Birthday time for America once again and remembering these patriots is a great way to celebrate it
Founders Without Whom America Would Not Exist
By Chuck Baldwin
June 30, 2011
Archived column:
http://chuckbaldwinlive.com/home/?p=3718As we enter another Independence Day weekend, I think it would be
good to remind ourselves of who those men were that counted the cost
and paid the price to bring this land of liberty into existence.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of Americans today seem to have very
little--if any--knowledge and appreciation for the sacrifices that our
Founding Fathers made in order to birth this great country. We can
thank the vast majority of our schools (including the institutions of
higher learning), major media, political institutions, and even
churches for this egregious embarrassment. Accordingly, I think it
fitting that today’s column will attempt to renew in our hearts the
respect and reverence that these great men whom we call Founding
Fathers so richly deserve.
George Washington
Called “The Father of His Country,” George Washington was,
perhaps, the most important man of the founding era. Supernaturally
spared during the Indian wars, Washington became the military leader
who held the Continental Army together when it was virtually
impossible for any man to do so. Without his leadership at Valley
Forge and elsewhere, there is absolutely no doubt that the Continental
Army would have fallen apart and the fight for independence would have
been lost.
Equally significant is the leadership that George Washington
demonstrated in the Continental Congress. Without question, Washington
was the glue that held the political bodies of the colonies together.
Then add the fact that George Washington was America’s first
President, whose leadership solidified the colonies into a new United
States, and his value to the cause of American independence cannot be
in any way overstated.
Think of it: George Washington was the commander-in-chief of the
Continental Army. And he led that inferior army to victory over the
greatest military force in the world at the time: Great Britain.
Afterward, Washington rebuffed a strong effort to inaugurate him as
America’s king, and led the fledgling nation to embrace republican
government instead. Washington presided over the Constitutional
Convention that drafted the US Constitution. He was America’s first
President. Washington’s Farewell Address formed the compass and
rudder of America for at least the next hundred years and, in my
opinion, is the greatest political address ever delivered on American
soil. Without George Washington, there would be no America.
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of America’s birth
certificate: the Declaration of Independence. In my mind, there is no
greater document of liberty ever written by man. When it came to the
understanding of human rights, individual liberty, State rights, and
enlightenment philosophy, Jefferson had no peer.
President John F. Kennedy once held a dinner at the White House for a
group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time. He made this
statement: “This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence
ever to gather at one time in the White House with the exception of
when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.” He was probably right.
Jefferson served in the Continental Congress; he was the first
Secretary of State; he was the third President of the United States;
he commissioned the Lewis and Clark expedition; he was the author of
the Virginia Statute For Religious Freedom, which is regarded as one
of the greatest declarations of religious liberty ever written; he
spoke five languages and could read two others; he knew and influenced
virtually every man who would be regarded as a Founding Father today;
and he wrote nearly 16,000 personal letters. Had not the British
burned much of it in the War of 1812, his library would probably go
down as the greatest personal collection of literary works ever
collected by one man. Without Thomas Jefferson, there would be no
America.
Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry was the colonies’ most ardent advocate of
liberty--bar none! In oratorical genius, he has never had an equal.
Henry was a self-educated lawyer, successful farmer, devoted father of
17 children, and five-term governor of Virginia. Henry was the first
Founding Father to defy British taxes, and in so doing was the first
who was willing to risk death as a traitor.
Patrick Henry’s immortal speech at St. John’s Church in Richmond
to a gathering of the Virginia legislators in 1775 is regarded yet
today as the most influential speech ever delivered on American soil.
Probably more people are acquainted with that “Give Me Liberty, Or
Give Me Death!” speech than any other public address ever delivered.
Henry’s contribution to the War for Independence cannot be
underestimated. As Governor of Virginia (the richest and most
populated of the 13 colonies), he supplied the largest share of arms
and munitions to the outnumbered and poorly provisioned Continental
Army. It was also Patrick Henry and his fellow Anti-Federalists who
were primarily responsible for the first ten amendments to the
Constitution (the Bill of Rights) being drafted and ratified. Without
Patrick Henry, there would be no America.
Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams is rightly called “The Father of the American
Revolution.” He was a cousin to President John Adams and a graduate
of Harvard. He was perhaps the most influential member of the
Massachusetts State legislature. He succeeded John Hancock as Governor
of Massachusetts. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a
signer of the Declaration of Independence. He, along with men such as
Dr. Joseph Warren, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, Richard Henry Lee,
and Josiah Quincy, Jr., created the “Committees of
Correspondence,” which became the principle conduit of articles and
letters of pro-revolution, pro-liberty, and pro-independence
communication between the colonies. Adams was also very influential in
the now-famous Boston Tea Party.
Sam Adams was so hated by the British government that they used
military force to try and apprehend him, which led to both the Boston
Massacre on March 5, 1770, and the “Shot Fired Heard ’Round The
World” at Lexington Green and Concord Bridge on April 19, 1775.
Without Samuel Adams, there would be no America.
James Madison
James Madison is properly called “The Father of The US
Constitution.” He was the fourth President of the United States and
was the principal author of the Bill of Rights. Madison authored more
than a third of the Federalist Papers. Thomas Jefferson referred to
the Federalist Papers as “The best commentary on the principles of
government, which ever was written.” Madison served as US
Representative from Virginia and as Secretary of State under
Jefferson. George Washington considered Madison to be the preeminent
authority on the US Constitution in the entire country.
Madison was a fervent proponent of the principle of divided power. He
believed government (especially the federal government) could not be
trusted with too much power and worked to ensure the separation of
powers within the federal government. He also was a major proponent of
State rights and sovereignty. Madison broke with Treasury Secretary
Alexander Hamilton over Hamilton’s promotion of the State Bank, and
together with Thomas Jefferson, formed what became known as the
Democrat-Republican Party. Madison also co-authored with Jefferson two
of the most prominent documents of liberty: the Kentucky and Virginia
resolutions. Without James Madison, there would be no America.
As we celebrate Independence Day this year, I trust and pray that
each of us will reacquaint ourselves with the principles upon which
the Declaration of Independence was written, and upon which the United
States of America was founded. And while we are doing that, let’s be
sure we are passing these principles on to our children and
grandchildren, because without their dedication and commitment to
liberty, there will be no America!
