Square One

Square one. The initial stage or starting point according to Merriam-Webster.

For me, this is the most difficult part of a process; whether it is when I am in the beginning stages of writing a story or lesson planning for my next class. I feel this way when I am learning something new and the process is less than desirable and I just want to skip to the end when I understand it.

I was thinking about square one as I sat in Congress Hall in Philadelphia last weekend.

It was a beautiful fall day in this historic city as I walked around with my family. We were able to see the Liberty Bell. Yay! But not able to go into Independence Hall. Bummer!

This turned out to be just fine because it gave us the opportunity to visit Congress Hall; a place I had never seen.

It was built as the Philadelphia County Courthouse and was home to the United States Congress from 1790 to 1800, during the time when Philadelphia served as the temporary capital of the United States.

Unadorned yet impressive, we were able to sit in one of the 106 desks in the House of Representatives on the first floor.

It was there that we were guided to imagine life as a representative in the newly formed United States. Legislation that I so many times take for granted which make up our government were decided upon in that very room.

Starting at square one for a new country? What's more, a form of government that had never been experienced before. Can you imagine?

The first thing the representatives did was take a census. It was believed that there were two million people, but after it was said and done, there actually were almost four million.

It was time to establish a whole new nation. Talk about the initial stage!

This involved reestablishing the United States Navy and Marines in response to threats on the high sea.

To better the nation's financial foundation, legislation was passed to raise revenue, establish a mint and create a central bank.

Three new states were admitted in Congress Hall and the Bill of Rights was ratified.

Moreover, Congress Hall saw the inauguration of our first two Presidents. On March 4, 1797, Congressmen, foreign dignitaries and the public watched as John Adams took the oath of office in the House Chamber, making George Washington a private citizen. This first peaceful transfer of power was demonstrated as the world looked on in wonder. Democracy at work.

Our country is not perfect. . .not in the least. However, it is hard not to marvel at all our Founding Fathers did to create the nation we have today.

As I sat in Congress Hall, letting all of the history sink in, I tried to picture the ideas, the debates and the decisions that took place in that room to create our United States government.

Just like me when I am part of a long tedious process and I want to skip ahead to the end, I wonder if the original members of the House of Representatives and Senate wanted to peek ahead to see if the decisions they made in that building would be successful.

It was the initial stage or starting point of our country. There was much at stake for this particular square one, but our American Experiment still lives on.

The crew in Philadelphia