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NEW-The American Story: The Beginnings
384 pages, Paperback
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About the author
David Barton
293 books268 followersDavid Barton is the Founder and President of WallBuilders, a national pro-family organization that presents America's forgotten history and heroes, with an emphasis on our moral, religious and constitutional heritage.
WallBuilders is a name taken from the Old Testament writings of Nehemiah, who led a grassroots movement to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and restore its strength and honor. In the same way, WallBuilders seeks to energize the grassroots today to become involved in strengthening their communities, states, and nation.
David is the author of numerous best-selling books, with the subjects being drawn largely from his massive library of tens of thousands of original writings from the Founding Era. He also addresses well over 400 groups each year.
His exhaustive research has rendered him an expert in historical and constitutional issues and he serves as a consultant to state and federal legislators, has participated in several cases at the Supreme Court, was involved in the development of the History/Social Studies standards for states such as Texas and California, and has helped produce history textbooks now used in schools across the nation.
WallBuilders is a name taken from the Old Testament writings of Nehemiah, who led a grassroots movement to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and restore its strength and honor. In the same way, WallBuilders seeks to energize the grassroots today to become involved in strengthening their communities, states, and nation.
David is the author of numerous best-selling books, with the subjects being drawn largely from his massive library of tens of thousands of original writings from the Founding Era. He also addresses well over 400 groups each year.
His exhaustive research has rendered him an expert in historical and constitutional issues and he serves as a consultant to state and federal legislators, has participated in several cases at the Supreme Court, was involved in the development of the History/Social Studies standards for states such as Texas and California, and has helped produce history textbooks now used in schools across the nation.
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January 29, 2024
IS THERE A ‘GOLDEN THREAD OF GOD’S PROVIDENCE’ IN AMERICA’S HISTORY?
Authors David Barton and his son Tim Barton state in the Introduction to this 2020 book, “The Golden Thread in American history is the superintending Providence of Almighty God… without them, America would not have become the nation she has… The abundant evidence demonstrating God’s Providence in the American tapestry is now commonly ignored, and some even completely deny its presence. Nevertheless, for those who have eyes to see, it is readily visible. This book returns to the practice of historians in previous generations. We, too, point out … incidents affirming the Golden Thread of God’s Providence in American history. We do this in part … by looking at the lives of key individuals who shaped and impacted the nation and how God was directly involved in their lives… history can never be totally secular. Even if modern writers completely ignore God, He nonetheless remains actively involved in the dealings of people and nations in all ages.” (Pg. 15-16)
They state, “Despite Columbus’ approach to native peoples, which was certainly among the most humane of any explorer at that time, many authors today assert that he sought to destroy and pillage ALL Indians. This is simply bad history.” (Pg. 27)
They suggest, “In America, as in few other places in the world, colonists found the freedom to openly live their lives by the Bible’s teachings on government, faith, economics, law, family, education, and much else. As a result, religious freedom, representative limited government, free-enterprise, jurisdictional authority, rights of conscience, and private property protections began to appear in many of the civil documents… Of course, they did not immediately create perfect Biblical institutions and practice… But compared to the countries from which they fled, their progress was not only notable but also remarkable.” (Pg 35)
They say, “Applying Biblical principles, the Pilgrims began to move away from the socialist style of farming they had practiced at their arrival. They adopted an early free-market individual approach, assigning every family their own personal parcel of land.” (Pg. 55)
They acknowledge, “With the Jamestown colonists’… desire to have others work and provide for them, it is not surprising that the Virginia colony is where chattel slavery first became legal in America… The southern propensity for slaves became so strong that during the American War for Independence, many Southerners were reluctant to serve in defense of America for fear their slaves might escape… Unfortunately, by the time the Civil War commenced, the slavery mentality was so deeply entrenched in many Southerners that secession documents often cited the desire to preserve slavery as the primary reason for states leaving the Union.” (Pg. 76-78)
They say of the Salem Witch Trials, “There is no defense for these trials. Nevertheless, a significant question to ask is: why did the trials stop after only 27 deaths?... The American trials were brought to a close because Christian leaders … confronted the civil leaders.” (Pg. 96)
They note, “Of the first 246 colleges started in America, 229… were directly founded on the Christian faith. Only 17 colleges and universities at that time were state institutions, but even these were not secular… By 1860, there were 288 universities in America; at 262 of them, a minister was president of the university---and more than a third of university faculty members were all clergy.” (Pg. 124)
