“We may please ourselves with the prospect of free and popular Governments. But there is great Danger, that those Governments will not make us happy. God grant they may. But I fear, that in every assembly, Members will obtain an Influence, by Noise not sense. By Meanness, not Greatness. By Ignorance not Learning. By contracted Hearts not large souls. I fear too, that it will be impossible to convince and perswade People to establish wise Regulations. ” - John Adams (1)
This next blog post will be the last of our dive into the more political perspective for a few weeks. In it I plan to review some important historical facts related to the founding of our nation. I will try to move quickly through this topic because I know not all find it as enjoyable as I do, however it is necessary to spend some time in historical learning. When I was in school, history was my favorite subject, but I often heard it said that schools put too much emphasis on the humanities and not enough on STEM subjects. I do believe we need a strong STEM curriculum but not at the expense of learning our history and how the world works. Too frequently I see some type of article about a startling percentage of American adults who do not know basic facts about how our government was formed, how it functions, or other facts that should be common knowledge. Sometimes this type of article is meant to elicit a comical response, which it should on some level, but when we begin to dive deep into this it is unfortunate that the education system has failed so many of us. One consequence of this lack of understanding our history are the many institutional issues today. No longer do people think critically about policy proposals or government actions, they accept what their favorite politician or talking head tells them is the truth then go with it. So, I hope you find this information enjoyable and appreciate its importance to our broader discussion. As with all the topics in the initial phase of this blog I will stay at a fairly high level on some points in the effort to ensure brevity and conciseness, but I do hope to go further in depth into each at a later time.
The true history of America starts in time immemorial with the natives who made this continent their home long before any European explorer thought to head this way. Their story is part of our story, much like the early Dutch, French, and Spanish explorers and trappers who dove into the unknown portions of the map to explore North America. After that came the puritans and religious refugees that were seeking a new homeland. This blog, however, will primarily focus on those pivotal years in the latter half of the 18th century. When the colonies of Great Britain began to tire of cowing under what they saw as unjust economic policies. This was not the only fact that caused the colonists to rebel, but it is the proverbial “straw that broke the camel's back.” John Locke stated that it was the most fundamental function of government to protect property, and that when duty was forsaken, the citizens were no longer in a civil society, but a state of nature which allowed those same citizens to resist the failing government. (2) Locke’s theories were fundamental to the Liberal ideology as spelled out in the last post. They also greatly influenced many of the Founding Fathers such as Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Richard Henry Lee to name a few. This resistance to the economic policies of the British Crown came to a head in 1774 when Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts as a response to the Boston Tea Party. Which was itself a violent response to unjust taxation on tea and other goods. The colonists enthusiastically adopted the slogan “no taxation without representation.”
In order to form a more organized response to British aggression, the thirteen colonies established the First Continental Congress later in 1774. The elected representatives included George Washington, Samuel Adams, and John Adams to name a few. During this congress the delegates agreed to a unified response by passing the Suffolk Resolves, which in part encouraged a boycott of British goods. More importantly, it united the disparate colonies around a common cause, and they agreed to meet again next year.
In April of 1775 the Massachusetts militia engaged British regulars at Lexington and Concord, “the shot heard round the world.” Our revolution had begun. When the Second Continental Congress began to meet in May of 1775 debates on what to do next raged. Some representatives wanted to reconcile with Britain, some were ready for independence from the start, and many others were somewhere in the middle. As you well know, all entreaties to the British government failed. In June of 1776 Richard Henry Lee put forth a resolution for independence to be approved by the congress. A committee consisting of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman were pulled together to write a formal declaration should Lee’s resolution pass. On July 2, 1776 Lee’s resolution for independence passed, with the Declaration of Independence we know and love so well passing on July 4, 1776. It was then signed by a majority of the delegates on August 2. Ironically, John Adams thought that July 2nd would be the day that should be celebrated with fireworks and festivities, but history had other plans.
The intervening years of war and hardship are some of the most captivating in American history. George Washington led an underfed, underfunded, and under equipped army against the best in the world at that time. The Continental Congress, then later the Congress founded under the Articles of Confederation (1781), could not force the colonies to provide anything. They could only request funds from the colonies who often ignored them. It is truly a miracle that we succeeded. And with the help of British dysfunction, as well as the French fleet, we did. On September 3, 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed. We were now at peace and had won our independence. However, the problems that were present during the war did not go away.
