Women, you got the power; and you can make a difference...and I know that you will.c3

August 18, 2016

What a great day to celebrate this wonderful moment in our history. Women now that you have the power to vote in every state in the Union take advantage and go out and cast your vote in Florida on August 30, 2016 and again November 8, 2016 because "You Got The Power" to make a difference.

Full Text of the 19th Amendment
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Synopsis:
The Constitution has never prohibited women from voting and for many years before the adoption of this amendment women did vote in several states. The 19th amendment established a uniform rule for all states to follow in guaranteeing women this right.
Explanation:
The states ratified the 19th Amendment in 1920 after a long campaign by advocates, who achieved limited success changing state laws. The women’s suffrage movement started in the era of the Andrew Jackson administration.
In 1838, Kentucky authorized women to vote in school elections and its reforms were later copied by other states. The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 in upstate New York played a pivotal role in bringing to public consciousness the right of women to vote. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott appealed to like-minded men and women to discuss female inequality in social and political spheres.
The first significant victory for suffrage advocates was in 1869, when the Wyoming Territory granted women voting rights on an equal basis with men and continued the practice following its admission to statehood.
In 1890, the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was formed from two competing suffrage groups, led first by Susan B. Anthony and then Carrie Chapman Catt. While helping to consolidate efforts and reduce rivalry within the movement, suffrage still focused on individual states to pass laws allowing women full voting rights.
But by 1914, just 10 states had joined Wyoming and other legal efforts failed. However, the push toward national Prohibition helped the women’s suffrage cause, and the two issues became linked together as prospective constitutional amendments.
In 1913, the day before Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration as President in Washington, D.C., Alice Paul and Lucy Burns organized a parade promoting votes for women. National media attention focused on the 5,000 participating women and brought the issue in front of the country.
Paul and Burns formed the Congressional Union, later the National Woman’s Party, a group whose mission was to get Congress to pass a women’s voting bill. They tried (and failed) in the 1916 elections to leverage the voting power of women in western states that already had female enfranchisement.
In 1919, the necessary votes in the Senate finally solidified. The final obstacle was getting three-fourths of the states to ratify the amendment. By mid-1920, 35 states had approved and Tennessee’s ratification ensured that the 19^th Amendment was added to the Constitution, ensuring that American citizens could no longer be denied the right to vote because of their sex.


Thanks Cory Vasek for sharing and very special thanks to The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia for providing and inspiring others the opportunity to learn more about the Constitution.

Joseph

Did you know...

June 19, 2016

I have not done one of the facts of history in a long time. You will note that a very important moment in our history happened on June 17, 2016.

Please check out this link below for another important fact and "Do You Know"

This week marks the 150th anniversary of the 14th Amendment in the United States, which was born out of struggles to rebuild the country following the Civil War.

While approximately 4 million formerly enslaved black people were freed, the battle to define that freedom had just begun. It would last from 1865-1877 and is known as the "Reconstruction Era."


Please check out this link below provided by my dear friend Cory to help the educators and citizens to have yet another resource to help learn more about the 14th Amendment.

"http://facingtoday.facinghistory.org/three-reasons-you-should-celebrate-the-14th-amendment"

You can go directly to "Facing Today: A Facing History Blog and read the story "Three Reasons You Should Celebrate the 14th Amendment posted by Jeremy Nesoff on June 17, 2016; or you wait until I return from church and hear the rest of the story.

Thanks for viewing my blog today and celebrating with me the 150th Anniversary of the struggles to rebuild our country after the Civil War.

Joseph

Today is a great day because...

June 11, 2016

Today is truly a great day! I had a goal that forty (40) Counties/School Districts would be fully supportive with Constitution booklets by June 10, 2016.

Well my fellow friends and supporters, I am very happy to report on this day June 11, 2016 we do indeed have 40 Counties/School Districts fully with Constitution booklets.

The story actually does not stop here but rather gets more exciting by the moment.