They argue, “It is an unfortunate tendency that in recent years many writers and academics emphasize what are the exceptions rather than the rule concerning faith among notables in the Founding Era. Thus, the anti-religious positions of Thomas Paine and Ethan Allen are highlighted, along with a few letters from Thomas Jefferson or John Adams, as well as select statements by Benjamin Franklin … while individuals like Jefferson and Franklin did not agree with every traditional doctrine of Christianity, they… nevertheless were public advocates of both Christianity and the Bible---important facts conveniently omitted by those who wrongly seek to portray the American Founders as anti-religious or anti-Christian… And when Thomas Paine, who was anti-religious and one of the few true deists in the Founding Era, informed Franklin of his plan to write a piece that was a direct assault on the Bible and Christianity, Franklin’s response was univocal and forceful…” (Pg. 161-162)
They admit, “Jefferson eventually did compile a work on the ‘benevolent and sublime’ teachings of Jesus… He titled it, “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth' … This book is often called ‘The Jefferson Bible,’ which is a substantial misrepresentation of this work on the wonderful moral teachings of Jesus.” (Pg. 204)
Turning to the Constitutional Convention, they observe, “Throughout the long and difficult days, a somber George Washington sometimes despaired of success, but they eventually solved the major problematic issues. This resulted in the best form of government ever devised by man, and the US Constitution has proven to be the most valuable and stable civil document in history---no nation has been under the same constitution longer than the United States.” (Pg. 213)
They assert, “The Electoral College was a brilliant innovation that gave not just the people but also the states a voice in choosing a president. If they elected the president solely by the national popular vote, the four largest states could have outvoted the other nine, this giving the smaller states less voice and less protection. Today, if the popular vote took the place of the Electoral College---an idea current advocated by many ‘progressives’---a similar problem would result…” (Pg. 216)
They state, “The evidence is abundant that many of the seminal ideas in the Constitution reflected the Christian thinking of the preceding two centuries…. For this reason, the Constitution dates itself to the Declaration, and federal laws passed since 1789 likewise date to the Declaration, not the Constitution… Further evidence that the Constitution is not a Godless or secularist document is found in its internal content, which directly incorporates Biblical ideas. For example, the Constitution specifically sets aside Sunday from any governmental work.” (Pg. 220-223) They add, “Significantly, the Constitution closes with the Attestation Clause of Article VII, declaring that it was written ‘in the year of our Lord’ 1787. The Constitution thus was deliberately dated in a way that measures itself from the birth of Christ.” (Pg. 234)
They assert, “Many today claim that [the First Amendment] mandates a so-called ‘separation of Church and State,’ a phrase that appears nowhere in the Constitution or Bill of Rights… [When] the first federal congress wrote the First Amendment, they intended the Establishment Clause… to do exactly one thing: prohibit Congress from creating a NATIONAL Church, giving official preference to one specific religious denomination. The Founders considered the idea of separating God from government, or making government purely secular, a ridiculous notion. They would never have agreed or even proposed any measure that would have removed God and His principles from the public square… Even Thomas Jefferson, the man who later described the First Amendment as creating ‘a wall of separation between Church and State,’ adamantly opposed the concept of a secular nation or a Godless public square.” (Pg. 248-249)
They state, “Slavery is indeed a great evil… Over the history of the world, we have yet to find a race that at one time was not enslaved and also enslaved others---every race has been both victim and oppressor… slavery is without a singular color… slavery has historically existed in all races and in all nations… [The] 1619 Project and many academics assert that slavery in the American colonies began in 1619, but this is certainly incorrect. The slaves … in Jamestown… instead or remaining slaves … became indentured servants. After serving several years, they were given their freedom and awarded land… These facts are not to excuse America’s participation in this historic evil. Rather, they are to provide context to the reality that slavery was a universally embraced practice among all groups.” (Pg. 284-287)
They report, “Nearly 100 individuals signed the Declaration, framed the Constitution, or both… the large majority of the Founders … wrote in opposition to slavery, freed their own slaves, or belonged to anti-slavery societies. Of the Founders who remained supportive of slavery, most came from the states that had objected to Jefferson’s denunciation of the slave trade in the Declaration of Independence.” (Pg. 291)
They point out, “[Frederick] Douglass … concluded that the Constitution was not a pro-slavery document as he had been told but rather an anti-slavery one… ‘If the Constitution were intended to be… a slaveholding instrument, why neither ‘slavery,’ ‘slaveholding,’ nor ‘slave’ can anywhere be found in it?... I defy the presentation of a single pro-slavery clause in it’… Sadly, by the 1830s, a growing number of Americans had rejected the view of most Founding Fathers that slavery was an evil to be abolished.” (Pg. 298-299)
They conclude, “the Bible was the source of the key ideas that made America exceptional… Many of its principles were later incorporated into the Declaration of Independence and … in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Some now argue… that America was not, and never was, a Christian nation; but you have certainly seen abundant evidence to know they are wrong. Sadly, however… in many areas today, America is not behaving in a generally Christian manner … every nation in history that abandoned the principles that brought it to success fell… Yet there is still great cause for optimism about our future…” (Pg. 312)
The Bartons’ works are controversial; but they are influential and are probably the most effective presentation of their ‘Christian nation’ viewpoint.