The Articles of Confederation institutionalized an ineffectual government that constantly teetered on the verge of collapse. It had no power, there was little sense of national unity, and the American experience was close to failing. In a moment of exasperation George Washington wrote to James Madison that we needed to get our act together: “We are either a United people, or we are not. If the former, let us, in all matters of general concern act as a nation, which have national objects to promote, and a National character to support—If we are not, let us no longer act a farce by pretending to it.” (3) It was Washington’s view that there needed to be more power in the federal government. That this union of disparate states could no longer subsist as it had. He saw those ill effects firsthand during the war when his army was in constant danger of melting away because they did not receive supplies and funds from congress. Washington’s concerns were not alone, and in 1787 a Constitutional Convention was convened to draft a new form of government.
After much debate, on June 21, 1788 The United States Constitution was ratified, and the country, mostly, as we know it was formed. We now had three branches of government, the executive, legislative, and judiciary. The legislative to make the laws, the executive to enforce them, and the judiciary to regulate them in light of powers enumerated within the Constitution. The structure was unique. Our Founding Fathers created a democratic republic with a bicameral legislature, a separation of church and state, and rights guaranteed from the beginning (in the Bill of Rights). So our government now had structure, but where did its authority, legitimacy, and power come from? John Jay, in a letter to George Washington in 1787, said most presciently that we should adopt many of the proposals above, but importantly that any changes should originate in the only true source of legitimate authority - the people. (4) It was this idea, that the authority of the government originated with the people, that undergirded our new republic.
Previously, monarchs relied on the idea of Divine Right, which is: “the right of a sovereign to rule as set forth by the theory of government that holds that a monarch receives the right to rule directly from God and not from the people.” (5) From the medieval Popes to Frederick Barbarossa, to the kings of France, England, Denmark, Spain, and beyond, every Christian majority nation gained their legitimacy, authority, and power from their foundation on tradition and religion. Including the many non-Christian monarchies that existed at this time who also based their power in religion and tradition. John Locke wrote his most influential theories down as a response to those who defended the supposed Divine Right of Kings. Those defenders theorized that God appointed kings all the way down from Adam, and that since their authority came directly from God, dissent was akin to blasphemy. These two ideas, that power rests in the people, and that power exists outside of religion, are the cornerstones of our American system. Without the idea that power originates with the people, we would have no separation of church and state; and without a separation of church and state, the people would have no power. The friction between these two ideals is what led many of the earliest religious refugees to come to America. I have recently heard it stated that “America is a Christian nation” or “America was founded on Christian ideals.” These statements usually portend a defense of increased religious legislation or even outright theocratic efforts. While it is true that many of our founders and framers were men of religious conviction, it is the fact of America’s secularism, enshrined in the foundational separation of church and state in the Bill of Rights, that made us unique in world history. It was the founder’s support for religious diversity and prohibition of state backed religion that differentiated us from the countries that existed prior to America. Our country was made to be a shining “city on a hill” but as a beacon of liberty, not Christianity. This was one of the first times in human history that, most of, the people that were to be governed were the ones who decided how the government would function. They expressly chose to include these ideals.
In 1785, a few years before the Constitution would be ratified, a series of laws were proposed in Virginia and other colonies that would have provided tax funds to churches as a means to keep them open and supported. James Madison wrote a response attacking this type of legislation as un-American and un-Christian.
“Because the establishment proposed by the Bill is not requisite for the support of the Christian Religion. To say that it is, is a contradiction to the Christian Religion itself, for every page of it disavows a dependence on the powers of this world: it is a contradiction to fact; for it is known that this Religion both existed and flourished, not only without the support of human laws, but in spite of every opposition from them, and not only during the period of miraculous aid, but long after it had been left to its own evidence and the ordinary care of Providence. Nay, it is a contradiction in terms; for a Religion not invented by human policy, must have pre-existed and been supported, before it was established by human policy. It is moreover to weaken in those who profess this Religion a pious confidence in its innate excellence and the patronage of its Author; and to foster in those who still reject it, a suspicion that its friends are too conscious of its fallacies to trust it to its own merits.” (6)
His first sentence calls to mind that the Christian religion existed long before any bill proposed in the United States of America. As such, it has existed and flourished beyond the help of earthly powers, thus, to pretend that Christianity needs the assistance of mere man is pure folly. Establishing rules of this sort could only hurt both the civil government, and the religion. His views were by no means unique. That is why many of the framers and colonies refused to sign the new Constitution until the Bill of Rights was included, which as stated above established the separation of church and state. Madison also points out that this type of policy would only weaken Christianity as well by weakening its stance to non-believers. It would give the view to those outside the church that those within did not trust in what they said, or did not trust in God to provide, so they must look to the government instead.
