The White House announced today that the whitehousekids.gov Web site launched by President and Mrs. Bush in August will now feature a Freedom Timeline, highlighting important features of America's history as a beacon of liberty and freedom. The new feature is related to the Lessons of Liberty effort kicked off by President Bush, U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige and U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi to promote learning about the American ideals of liberty, democracy and freedom.

According to the White House press release:

In an effort to speak directly to children about the War on Terrorism and the history of America's efforts to preserve freedom, the White House today launched a new feature on whitehousekids.gov, a feature of the White House web site dedicated to children. The Freedom Timeline, a five-part series on topics such as diplomacy and liberty, includes five stories, a vocabulary list, a quiz, and a teacher's guide. The timeline spans 1777 to 1948 and includes the following anecdotes:

Unlikely Spy is the story of a Quaker woman from Philadelphia who learned of a sneak attack at Valley Forge in 1777 and warned Gen. Washington's troops;
Underground Railroad is the story of how Harriet Tubman liberated 300 slaves through the Underground Railroad;
Statue of Liberty is the history of France's gift to the United States;
March of Dimes tells how, through funding from the March of Dimes, a cure for polio liberated Americans from the fear of this disease; and
Berlin Airlift-Candy Bombers is the story of the United States' efforts to provide humanitarian aid to the people of war-torn Berlin in 1948 by dropping food from airplanes as part of Operation Vittles.

Paige applauded the Freedom Timeline as the type of learning opportunity that parents and teachers should be offering children. "America's children are feeling the impact of the war against terrorism just like their parents and teachers," Paige said. "It is important to offer them opportunities to engage in constructive activities and to express questions and ideas related to our current events and to the principles of freedom and democracy that we are protecting."

Lessons of Liberty was conceived as an opportunity to bring America's students and veterans together to discuss the significance of Veterans Day and the values that America's veterans have fought to protect for over 200 years. Today's launch comes during Veterans Awareness Week and is an effort to extend learning opportunities about liberty, democracy and freedom throughout the year.

NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information regarding the Freedom Timeline or whitehousekids.gov, please contact Jimmy Orr of the White House Office of Media Affairs at (202) 456-6238.

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