Welcome to our 7th Annual Historic Dinner Party Proudly sponsored by Cornerstone Academy

We would like to welcome all of our very special guests We would like to welcome all of our very special guests. We are very excited about having each and every one of you here tonight. Introductions will begin shortly. In the meantime, we will begin dinner service. As each of you stand to introduce yourself, please tell us what your most important or greatest accomplishment was in your lifetime.

We will begin with the first President of the United States, Mr We will begin with the first President of the United States, Mr. George Washington. After Mr. Washington has gone we will proceed around his table. Once that table has finished, we will proceed around the room from table to table in a clockwise manner. While we enjoy this wonderful food, Mr. Washington will have a few moments to gather his thoughts. We will then begin with the introductions.

As you continue to enjoy your dinner, and before our moderators pose their questions, we would like each table to discuss important issues with each other. To this end, you will find a paper in the middle of your table. It contains a list of topics and questions we would like all of you at the table to discuss. Our moderators will then have one person at the table tell the rest of the gathering the topics their table discussed and a general summarization of the conversations. Please select a spokesperson as you are discussing the contents of the paper. Please enjoy your dinner and conversation.

Let us now hear a report from each of the tables concerning their conversations during this first part of dinner. We will then continue with specific questions, in order to promote discussion and debate. Some questions will be directed towards specific people, some will be for the whole group to discuss, and some will ask you to discuss a topic at your table and then report on that discussion.

Could each table tell me what they think of today’s politics Could each table tell me what they think of today’s politics. Modern elections can be pretty nasty. Do you think politics today are worse or better than they were back then? Why? We’d like to ask George Washington why he thought political parties were so dangerous and after he answers hear what others think about his answer. Thanks. Could Dr. Blackwell talk about what was the hardest thing about being a woman in this time period, and then we’d like to hear from some of the other ladies too please.

We would like to ask each of the former or current slaves in the room to comment on what it was like to be a slave. We would then like to hear from any slave owners as to why they owned slaves. This question is for Alexander Hamilton. Why did you like the National Bank so much when it favored the rich? We’d like to hear other people’s response to him too. We’d like to follow that up with asking President Andrew Jackson why he hated the bank so much if it was good for the U.S. economy? We want to hear what others say about his answer too.

We’d like to ask President John Adams why he looked for peace with France following the XYZ Affair when the rest of the country wanted to go to war? What do others think of his answer? We’d like to ask James Madison if he could have predicted the dangers of nullification, would he still have written the Virginia Resolution in protest to the Alien and Sedition Acts? We’d like to hear comments from everybody about the Tariff of 1828. Do you think it was a great way to encourage US economic growth, or do you think of it as the “Tariff of Abominations?” Please also explain why.

We’d like to hear comments from the entire group on this one, was the U.S. really justified in going to war with Britain during the War of 1812? Why or why not? At your tables could you discuss the issue of paying the original owners of the Revolutionary War bonds vs. paying the speculators who bought them. Who should be paid and why? We’d also like everyone to discuss another issue at their table. Why did the US start to separate North and South almost right away in its history?

This is one we’d like the whole group to talk about This is one we’d like the whole group to talk about. Should modern sports teams and colleges use Native American figures as their mascots? Why or why not? We’d like to hear President Thomas Jefferson comment on how the Whiskey Rebellion was handled and then hear what the group thinks of his answer. We’d like to hear from Harriet Tubman as to why she helped so many slaves escape and then hear from at least one person who thinks what she did was wrong, and why they feel that way.

We’re sorry but that is all the time we have tonight for discussion We’re sorry but that is all the time we have tonight for discussion. We wish to thank all of our participants for the excellent questions and discussion of the various topics. We hope that all of you have enjoyed this evening and we hope to see you again for another dinner party some time soon. Please remember to tip the wait staff on your way out. You never know… it could help your overall grade!!