Dawn of a Country

Guest post by Amanda Silvey

What comes to mind when you think of the beginning of the United States of America? The Revolutionary War? George Washington? A bunch of disgruntled men rebelling against the king of England? Until this year, I hadn’t really studied and looked in depth at the starting of our country and the writings of the founding fathers. When I did, I saw that these men did not start a new country just because they wanted to rebel against the king of England, or because they didn’t like to be told what to do…they did it based on principles of right and wrong (found in the Bible) and that all men are created equal and that no man may enslave another. Emboldened by these principles, these men took a stand against tyranny and brought together a new country, through bravery, a sense of justice and freedom, and God’s guiding hand.

It is so important to remember our history and where we came from. All throughout the Old Testament, God told the Israelites to remember their past and how He had guided them:

• “Then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” Deuteronomy 6:12
• “And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.” Deuteronomy 8:2
• “Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations. Ask your father, and he will show you; your elders, and they will tell you.” Deuteronomy 32:7)

We remember, so we can learn from those who have gone before us, and hopefully not repeat some of the mistakes that were made.

“Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” -George Santayana

Sadly, today, a lot of kids today are not being taught the truth about how our country was founded. They have removed God and the Bible from schools, and are telling the kids that America is an evil racist country – that we are not a nation founded on God, and that we aren’t anything special. At the start of our country, the Bible was the main textbook for school, and its principles were taught and lived out.

“Suppose a nation in some distant Region, should take the Bible for their only law Book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited. Every member would be obliged in Conscience to temperance and frugality and industry, to justice and kindness and Charity towards his fellow men, and to Piety and Love, and reverence towards almighty God. What a Utopia, what a Paradise would this region be.” -John Adams

So how did our country start? In order to understand what brought us to the Revolutionary War and the “shot that was heard around the world,” we need go back almost half a century and look at major events that led up to the American Revolution and that influenced the starting of our great nation.

• The Great Awakening – Starting in the 1730s, this was a time of revival in America where men like Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield awakened the church from the (complacency) apathy and cold ritualistic religion they had slipped into. The flame of religious freedom was ignited, and this then opened the door to the idea of political freedom. (And an interesting note…the founding fathers were young men during this time.) Historians have said that “without the Great Awakening there would be no American Revolution.”

• The French and Indian War – (1754-1763) During this war, the French and certain Native American tribes fought against the British over territory in North America. Here we see a young George Washington, who led a Virginia militia unit which aided Britain in winning the war. It was during one of these battles that George Washington had his coat riddled with bullets and had several horses shot out from under him. It was obvious that God had plans for this young man, and Washington himself said in a letter to his brother, “By the All-powerful Dispensations of Providence, I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation; for I had four Bullets through my Coat, and two Horses shot under me; yet escaped unhurt, altho[ugh] Death was leveling my Companions on every side of me!” After the war, the colonists saw that the British treated them differently –not as fellow Englishmen, and that their relationship was changing.

• Colonial Grievances – To fund his wartime expenses, King George III imposed a tax on the colonists that required all printed materials to bear the royal stamp, called the Stamp Act (1765). The king argued that since the war benefited the colonies, they should help pay for it. The problem with this new tax, which the founding fathers objected to so strongly, was that it was an unjust tax. It was done without their consent, the governed. The colonists did not object to help pay for their defense, (although they had done much of the fighting) but they DID object to being taxed without representation. One of the strongest voices raised in opposition to this unjust taxation was Patrick Henry. Besides the Stamp Act, England also imposed upon the colonists the Proclamation of 1763 where all previous land grants were canceled, the Quartering Act (1765) where colonists were forced to house and feed British soldiers, the Declaratory Act (1766) which gave the British parliament total authority to pass whatever laws they wanted on the colonists, forcing them into total submission without representation, the Townshend Acts (1767) – taxes on imported goods…more taxes without representation; and finally the Tea Act (1773) which allowed the East India Company to undercut the colonial merchants and have a monopoly on tea sales. This act was the last straw which led the Sons of Liberty (a group of freedom loving patriots) to put together the first organized movement against British tyranny – the Boston Tea Party (1773). In tossing the tea into the Boston harbor, the Sons of Liberty were helping to save the ship owners’ property because their ships could not go back to England unless the tea had been unloaded.

• The Committees of Correspondence – (1772) Samuel Adams knew the importance of the people being informed. He said, “No people will tamely surrender their Liberties, nor can any be easily subdued, when knowledge is diffused and virtue is preserved. On the Contrary, when People are universally ignorant, and debauched in their Manners, they will sink under their own weight without the Aid of foreign Invaders.” This committee was a network of men whose purpose was to: “Prepare a statement of the rights of the colonists, and of this province in particular, as men, as Christians, and as subjects; Prepare a declaration of the infringement of those rights; and Prepare a letter to be sent to all the towns of this province and to the world, giving the sense of this town.” As a Christian, Samuel Adams realized that this struggle between the colonies and England was not just about political freedom, but more importantly about religious freedom. And that those who have a knowledge of God and His Word and live it out are not easily made slaves by men seeking power and control. He knew the power of the written word, and how the truth would set people free.

