written version of music.

During the time that Mozart was in Italy, he also wrote a new opera, Mitreidate, re di Ponto for the court of Milan.  It was so beautiful that other aristocrats in Italy hired Wolfgang to write other operas. He wrote two more during that trip: Ascanio in Alba (1771) and Lucio Silla (1772).  He was only a teenager at the time.

In March 1773, Mozart and his father returned home.  When they got there, Mozart was appointed assistant concertmaster of the church and he was paid a small salary.  A salary is an amount of money that someone gets paid regularly for doing a job. During this time, Mozart worked with many different types of music and wrote many amazing symphonies before he was even 21 years old. 

Even though he was successful in writing a lot of music, Mozart started feeling like he wanted to leave his hometown of Salzburg and do something greater.  He believed he could do that better somewhere else. Wolfgang traveled with his sister to Mannheim, Paris, and Munich, three large cities in Europe at the time. Unfortunately while they were on the trip, the got word that their mom had died and they returned home.

Wolfgang took on another job and continued writing a lot of music.  He also taught music and played several concerts. Around this time, Mozart met a young woman named Constanze Weber and they fell in love.  They got married and later had six children.  However, it was not a healthy time in history and only two of their children survived being babies. 

Wolfgang admired the works of other famous composers Johannes Sebastian Bach and George Frederic Handel and became obsessed with their music.  Around this time, Mozart also met another famous composer named Joseph Haydn and the two composers became friends. When Haydn visited Vienna, they sometimes performed impromptu concerts with string quartets. Between 1782 and 1785 Mozart wrote six quartets dedicated to Haydn.

Mozart was making a lot of money from his concerts and music and he was becoming even more famous throughout Europe.  He and Constanze had a very expensive lifestyle. However, because they spent so much money, they eventually found themselves poor again. Mozart decided that he wanted to get the job of court appointed musician, as it would pay him well.  However there were others that wanted this job, including his rival Antonio Salieri.

Mozart wrote two operas during this time, one called The Marriage of Figaro in 1786 and one called Don Giovanni in 1787. They were both very popular and they helped him to get the job he was seeking.  In December, 1787, Emperor Joseph II appointed Wolfgang as his “chamber composer”.

Mozart died on December 5, 1791 at age 35. He had gotten sick with rheumatic fever and did not recover.  Wolfgang died very young, even for that time period. At the time of his death, Mozart was considered one of the greatest composers of all time already. His music continues to be popular and his work has influenced many great composers that followed, most notably Beethoven.

Mozart may have been gifted, but it was his love of music and dedication to it that made him improve as a composer and musician.  Mozart’s love of music shines through his pieces, which are still loved around the world today.  

We can also learn from Mozart about the power of persistence.  He exercised persistence throughout his life and did not give up as he worked to build his fame and later to support his family through his music. 

Mozart’s life also teaches us about the importance of prudence.  Mozart became very wealthy but did not take good care of his money and so he soon found himself poor again. If you work hard to achieve something in life, make sure that you take care of it.  Be careful to save money and not spend too much so that you can enjoy your money throughout your life. 

But most importantly, Mozart demonstrates the power of loving an art form like music and dedicating your time and energy into something that you love.  Is there something that you love as much as Mozart loved music?

The post The History of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart for Kids appeared first on Bedtime History: Podcast and Videos For Kids.

The Hamilton musical was created by Lin-Manuel Miranda and inspired by the biography he read by Ron Chernow. The musical was first done as a show at Vassar College in 2013, then as an Off-Broadway show in 2015. On August 6, 2015, it had its Broadway premiere at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York City. 

As of 2021 over 2.6 million people have watched the live performance of Hamilton, its album has been played on Spotify more than 145 million times, and over 2.7 million people have watched the movie on Disney Plus. Needless to say, Hamilton has been one of the most popular musicals of all time. Whether you’ve seen the musical or not, today we’re going to learn more about the life of Alexander Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. 

Alexander was born on January 11, 1755, on the Island of Nevis, which at the time was part of the British West Indies. Actually, there is some doubt about whether his birth actually occurred in 1755 or in 1757. At 13, his father had left and his mother passed away from yellow fever, and Alexander and his brother found themselves as orphans.  