Authors David Barton and his son Tim Barton state in the Introduction to this 2020 book, “The Golden Thread in American history is the superintending Providence of Almighty God… without them, America would not have become the nation she has… The abundant evidence demonstrating God’s Providence in the American tapestry is now commonly ignored, and some even completely deny its presence. Nevertheless, for those who have eyes to see, it is readily visible. This book returns to the practice of historians in previous generations. We, too, point out … incidents affirming the Golden Thread of God’s Providence in American history. We do this in part … by looking at the lives of key individuals who shaped and impacted the nation and how God was directly involved in their lives… history can never be totally secular. Even if modern writers completely ignore God, He nonetheless remains actively involved in the dealings of people and nations in all ages.” (Pg. 15-16)
They state, “Despite Columbus’ approach to native peoples, which was certainly among the most humane of any explorer at that time, many authors today assert that he sought to destroy and pillage ALL Indians. This is simply bad history.” (Pg. 27)
They suggest, “In America, as in few other places in the world, colonists found the freedom to openly live their lives by the Bible’s teachings on government, faith, economics, law, family, education, and much else. As a result, religious freedom, representative limited government, free-enterprise, jurisdictional authority, rights of conscience, and private property protections began to appear in many of the civil documents… Of course, they did not immediately create perfect Biblical institutions and practice… But compared to the countries from which they fled, their progress was not only notable but also remarkable.” (Pg 35)
They say, “Applying Biblical principles, the Pilgrims began to move away from the socialist style of farming they had practiced at their arrival. They adopted an early free-market individual approach, assigning every family their own personal parcel of land.” (Pg. 55)
They acknowledge, “With the Jamestown colonists’… desire to have others work and provide for them, it is not surprising that the Virginia colony is where chattel slavery first became legal in America… The southern propensity for slaves became so strong that during the American War for Independence, many Southerners were reluctant to serve in defense of America for fear their slaves might escape… Unfortunately, by the time the Civil War commenced, the slavery mentality was so deeply entrenched in many Southerners that secession documents often cited the desire to preserve slavery as the primary reason for states leaving the Union.” (Pg. 76-78)
They say of the Salem Witch Trials, “There is no defense for these trials. Nevertheless, a significant question to ask is: why did the trials stop after only 27 deaths?... The American trials were brought to a close because Christian leaders … confronted the civil leaders.” (Pg. 96)
They note, “Of the first 246 colleges started in America, 229… were directly founded on the Christian faith. Only 17 colleges and universities at that time were state institutions, but even these were not secular… By 1860, there were 288 universities in America; at 262 of them, a minister was president of the university---and more than a third of university faculty members were all clergy.” (Pg. 124)
They argue, “It is an unfortunate tendency that in recent years many writers and academics emphasize what are the exceptions rather than the rule concerning faith among notables in the Founding Era. Thus, the anti-religious positions of Thomas Paine and Ethan Allen are highlighted, along with a few letters from Thomas Jefferson or John Adams, as well as select statements by Benjamin Franklin … while individuals like Jefferson and Franklin did not agree with every traditional doctrine of Christianity, they… nevertheless were public advocates of both Christianity and the Bible---important facts conveniently omitted by those who wrongly seek to portray the American Founders as anti-religious or anti-Christian… And when Thomas Paine, who was anti-religious and one of the few true deists in the Founding Era, informed Franklin of his plan to write a piece that was a direct assault on the Bible and Christianity, Franklin’s response was univocal and forceful…” (Pg. 161-162)
They admit, “Jefferson eventually did compile a work on the ‘benevolent and sublime’ teachings of Jesus… He titled it, “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth' … This book is often called ‘The Jefferson Bible,’ which is a substantial misrepresentation of this work on the wonderful moral teachings of Jesus.” (Pg. 204)
Turning to the Constitutional Convention, they observe, “Throughout the long and difficult days, a somber George Washington sometimes despaired of success, but they eventually solved the major problematic issues. This resulted in the best form of government ever devised by man, and the US Constitution has proven to be the most valuable and stable civil document in history---no nation has been under the same constitution longer than the United States.” (Pg. 213)