• The First Continental Congress – (1774) The Massachusetts legislature calls for a meeting to decide what to do about the crisis that was looming over the colonists. In this meeting, Congress put together a Declaration of Resolves, stating that the people in America had certain rights from God and from the English constitution. In reaction to this, King George III stated, “Blows must decide whether they are to be subject to this country or independent!” A year after this, Patrick Henry made this speech to the Virginia House of Burgesses, prophesying the impending conflict:

“No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope that it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen, if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty towards the majesty of heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings…we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament.

Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne. In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope…they tell us, sir, that we are weak—unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance, by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak, if we make a proper use of the means which the God of nature hath placed in our power…

The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable—and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come!

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, “Peace! Peace!”—but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!”

Joseph Warren also described how independence from England was imminent:

“It is the united voice of America to preserve their freedom, or lose their lives in defence of it. Their resolutions are not the effects of inconsiderate rashness, but the sound result of sober inquiry and deliberation. The true spirit of liberty was never so universally diffused through all ranks and order of people in any country on the face of the earth, as it now is through all North America. If the late acts of Parliament are not to be repealed, the wisest step for both countries is to separate, and not to spend their blood and treasure in destroying each other. It is barely possible that Great Britain may depopulate North America; she never can conquer the inhabitants.”

Directly following Patrick Henry’s speech, in the winter of 1775, the British parliament passed the Prohibitory Act, which declared America to be “an independent, hostile state.” In a speech, King George III said that he removed the colonists from his protection and that he would treat them as foreign enemies. England had thrown the gauntlet down, so to speak. The colonists’ petitions to the British government of the wrongs against them had been thrown back in their face.

The first shots of the war were fired in the spring of 1775. The American minutemen were told, “Don’t fire unless fired upon; but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here!” We are not sure who fired that first shot, but it was the shot that plunged the colonies into a bloody war for independence.

So, what was the American Revolution – a war of defense, or rebellion? I believe that we see from the many writings we have of the founding fathers that their reason for breaking away from England was not to simply overthrow the present government, or for their own personal power or gain…but for an idea that all men are created equal and that this new nation would be a haven to all – to protect the rights and freedoms of future generations.

What Did the Founding Fathers Say?

In these quotes, you can see clearly the hearts of the men who founded our country, and how God’s Word, and the truths in it, guided them.

“It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains.” -Patrick Henry

“The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery” -Patrick Henry

“God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever…” -Thomas Jefferson

“It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.” -Patrick Henry

“May this Almighty Being gracious preside in all your councils! May He direct us to such measures as He himself shall approve and be pleased to bless! May we ever be a people favored by God! May our land be a land of liberty, the seat of virtue, the asylum of the oppressed, a name and a praise in the whole earth, until the last shock of time shall bury the empires of the world in one common undistinguished ruin!” -Joseph Warren

“Among the natural rights of the colonists are these: First a right to life, secondly to liberty, and thirdly to property; together with the right to defend them in the best manner they can.” -Samuel Adams

“Just and true liberty, equal and impartial liberty, in matters spiritual and temporal, is a thing that all men are clearly entitled to by the eternal and immutable laws of God and nature, as well as by the law of nations and all well-grounded municipal laws, which must have their foundation in the former.” -Samuel Adams

“The right of freedom being the fit of God Almighty, it is not in the power of man to alienate this gift and voluntarily become a slave.” -Samuel Adams

“In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be a ruler of a free people.” -The Declaration of Independence

“Such are the opinions of every virtuous and enlightened patriot in Great Britain. Their petition to Heaven is – “That there may be one free country left upon earth, to which they may fly, when venality, luxury, and vice, shall have completed the ruin of liberty there. Courage, then, my countrymen! Our contest is not only whether we ourselves shall be free, but whether there shall be left to mankind an asylum on earth, for civil and religious liberty” -Samuel Adams

“We were roused from our slumbers, and may we never sink into repose until we can convey a clear and undisputed inheritance to our posterity.” -Samuel Adams

“But where, say some, is the king of America? I’ll tell you, friend, he reigns about, and doth not make havoc of mankind like the royal brute of Britain.” -Thomas Paine

“A constitution, founded on these principles, introduces knowledge among the people, and inspires them with a conscious dignity, becoming freemen.” -John Adams

“Such being the impressions under which I have, in obedience to the public summons, repaired to the present station; it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official Act, my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the Universe, who presides in the Councils of Nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that his benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the People of the United States, a Government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes…” -George Washington

It is so sad to see today how the history of our country is being forgotten and even trying to be erased by those who wish to tear down our foundations for the purpose of evil control. Our country was founded on Biblical principles that protect the natural rights we have from God…but we have rejected Him as a nation. And as Patrick Henry said, it is when we forget God that we open the door to tyranny. Just like our founding fathers, even today we face the very same question they put forth: freedom or slavery?  

What will we do with that question? When we face tyrannical government leaders who are trying to control people’s lives and seeking to strip us of the freedoms that our founding fathers fought so hard to secure for us, are we just going to sit by and hope for the best? What kind of country are we leaving for future generations? Will we be able to tell them we did our best to preserve the freedom our founding fathers bled and died to protect, or will we have to tell them we did nothing?