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Ss1776

The American Revolution is a series of sketches on Sesame Street for Season 18 about the political upheaval that took place in America during the last quarter of the 1700s. They are perhaps best described by the segments' narrator, Martin P. Robinson:

The American Revolution -- a mini series starring all your friends from Sesame Street telling the story of how the United States of America was born... more or less.

Additionally, a similar Sesame Street News Flash sketch was produced during the 18th season about the Boston T Party along with a version of "The People in Your Neighborhood" about the people in George Washington's neighborhood.

Sketches[]

The National Bird[]

Foundingfathers-revolution

(First: Episode 2332)

The founding fathers argue over which bird should be chosen as the national bird (and gets to have the picture on the country's new "coins and stamps and other neat things like government letters"). The speaker explains the voting process as a way to resolve the issue.

Ben Franklin nominates the turkey which welcomed the Pilgrims to the country. Thomas Jefferson nominates the pigeon which loves the simple things that make America great, such as statues and curbs and windowsills. A grouchy founding father nominates the cockatoo (despite the bird not even being native to the country) and suggests that they bring some in and teach them to say things like "scram" and "beat it" to drive the British away. Finally, John Adams nominates the bald eagle which he says is handsome and can fly high to watch over town and prairie.

In the end, the bald eagle wins the vote (due to Elmo being a swing voter) and thus the eagle becomes the national bird. Big Bird enters the room and is offended at being overlooked for the decision and leaves in a huff.

Cast

The segment was shot on January 27, 1987 and directed by Jon Stone.[1]

Releases

The Declaration of Independence[]

Tomasjefferson

(First: Episode 2345)

Thomas Jefferson sits down to write the Declaration of Independence but encounters a problem when his quill breaks. Luckily Mr. Grover comes by and offers to bring him a replacement but misinterprets what he needs, bringing a drill and a chicken named Phil. Jefferson is about to give up when he finds a feather left behind by Phil and (realizing that a quill is nothing more than a feather) uses the feather as a quill to write the Declaration.

Cast
Releases


Crossing the Delaware[]

Crossdelaware

(First: Episode 2354)

It's Christmas Eve, 1776. George Washington and his men are preparing to cross the Delaware river, when Grover shows up with a bundle of balloons, noisemakers and streamers, since he heard this is the day they planned to "surprise the British." Washington explains that the colonists are fed up with the British always telling them what to do, and that his team intends to create their own country, and cross the Delaware to surprise the British in a different way: since it's Christmas Eve, the British have the day off, so they won't be expecting an attack. The river-borne patriots briefly pose for a famous painting, which Grover wanted to be a part of, but he literally "missed the boat."

Cast
Releases

Note: Outtakes of this sketch appear in the home video bonus feature "When It Went Wrong: Muppet Outtakes" of the documentary Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street.

Videos[]

Sources[]

See also[]

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