Post #8 Union Station

Shopping and Eating!


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Shopping

Museum Shops
















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Planetarium Store

This store is in the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum. The store was really cute and friendly. Sadly the store sold manly things for children and it was also overpriced. I would recommend going here if you only plan on buying a T-shirt with the logo of the museum. Everything else is overpriced

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Supreme Court Gift Shop

The store is located in the Supreme Court. It is ran by the Supreme Court Historical Society. The store manly has items that relate to history and law. If you are interested in books and are willing to pay a few extra bucks, then drop I recommend you dropping by.

Food

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Clyde's
There restaurant was really pretty and looks like a scene right out of a movie. You feel like you are about to have one of the most important moments in your life while sitting there ordering. The prices are about average for a restaurant in D.C. The restaurant could get packed, so I recommend reserving tables if you plan on going there. I would have to recommend the crab cake sandwich and everything else on the menu. Also if you over 21, there is a beautiful bar that will serve you with admiration.

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Post #7 Springtime with Cherry Blossoms

Advice

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If this were an actual field trip I would give you this advice: Be prepared for lots of walking and dress comfortably. Make sure you do not wear a belt or shoes with large buckles. Do not pack a lunch for the day. Why?

Dressing up may look nice for photos, but it won't help you in the long run when you are walking the down National Mall. Almost all the destinations that you would want to go to in D.C are close together. It is best to just walk instead of paying money to use a bus, etc. Wearing comfortable clothes lets you enjoy the monuments and museums with ease. Wearing a belt or large shoes with buckles could be annoying considering how all the monuments have a lot of security. You will have to take off the belt and/or shoes every time, which becomes a hassle. Be smart and stay away from them!

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Who are the senators for your state? Who is the representative for your district? If you were to meet them where would you find them and how would you set up that appointment? 

The senators for California are Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein. The representative for my district is Jim Beall. If i wanted to met them, I would have to set up an appointment online on their website and hope it gets approved


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What types of security will you need to be prepared for? Why?

. There will be a lot of security which includes metal detectors and taking off certain articles of clothing over and over again. The security reasons are similar to why there is airport security. They want to stop terrorism before it happens.

Post #6 The United States Capital Building

Thomas Jefferson

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Thomas Jefferson wrote the declaration of independence and the Statue of Virginia for Religious Freedom. He was the third president of the United States. Thomas Jefferson played a big roll in creating our government by writing those documents

Sir William Blackstone

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Sir William Blackstone was a professor of law at Oxford. He was an author of many many books. One of the most notable ones was Commentaries on the Laws of England. It had a lot of influence on the common laws in America. Someone who had such a big influence on the laws of the United States deserves to be recognized.

George Mason

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George Mason was an American political leader. He made an early draft of the Virginia Constitution and Declaration of Rights. He was also part of the constitutional convention of 1787. He was one of the people who led the change of the constitution until they added the Bill of Rights. Similar to Thomas Jefferson, he helped write the draft for the Declaration of Rights which was a big part in U.S history.

Architecture

Statue Of Liberty

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Statue of Liberty
The statue is located on Liberty Island in Manhattan, New York. This statue represents liberty and all of the people that came over and saw the statue as a sign of hope and freedom. The chains on the feet of the statue represented "breaking of chain and becoming free." The torch she is holding is a symbol of enlightenment and the path to liberty.

Freedom From Want


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Painted by Norman Rockwell in 1943, the painting was inspired by one of Frank Delano Roosevelt's speeches. There are three other paintings making a total of four and they are called the four freedoms. The other ones are called freedom of expression, freedom of worship, and freedom from fear. The united states back then pushed really hard to get these freedoms. Which is why I chose this painting.

Post #5 Overview of Several Monuments

Albert Einstein Memorial

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Who: The statue was made for Albert Einstein by Robert Berks
When: They showed the statue in 1979
Where: Located in central D.C by a grove of trees. It is near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and National Academy of Sciences. 2101 Constitution Avenue N.W
What: There are 2,700 metal studs that represent astronomical objects. There is a three step bench and the statue weights around 4 tons and stands at 12 feet.
How: I have a Albert Einstein poster in my office area with a few of his quotes. It is pretty cool to see a statue dedicated to him. The work put into putting in the 2,700 metal studs to represent the Universe is quite amazing. Having a bunch of different ones to represent different things.

Washington Monument

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Who: There was a competition and the winner was Robert Mills,
When: Construction started in 1848 and it stopped in 1854. A few years later on 1877 they started again and finally completed it in 1884.
Where: It is located on 215th St NW, Washington DC 20007. It is on the national mall
What: The monument was a lot different compared to the blue prints. The building can be seen from far away and looks magnificent from every angle
How: I loved looking at the building. It was like looking at a scene right out of a movie. It reminded me of one of my favorite movies, Forrest Gump. In the movie there is a scene where the main character's lover named Jenny runs through the pond in front of the monument to get to Forrest Gump.