But Alexander kept going and took on his first job at an early age. He became  a clerk at a local import-export firm that traded with New York and New England. In 1969, Alexander and his brother James ahd to split up. James studied with a local carpenter while merchant Thomas Stevens gave Alexander a home. 

Even though Alexander was only a teenager, he  proved capable enough as a trader. He was left in charge of the business  for five months in 1771 while the owner was at sea. He read everything he could  and later developed an interest in writing. As he read and learned about the larger world, he wanted to leave the island where he grew up. 

In October 1772 Hamilton arrived by ship in Boston and traveled from there to New York City. He lived with Hercules Mulligan who helped Alexander sell cargo. This job helped pay for his education and living expenses.

In 1773, to prepare for college, Alexander filled gaps in his education at the Elizabethtown Academy prep school in New Jersey. It was there that he started learning from William Livingston.

Alexander entered King’s College (now known as Columbia University) in New York City in the fall of 1773 as a private student. They officially admitted him as a full student the next year. His college roommate Robert Troup spoke highly of Alexander’s intelligence. He also admired his ability to speak clearly and lead others.

Once the American Revolution began and After the first battle between American troops and the British in 1775, Alexander and other King’s College students joined a New York volunteer militia, the Hearts of Oak. A military is a small army. Hamilton studied military tactics on his own and was soon recommended for promotion. During a battle , he led a successful raid for British cannons while being fired on. Once they captured the cannons, his militia, the Hearts of Oak, became an artillery company.

On January 3, 1777, Alexander took part in the Battle of Princeton. George Washington rallied the American troops and led them in a successful charge against the British forces. After making a brief stand, the British fell back, some leaving Princeton and others taking up refuge in Nassau Hall. 

Alexander brought three cannons up and had them fire on the building. Then some Americans rushed to the front door and broke it down. The British quickly put a white flag outside one window. 194 British soldiers walked out of the building and laid down their weapons, ending the battle with an American victory.

In 1780 Alexander married Elizabeth Schuyler. Together they had eight children. Alexander eventually graduated from college in 1782. His education had been slowed down by the revolution. Later that same year he became licensed as a lawyer to argue cases before the Supreme Court of the State of New York. They appointed Alexander in July 1782 to the Congress of the Confederation as a New York representative.

Alexander quit Congress in 1783 when the British left New York. He practiced law there in partnership with Richard Harison. He specialized in defending Tories and British subjects. In 1784, he founded the Bank of New York, one of the oldest still-existing banks in America. Alexander helped restore and reopen King’s College as Columbia College. The school had been closed since 1776 and was damaged during the war. 

In 1786, at the Annapolis Convention Alexander drafted a resolution for the constitutional convention. In doing so he was one step closer to realizing his longtime desire to have a more effective, more financially independent federal government.

In 1787, while serving as a New York delegate, he met in Philadelphia with other delegates to discuss how to fix the Articles of Confederation, which were so weak that they could not keep  the Union together. During the meeting, Hamilton argued that the country would need plenty of money if it wanted to have a strong, central government that wouldn’t fall apart. 

While Alexander didn’t play a huge part in actually writing the Constitution, he is to thank for making it happen. Alexander wrote 51 of 85 essays that became known as the Federalist papers. It was these papers and Alexander’s powerful voice supporting the Constitution that helped ensure that the constitution was written in 1788.

When George Washington was elected President of the United States in 1789, he appointed Alexander as the first secretary of the treasury. The nation was facing great foreign and domestic debt because of expenses incurred during the American Revolution. Debt is when a country or individual owes someone else money.

In 1791  Alexander played a huge role in establishing the basis for the U.S. Mint. The Mint is where coins would be created for people to use. They created the Mint in Philadelphia in 1792. The Mint issued its first coins in 1795. There was a ten-dollar Gold Eagle coin, a silver dollar, and fractional money ranging from one-half to fifty cents. 

Alexander stepped down from his position as secretary of the treasury in 1795, leaving behind a far more secure U.S. economy to back a strengthened federal government. Having a strong financial system, which included its own coinage and enough money to spend was very important to the success of the new nation.

During the 1800 presidential elections, Thomas Jefferson, Democratic-Republican, and John Adams, a Federalist, were running for President after George Washington stepped down. . Presidents and vice presidents were voted for separately, and Aaron Burr, intended to be Jefferson’s vice president on the Democratic-Republican ticket, actually tied Thomas Jefferson for the presidency.

