CONTENTS

The Next
Electronic Field Trip is

Taxes, Tea and Tyranny
October 7, 2004

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Before the days of instant communication via 24-hour cable news networks and the Internet, candidates for political office had to rely on personal contact with voters in order to gain their support. In the eighteenth-century, the custom of "treating" was central to the campaign process.

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Since the formation of the United States over 200 years ago, laws governing elections have changed significantly. Procedures have been updated to improve accuracy and fairness, and legislation has been passed to enfranchise most adult American citizens. This lesson uses images from the eighteenth century and today to illustrate how elections have evolved.

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Colonial Williamsburg offers a variety of quality instructional materials dealing with 18th-century life, including:

— Primary Sources CD-ROMs
— Songs for a Revolution (lesson unit)
— Reflections on Liberty (video)

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Colonial Williamsburg's Web site features interpreter Bill Barker as Thomas Jefferson reflecting on the election process in America. Each week for 12 weeks, Thomas Jefferson answers a new question about elections, looking back on his 40 years in politics. Available in text version and video clips, Jefferson's responses reveal to students that issues facing voters today are nearly the same as those facing voters 200 years ago – war, voter apathy, public approval, budget deficits, political partisanship, and the Electoral College. Involve your classroom in current events by looking at what one of our Founding Fathers thought about elections in his day.

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--Michael Novak, American author