Two hundred twenty-three years ago, on September 17, 1787, the Constitution of the United States of America became the supreme law of our land.  It was one of the most unique documents ever penned by the hands of men.  It established a government  “Of the people, by the people and for the people,” with “equal justice for all.”  The first three words of this great document are “We The People,” thus placing the supreme power of government, not in the hands of those elected or appointed, but in those who elect them.

It has been described as the greatest document for governing a free people ever written in the history of the world.  Its authors, our founding fathers have, been described as “enlightened geniuses touched by divine intervention.”  Every law for governing America must meet the standards established in the Constitution.  This document has been so perfect that over its entire existence it has only been modified Twenty-two times. And one of these modifications, called Amendments, invalidated a previous one.   Amendment number 21 invalidated Amendment number 18.

Of the other twenty, ten were added immediately to guarantee the rights of the people who would live under it.  We call these first ten amendments the “Bill of Rights.”  Thus America’s Constitution was so perfect that it has only needed to be amended ten times in a span of two hundred and twenty-three years.  What did these founding fathers have at their disposal which guided them in making America’s governing document so exceptional and so unique.  These men were highly educated in the best universities of America.  They had studied the great writings of Hume, Lock, and Blackstone.  Yet, they had in addition to these, one other book.  It is called the Bible.

The Constitution is not a Christian document, but it is a document written by Christians.  Every concept found in the Constitution of the United States can also be found in the word of God.  With access to all the great books of the world, they chose the Bible as the basis of our Constitution.  Specifically, they looked to the book of Deuteronomy.   Why this particular book?  Because this book contains the outline of the government God established for his chosen people, the nation of Israel.  They believed that using God’s blueprint would provide the best possible form of government.  Two hundred and twenty-three years have proved them correct.

The Bible is the inerrant and inspired Word of God.  It represents perfection in every field it touches.  God, the Creator of Heavens and earth, knows exactly how all the laws of the universe work together to establish the best possible results.  God’s laws are inviolable.  The existence of God was a given for these men and the only way the will of God can be discerned is by reading His holy revelation, the Bible.  The Bible was written over a period of some fifteen hundred years by some forty authors.  Yet, from Genesis to Revelation it is without a single contradiction.  No other book in existence can claim this distention.  No other book can provide a better foundation for a nation.

John Adams stated, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

Not a single law established by God can be countermanded without unfavorable consequences.  It has been tried and always found to reduce, not increase, the stature of the individual, or the nation. 

It is a sad fact that America, as a nation, does not understand this principal.  God ordained and presided over the first marriage.  It was composed of two people, Adam and Eve.    In observing His creation, God proclaimed at every step along the way that it, “was very good.”  The first time God made an observation which he considered to be “not good,” was when he observed Adam in his loneness.  In Genesis 2:18 God said, “It is not good that man should be alone.  I will make him a helper comparable to him.”  Upon creating Eve God said in Genesis 2:24, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh.”  That which God has commanded cannot be invalidated by any human law.

When Peter and John were arrested for preaching in the name of Jesus, Peter stated: “We ought to obey God rather than man.”   That which God has declared to be wrong, cannot be made right by a human law any more than the Law of Gravity can be changed by legislative action.  Government officials like to feel that they have the authority to enact laws for governing our society. However, if an action has been forbidden by God, no human agency can make that action right, We may see in our lifetime the legalization of same-sex marriage.  If so it will be allowed by the law of man, but condemned as an abomination by the eternal law of God.  God has said that the shedding of innocent blood is an abomination in His sight.  Therefore, there is no way that a law allowing abortion can ever be right.  We might as well as legislate that beginning on a certain day, the sun is to rise in the west and set in the east.

America was founded by righteous men upon Judeo-Christian principals.  Bible law was built into our laws.  God has promised that, ”Righteousness will exalt a nation, while sin is a reproach to all people.”  Because of rightness, America became the greatest nation in the world.  Why would a nation with America’s history prosper for almost two hundred years, becoming the greatest nation history of the world, then fall into disrepute among men.  

This decline cannot be denied.  It began in the 60’s and continues to this day.  Those who understand the relationship between our constitution, the Bible, and our nation understand exactly what the problem is.  Unfortunately this wisdom is confined to the few rather than the masses.  In 1831, a young Frenchman by the name of Alexis Tocqueville and a friend toured the United States. Later he is credited with writing these prophetic words concerning what he had learned in America.

“I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her com­modious harbors and her ample rivers, and it was not there. I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her fertile fields and boundless forest, and it was not there. I sought for the great­ness and genius of America in her rich mines and her vast world commerce, and it was not there. I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her public school system and her institu­tions of learning, and it was not there. I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her democratic congress and her match­less constitution, and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteous­ness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”

Just as he prophesied, America has ceased to be the great nation that it had become in the eyes of the world because America has ceased to be “good.”  In the name of tolerance we have legalized things which God condemns.  As a nation we no longer have a place for God, aside from the pews of our churches.  By man-made laws, He and His Word have been prohibited from our schools, our government, and the public square.  Some may choose to consider the forgoing to be nothing other than religious rubbish.  Let that person come forward and give a different reason for the fall and possible destruction of the greatest nation in the history of the world.  Let that person deny that the decline of morals and influence of America in the world has exactly paralleled America’s rejection of God, which began in the 6o’s.  Let that person defend the belief that the catastrophic events which have become common place in America do not parallel the rejection of God and his principles from our nation.

Will the Decline and fall of America continue or can it be reversed.  The good news is that the decline can indeed be reversed.  It can be reversed when Godly men and women step forward to guide our nation back to its founding roots.  It will be reversed when once again America becomes the “shining city on a hill” to which the weary and downtrodden of the world can come for freedom and the opportunity to achieve the “American Dream.”  It will be reversed when the laws of America are once again in compliance with the laws of God.   

The same Bible concepts, imbedded in our constitution, which led to our greatness as a nation, also tells us how to redeem that greatness and pass it, along with the Torch of Liberty, to our children and grandchildren.  “Be not deceived, God is not mocked.”  At the same time He stands ready to restore our nation by promising,

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and forgive their sin, and heal their nation.”   II Chronicles 7:14    

It is an indisputable fact that when all light is removed only darkness remains.  It is equally indisputable that when all good is removed only evil remains.  The land of the free and home of the brave is now in serious jeopardy of ceasing to be a beacon of freedom for the world and descending forever into a land of darkness.   In addition, the Gospel has gone out from America into the entire world.  Other nations have long looked on and respected America as a nation representing  all that is good in the world.

It has been four hundred years since the first pilgrims landed on these shores of freedom.  They left us a record of what they intended America to become.  One of those early pilgrims preached a sermon while still aboard ship.  His name was John Winthrop, who would later become the governor of Massachusetts.  His sermon was taken in part from Matthew 5:14 which states, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” The part of his sermon which has endured for almost 400 years states:

“For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken…we shall be made a story and a by-word throughout the world. We shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God…We shall shame the faces of many of God’s worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into curses upon us til we be consumed out of the good land whether we are a-going.”