I would like to give a very big shout out to Robert and Ellis Naegele for making that possible. Their contribution of $250.00 provided for 250 more fifth grade students in Florida to receive Constitution booklets; thus, at the same time allowed us to reach 40 out of 67 Counties/School Districts with booklets.

Please stay tune for more important update on this year journey with the Constitution project.

Speaker pro tempore Matt Hudson did a superb job yesterday at the WRC Luncheon because during one of his questions he took the opportunity to acknowledge the things we have and are doing with promoting the Constitution project and getting those Constitution booklets to our youth of Florida.

What a great day to wrap up June 10, 2016 and share this wonderful news with you.

Our goal for the 2016-2017 School Year is to have the entire 67 Counties/School Districts filled with Constitution booklets for their fifth/seventh grade students.

We are indeed off to a great start and thanks to all you for making these achievements possible.

Joseph

My New Way to Have Students Express Their Understanding...

May 7, 2016

This week as I was having a great time with my dear friend Janet some wonderful things happened.

One of those things, I would like to share with you in my blog below:

I had the opportunity to meet my great friend Janet Caruthers on Thursday, May 5, 2016; and she gave me so many great ideas for my 27 - 67 Constitution project. I now have a great way to use Open Ended Statements and making sure my students clearly understand those words in the United States Constitution. I will be sharing with you some of those things in the next few days. I have started revision on my 27 - 67 Constitution with not just questions but rather 27 statements where the students can still find the answers and read the section the answer comes from which will allow them to retain that information much longer.

 

An example, you may be aware that the 19th Amendment deals with rights for women. Instead of just asking the question as I have in my present 27 - 67 Constitution booklets; because of the couple of hours with Janet, I now have tried this example and using the same information but now the student is not guessing but rather must know for sure. "The Nineteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution gives ________ the right to __________. Now there is no doubt that the student knows the answer and even better the student now understand that he/she can reference page 23 of the 27 - 67 Constitution booklet and find the following, "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

 

My Open Ended Statements will of course be grade level understanding.. I believe that from 5th - 7th grade this would be an understandable Open Ended Statement and for 8th grade and above this statement could be written at a much higher level which I will be doing this week.

 

Please give me any feedback that you can provide before I go final with this method. Thanks Janet for taking your time with me this week. I will see you on Thursday when I come to Tampa.

 

Joseph L. Cofield

Happy Birthday...

May 7, 2016

Did you know, that the 27th Amendment or final amendment added to our Constitution actually was submitted by Congress to the States as part of the proposed Bill of Rights on September 25, 1789?

The amendment was not accepted as part of the Bill of Rights which was ratified on December 15, 1791.

However, The Twenty-Seventh Amendment was ratified on May 7, 1992 by the vote of Michigan.

Now because of my good friend Cory, you can now read the rest of the story below:

Source: Mokra (Stock Exchange).

Today we celebrate the 24th anniversary of the 27th Amendment (ratified May 7, 1992). Here’s what you need to know:

WHAT IT DOES

The 27th Amendment makes sure that members of Congress can’t vote for their own pay raises (or pay cuts)–any change in compensation won’t take effect until the next election.

WHY IT WAS ADDED

The 27th Amendment, which is the most recent addition to the Constitution, was actually among the amendments that James Madison proposed in 1789. Ten of those amendments were approved and became known as the Bill of Rights, but this one languished for another 203 years, making it the longest ratification process in U.S. history.
So what revived Madison’s original vision? In 1982, Gregory Watson, a 20-year-old college student at the University of Texas, Austin, wrote a paper on Madison’s unratified proposal. He launched a letter-writing campaign and within a decade, in large part thanks to his efforts, what would have been the Second Amendment was passed as the 27th Amendment.

WORD-FOR-WORD

No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.

Thanks Cory, you have motivated me to get back on my blog today.

Joseph

Great Opportunity to Honor or Dedicate...

