TAH Teachers and Students Welcome New Citizens; See Declaration of Independence
On Tuesday, September 17, school groups and other visitors from across the Lowcountry gathered at the Charles Pinckney National Historic Site to witness its fifth annual naturalization ceremony. This year, 189 people from 42 countries became America's newest citizens. The program this year was particularly special, as an original copy of the Declaration of Independence was on site for the day. The event brought a record-breaking 3,000 visitors to the park that day.
Among the school groups present for the event were several teachers that participated in the South Carolina Teaching American History Project. Many of our project's Lowcountry teachers heard about the event while visiting the Charles Pinckney Site during the 2002 Summer Institutes. TAH Teachers from the following schools brought their students here to experience this once-in-a-lifetime event: Robin Boehler (Knightsville Elementary); Tracy Cali, Dee Prillaman, and Margaret Wehman (each of Newington Elementary); and Jean Kablick, Jean Mullis, and Bob Myers (each of Whitesides Elementary).
Charles Pinckney National Historic Site preserves the last 28 acres of Snee Farm, a plantation that was once owned by Charles Pinckney, a principal framer and signer of the United States Constitution. This event, which is held every year on Constitution Day, brought together the Declaration of Independence and the U. S. Constitution, two documents that form the root of the American nation.
The Honorable Chip Campsen, South Carolina State Representative, served as keynote speaker for the event. U.S. District Judge Michael Patrick Duffy administered the oath. The Citadel Color Guard and Pipe Band, Belle Hall Elementary School Choir, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Friends of Historic Snee Farm, the American Legion, the Town of Mount Pleasant, the Declaration of Independence Road Trip and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., all contributed to the success of this event. The Declaration of Independence came to the Pinckney site as part of the Declaration of Independence Road Trip, a three-year long traveling exhibit. After purchasing a rare original copy of the Declaration, producer Norman Lear founded a non-profit, nonpartisan project to bring the Declaration of Independence to the American public. The document began its journey through in Charleston on September 11,2002. For more information on the Declaration of Independence Road Trip, visit http://www.independenceroadtrip.org. More information about Charles Pinckney National Historic Site can be found at http://www.nps.gov/chpi.