In the final lines of his farewell address to the nation Ronald Reagan referred back to this sermon.

“And that’s about all I have to say tonight, except for one thing. The past few days when I’ve been at that window upstairs, I’ve thought a bit of the ‘shining city upon a hill.’ The phrase comes from John Winthrop, who wrote it to describe the America he imagined. What he imagined was important because he was an early Pilgrim, an early freedom man. He journeyed here on what today we’d call a little wooden boat; and like the other Pilgrims, he was looking for a home that  would be free.  I’ve spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don’t know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, windswept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in har­mony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with com­merce and creativity. And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That’s how I saw it, and see it still.

And how stands the city on this winter night? More prosperous, more secure, and happier than it was 8 years ago. But more than that: After 200 years, two centuries, she still stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm. And she’s still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurling through the darkness, toward home.

We’ve done our part. And as I walk off into the city streets, a final word to the men and women of the Reagan Revolution, the men and women across America who for 8 years did the work that brought America back. My  friends:  We did it.  We weren’t just marking time. We made a difference. We made the city stronger; we made the city freer; and we left her in good hands.

All in all, not bad — not bad at all.

And so, goodbye, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.”

This is a description of my America.  The America I have been blessed to call home for the past 70 years.  The America that I served as a young man in the armed forces.  The America where I have been free to marry my sweetheart, raise our children, worship our God and grow old together.  This is the America that has drawn immigrants from the four corners of the world for four centuries.  Most arrived on these shores with nothing but a suitcase and the desire to be an American.  To live in freedom and pursue the American dream.  They didn’t desire to be called anything except Americans and were proud to carry that name.

Unfortunately, that is not the America the children of today will live in.  As the light vanishes darkness will consume the nation and evil will replace all that is good.  Today America is facing the greatest combination of challenges it has ever faced in its four hundred year history.

The War on Christianity:

 Our Constitution is not a Christian document; it is a document written by Christians.  It does not make law, but lays out a broad set of principles to which all laws must conform. John Adams, one of the signers of the constitution states, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”  These broad principles for governing our land can all be traced to the Bible, and for that reason America was referred to as a Christian nation for two hundred and eighty-four years.  Schools contained Bibles and flags.  Each morning students recited the Lord’s Prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.   America was not only a Beacon of Freedom to the world, it was also a shining example of how God would bless a nation which followed His principles.  Under these founding principles, America became the greatest nation in the history of the world. 

In 1963 an atheist with ties to the Communist party filed suit demanding that and reference to God and Christianity be removed from our public school system.  She won the case.  Today, God has been removed, not only from our public schools, but from our government as well.  This has led to a decay in the moral values that were the underpinning of our nation.

Today a small minority are demanding that the word God be removed from the Pledge of Allegiance, and the words “In God we Trust” be removed from our currency and dropped as our national motto.  Under the guise of political correctness and tolerance we are seeing the Word of God being replaced by the evils of Satan.  The more lights that are turned off and good removed, the more darkness and evil will engulf our nation.  Under the concept of “separation of church and state,” which is nowhere to be found in our founding documents, atheist and other immoral people have demanded that Christianity be limited to places of worship, but  preach any number of other religions in public and teach them in our public schools.  These are being aided and abetted by activist judges who have totally ignored the principles of our constitution. The removal of Christianity from a society had a domino effect.  Nature abhors a void.  When Christianity is removed, other things will move in to take its place.  We are already seeing these things taking place.  One of the most obvious is the breakdown in the families of America.

Breakdown of Families:

The family is the basic building block of society.  With the breakdown in the family we see a corresponding breakdown in society.  The biological family, composed of mom, pop, and the kids is the arraignment ordained by God from the beginning of time.  God designed man and woman to be a compliment to each other and Personally performed the first marriage in the Garden of Eden.  It has been said that, “the hand that rocks the cradle, controls the world.  It is within the family that moral standards are learned and lives are molded.  My wife taught fourth, fifth, and sixth grades for over twenty-five years.  Within two weeks of the beginning of the school year she could tell you exactly what type of home each child came from, without meeting either of the parents.  The children are a reflection of the home they come out of.  There is no comparison in the self-esteem and self-worth between the child from a traditional home and those coming from single parent, mixed, or dysfunctional homes.   

For years I have conducted a weekly class in the local county jail.  I usually have about fifteen men in each class.  The course last for thirteen weeks.  In the first week I ask for a show of hands of those who come from a two parent, church going family.  In three years I have taught the most to have raised their hands is three.  Usually it is one or two.  This statistic alone demonstrates the problems children face when God’s plan for the family is abandoned.   The destruction of the home invariably leads to a breakdown in national morality.                                                       

Lost National Morality:

No one can deny that the level of morality in our society has declined over the past few decades.   Alcohol and drugs are being tried at younger and younger ages.  High school dropout has reached tragic levels, especially among minority races.  Teen pregnancy and abortion has increased.  Our county has recently had to triple the size of its jail.  The tragedy is that these men in jail are not bad people; they are good people who have made bad choices.  Why would good people make bad choices?  Because they do not have parents to teach them to make good choices.  The class I teach is on how to handle emotional pain in positive ways.  It is unbelievable how these men respond to the material.  If a man has a drinking problem, and suddenly encounters an emotionally painful event the first thing he wants is a drink.  The same is true of those who smoke or do drugs.  We see road rage, anger problems, gang association, and any number of other forms of negative conduct.  The underlying problem of all of these things is the lack of training.  The average man in jail is about 20 years old, has about nine years of education, and come from some form of dysfunctional family. 

Almost all the breakdown in morals in our society stem from the breakdown of the home.  Do children from functional homes make bad decisions and get into trouble.  Without a doubt.  However for every one of these there are about twenty who come from dysfunctional homes.  Dr. Carl Brecheen, a Marriage and Family therapist, states that there have only two previous times in  history that have experienced the breakdown in the family that we are seeing today.  On each of the two previous occasions it took a hundred years to reestablish  the functional family.  There is a direct correlation between the breakdown of the home and the decline of national morality.

The Gay Agenda:

A recent decision by a California judge overturned proposition eight which defined marriage as being between one man and one woman.  A fact that has not been made widely known, is that the judge in this case is himself a homosexual.   Shortly after this decision a very misinformed lady who is either homosexual or approves of the homosexual agenda, put the following comment on Facebook.  “Positive movement on 1) prop H8, 2) religious tolerance in NY, 3) racial equality in AZ. Change I can believe in!”  Her references was to 1) the marriage act passed by 71% of the people being declared unconstitutional, 2) the decision to allow a Muslim Mosque adjacent to ground zero, and 3) the federal government suing Arizona over their immigration stance.  Most people believe this is all about same-sex marriage.  The threat is far more than that. 