Alexander didn’t love either candidate, but went with Thomas Jefferson and this led to him beating Aaron Burr as the candidate for the Democratic-Republican Party. As a result, Aaron Burr would be vice president.

During his first term, Thomas Jefferson often left Aaron Burr out of discussions on party decisions. When Thomas Jefferson ran for re-election in 1804, he removed Aaron Burr from his ticket. Aaron Burr then decided to run for governor of New York but lost. 

Frustrated and feeling left out, Aaron Burr became very angry  when he read in a newspaper that Hamilton had called him “the most unfit and dangerous man of the community.” Aaron Burr was convinced Alexander had ruined yet another election for him and demanded an explanation. 

When Alexander refused, Aaron Burr, even angrier, challenged him to a duel. Alexander accepted, though not happy about it, because he believed that in doing so he would assure his “ability to be in the future more useful.”

Alexander met Aaron Burr at the duel which began at dawn on July 11, 1804, in New Jersey. When both men drew their guns and shot, Alexander was severely wounded, but his bullet missed Aaron Burr. 

Alexander, injured, was brought back to New York City, where he died the next day, on July 12, 1804. His grave is in the cemetery of Trinity Church in downtown Manhattan, New York City. His wife, Elizabeth, went on to survive him by 50 years and spent much of her time researching his life and writing about his legacy to share with others. She also founded an orphanage in memory of Alexander who was an orphan himself.

Alexander’s life didn’t start off easy at all. As an orphan in the West Indies, he often had to fend for himself. But instead of giving up, he found work and learned a new trade and did what he could to stay alive. He also found that by reading he could become smarter and figure out ways to solve his problems. Like Alexander, sometimes life throws challenges at us, and we can learn from his example by instead of giving up and shutting down, by stepping back and looking at our problem, learning something new, and then taking action to make our life better. 

Alexander was also always looking at ways he could improve the world around him. During the revolution he saw that America could become something better than it was. He fought in the war and then using everything he had read began to research ways to make the new country stronger. By reading we can better understand the world around us. Alexander wanted more than anything a better future for his children and the people of the new nation. Think about your community and what you might do to make it a better place.

Finally, Alexander will be remembered for the ideas he wrote in the Federalist Papers, which people all over the world have read in designing their own governments. If you get a chance, read some of the ideas he shared there. 

Thanks for listening to this episode about Alexander Hamilton and be sure to tune in next Monday for an episode about the creator of the musical, Lin Manuel Miranda.

The post History of Alexander Hamilton for Kids appeared first on Bedtime History: Podcast and Videos For Kids.

Have you heard ever heard of a country called India? India is between China and the Middle East and much of it is surrounded by the Indian Ocean. India is home to one of the world’s oldest civilizations and for many years was one of the richest countries in the world. Over one billion people live in India. It has more people than any other country in the world, second only to China. 

In the 1800s the British Empire ruled many countries of the world including America. During the American Revolution the Patriots fought off the British King and his soldiers and became their own free country. At the time of our story the British Empire was still in control of India. This is the story of how India came to be free and the man who helped make it happen.

In 1869 in the city of Porbander, India a boy named Mahandas Ghandi was born in a small home to a simple family. The Ghandis were good people. The father was a leader in the city and his mother was a very religious woman. She taught her children to pray and read scriptures such as the Bhagavad Gita, the Vegas, and some texts from the Bible and Quaran. The Ghandis were Hindu, so they didn’t drinking wine or eat meat. Ghandi’s mother also taught the family to fast — which means going without food for a certain period of time. She believed it gave them strength and self control. 

When Mahandas was little he was very playful and sometimes liked to cause trouble. Often he would chase down dogs and twist their ears. He also loved to listen to classic Indian stories, such as the stories of Shravan and Harischandra, which were epic tales about virtue and adventure. These stories taught good principles and helped Mahandas want to be a good person.

At age nine Mahandas started school and there learned math, history, language and geography. He was just an okay student and pretty shy and had trouble speaking. This made him very nervous when he had to speak in front of his class, but he did like books and learning.

At this time in India people got married very young. Mahandas was 13 when he married a girl named Kasturba. When Kasturba was 17 they had their first baby, but sadly she didn’t live very long. This same year Mahandas also lost his father, so it was a very hard time for him. But later Mahandas and Kasturba had four more children, so it made them happy to be parents.