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Abraham Lincoln Memorial

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Who: The Piccirilli brothers and Chester French made the amazing figure. The figure is dedicated to Abraham Lincoln
When: The figure took eight years to make, 1914-1922
Where: It is located in Lincoln Memorial on the national mall.
What: The statue weights about 170 tons and stands at 30 feet tall
How: The statue is a lot bigger in person compared to the pictures. 30 feet tall is around the same height as three basketball courts! I have never felt so small.

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Post #4 The Supreme Law of The Land

The Supreme Court

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How does the Supreme Court work?

Every year they are given many cases and they only choose a few to look at. The applications are called petitions for writs of certiorari. Then when the supreme court picks out a case it is known as granting certiorari. The cases chosen usually about conflicts of law, politically or socially important, or fall within a justice's favorite area of law. After hearing a case, the nine justices vote on what to do with the case. After the senior justice in the majority is given the task to write up a majority opinion. The opinions are usually written by Supreme Court Clerks from Ivy League law schools. 

Supreme Court Architecture

1.  The front door has many portraits with many different events from history

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2.  There are many sculptures and portraits of many great past figures. Many of them have been involved in politics that helped shaped the government we have today.
3.  In the courthouse there are two figures that are next to each other. I believe they are representing Separation of Powers.

Favorites

1. I love the hallways inside the building. I just want to walk across them and think about all the people that did the same

2. The courthouse is another favorite because I can imagine myself getting shivers just from being in it. There have been so many cases of all types of magnitude that went down there.

3. Lastly I just love the whole entire building. It reminds me of structures from Rome and it looks like a lot of effort has been put into the buildings.


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Post #3 Come.Explore,Enjoy,Your National Archives Experience - Democracy Starts Now

Declaration Of Independence

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What do they look like?
The Declaration looks like a really old document that was skillfully written by someone who has nice handwriting.

Where were they housed?

The Declaration is located in the National Archives

Why are they important?

It was the document that officially declared the United States independence from Britain. It was the first time American Colonist sent a letter to the king. It pretty much was one of the stepping stones that established the country of America. Also every year we celebrate the event on the 4th of July!

Constitution of the United States

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What do they look like?
The constitution looks just as fancy but not as yellow. It is probably not as yellow because of the different environments

Where are they housed? 

The Constitution is also held in the National Archives building

Why are they important?

The constitution is important because it is considered the document that founded the U.S government. The constitution also list all of our rights as citizens. The document is so well made that we still use it to this day over 200 years later. The document also protects us from each other, our government, wrongful prosecution, right to bear arms, speech, and freedom of religion. It is a document that effects all of our lives every single day

Post #2 The White House - The Home of Presidents

Why do you think our founding fathers felt it was important to build such an impressive home for our presidents?
The President and his/her family deserve to live in the most elegant house in the country. Having such an impressive building shows the rest of the world that we are people capable of great things.

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Business Letter

4046 Chamberer Drive

San Jose, CA 95135

December 16, 2013

Zoe Lofgren

635 N. First Street

San Jose, CA 95112

Dear Ms. Lofgren:

 I am a high school student that really wants to be given the chance to visit Washington D.C. I have always seen the landmarks and certain parts of the White House in movies and it would be an honor to be able to see it. 

One of the places I always wanted to walk across is the Entrance Hall and Cross Hall in the White House. Being able to walk on red carpet and imagine all of the great people that walked on the same carpet as me would be a dream come true. 

The Rose and Kennedy Gardens are also worth mentioning. To be able to see where many presidents have done speeches that have been show on T.V and to see the beautiful flowers and bushes would be amazing. 

To finish it off I would like to be able to walk out of the North Portico. The entrance hall for the President's family and visitors. 

All in all I am really hoping to be given the chance to visit Washington D.C. There are many things I left out that would also be a delight to see, but there were so many that I would be too old for the trip by the time I talk about all of them.

Sincerely,

Timothy Do

Student at Evergreen Valley High School

Post #1 Activate Prior Knowledge

The knowledge I already know

Who?

The president of the United States lives and works there at the White House. The white house probably also has many workers that come through every day and cleaners/cookers that live there. For security, they probably have members of the secret services there day and night.

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What?

Washington D.C is the capitol of the United States. It is not part of any state. It holds the three branches of federal government, Congress, President, and Supreme Court

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When? Where? Why?

Washington D.C was made in the 1790 and it is located in the East Coast. Washington D.C is using Maryland and Virginia's land that they donated. It was created to serve as the national capital 

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How?

I hope to learn a lot and to also just have a good time. I have never been to the east coast and this should give me a good dose of it.

Expectations

I plan on visiting all the landmarks that I can. I want to visit the White House, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and a few museums. I hope to get a good understanding of our government and history from this trip.