36-1 (05)
release dates: September 3-9
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Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate
© 2005 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc.
By BETTY DEBNAM
from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam © 2005 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc.
Philadelphia in 1787
Settling a problem
Have you ever had a disagreement
with someone and decided to sit down
and talk it over and come up with a
plan that helps to straighten things out?
That’s what happened way back in
1787. After the Revolutionary War, the
13 states had joined together to form the
United States. Then, in some ways, the
states began to act like jealous separate
countries.There was no strong government.
Twelve states decided to send
delegates to a convention to rewrite
the laws that governed our country at
that time.*
The convention met from May 25 to
Sept. 17, 1787. This meeting proved to
be one of the most important ever held.
The Constitution has been our
guide for more than 200 years. Many
other countries have copied it.
* Rhode Island did not send delegates.
photo courtesy the Library Company, Philadelphia, Pa.
This issue is an introduction to
a series about our Constitution.
The Constitution sets down the
laws of our land. It will be 218
years old on Sept. 17. It was
on that date in 1787 that it
was signed by 39 delegates in
the convention city of
Philadelphia.
photos courtesy National Park Service
Constitution Convention City
George Washington
was the president of
the convention.
People worked and lived in the busy downtown area near the
State House, which was later named Independence Hall.
The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were
written and signed in this building.
At 81 years old, Ben
Franklin was the
oldest delegate.
James Madison had
many ideas and
kept good records.
Next week, we will begin a nine-part
series about the Constitution. One
issue will run each month.
Philadelphia was buzzing in 1787
Philadelphia was the biggest and most up-to-date city in
the country in 1787. Walking down the street, you might
hear languages from many parts of the world.
Many wealthy people went there to shop and sent things
back home. There were many things to buy, such as
furniture, books, clothing and fine wines.
Philadelphia was a big port. The shipping business
brought many visitors and a lot of money to the city.
The city was chosen as a site for the convention because
the state was in the middle of the original 13 states. The
State House had been the site of the signing of the
Declaration of Independence in 1776.
The whole city was buzzing about the convention. It was
of great interest.
In this series, we will be consulting with the Education Department
of the National Archives. This part of the U.S. government keeps
our national documents, or records, and makes them available.
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36-2 (05); release dates: September 3-9
Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate
from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam © 2005 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc.
More About Philly
Taking a bath
When George Washington was attending
the Constitutional Convention in 1787, he
saw a fan chair and probably thought it
was a cool idea.
Today, Mount Vernon, his home in
Virginia, has his fan chair and the record of
his order. The fan chair is in Washington’s
office. He used it until his
death in 1799.
Two other people in
Philadelphia had one of
these chairs. One was the
famous artist Charles Wilson
Peale. (Peale had 17 children
and taught many of them to
become painters, too.)
The other was Ben
Franklin, the statesman
whose inventions included
bifocal eyeglasses.
The fan chair enabled a
person to have his hands free
while the fan above moved
back and forth. The fan was
connected to two pedals. All a
Not only did the fan
person had to do was to
pump the pedals to make the keep you cool, but it
also drove away the
fan create the breeze.
flies. With no screens,
Well-to-do people probably
took baths once a week. There
were no aftershave lotions or
deodorants back then. Since
everybody smelled, the odor
probably didn’t bother them.
People who were poor probably
took baths less often.
photo courtesy of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association
A cool idea: the fan chair
Site to see:
www.mountvernon.org
flies were often a
problem.
from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam © 2005 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc.
Mini Spy . . .
TM
Mini Spy and her friends are looking for lodging in
Philadelphia. See if you can find: • word MINI • toothbrush
• bird
• safety pin
• ruler
• pencil
• letter D
• sailboat
• dragon
• letter O
• arrow
• spoon
• number 8
• bread loaf
• letter E
Bakery baking
Housewives found a way to beat
some of the heat in their kitchens.
They would make the bread dough,
get it all ready to bake, and then
take it to a nearby bakery. The
baker would bake it in his ovens.
When it was done, the housewife
would take it home, ready to eat.
Smelly Philly
Philadelphia, like many
cities at that time, did not
smell very good. In 1787,
people threw trash into the
street. People did not know
of the danger of open sewers.