The gay agenda includes the indoctrination of school children from the 1^st grade up to accept the gay agenda.  There is a push by the same group to lower the legal age for sexual consent to 12 year old boys and girls.  The American Man Boy Love Association is leading this effort.  There is no way to justify the Gay Agenda without first destroying the Christian family and Christianity.  This is not something down the road.  These pedophiles  are active right now.  The lady who made the above comments has no inkling what the Muslim threat to America, and the homosexual will lead.  Likewise, most people have no idea what Sharia Law includes. 

The Muslim Threat:

Within Sharia law, there are a group of “Haram” offenses which carry severe punishments. These include pre-marital sexual intercourse, sex by divorced persons, post-marital sex, adultery, false accusation of unlawful intercourse, drinking alcohol, theft, and highway robbery.  Haram sexual offenses can carry a sentence of stoning to death or severe flogging.  An eyewitness account of Soraya M, a woman executed by stoning, can be read on an anti-Iranian web site. Caution: do not read this if you have a weak stomach; it is quite graphic.   Homosexuality is included under unlawful sexual intercourse.  If and when the Muslims are able to take over the U. S. one of the first things which will be done is the execution of all homosexuals and Lesbians.  Women will be reduced to the status of a slave.  It is impossible to include all of the bad effects of Sharia Law.

 At the present time mosque are springing up all over the U.S..  The Koran teaches that all infidels (non-Muslims) who will not convert must be put to death.  This is being taught in Muslim schools in the U. S. at the present  time.  Islam is not a religion of peace, as many claim, but a political ideology that teaches that Islamic teachings and Sharia law must be spread throughout the world by any means necessary, including violence and terrorism.  The Muslim agenda will not be complete until every person in the world is converted to Islam, or dead.

Illegal Aliens:

From its inception America has been a nation of immigrants. From the first pilgrims to the current arrivals, men women and children have left their na­tive lands to become a part of the American dream. They left behind their families, their homes, their language, and their culture to become known simply as Americans. America became known as the great melting pot.  However, in recent years America has been inundated with an influx of illegal aliens across our southern border.  It is estimated that some twelve million Mexicans have illegally entered our country.  This influx has placed an unsustainable burden on the economies of our border states.  In addition to the jobs being taken by illegal aliens, both our schools as well as our welfare system have been taken advantage of by these immigrants.  The illegal arrivals have no intention of becoming a part of the “melting pot,” rather they insist on maintaining their language, customs, and even their flag.   With them they have brought both disease  and an increase in the crime rate. This is a major threat facing our nation which the Obama administration refuses to halt because they see an opportunity to capitalize on the situation.  It is the desire of the Obama administration to award these individuals with United States citizenship and all privileges, including the right to vote.

Governmental Tyranny:

Once the constraints of Christianity are removed what was once the home of the brave and land of the free, along with our children,  will be condemned to the thousand years of darkness as predicted by Ronald Reagan.  If this is allowed unabated,  we will condemn our children and grandchildren to a life of tyranny.  This has been made possible by our nation being brainwashed in the name of tolerance, political correctness, and apathy.  Do not be deceived, this is not happening by accident.  It is planned by an elite few in pursuit of a One World socialistic government.  If this is to be stopped, it  must be stopped now.    It will take a revolution by We the People of America to turn the tide and restore the land we love.  I pray the revolution may be successfully completed at the ballot box, because if not, the only other option will be the cartridge box. 

I stand before you this morning as a 70 year old man with emphysema.  50 years ago I was serving in the U. S, Navy.  Thirty years ago I was an area campaign manager for Ronald Reagan.  Two years ago, if you asked me, “What are you doing?” my answer would have been “As little as possible.”

It has been my privilege to live during the best years of the greatest nation in the history of the world.  We, you and I, are the sons and daughters of the “greatest generation.”  The freedom they fought and died for has been entrusted to us, along with the Torch of Liberty.  What must we do to leave the same freedoms to our children?

 We must instill in them an understanding of things they are not being taught in school.   They need to know the true story of America. They need to be taught the Judeo-Christian values upon which our nation was built.  They need to understand the quest for freedom that brought the first settlers to these shores.  They need to understand the men who pledged “their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor” to preserve that freedom.  They need to understand the price that has been paid in blood, that we might enjoy that freedom.  And, they need to understand that our freedom is slowly being taken away. 

Today, the life of America is in our hands.  Today, we stand in the shoes of our founding fathers.  This fight is about more than Health-Care, Cap and Trade, and Card Check.  This is a fight to preserve our nation, the freedoms we have known, and to pass them on to our children and grandchildren.  This fight is far too important for this old patriot to sit on the sideline.   I’m no George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, or Ben Franklin, but I just may have a little of Thomas Paine in me.  They say, “The pen is mightier than the sword.”  I hope that’s true because I have written a short 28 page pamphlet entitled. “Once Upon a Time there was A Land Called America.”  Sub-title, “A letter to my Grandchildren’s Grandchildren.”

It tells why people risk all in a 3,000 mile voyage across an ocean to build this land of freedom.  It tells about the “founding fathers” and how they created a government “of the people, by the people and for the people.”  It tells the story of George Washington on his knees in prayer at Valley Forge.  It tells about Pearl Harbor, and how at the end of the day on June 6, 1944, 10,000 allied soldiers lay dead on the beaches of Normandy.  It teaches our heritage, and that freedom is not free.

It tells how Americas began losing our great moral compass in the 60’s.  It tells of the gradual removal of God and His values from our land over the past 50 years.  It looks at where we are today, how we got here, and what it’s going to take to rebuild “The shining city on a hill.” 

Today you and I are engaged in nothing less than a fight for the survival of America.  For the sake of our children and grandchildren, this is a fight we cannot lose, a fight we must not lose, and with God’s help, a fight we will not lose.

Thank you very much, and may God bless the United States of America.  

