Introduction

Our lives are filled with important things. Some are physical beings, like our mothers, cousins, or grandfathers. Others are physical objects, like a bicycle or a necklace. Other things that we consider important, like our dreams, our faith, and our hopes for the future, cannot be seen. When someone tries to take something important away from us, we have to decide if it’s worth fighting for. We have to consider our actions and their consequences. In this lesson, you will learn about people who risked their lives to fight for freedom.

Powerful Days in Black and White (http://www.kodak.com/US/en/corp/features/moore/aboutCharlesMoore.shtml)
Bunker Hill (http://www.masshist.org/bh/accounts.html)

Start with “Powerful Days” by clicking on the link under it. Read about the photographer Charles Moore, and then, at the top of the page, click on the “Main” link. Read the words around the images. Click on a word to be connected with pictures. Look at the pictures and read their captions for an overview of the civil rights struggle during the 1950s and 60s. Next, click on the Bunker Hill link to learn about a famous battle during the American Revolution, called the Battle of Bunker Hill. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BATTLE_OF_BUNKER_HILL). After you’ve read about the battle, click on the Bunker Hill link at the top of this page. You will connect to a page with ten personal letters, written by real people at the battle. Click on the number next to each letter, read the letter description, and then click on the “Text” link to read the actual letter. If the letter has more than one page, click on the arrow button at the bottom of the page.

After you’ve explored both websites, reflect on one of them by writing a short journal entry. Write about the thoughts you had while reading, any connections you made with the people on the sites, and whether you think their cause was worth fighting for.

1.	Sample journal entry As I read the letters written by the people who experienced the Battle of Bunker Hill, I could not believe the hardships they had to deal with. The British army was clearly very “mighty,” as one man put it, and the American army did not have enough supplies. It took a very long time for letters to get from one person to another. One soldier wrote that he didn’t even know if his letter would arrive at all. A few of the letters mentioned friends who had died and the fear the soldiers felt. Yet men still signed up to fight for their country. They thought fighting for independence was worth losing their lives. After reading the letters, it is hard for me to think of a cause that I feel that strongly about. I suppose anything that involves my family or a close friend being harmed is worth fighting for. I know this isn’t as big as fighting for liberty and freedom, but the important people in my life are worth fighting for.