In 1796, after the Constitution was ratified and while George Washington was President, the United States entered into a treaty with the Barbary States. This treaty affirmed, “As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion...” (7) I am belaboring this point, and will continue to do so in other posts, because the idea of our uniqueness as a result of our Christianity has so recently pervaded the public discourse and churches of today that I can no longer sit idly by. Many of our founders were Christian, and many leaders throughout our history have been Christian, but this does not mean that we are a Christian nation, or a “new Israel,” founded for some special purpose to be fulfilled in a divine plan. Do I believe that everything happens according to God’s will? Yes, most definitely, but nations have risen and fallen throughout the history of the world. Our nation may fulfill some divine purpose, but it may not. We may fall just as the Romans, Greeks, Persians, Babylonians, Mongols, Prussians, Austro-Hungarians, or any other great empire. If the worst happens, if our country does get placed on the ash-heap of history; Christianity will still survive. Jesus will still be king. We can still fulfill our duty as Christians, with or without America. It is this belief which is the root of much of the fear we see in Christians today. Many today worry that we are losing our way as a nation and that the only way to bring us back is to make our nation more Christian and legislate morality. Now, I certainly believe that if more people become Christians our country would be better off spiritually, and socially. But, just as the founders believed, I believe that you cannot legislate this morality. A government cannot support one religion over another and still be a beacon of liberty for all those around the world to see. I do not take this stance as a resignation to whatever may come. I still believe that Christians can and should be active participants in government, that we should push for sound policies, and societal, cultural regeneration. And when the government fails we take matters into our own hands and do what Jesus did. We love our neighbor as ourselves, we fight for the poor and downtrodden, we change our societies through our love and prayer. We do not fight like the world or hire someone from the world to fight for us. That is not the way of Christ.
In the previous blog post I stated that the goal of government is to provide for the common good. It is important to note that at no time in our history has our government ever been completely good for all its people. From the very beginning this country perpetuated slavery to the extreme, we did not count anyone who was not a white land owning male as a full citizen worthy of a vote until the 1900s, and our policies towards Indians, prisoners, and the poor have constantly been inadequate at best. In all these instances, Christians stepped in. Men and women of conviction saw wrong and attempted to make it right. They tried to have legislation passed, but when that failed, they set up community organizations and groups to tackle these challenges themselves. I love America, but we have often failed in the past, we have often fallen short of an even cursory Christian moral standard. We can do better. That is another great principle of America, that we have hope for a better tomorrow. Americans hope and work to make our tomorrow better than our today. How much even more so for Christians! We who have the ultimate hope in the universe. So, we should not look back and try to return to some old standard that did not even exist in the first place. We should not try to turn America into a theocracy. The founders of this country intentionally established the structure that they did; which has allowed us to flourish beyond any of their wildest imaginations. We must move forward trusting in a God who provides all things, he gives rain to the good and the evil. He is with us in the same way that he was with the first Christians as they faced persecutions and trials much worse than we are facing today. So whatever may come for the future of America, we trust as James Madison said, to the confidence in the innate excellence of our religion, and the patronage of its Author.
1. “From John Adams to James Warren, 22 April 1776,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-04-02-0052. [Original source: The Adams Papers, Papers of John Adams, vol. 4, February–August 1776, ed. Robert J. Taylor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1979, pp. 135–137.]
2. Locke, J. (1980). Second Treatise of Government (C. B. Macpherson, Ed.). Hackett Publishing Company Inc. (Original work published 1690)
3. “From George Washington to James Madison, 30 November 1785,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-03-02-0357. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Confederation Series, vol. 3, 19 May 1785 – 31 March 1786, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1994, pp. 419–421.]
4. “To George Washington from John Jay, 7 January 1787,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-04-02-0427. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Confederation Series, vol. 4, 2 April 1786 – 31 January 1787, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1995, pp. 502–504.]
5. Definition of divine right. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster Dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/divine%20right
6. “Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments, [ca. 20 June] 1785,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/01-08-02-0163. [Original source: The Papers of James Madison, vol. 8, 10 March 1784 – 28 March 1786, ed. Robert A. Rutland and William M. E. Rachal. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1973, pp. 295–306.]
7. Avalon Project - The Barbary Treaties 1786-1816 - Treaty of Peace and Friendship, Signed at Tripoli November 4, 1796. (n.d.). https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/bar1796t.asp
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