In 1765 Sir William Blackstone, who taught law at Oxford University, pub¬lished his four-volume Commentaries on the Law of England. They won instant acclaim in England. In the colonies they were not only a sensation, they became a weapon. Throughout the colonies people began citing Black¬stone as an authority on law, rights, and liberties. In the ten years preceding the American Revolution more copies of Blackstone’s Commentaries were sold in the colonies than in England. Blackstone, who believed the purpose of government was the protection of the people, wrote:
“For the principal aim of society is to protect individuals in the enjoyment of those absolute rights, which were vested in them by the immutable laws of nature…Hence it follows, that the first and primary end of human law is to maintain and regulate these absolute rights of individuals. “Those rights, then, which God and nature have established, and are therefore called natural rights, such as are life and liberty, need not the aid of human laws to be more effectually invested in every man than they are; neither do they receive any additional strength when declared by the munici¬pal laws to be inviolable. On the contrary, no human legislature has power to abridge or to destroy them”
These words, finding fertile ground in the hearts and minds of the Ameri¬can colonist, became the bedrock of thought upon which a nation would be built. The seeds of the American Revolution were planted and watered by the attempts of King George III to take these rights away from the colonist. What began as discontent on the part of individuals gradually grew into civil disobedience. The more the flame of liberty was threatened the deeper be¬came their determination to defend it. King George dismissed these men and women taking a stand for liberty as insignificant rabble. The colonist had a different name for them – Patriots.
The Boston Tea Party was a key event in the American Revolution. It was the Boston Tea Party that let do the open rebellion. The crisis escalated and, with “The shot heard round the world,” the American Revolutionary War began at Concord, Massachusetts on April 19, 1775. Just days before, on March 23, Patrick Henry had stood on the floor of the Vir¬ginia House of Burgesses and made a passionate speech which ended with the inspiring words:
“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!”
Six years and six months later on October 19, 1781 On October 19, 1781 General Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington at Yorktown, VA. America was free and independent nation.
Fast-forward two hundred and twenty-nine years to Nov 4, 2008. A devout Muslim by the name of Barack Hussein Obama was anointed President of the United States, and immediately assumed the role of King George III. The seeds of the Second American Revolution were planted and watered by the attempts of Barak Obama to ignore the Constitution, take the rights it guarantees away from the American people, and change United States of America into the Socialist States of America. What began as discontent on the part of individuals gradually grew into civil disobedience. The more the flame of liberty was threatened the deeper be¬came their determination to defend it. Like King George III, King Obama, along with Queen Pelosi and Prince Reid, dismissed these men and women taking a stand for liberty as insignificant rabble. Americans had a different name for them – Patriots.
On February 19, 2009, in a broadcast from the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, CNBC Business News editor, Rick Santelli criticized the a government imposed measure and suggested the time had come for Americans to hold another Tea Party. Video of Santelli’s statement went viral after it received a “red siren” headline on the Drudge Report. Within weeks the Tea Party Movement had gone national with Tea Party Organizations springing up across the entire United States. By April 15, 2009 over 1,000 “Tea Party” demonstrations were held Across America. Americans had had enough and like their colonial forefathers began the Second American Revolution. On September 12, 2009 over one million patriots marched on Washington, D. C. By April 15, 2010 millions of patriots had joined Tea Parties, appeared at Town Hall meetings and like minded organizations.
Dismissed as “Astroturf” by Queen Pelosi, Tea Party members started printing and handing out small copies of the Constitution. Americans began studying the constitution as never before. They soon learned that this government has totally ignored the Constitution. Like our colonial forefathers Americans have refused to be subjugated by an out of control government. Our forefathers had to resort to the cartridge box, but they left us a better option, the ballot box. Across the nation we are seeing candidates being put forth who have read, understand, and will abide by the constitution. The resurgence of patriotism and knowledge of the constitution is the driving force behind the Second American Revolution.
The Second American Revolution will not be bloody as 1776, but it will be just as effective. The labels of democrat or republican carry no meaning for the 21st century patriots. Their vote will be based on whether a man or woman is a conservative or a progressive (liberal). The Second American Revolution will not take six years, as did the first. The decisive battle will be fought on Nov 2, 2010 and the final victory will be achieved in November of 2012. On November 2, 2010 Prince Harry will be replaced and Queen Pelosi will be rendered insignificant. In 2012 King Obama will go down in flames, and be recorded as the worst president in U. S. history. This government will learn the meaning and the strength of “We the People.” This is, and always will be the United States of America, the land of the free and the home of the brave.
With a Constitutional abiding government in place, America will return to being “the shining city on a hill.”
May God bless our efforts and many God continue to bless the United States of America.
www.alandcalledamerica.com

In 1812 the British determined to retake America and the United States was forced into a second war with England. On August 24, 1814 British forces fought their way into Washington, D.C. with the intent of totally destroying thenewcapitalofthe United States.By eveningthe capital was swarming with redcoats. The main buildings of the U.S. government were in flames, setablaze by British torches. The British then moved on to the President’s House. The soldiers left the house in shambles. As the triumphant force departed, the elegant home was put to the torch. The next day, other buildings suffered the same fate. The British reveled in the degradation of the American capital.

Their glee was destined to be short lived, however, by the powerful hand of nature. By early afternoon, the sky above the devastated city darkened. Sud­denly, the area was struck by a freakish hurricane. Lightning flashed again and again through the black sky. The fury of the wind and rain beat at the British soldiers forcing them to seek shelter. A couple of hours later, the hurri­cane was followed by a tornado. The black funnel shrieked through Washing­ton with deadly force. The howling wind flung debris everywhere. Cannons brought by the invading force were lifted off the ground while soldiers threw themselves face down in the mud to avoid being carried away. It was as if a stratospheric ocean had been ripped open, the skies poured water for over two hours. The downpour put out most of the fires set by the British, devastated their columns, and forced them to return to their ships, many of which were badly damaged by the storm. The actual occupation of Washington lasted only 26 hours.

Many claimed that God himself had put out those fires, crippled the British forces, and preserved the nation.

After burning Washington, D.C., the British set their sights on Fort McHen­ry in Baltimore, Md. At 7 a.m. on the morning of September 13, the British bombardment began. The bombardment continued for 25 hours. The Brit­ish fired 1,500 bombshells that weighed as much as 220 pounds and carried lighted fuses that would supposedly cause it to explode when it reached its target. But they weren’t very dependable and often blew up in mid air. From small boats the British fired rockets that traced wobbly arcs of red flame across the sky. That evening the bombardment stopped, but at about 1:00 AM on the 14th the British fleet resumed their bombardment.

During the bombardment an amateur American poet named Francis Scott Key watched the battle from a British warship in Baltimore harbor where he had gone to negotiate the release of an American doctor who had been captured by the British. At dawn on the 14th he saw the American flag still proudly flying over the fort and was inspired to jot down a short poem on the back of an envelope. He entitled his poem, “Defense of Ft. McHenry.” His brother-in-law had a few copies printed which were circulated around Baltimore.On September 20, it was printed in the Baltimore Patriot newspaper, then picked up by other newspapers from New Hampshire to Georgia. The lyrics were set to music, and in October a Baltimore actor sang Key’s new song in a public performance, calling it “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Ameri­cans are very familiar with the first verse of Key’s poem:

O’say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light,

What so proudly we hailed, at the twilight’s last gleaming?

Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,

O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming!

And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night, that our flag was still there;

Oh, say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

However, few if any can recite the last verse which proclaims:

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand,

Between their loved homes, and the war’s desolation!

Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land.

Praise the Power that made, and preserved us a nation!

Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just,

And this be out motto: — “In God is our trust!”

And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

The war ended on January 8, 1815 with the British army being soundly defeated in the Battle of New Orleans by the army under General Andrew Jackson of Tennessee assisted by a pirate named Jean Lafitte. One hundred and seventeen years later, on March 3, 1931 Key’s song was adopted as the national anthem of the United States of America.

The roots of Christianity were deeply imbedded in the soil of America. Key’s words “In God is our trust,” reduced to “In God we Trust,” became our national motto, and are engraved on all of our currency. America had stood the test and justified the faith of the pilgrims who listened to John Winthrop’s sermon in 1620. America was indeed the “shining city set upon a hill.”

In 1831, a young Frenchman by the name of Alexis Tocqueville and a friend toured the United States. Later he is credited with writing these prophetic words concerning what he had learned in America.

“I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her com­modious

harbors and her ample rivers, and it was not there. I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her fertile fields and boundless forest, and it was not there. I sought for the great­ness and genius of

America in her rich mines and her vast world commerce, and it was not there. I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her public school system and her institu­tions of learning, and it was not there. I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her democratic congress and her match­less constitution, and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteous­ness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”

The War of 1812 faded into history, but there loomed on the horizon yet one last war to be fought on American soil. It would be the gravest test of unity our nation would ever undergo. It was the Civil War that erupted in 1861. Slavery, as an institution, had existed from the dawn of written history. It was a given that the inhabitants of a conquered nation would become slaves of the victors. Thus, it was only natural that slavery would be practiced in America just as it was practiced the world over.

However, slavery, as an institution, was opposed to everything America stood for. America could never fully become the “shining city on a hill” until “Land of the free” applied to every citizen, black and white. Southern states consid­ered slavery an economic necessity while the northern states saw it as an un­speakable evil. It was impossible that these opinions would ever be reconciled short of civil war. That war erupted on April 12, 1861 when a U.S. warship fired on Fort Sumter in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina.

620,000 Americans would die in battle over the next four years. One of the bloodiest battles was fought at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania July 1 thru 3, 1863. On November 18, 1863, Abraham Lincoln, one of our greatest presidents, visited the battlefield and gave one of the shortest speeches of any politician in history. Yet, his words have echoed through the ages.

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are en­gaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any na­tion, so conceived

and so dedicated, can long endure… we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government: of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. Theproclamationdeclared “thatallpersonsheldasslaves within the rebellious states are, and henceforward shall be, free.” This presidential proclamation was later to include all slaves and was embedded in the Constitution as the thir­teenth amendment. What is extremely important is that it be understood and remembered, that America did not create the institution of slavery; America abolished it!

To be continued…..

This is the fifth of several installments.It comes from a pamphlet entitled “Once Upon a Time There was A Land Called America.”The entire pamphlet can be read at www.alandcalledamerica.com.

In 1812 the British determined to retake America and the United States was forced into a second war with England. On August 24, 1814 British forces fought their way into Washington, D.C. with the intent of totally destroying the new capital of the United States. By evening the capital was swarming with redcoats. The main buildings of the U.S. government were in flames, setablaze by British torches. The British then moved on to the President’s House. The soldiers left the house in shambles. As the triumphant force departed, the elegant home was put to the torch. The next day, other buildings suffered the same fate. The British reveled in the degradation of the American capital.
Their glee was destined to be short lived, however, by the powerful hand of nature. By early afternoon, the sky above the devastated city darkened. Sud¬denly, the area was struck by a freakish hurricane. Lightning flashed again and again through the black sky. The fury of the wind and rain beat at the British soldiers forcing them to seek shelter. A couple of hours later, the hurri¬cane was followed by a tornado. The black funnel shrieked through Washing¬ton with deadly force. The howling wind flung debris everywhere. Cannons brought by the invading force were lifted off the ground while soldiers threw themselves face down in the mud to avoid being carried away. It was as if a stratospheric ocean had been ripped open, the skies poured water for over two hours. The downpour put out most of the fires set by the British, devastated their columns, and forced them to return to their ships, many of which were badly damaged by the storm. The actual occupation of Washington lasted only 26 hours.
Many claimed that God himself had put out those fires, crippled the British forces, and preserved the nation.
After burning Washington, D.C., the British set their sights on Fort McHen¬ry in Baltimore, Md. At 7 a.m. on the morning of September 13, the British bombardment began. The bombardment continued for 25 hours. The Brit¬ish fired 1,500 bombshells that weighed as much as 220 pounds and carried lighted fuses that would supposedly cause it to explode when it reached its target. But they weren’t very dependable and often blew up in mid air. From small boats the British fired rockets that traced wobbly arcs of red flame across the sky. That evening the bombardment stopped, but at about 1:00 AM on the 14th the British fleet resumed their bombardment.
During the bombardment an amateur American poet named Francis Scott Key watched the battle from a British warship in Baltimore harbor where he had gone to negotiate the release of an American doctor who had been captured by the British. At dawn on the 14th he saw the American flag still proudly flying over the fort and was inspired to jot down a short poem on the back of an envelope. He entitled his poem, “Defense of Ft. McHenry.” His brother-in-law had a few copies printed which were circulated around Baltimore. On September 20, it was printed in the Baltimore Patriot newspaper, then picked up by other newspapers from New Hampshire to Georgia. The lyrics were set to music, and in October a Baltimore actor sang Key’s new song in a public performance, calling it “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Ameri¬cans are very familiar with the first verse of Key’s poem:
O’say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed, at the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming!
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night, that our flag was still there;
Oh, say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
However, few if any can recite the last verse which proclaims:
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand,
Between their loved homes, and the war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land.
Praise the Power that made, and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just,
And this be out motto: — “In God is our trust!”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
The war ended on January 8, 1815 with the British army being soundly defeated in the Battle of New Orleans by the army under General Andrew Jackson of Tennessee assisted by a pirate named Jean Lafitte. One hundred and seventeen years later, on March 3, 1931 Key’s song was adopted as the national anthem of the United States of America.
The roots of Christianity were deeply imbedded in the soil of America. Key’s words “In God is our trust,” reduced to “In God we Trust,” became our national motto, and are engraved on all of our currency. America had stood the test and justified the faith of the pilgrims who listened to John Winthrop’s sermon in 1620. America was indeed the “shining city set upon a hill.”
In 1831, a young Frenchman by the name of Alexis Tocqueville and a friend toured the United States. Later he is credited with writing these prophetic words concerning what he had learned in America.
“I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her com¬modious
harbors and her ample rivers, and it was not there. I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her fertile fields and boundless forest, and it was not there. I sought for the great¬ness and genius of
America in her rich mines and her vast world commerce, and it was not there. I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her public school system and her institu¬tions of learning, and it was not there. I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her democratic congress and her match¬less constitution, and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteous¬ness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”
The War of 1812 faded into history, but there loomed on the horizon yet one last war to be fought on American soil. It would be the gravest test of unity our nation would ever undergo. It was the Civil War that erupted in 1861. Slavery, as an institution, had existed from the dawn of written history. It was a given that the inhabitants of a conquered nation would become slaves of the victors. Thus, it was only natural that slavery would be practiced in America just as it was practiced the world over.
However, slavery, as an institution, was opposed to everything America stood for. America could never fully become the “shining city on a hill” until “Land of the free” applied to every citizen, black and white. Southern states consid¬ered slavery an economic necessity while the northern states saw it as an un¬speakable evil. It was impossible that these opinions would ever be reconciled short of civil war. That war erupted on April 12, 1861 when a U.S. warship fired on Fort Sumter in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina.
620,000 Americans would die in battle over the next four years. One of the bloodiest battles was fought at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania July 1 thru 3, 1863. On November 18, 1863, Abraham Lincoln, one of our greatest presidents, visited the battlefield and gave one of the shortest speeches of any politician in history. Yet, his words have echoed through the ages.
“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are en¬gaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any na¬tion, so conceived
and so dedicated, can long endure… we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government: of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared “that all persons held as slaves within the rebellious states are, and henceforward shall be, free.” This presidential proclamation was later to include all slaves and was embedded in the Constitution as the thir¬teenth amendment. What is extremely important is that it be understood and remembered, that America did not create the institution of slavery; America abolished it!
To be continued…..
This is the fifth of several installments. It comes from a pamphlet entitled “Once Upon a Time There was A Land Called America.” The entire pamphlet can be read at www.alandcalledamerica.com.