Next Ghandi decided to travel to London, the capital of the British Empire, to go to college to become a lawyer. A lawyer is someone who helps others work with the law, the rules that keep a country in order. Ghandi’s parents were worried while he was there he wouldn’t live his religion, that he would eat meat and drink alcohol and do other things they didn’t approve of. But when he left he promised them he would stay faithful no matter what. And Ghandi did live up to his word, he stayed strong in his Hindu religion while he was away from home. This is called commitment and dedication to something you believe in.

Ghandi learned a lot about the English people while he was in London. He had always been shy and at first school was difficult, but instead of giving up he joined a group that taught him how to speak louder and more clearly and with lots of practice he became a very good speaker.

After finishing college, Ghandi got a job working for a shipping company in South Africa. At this time the British Empire also ruled South Africa. In South Africa Ghandi was treated badly by the English because he was from India. Once when he was on a train they didn’t let him sit with other people. They picked him up and threw him off the train. Ghandi was so upset by this he refused to leave the train station until they let him on the next train. This is called a protest. Finally, they let Ghandi back on the train. Many times Ghandi was treated badly because he was from India. He started to think England shouldn’t be in control of India anymore. 

When Ghandi moved back to India and he was determined to do everything he could to make India a free country. He began speaking and writing about what the India people needed to do to become free. But Ghandi was a peaceful person and didn’t believe in hurting others to become free. Instead they would peacefully protest and use civil disobedience — which means finding other ways to make your point other than violence. 

One thing England did to control India was tax the things they bought, this meant charging extra for food and clothes and keeping the money. So instead of buying clothes and salt from England, Ghandi decided to make his own clothes and salt. He learned how to make his own clothes and started wearing them. Thousands of other India people started doing the same. This made the British upset, because they were losing money. To make his own salt, Ghandi began a journey to the ocean. He walked over 200 miles to make salt in the ocean. People all over India followed him and did the same. All across the world people saw what Ghandi and the India people were doing and sympathized with them. Ghandi was put in jail many times for his actions. He would go without eating until they would set him free. What Ghandi was doing was very difficult, but he was sacrificing his owns desires for the country and people he loved.

Sometimes the Indian people wanted to use guns and weapons to fight the British leaders, but Ghandi continually taught that this was the wrong way. He used scriptures of many different religions to show that peace was a better way. When his people did start to fight Ghandi would go without eating for many days until they stopped. The people often stopped because they loved Ghandi and didn’t want him to be hungry.

Eventually, England let India become free. The amazing part of this story is that it came about without a big war and lots of people dying. This was truly a miracle and Ghandi showed the world that freedom can come about through peaceful ways. The Indian people and Ghandi celebrated. They were so happy to be in control of their own country. The time after this was very challenging as they figured out how to be on their own, but it gave them a chance to make their own choices and be a free people.

Not long after India became free Ghandi passed away, but his mission was complete and the Indian people and people all across the world will remember him as someone who loved his people and gave his life for them.

In life it’s easy to focus on yourself and what makes you happy. Its natural for us to want to take care of ourselves, which is important to some degree. But giving of ourselves to help others is also very important. It’s important to share and to think about what makes others happy. Spend some time thinking about what makes others happy and then do something about it. Next time you have a treat think about how happy it will make others to taste it, too. If you are playing with a toy, think about how your brother or sister or friend might enjoy playing with it. 

Ghandi believed in being peaceful. Next time someone wants to fight with you or argue, think about a more peaceful way you can deal with the problem. You never know, in the end someone who you think is an enemy might become a friend.

The post History of Mahatma Gandhi for Kids appeared first on Bedtime History: Podcast and Videos For Kids.

Have you heard of a Founding Father before? A Founding Father is someone who helped start the United States of America. Benjamin Franklin was a Founding Father. Some have also called him the First American, because he had so many of the traits that would become known as American, such as hard work and independence. Independence is when you do something for yourself. 

Ben Franklin was born in Boston Massachusetts to a very large family. He had 17 brothers and sisters! His family didn’t have very much money so he only went to school for 2 years. But he did spend a lot of time reading on his own. He also learned to write and enjoyed doing it.