April 24, 2016

Here you will find an opportunity that you will not want to miss. Your can purchase a flag for only $50.00 and have it flown from Memorial Day to Flag Day at the Freedom Memorial until Flag Day (May 30 - June 14, 2016)

Below is the information about this wonderful program:

One of the greatest weeks of my life...

April 24, 2016

The week of April 17-23, 2016 was perhaps one of the greatest weeks of my life!

I am going to share with you the email that I sent to some superintendents, school districts leadership officials, supporters of our 27 - 67 Constitution projects and stakeholders.

I will explain in my next blog why I was so upbeat this week and believe that we will accomplish the mission of getting those Constitution booklets to the youth of Florida before the end of this school year.

The message in it entire format:
 

Many have asked how is the progress of getting those Constitution booklets in the hands of our 200,000 fifth grade students in Florida coming along.

Since, I just celebrated the Anniversary of the start of the “Journey Across Florida” to promote the Constitution on April 20, 2016.

Thus, I decided to keep everyone abreast of the progress until the last school district in Florida closes for the 2015-2016 school year.

I am very happy to report with the help of the wonderful supporters of Gilchrist County and especially Superintendent Rob Rankin and Captain Sheryl Brown, Sheriff Department of Gilchrist County, along with the Steering Committee and the Rotary Club Naples Collier we were able to get Constitution booklets in the following locations so far in the month of April:

Update as of April 24, 2016

1. Levy County           - 418
2. Suwannee County  – 438
3. Columbia County   – 785
4. Dixie County            - 123

Total 1,764 more students with United States Constitution booklets.

With the support of Dr. Sean Forman and Barry University and the Steering Committee members of the Florida Liberty Day Institute 300 Constitution booklets were donated to the elementary schools of the Miami Dade Public Schools District. Those hard working Steering Committee members decided to adopt three of the seven elementary schools near Barry University; which now allows the college students to work with the educators and fifth grade students of the seven elementary schools.

It is our hope that others will step up and join in helping the Miami Dade Public Schools District reach their goal of getting those 25,666 Constitution booklets in the hands of their fifth grade elementary students.

1.       Benjamin Franklin K-8 Center

2.       Gratigny Elementary

3.       Hubert O. Sibley K-8 Center

4.       Lakeview Elementary

5.       Miami Shores Elementary  - 110 fifth grade students (Adopted by Joseph Cofield and Steering Committee of Florida Liberty Day)

6.       Phyllis Ruth Miller Elementary

7.       William J. Bryan Elementary

The other 190 booklets will be donated to two other elementary schools adopted by the Steering Committee!

I deeply appreciate all the support of everyone and I especially want to give a very special thanks to Dorothy Spradley, District Volunteer/Education Marketing Coordinator Columbia County School District, for coordinating getting those 785 Constitution booklets to the educators and fifth grades students of the Columbia County School District.

In addition, I want to thank Superintendent Jacqueline Byrd and her Personal Secretary Edwina Hall, Polk County Public Schools District, for the great support during my visit to Polk County on Thursday, April 21, 2016. It is this type of wonderful support and commitment to their students which makes me continue to believe that we will achieve the mission of getting those Constitution booklets in the hands of the entire 200,000 fifth grade student population in Florida.

We now have over half of the 67 Counties which have made the commitment and I am very happy to say that Collier County and the neighboring Counties of Lee, Charlotte, Henry, Glades, Okeechobee, Highlands, Hardee, and DeSoto have made the commitment for the entire region.

 

It is indeed with great pride each of these school districts have put up a unified front in their commitment to the students in the entire region. I am now equally proud to say because Gilchrist County led the way many of the other neighboring counties are attempting to say the same about their commitment within their region.

A very thanks to Lawana Walden, Bethune Cookman University, and Superintendent James Russell for implementing the same type program as Barry University as the college students are going out in May and work with the educators and students of the Volusia County Public Schools District. I do hope that this becomes a model for the other school districts across Florida as truly this is a great concept of K-12 and the Higher Educational Institutions working hand in hand for the total success of all the students.  