From 1781 until 1789 the thirteen colonies were governed by the “Articles of Confederation,” which soon proved
to be insufficient for governing the young nation. As a result a constitutional convention was convened in 1787 at the same location where the Declaration of Independence had been signed 11 years earlier. For four months, 55 delegates from the several states met to frame a Constitution for a federal republic that would last into “remote futurity.” On September 17, 1787 the Constitution for the United States of America was signed into law. Its preamble made it one of the most unique documents ever drawn up for governing mankind.

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more per¬fect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

As he walked from the hall that day, 81 year old Benjamin Franklin was ap¬proached by a lady who asked, “Sir, what form of government will we have?” His answer was, “A Republic madam, if you are able to keep it.”

During the debates on the adoption of the Constitution, its opponents re¬peatedly charged that the Constitution From 1781 until 1789 the thirteen colonies were governed by the “Articles of Confederation,” which soon proved as drafted would open the way to tyranny by the central government. Fresh in their minds was the memory of the British violation of civil rights before and during the Revolution. They demanded a “bill of rights” that would spell out the immunities of individual citizens. Several state conventions in their formal ratification of the Constitu¬tion asked for such amendments; others ratified the Constitution with the understanding that the amendments would be added.

On September 25, 1789 ten amendments were added to the Constitution which are known as the Bill of Rights. The first article in the Bill of Rights states:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of re¬ligion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a re¬dress of grievances.”

Two facts were behind this Amendment. First, when the thirteen colonies threw off the yoke of the King of England they also threw off the yoke of the Church of England; the national church of the British Empire. This “church” was even above the King, with the authority to order religious crusades, dis¬ miss kings, and imprison anyone at its pleasure. This was never to be the case in America. In America the individual, not the church, would determine his own faith and his manner of expressing it. Secondly, and just as important, is the recognition of the importance of religion as the basis of our national morality, and its public expression as essential to our national existence.

We hear a lot these days about the “Constitutional wall of separation between church and state.” That statement is not found in the Constitution, and is totally foreign to the thinking of the founding fathers. Our constitution does not put a wall between church and state, it places restrictions on government. It prohibits governmental authority over churches. The government is pro¬hibited from either establishing a state church or restricting any of us from practicing our own religion, both in private and in public.

Thus it was, that the men we called our founding fathers came together at par¬ticular times, and in particular places to establish a nation which has changed the course of human history. The nation they founded had never before been known on the earth or imagined in the minds of men. It would be an experi¬ment in government “of the people, by the people, and for the people,” which would preserve and promote freedom and liberty through a system of equal justice under law by providing equal treatment to every person. More impor¬tant, it would place the ultimate power, not in the hands of government, but in the hands of “We the people.”

In commenting on this document, John Adams stated, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the govern¬ment of any other.”

In 1789 the Electoral College elected George Washington to the presidency of the new republic, and again in 1792. Washington took the oath of office as the first President under the Constitution of the United States of America on April 30, 1789 at Federal Hall in New York City. Upon finishing his second term he refused a third even though he was requested to stay in office. On September 17, 1796 George Washing gave his farewell address to the nation. It contained a warning for both the nation and all who would follow him into the presidency.

“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political pros¬perity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should la¬bor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these fin¬est props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked: Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation deserts the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice? And let us with caution indulge in the supposi¬tion that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on the minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in the exclusion of religious principal.”

To be continued…..
This is the fourth of several installments. It comes from a pamphlet entitled “Once Upon a Time There was A Land Called America.” The entire pamphlet can be read at www.alandcalledamerica.com.