They assert, “The Electoral College was a brilliant innovation that gave not just the people but also the states a voice in choosing a president. If they elected the president solely by the national popular vote, the four largest states could have outvoted the other nine, this giving the smaller states less voice and less protection. Today, if the popular vote took the place of the Electoral College---an idea current advocated by many ‘progressives’---a similar problem would result…” (Pg. 216)
They state, “The evidence is abundant that many of the seminal ideas in the Constitution reflected the Christian thinking of the preceding two centuries…. For this reason, the Constitution dates itself to the Declaration, and federal laws passed since 1789 likewise date to the Declaration, not the Constitution… Further evidence that the Constitution is not a Godless or secularist document is found in its internal content, which directly incorporates Biblical ideas. For example, the Constitution specifically sets aside Sunday from any governmental work.” (Pg. 220-223) They add, “Significantly, the Constitution closes with the Attestation Clause of Article VII, declaring that it was written ‘in the year of our Lord’ 1787. The Constitution thus was deliberately dated in a way that measures itself from the birth of Christ.” (Pg. 234)
They assert, “Many today claim that [the First Amendment] mandates a so-called ‘separation of Church and State,’ a phrase that appears nowhere in the Constitution or Bill of Rights… [When] the first federal congress wrote the First Amendment, they intended the Establishment Clause… to do exactly one thing: prohibit Congress from creating a NATIONAL Church, giving official preference to one specific religious denomination. The Founders considered the idea of separating God from government, or making government purely secular, a ridiculous notion. They would never have agreed or even proposed any measure that would have removed God and His principles from the public square… Even Thomas Jefferson, the man who later described the First Amendment as creating ‘a wall of separation between Church and State,’ adamantly opposed the concept of a secular nation or a Godless public square.” (Pg. 248-249)
They state, “Slavery is indeed a great evil… Over the history of the world, we have yet to find a race that at one time was not enslaved and also enslaved others---every race has been both victim and oppressor… slavery is without a singular color… slavery has historically existed in all races and in all nations… [The] 1619 Project and many academics assert that slavery in the American colonies began in 1619, but this is certainly incorrect. The slaves … in Jamestown… instead or remaining slaves … became indentured servants. After serving several years, they were given their freedom and awarded land… These facts are not to excuse America’s participation in this historic evil. Rather, they are to provide context to the reality that slavery was a universally embraced practice among all groups.” (Pg. 284-287)
They report, “Nearly 100 individuals signed the Declaration, framed the Constitution, or both… the large majority of the Founders … wrote in opposition to slavery, freed their own slaves, or belonged to anti-slavery societies. Of the Founders who remained supportive of slavery, most came from the states that had objected to Jefferson’s denunciation of the slave trade in the Declaration of Independence.” (Pg. 291)
They point out, “[Frederick] Douglass … concluded that the Constitution was not a pro-slavery document as he had been told but rather an anti-slavery one… ‘If the Constitution were intended to be… a slaveholding instrument, why neither ‘slavery,’ ‘slaveholding,’ nor ‘slave’ can anywhere be found in it?... I defy the presentation of a single pro-slavery clause in it’… Sadly, by the 1830s, a growing number of Americans had rejected the view of most Founding Fathers that slavery was an evil to be abolished.” (Pg. 298-299)
They conclude, “the Bible was the source of the key ideas that made America exceptional… Many of its principles were later incorporated into the Declaration of Independence and … in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Some now argue… that America was not, and never was, a Christian nation; but you have certainly seen abundant evidence to know they are wrong. Sadly, however… in many areas today, America is not behaving in a generally Christian manner … every nation in history that abandoned the principles that brought it to success fell… Yet there is still great cause for optimism about our future…” (Pg. 312)
The Bartons’ works are controversial; but they are influential and are probably the most effective presentation of their ‘Christian nation’ viewpoint.
Displaying 1 of 1 review