Brown
Basset ws
The Ned’s
Houn
TM
from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam © 2005 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc.
Philadelphia
TRY ’N
FIND
Words and names that remind us of life in Philadelphia in 1787 are
hidden in the block below. Some words are hidden backward or
diagonally, and some letters are used twice. See if you can find:
PHILADELPHIA, CONVENTION, SECRECY, HOT, SUMMER,
MEETING, HORSES, CARRIAGES, MERCHANTS, ENTERTAIN,
TAVERNS, MARKET, STREET, COMPROMISE, DECISIONS.
N I R E MM U S J H R M E S
HAVE YOU
BEEN TO
M A R K E T S Q O V G A N N
PHILADELPHIA? M S N R E V A T Z F N S T O
E S I M O R P M O C I E E I
K U Y M E R C H A N T S R S
N O I T N E V N O C E R T I
S T R E E T Q R A H E O A C
C A R R I A G E S G M H I E
A I H P L E D A L I H P N D
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D
E
Y
C
E
R
C
E
S
®
36-3 (05); release dates: September 3-9
Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate
Go dot to dot and color this
famous American statesman on
his way to the convention.
TM
Rookie Cookie’s Recipe
Thomas Jefferson’s
Sweet Potato Biscuits
Kids, this recipe might have a lot of ingredients, but with an
adult’s help you can step back in time. This was one of Thomas
Jefferson’s favorites. These biscuits are re-created every day at
City Tavern in Philadelphia.
You’ll need:
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 11/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 can strained and pureed sweet potatoes
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
What to do:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar,
baking powder, cinnamon, salt, ginger and allspice.
3. Add the shortening and cut in with two knives until crumbly.
4. Add the sweet potatoes and mix well with a wooden spoon.
5. Add the cream and pecans, and stir just until moistened.
6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out the
dough to 11/2 inches thick. Cut out biscuits with a 2-inch floured
biscuit cutter.
7. Place biscuits 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for
25 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm, or let cool on
a wire rack until room temperature. Makes about 2 dozen
biscuits.
Chef's note: This biscuit dough freezes beautifully unbaked. Just
layer the dough between waxed paper and store for up to three
months. Simply defrost the dough and follow the baking directions.
(From the “City Tavern Cookbook,” ©1999 by Walter Staib,
Running Press Publishers, Philadelphia and London.)
from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam © 2005 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc.
from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam © 2005 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc.
The Mini Page®
Presidents of the United States Poster
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/2”
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from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam © 2005 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc.
TM
All the following jokes have something in common.
Can you guess the common theme or category?
Earl: What does a bird say when
it finds something on sale?
Elsa: “Cheep, cheep!”
Eric: What is the strongest kind
of bird?
Erin: The crane!
Eugene: What is the saddest kind of bird?
Edie: A bluebird!
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36-4 (05); release dates: September 3-9
Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate
from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam © 2005 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc.
Philadelphia in 1787
photo courtesy Mount Vernon — Washington at the convention… 1787.
Engraved by John Rogers, after Michael Waneman, .c 1850s.
Where did delegates stay?
Many of the delegates were
wealthy and stayed at the finest
inns and ate all of their meals out.
Some stayed in boarding houses.
Some shared rooms. George
Washington was a guest of one of the
delegates, Robert Morris.
Delegates keep in touch
Ways
delegates
traveled
Delegates’ entertainment
The City Tavern was the favorite
place to meet and discuss business
and to listen to musical
entertainment. The delegates chose
to go there to celebrate the signing
of the Constitution. The tavern has
been reconstructed so visitors can
visit there today.
The delegates had a busy social
life. Ben Franklin lived in
Philadelphia and did lots of
entertaining. The delegates often
gathered at night to discuss
government plans.
Many delegates had spent a lot of
time in Philadelphia and knew it
well. They were invited to teas and
dinners in the city and to nearby
country homes. They went to plays
and concerts and visited gardens.
This painting
shows George
Washington as if
he were making a
speech. As
president of the
convention, he did
not speak out
often. He usually
worked behind
the scenes,
helping to settle
disagreements
and keeping the
delegates on track
and focused on
their task.
Most delegates probably arrived
by horseback. Some came by boat.