The answer is an emphatic No!. Why? Because America is not a place on a map. America is an ideal which lives in the heart of every human being. It is that longing to live free in a land of freedom, that has attracted men and women to these shores for over four hundred years.
It was on April 27 1607, that three small ships arrived off the coast of the “New World.” They brought with them some food, a few arms, and an unquenchable desire to build a new life for themselves and their families. They were followed by numerous other ships transporting, not the aristocracy of Europe, but ordinary and downtrodden souls looking for a better life. Each of them had more than one reason for spending three months crossing 3,000 miles of ocean but, there was one reason they all had in common. Their desire for freedom! It was called the “New World” for more reasons than just its location. It was new because was just being populated by western Europeans. But more important, it was new because it embedded an ideal which was unique to the long history of mankind. America was a very hostile place where those original settlers faced many hardships and much disease, but they kept coming. From these first seedlings has grown greatest nation to ever exist. The desire for freedom is a desire which can never be quenched, and their legacy will never be destroyed by any government or force of arms.
It has been tried more than once and each time it has failed. On October 25, 1670 George William Fredrick was anointed as King George III of England. As a result of the cost of the French and Indian wars, he needed more tax revenue. He looked to the colonies as the source for that revenue. That was a grave mistake. On the Gadsden Flag there is a rattle snake. The rattle snake always gives a warning before it strikes. The warning on the flag was “Don’t Tread on Us.” King George had other warnings as well. Concord, Trenton, and the Boston Tea Party. When he ignored these warnings the American Patriots turned to the cartridge box.
Americans are, and always have been a peace loving people. In 1776 the Colonist did not want war with England. They just wanted to be left alone to direct their own lives and build a better life for their families. At the time of the American Revolution only one third of the colonist were in favor of Independence. A third were loyal to England and another third just wanted to be left alone. It was a small minority approximately 1% of the colonist who actually took up arms. At its height Washington’s army was only about 25,000 men. Yet these rag-tagged, poorly equipped, and untrained citizen soldiers went up against the best trained and best armed army in the world, and won. How could this be?
The reason they were undefeatable, no matter what the force, was the cause for which they fought. The British soldiers were fighting for a pay check. The American patriots were fighting for their lives, their families and their freedom. An ideal cannot be defeated by a force of arms, and America is an ideal which still lives in the hearts of men and women who will not and cannot be subjugated.
Years after the war ended John Adams made the astute observation,
“But what do we mean by the American Revolution? Do we mean the American war? The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments, of their duties and obligations…This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people was the real American Revolution.”
Obama is making the same mistake as King George when he believes that he, his minions, and his S.E.I.U. goons are capable of subjugating the people of America. Our preference is the ballot box, but if that fails, we still have the cartridge box. Obama scoffs at those who “cling to their guns and Bible.” This land was settled by men and women who “clung to their guns and Bible.” It will be defended today by people who still cling to their guns and Bibles. Obama was right in his statement but his great mistake is to underestimate the power of both guns and the Bible. Note should be taken of the fact that Americans are the best armed people in the world. They are also the most religious. The spirit of 76 is alive and well in the hearts of American patriots all over this land. Obama has had more than one warning. Millions of people have turned out for Tea Parties , Town Halls, and a march on Washington, D. C. That number is growing, not shrinking like Obama’s poll numbers.
The men and women who proudly wear the uniform of our country are not fighting to establish a socialist state, but fighting to defend the “land of the free and the home of the brave.” If Obama thinks they will turn their guns on the American people he is badly mistaken. He has a few goons at his disposal. The problem with goons is that they only fight when they have the majority. If the time comes that this nation decides to rise up, Obama’s gutless goons will scatter like rats leaving a sinking ship and the guns of the military will be pointed toward Washington, D.C. It is “We the People” who have built this nation and it is “We the People” who will defend it against “all foes, domestic or foreign.” This includes the current occupant of the White House.
With the help of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, he has managed to control two branches of our government, but he cannot, and does not, control the Supreme Court. It is the Supreme Court which has the final say on the legislation being forced through congress. It is my prayer that they do their job because if they don’t I am afraid there will be blood in the streets of America. In America, freedom is not a concept; it is the very life blood of our nation. This life blood flows through the veins of every patriotic American and will never be removed. Subjection will never be an option. The Torch of Liberty, lit by our founding fathers, preserved by our ancestors, and passed to us, will not be quenched by a self-serving megalomaniac no matter what his title may be.
Like our colonial ancestors, we are a peace loving people as well as the most generous people in the world. All we ask is to be left alone to live our lives and provide for our families. But, if pushed too far we, like them, will defend our liberty. It was Thomas Jefferson who said, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” Let us pray this is never necessary, but “When injustice becomes law – Resistance becomes duty.
To quote Ronald Reagan,
“You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of dark¬ness.”
If push comes to shove, Americans will fight!

The crisis escalated and, with “The shot heard round the world,” the American Revolutionary War began at Concord, Massachusetts on April 19, 1775. Just days before, on March 23, Patrick Henry had stood on the floor of the Vir¬ginia House of Burgesses and made a passionate speech which ended with the inspiring words:

“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!”

On May 10, 1775 the Second Continental Congress convened in the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia. Today the building is known as Inde¬pendence Hall because it was there that delegates from all thirteen colonies gave birth to a new nation. We call these men our Founding Fathers and the nation they founded the United States of America. They have been described as “enlightened geniuses touched by divine intervention.” I cannot imagine a more succinct definition. I am convinced that only God could have brought together such men, at such a time, in such a place, and with such a purpose. The purpose was God’s, and the men were His instruments for accomplishing it.

Among the founding fathers of America we find names such as George Wash¬ington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, James Madi¬son, and John and Samuel Adams, among many others. The youngest del¬egate was 26 years old. The oldest, Benjamin Franklin, was 70. The purpose of the meeting was not to declare independence but to unite the thirteen colonies in the fight against British Tyranny.

By the time the Second Continental Congress met, the American Revolu¬tionary War had already begun with the Battles of Lexington and Concord. For the first few months the Patriots had carried on their struggle in an ad-hoc and uncoordinated manner. They had seized arsenals, driven out royal officials, and besieged the British army in the city of Boston. To achieve unity among those in the field Congress voted to create the Continental Army and appointed George Washington of Virginia as commanding general.

Beyond these initial areas of cooperation there was considerable difference of opinion regarding the future. Would they remain loyal to the king or move for independence? There were also differences in the perceived needs of the northern colonies and the southern colonies as well as between the larger colonies and the smaller ones. These differences caused months to pass with little, if anything, being accomplished. Then one morning, in a little known fact of history, Benjamin Franklin stood before the assembly and proposed that they might find more in common if they opened each of their sessions with a prayer. When Franklin’s proposal was adopted, they began focusing on their common needs rather than their differences.

On June 7, 1776 Richard Henry Lee of Virginia introduced a resolution urging Congress to declare independence from Great Britain. On June 11 a committee was appointed to draft a declaration of independence. On June 28, a copy of the committee’s draft was read in Congress. From July 1 thru 4 the assembly debated and revised the declaration. On July 4, 1776 Congress adopted “The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America.” Notice the eternal truths set forth as justification for our national existence and the purpose of our government.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalien¬able rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

With the adoption of this declaration John Winthrop’s vision of a “shining city set upon a hill” became a reality and The United States of America was born. The final sentence of our founding document reads:
“And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.” Fifty-six men signed the document. In the ensuing defense of their pledge, many gave their lives and most gave their fortunes, but not a single one relin¬quished his Sacred Honor.

While the delegates in Philadelphia were constructing a nation, the small rag tag army of patriots under the command of George Washington was engaged in a desperate struggle for survival in the face of overwhelming British forces. The most difficult time faced by Washington’s army was the winter of 1777- 78 which was spent at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Concerning those days the Marquis de Lafayette wrote: “The unfortunate soldiers were in want of every¬thing; they had neither coats nor hats, nor shirts, nor shoes. Their feet and their legs froze until they were black, and it was often necessary to amputate them.”

Early one morning in the depth of winter, George Washington mounted his horse and, leaving his staff behind, rode into a wooded area not far from the encampment. Alone in the woods that cold December morning an event took place which only the general and his God would have known had not a local farmer named Isaac Potts happened upon the scene. Years later he shared what he had seen with Reverend Nathaniel Snowden, who recorded it in his “Diary and Remembrances.”

