American Founding

Why Did They Come?

The first permanent English settlers came to America primarily for religious freedom. While modern textbooks emphasize economic motives, the historical documents tell a different story.

The Pilgrims (1620)

The Pilgrims were Separatists - they wanted to separate completely from the Church of England, which they saw as corrupt. They first fled to Holland, then sailed on the Mayflower to Plymouth, Massachusetts.

The Puritans (1630s)

The Puritans wanted to "purify" the Church of England from within. Under John Winthrop, they established Massachusetts Bay Colony. Winthrop's famous "City on a Hill" sermon called for America to be a model Christian community.

The very first American settlers explicitly stated their purpose was to glorify Elohim and spread the faith. This is documented history, not interpretation. Modern education often ignores or minimizes these religious motivations, but the primary sources are clear.

The Thirteen Colonies

By 1732, there were thirteen British colonies along the Atlantic coast. Most were founded with explicitly religious purposes:

• Massachusetts - Puritan colony seeking religious purity
• Pennsylvania - Founded by William Penn for Quaker religious freedom
• Maryland - Founded as refuge for Catholics
• Rhode Island - Founded by Roger Williams for complete religious liberty
• Connecticut - Puritan colony with "Fundamental Orders" (first written constitution)

Education in Colonial America

Colonial education was explicitly Christian. The primary purpose of learning to read was to study the Bible.

Colonial Universities

America's first universities were founded to train ministers:

• Harvard (1636) - "Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well the main end of his life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ"
• Yale (1701) - Founded because Harvard was seen as becoming too liberal
• Princeton (1746) - Founded during the Great Awakening to train evangelical ministers

Revival Sweeps the Colonies

In the 1730s-1740s, a powerful spiritual revival called the Great Awakening swept through the American colonies. This revival had profound effects on American identity and eventually, independence.

Key Figures:

Effects of the Great Awakening:

• United the colonies - For the first time, colonists saw themselves as one people under God
• Challenged authority - People began questioning established churches and, eventually, British authority
• Spread education - New colleges founded (Princeton, Brown, Rutgers, Dartmouth)
• Promoted equality - All people are equal sinners in need of grace
• Created shared identity - A common religious experience before common political identity

Tensions with Britain

After the French and Indian War (1754-1763), Britain imposed new taxes on the colonies. The colonists objected, not just to the taxes, but to being taxed without representation in Parliament.

Key Events:

• Stamp Act (1765) - Tax on printed materials; widespread protest
• Boston Massacre (1770) - British soldiers fired on colonists
• Boston Tea Party (1773) - Colonists dumped tea to protest taxation
• Intolerable Acts (1774) - British punishment of Massachusetts
• First Continental Congress (1774) - Colonies united to respond
• Lexington and Concord (1775) - "Shot heard round the world"

The Role of Pastors

Colonial pastors played a crucial role in the Revolution. The "Black Robed Regiment" refers to the ministers who preached from their pulpits about liberty, resistance to tyranny, and biblical principles of government.

The Document That Changed History

On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, primarily written by Thomas Jefferson. This document is filled with references to God and biblical principles.

Key Principles:

• Rights come from God, not government - Government cannot take away what it did not give
• All men are created equal - Equality before God (not outcome equality)
• Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness - Unalienable rights
• Consent of the governed - Government serves the people
• Right to alter or abolish - Tyrannical government can be overthrown

The Day of Prayer

Before signing, the Congress called for a national day of "humiliation, fasting and prayer." They understood they were dependent on Yahuah for the success of their cause.

What Did the Founders Believe?

Modern critics claim the founders were deists (believed in a distant, uninvolved god) or secularists. But their own words tell a different story. While not all founders were devout Christians, the vast majority held deep religious convictions.

A More Perfect Union

The Constitution was drafted in 1787 to replace the weaker Articles of Confederation. It established a federal republic with separation of powers - an idea with biblical roots.

Biblical Influences on the Constitution:

• Separation of Powers - Based on Isaiah 33:22: "Yahuah is our judge, Yahuah is our lawgiver, Yahuah is our king." Three branches: judicial, legislative, executive.
• Checks and Balances - Based on Jeremiah 17:9: "The heart is deceitful above all things." The founders didn't trust any person with too much power.
• Rule of Law - No one is above the law; reflects God's unchanging standards.
• Representative Government - Reflects the biblical pattern of elders and judges.

Prayer at the Constitutional Convention

When the convention reached an impasse, Benjamin Franklin (often portrayed as a deist) called for daily prayers:

The First Ten Amendments

The Bill of Rights (1791) was added to protect individual liberties. Many of these rights have biblical foundations.

The First Amendment:

What "Separation of Church and State" Really Means:

This phrase isn't in the Constitution! It comes from a letter Jefferson wrote to Baptists in Danbury, Connecticut (1802), assuring them the government would not interfere with their church.

Other Key Amendments:

• Second Amendment - Right to bear arms (self-defense is biblical - Luke 22:36)
• Fourth Amendment - Protection against unreasonable search (privacy and property rights)
• Fifth Amendment - Due process, no self-incrimination (fair trials)
• Sixth Amendment - Right to speedy trial and witnesses (biblical justice)

The Founders' Warnings

The founders knew the republic they created was fragile. They repeatedly warned about threats to liberty.

Warnings About:

1. Central Banking

2. Standing Armies

The founders feared a permanent military could be used for tyranny. They preferred citizen militias.

3. Political Parties (Factions)

4. Moral Decay

5. Foreign Entanglements

Washington warned against "permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world."

How America Changed

Over the past two centuries, America has drifted far from its founding principles. Understanding what went wrong helps us know what must be restored.

Key Changes:

1. The Federal Reserve (1913)

A private central bank was given control of America's money supply - exactly what Jefferson warned against. The dollar has lost over 95% of its value since.

2. Removal of God from Schools

• 1962 - Engel v. Vitale: Prayer removed from schools
• 1963 - Abington v. Schempp: Bible reading removed
• 1980 - Stone v. Graham: Ten Commandments removed

3. Revision of History

Textbooks increasingly omit or minimize the Christian foundations of America. Students are taught that the founders were secular deists.

4. Expansion of Federal Power

The federal government has expanded far beyond its constitutional limits, violating the Tenth Amendment (powers reserved to states and people).

5. Moral Decline

As America has rejected God, morality has declined - exactly as the founders predicted would destroy liberty.

What Can Be Done?

• Know the true history and teach it to others
• Return to biblical principles in personal and family life
• Pray for revival and reformation
• Engage in the political process with biblical values
• Homeschool or carefully supplement public education