 

This is truly a great day to be excited about the future of our students and the mastery they are having with the United States Constitution. I believe and I hope that you share this belief as well with great progress on the start of their life-long journey in being productive citizens.

Again thanks for the support of each of you for making a difference.

I wish you a great week because you each made my past week one of the greatest in my life.

Joseph

 

Sorry For Being Away For So Long...

March 26, 2016

Happy Easter!

Many wonderful things have happened since my last blog. I will attempt to catch my followers up as I explain my long delay in blogging.

As you went remember, I completed my Journey Across Florida on October 4, 2015. Why do I remember this day so well? 

Many reasons but it also marked 30 years of being married to my wonderful wife. It marked the day that I was stuck in Tallahassee with my car engine blown and refused to go any further. 

It truly tested my faith and belief in my mission that day. I managed to get my car to a service center and rented a car from Enterprise and completed my mission. 

After experiencing such a memorable time, I became convinced that the 200,000 fifth grade students in Florida would have a personal copy of the United States Constitution booklet. Once they got their booklets they could use this document at school, at home, and within their communities. 

My hope would be that: their parents, educators, family members, friends, and educational officials, would help them; to develop those 4,440 words along their educational journey. The journey would continue from elementary, to middle school, onto high school, and upon completion of their K-12 experience they will take this United States Constitution booklet with them onward to college or their next stage of their life journey. 

I had the great honor on Good Friday, March 25, 2016 to complete my presentation at the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) in Naples. I had a truly great time speaking about the United States Constitution and my experience in getting copies of the Constitution to our youth in Florida. 

I not only had an opportunity to speak to such a lovely group of "Patriots" but for the first time in my presentations I had an assistant. Kaitlyn Salyer shared with the DAR members how our young students can indeed show mastery of the United States Constitution and apply it at any time. 

Kaitlyn earned a standing ovation from the wonderful members from the audience just as she did during each of the practice presentations before heading off to the American Legion State Oral Contest in Orlando, Florida.

Please keep the name Kaitlyn Salyer in your mind because this young junior is going to be the first Junior Scholar member to make our new Scholar Serial Video. She is this good and well deserving of the wonderful praises she has earned.  

Please look forward to her video in the next few weeks as we continue with the Scholar Series. If you missed the presentations from Dr. Sean Foreman, Barry University, Rep. David Jolly (FL 13), or Rep.Tom Rooney (FL 17); you can contact me and I will make sure that you get a copy of the Scholar Serial.

The Scholar Serial is just one of the additional things the school districts will be getting at no cost with the commitment they have given to their students; once they get copies of the United States Constitution booklets to their fifth and many cases both the fifth and seventh grade students.

What a great deal that a $1.00 investment in our students can have! As a matter of fact, I am very happy to report after my presentation the DAR members contributed $305.00 for my speech on the Constitution. I immediately turned this contribution over to the Rotary Club Naples Collier toward getting the next 3,500 Constitution booklets for the students of Collier County Public School District. Those 3,500 booklets will be given out during Constitution Week in September 2017. 

Collier County is one of the twenty nine (29) school districts with the support of the local Rotary Clubs, VFW Posts, and American Legion Posts to obtain the United States Constitution booklets for their fifth and in some cases the seventh grade students. The list of the school districts are available upon request.  

I strongly believe that with your support we can reach the other thirty eight (38) school districts. If your school district is not one of those 29 school districts; I will challenge you to stop in and speak with your superintendent or school officials and ask why not give your students an opportunity to demonstrate mastery of the Constitution at every level of development along their educational journey by making a commitment to getting copies of the United States Constitution to their fifth grade student (and seventh grade students when possible). Our youth deserve this resource material to carry with them along their K-12 experience and into their life journey. 

Please continue to follow me as we count down this school year with fulfilling the entire mission of getting those 200,000 Unites States Constitution booklets in the hands of our students.

Happy Easter,

Joseph Cofield