“I was riding with Mr. Potts near to the Valley Forge where the army lay during the war of
ye Revolution, when Mr. Potts said, Do you see that woods and that plain? There laid the
army of Washington. It was a most distressing time of ye war, and all were for giving up
the Ship but that great and good man. In that woods (pointing to a close in view) I
heard a plaintive sound as of a man at prayer. I tied my horse to a sapling & went quietly
into the woods. To my astonishment I saw the great George Washington on his knees alone,
with his sword on one side and his cocked hat on the other. He was at prayer to the God of Armies, beseeching to interpose with his Divine aid, as it was ye crisis & the cause of the country, humanity & of the world.

Such a prayer I never heard from the lips of man. I left him alone praying. I went home and
told my wife. We never thought a man could be a soldier & a Christian, but if there is one in
the world, it is Washington. We thought it was the cause of God & America could prevail.”
Two months later on, Feb 6, 1778, France entered the war on the side of the new nation. This led to wonderful changes in the morale and fighting capabilities of the Continental Army. Valuable foreign volunteers and fresh replacements trickled into camp. More important, it was at Valley Forge that the ragged amateur troops were turned into a confident 18th century military organization capable of beating the Red Coats in the open field of battle.

On October 19, 1781 General Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington at Yorktown, VA. Although the fighting would last another year, the British defeat at Yorktown, for all practical purposes, ended the American Revolutionary War. On December 28, 1783, upon the occasion of resigning his commission as General of the Continental Army, Washington closed his remarks with the following comment.

“I consider it an indispensable duty to close this last solemn act of my official life by commending the interest of our dearest country to the protection of the Almighty God and those who have the superintendence of them into His Holy keeping.”

To be continued…..
This is the third of several installments. It comes from a pamphlet entitled “Once Upon a Time There was A Land Called America.” The entire pamphlet can be read at www.alandcalledamerica.com.

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It was the pursuit of a dream. A dream of living free in a land of freedom. This dream sustained them through the darkest days of the young nation and was the bond which held them together through many hardships. Their journey was more than a voyage across 3,000 miles of ocean. They saw it as a moral ob­ligation to set before all mankind an example of how God would protect and exalt a nation built upon His principles.

One of their early leaders was a preacher named John Winthrop who would become the governor of Massachusetts. While still on board the Arbella he delivered a sermon to the small group of passengers. His sermon was taken in part from Matthew 5:14 which states, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” The part of his sermon which has endured for almost 400 years states:

“For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken…we shall be made a story and a by-word throughout the world. We shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God…We shall shame the faces of many of God’s worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into curses upon us til we be consumed out of the good land whether we are a-going.”

Life in the new world was hard, but for the first 150 years they were able to enjoy their freedom with very little interference from England. However, on October 25, 1760 George William Fredrick was anointed as King George III of England. Under his reign a number of restrictions and taxes were imposed on the America colonist. Their petitions for relief, sent to the King and Parlia­ment fell on deaf ears. The freedom they held so dear was slowly being taken away and there was no way they were going to remain silent.

In 1765 Sir William Blackstone, who taught law at Oxford University, pub­lished his four-volume Commentaries on the Law of England. They won

instant acclaim in England. In the colonies they were not only a sensation, they became a weapon. Throughout the colonies people began citing Black­stone as an authority on law, rights, and liberties. In the ten years preceding the American Revolution more copies of Blackstone’s Commentaries were sold in the colonies than in England. Blackstone, who believed the purpose of government was the protection of the people, wrote:

“For the principal aim of society is to protect individuals in the enjoyment of those absolute rights, which were vested in them by the immutable laws of nature…Hence it follows, that the first and primary end of human law is to maintain and regulate these absolute rights of individuals. “Those rights, then, which God and nature have established, and are therefore called natural rights, such as are life and liberty, need not the aid of human laws to be more effectually invested in every man than they are; neither do they receive any additional strength when declared by the munici­pal laws to be inviolable. On the contrary, no human legislature has power to abridge or to destroy them”

These words, finding fertile ground in the hearts and minds of the Ameri­can colonist, became the bedrock of thought upon which a nation would be built. The seeds of the American Revolution were planted and watered by the attempts of King George III to take these rights away from the colonist. What began as discontent on the part of individuals gradually grew into civil disobedience. The more the flame of liberty was threatened the deeper be­came their determination to defend it. King George dismissed these men and women taking a stand for liberty as insignificant rabble. The colonist had a different name for them – Patriots.

Until this time the individual colonies, now numbering 13, had pretty much remained independent of one another. Each was governed by its own legisla­ture. However, when their liberties became threatened, they saw the need to unite and communicate with one another regarding what could, and should be done. “Committees of Correspondence” were established in each colony to keep them advised as to what was going on in the other twelve.

Various steps were taken by the British crown to subjugate the colonists and stamp out the growing rebellion. Ridged laws were passed and heavy taxes imposed. In response, “No taxation without representation,” became a rallying cry among the growing number of patriots. The more the British authorities moved to quell the activities of the growing movement, the more resolute the colonist became. The flame of liberty would not be quenched.

One of the most famous acts of civil disobedience, known as the Boston Tea Party, was carried out on the night of December 16, 1773. After officials in Boston refused to return three shiploads of taxed tea to Britain, a group of

colonists, dressed as Indians, boarded the ships and destroyed the tea by throwing it into Boston Harbor.

The Tea Party was the culmination of a resistance movement throughout co­lonial America against the Tea Act, which Parliament had passed in 1773. Protesters had successfully prevented the unloading of taxed tea in three other colonies, but in Boston, the Royal Governor, refused to allow the tea to be returned to Britain. It never occurred to him that the protestors would choose to destroy the tea before conceding to the authority of a Parliament in which they had no representation.

The Boston Tea Party was a key event in the American Revolution. Parlia­ment responded in 1774 with the Coercive Acts, which, among other things, closed Boston’s harbor until the British East India Company had been repaid for the destroyed tea. Colonists responded to the Coercive Acts by convening the First Continental Congress.

The First Continental Congress was a convention of 56 delegates from twelve of the thirteen colonies that met on September 5, 1774, at Carpenters’ Hall in Philadelphia. It was called in response to the passage of the Coercive Acts (called The Intolerable Acts by colonial Americans). The Congress met briefly to consider their options, which included an economic boycott of British trade, publication of a list of rights and grievances, and a petition to King George for redress of those grievances.

They planned for another Continental Congress in the event their petition was unsuccessful in halting enforcement of the Intolerable Acts. Their appeal to the Crown had no effect, so the Second Continental Congress was con­vened the following year to organize the defense of the colonies at the onset of the American Revolutionary War.

To be continued…

This is the second of several installments. It comes from a pamphlet entitled “Once Upon a Time There was A Land Called America.” The entire pamphlet can be read at www.alandcalledamerica.com.