When he was young he worked for his older brother who was a printer. A printer would print newspapers and books for other people. Printing was important, because it was the best way to share an idea at that time. Printers would use little metal letters and build entire pages of words and sentences, then use black ink to make copies of the metal letters. Because Ben was working for his older brother he was called an “apprentice.” An apprentice is someone who is learning to become a master at a certain skill like printing. 

While Ben was working as a printer he also liked to write for the newspaper. He would use a fake name Silence Dogood to write in the newspaper. He pretended to be an old lady and wrote funny jokes. Many people in the town thought this was very funny and didn’t know it was Ben writing the jokes. 

After a few years Ben left his brother’s shop and started working for a new printer. His job was to set the metal letters in the big printing machine. He was also a clerk, a shopkeeper and a bookkeeper. He liked to stay busy and to learn all he could while he was working.

Around this time, when he was 20 years old, Ben formed a group including other Americans who also liked to read. Books cost a lot of money to buy, and there were no libraries, so Ben and his friends started their own library. They shared the books they read and met together to talk about what they read. Later in his life Ben would help start some of the first libraries in America because he knew reading and learning were so important.

After working for other printers for many years, Ben started his own printing shop. He wrote about his own ideas and used parts of the paper to talk about good morals. Morals are the things that are good to do in life — like being honest, being kind, not stealing and working hard. Ben made lists of what he wanted to do better each day then at the end of the day checked the boxes on what he did good at and made note of what he needed to do better. He believed improving each day was very important.

Ben was very interested in science and invention. He studied electricity. At the time no one had electricity, which means they had no lights or electronics like we do today. Ben saw lightning during a storm and guessed that it must be electricity. Sometimes when lightning hit tall buildings it started fires. Ben had the idea to put a metal pole on the top of buildings, so when the lightning struck the pole it would go into the ground instead of start fires. This invention was called a lightning rod. Many people think that Ben used a kite to discover lightning was electricity, but he really just wrote about the idea and someone else tried it.

Ben also invented a certain type of eye glasses called bifocals, which allowed someone to see differently depending on the part of the glasses they were looking through.

Ben also liked to play chess. He also created the first Fire Department and helped start some of the first universities in the United States.

Because of his newspapers and his inventions and other achievements Ben Franklin became very well known in America and across the ocean in Europe. When many Americans disagreed with England about taxes, Ben was on the side of the Americans who wanted change. He wrote about his ideas and even helped Thomas Jefferson write the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence was a paper they wrote to tell England they wanted to be their own country and to be free.

A war began between America and England, so Ben took a ship across the ocean to ask for France’s help. The French people loved Ben Franklin. He liked to wear a fur hat and talk about science and his inventions. They thought he was interesting and fun to talk to. France ended up helping America fight and later win the war against England. 

In his new country, Ben helped put together the first Constitution. The Constitution was a list of laws to help the country stay together and work well. To the end of his life Ben did all he could to help make America a strong country. 

Earlier we talked about some of the morals, good things we should do, that Ben wrote about in his paper. Ben wasn’t a perfect person, like all of us, but he wanted to do good things. 

He wrote about temperance. Temperance is not doing too much of something such as eating. We need good food for our bodies, but too much of it isn’t always a good thing. We can usually tell by how our stomachs feel when we are eating.

He also taught about silence. Sometimes it’s good to speak up, but other times it’s better to listen and think about what we should say. If we don’t think before we speak, we often say things we don’t really mean.

Order means to think about what we are doing and have a plan. We shouldn’t spend all our time doing the same thing, but giving the right amount of time to each good thing.

Frugality means to be careful with the money that you have. It’s easy to want to spend all of your money, but it’s better to spend money on what you need and to save some. It’s ok to spend some of your money on fun things, but not all of it.

Industry means to stay busy doing useful things. Each day we can make a plan of what we want to do and then get to work. Having fun is good in its own time, but we should also spend time learning, helping others, and getting chores and other things done.

Justice means treating others well and doing our best to make things fair.

Cleanliness means we should take care of our bodies by keeping them cleaning, bathing each day, and brushing our teeth.

Like Ben, we can do our best to live by these teachings each day. You could even keep track of your goals like Ben did in his journals and checklists. You can also read and learn and come up with new ideas that will help other people like Ben’s lightning rod. You can also be courageous and stand up for good things like Ben did during the Revolution. 

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