Others might have taken a
stagecoach.
Many of the wealthy delegates
had coaches to carry them from the
meetings to their nearby homes.
Philadelphia was a walking town,
and many of the places the delegates
visited were close by.
Ben Franklin, at the age of 81,
had trouble walking. He traveled in
a sedan chair that had been brought
from Paris.
Delegates kept up
with Philadelphia
news and news from
back home by
reading newspapers
and letters carried by boats, on
horseback and by stagecoach. When
they wrote letters, they used a quill.
How did delegates keep cool?
Philadelphia is very hot and
humid (meaning the air holds more
moisture than usual) in the
summertime.
Men did not usually take off their
coats in public, but they might have
taken them off during the meetings
inside the State House.
With no fans or air conditioning,
the meetings must have been very
warm and stuffy. The windows were
often closed to keep out the noise
and to keep others from hearing
what was going on.
To cool off and get clean, men and
boys might swim in the Delaware
River down by the docks. Women
and girls didn’t.
The Mini Page is created and edited by
Betty Debnam
The Mini Page thanks the National Park
Service for help with this story.
Site to see: nps.gov/inde
Associate Editors
Tali Denton
Lucy Lien
Staff Artist
Wendy Daley
Please include all of the appropriate registered trademark symbols and copyright lines in any publication of The Mini Page®.
photo courtesy the Library Company,
Philadelphia, Pa.
Read all about
the Constitution
convention city
in
®
Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate
by Betty Debnam
Appearing in your
newspaper on ____________.
from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam
© 2005 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc.
(Note to Editor: Above is cameraready, one column-by-41/4-inch ad
promoting Issue 36.)
release dates: September 3-9
36-5 (05)
from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam © 2005 The MIni Page Publishing Company Inc.
®
Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate
Standards Spotlight:
Constitution Convention City
Mini Page activities meet many state and national educational standards. Each
week we identify standards that relate to The Mini Page’s content and offer
activities that will help your students reach them.
This week’s standards:
• Students understand the U.S. Constitution and why it is important. (Civics)
• Students understand government and where people in government get the authority to
make, apply, and enforce rules and laws, and manage disputes about them. (Civics)
• Students understand the human and physical characteristics of places. (Geography)
Activities:
1. Create a newspaper front page with stories about the delegates meeting to write a new
constitution in Philadelphia.
2. Find words, illustrations and photos in the newspaper that show different ways delegates
could get to Philadelphia today.
3. What could delegates do if they held their meeting in your community? Look in the
newspaper for three places they could eat, two entertainment events they could attend and
one sporting event they could see. Explain your choices.
4. If a representative of your community went to a meeting in another major city, what
important local news would he/she want to know? Find three local stories that might be
important to the delegate. Write the headlines on a piece of paper. Under each headline,
write several sentences explaining why the news is important.
5. Use resource books and the Internet to learn more about the meeting that produced the
Constitution. Use these questions to guide your research: Why did the delegates want to
change the Articles of Confederation they had followed before? What were the biggest areas
of disagreement among the delegates? Which men took leadership roles in the process?
(standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)
(Note to Editor: Above is the Standards for Issue 36.)
from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam © 2005 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc.
TM
Supersport: Adrian Peterson
Height: 6-2
Weight: 211
Birthdate: 3-21-85
Hometown: Palestine, Texas
Adrian Peterson stops to sign autographs. He stops to talk
with the media. On the football field, Oklahoma University
opponents wish they could figure out how to make the
Sooners’ star stop!
As a freshman in 2004, Peterson came onto the scene in eye-popping
style. He gained 1,925 yards running the ball and became the first rookie
in OU’s glorious history to earn consensus All-America honors. He also
finished second in voting for the Heisman Trophy, which is awarded to
college football’s top player.
Peterson is swamped with interview requests and is the most-soughtafter Sooner by autograph seekers. Yet he still has participated with
teammates on hospital visits and helped with reading programs for local
schoolchildren.
Peterson and the Oklahoma team also distribute food to the needy at
Thanksgiving. But OU opponents see another side of Peterson — a fast,
talented back who is tough to tackle.
(Note to Editor: Above is copy block for Page 3, Issue 36, to be
used in place of ad if desired.)
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