The U.S. Constitution and the 196 Indispensable Principles of Freedom

by Oliver DeMille

Oliver DeMille has described this work as his “Magnum Opus.”

Genres: Nonfiction

360 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Oliver DeMille is the founder and former president of George Wythe University, a founding partner of The Center for Social Leadership, and the author of A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the 21st Century.

As a university student, Oliver went on a search for a truly great education — experiencing private and public universities, technical and religious schools, corporate and international educational institutions, prestigious colleges and worthless diploma mills; he literally sampled the best and the worst that modern education has to offer, and virtually everything in between.

As a result, he found a small Bible school where he worked closely with mentors and studied the Bible and the great classics in many fields. Although Coral Ridge Baptist University was not regionally accredited, he was so excited by the quality of his studies that he left a large, well-respected university to focus full time on his classical education. He earned the B.A. in Biblical Studies (May 1992), M.A. in Christian Political Science (December 1992), and Ph.D. in Religious Education (May 1994) at Coral Ridge Baptist University.

He has written and spoken extensively about the traditional education system versus his intense mentored-classical experience with Coral Ridge and his mentor–Dr. W. Cleon Skousen. After his Coral Ridge studies, he returned to Brigham Young University and completed the B.A. in International Relations with a minor in Aerospace Studies, graduating Magna cum Laude (1994). He then devoted his time to refining the educational design and curriculum of the liberal arts school he founded, George Wythe College (now University).

Oliver is a popular author, keynote speaker, and business consultant. Presently, he devotes a majority of his time to writing. He and his wife Rachel are raising their 8 children in southern Utah.

Reviews

[Ian Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will revolutionize how you read any book, how you approach any situation, and ultimately how you view the world!

Absolutely astounding, a must read, and--as it says--it is an indispensable guide to gain results like the Founding Fathers of the United States of America obtained.

[Stan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as part of a reading program conducted by the author. His intent is to help people understand the principles of freedom not only through this book, but also by reading great classics that contain principles of freedom such as the Old Testament and the writings by Montesquieu, Blackstone, Locke, Hume, Plutarch, Tocqueville and others.

DeMille's point is that we cannot leave the defense and maintenance of freedom up to politicians and "experts." We cannot trust the politicians, experts and others who seek elite status in society to maintain freedom for all. If the principles of freedom are not widely understood by a majority of the members of a free society, freedom will be lost. Growing up and living in a country that has freedom is not the same thing as understanding the principles of freedom and actively maintaining them. The highest level of government is not the federal government, it is "We the People."

[Autumn Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top freedom classic.

[Marissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ll be honest. The Author rubbed me the wrong way for a good portion of the book. Lots of repetition, as if we were stupid; lots of “Americans are doing this wrong. American’s should be doing this different.” Just poorly written motivation in my opinion. If you truly want someone to change, present the material in such a way that reaches the soul and makes the individual desire on their own to be better, not because you have belittled them… and American citizens as a whole.

Putting that aspect aside, there was some good material about freedom and about the different individuals from the past that the founding Fathers studied and drew knowledge from to start this country on the right path. Reading this book is definitely a gleaning process to search for the good parts.

[Michele Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book. I learned a lot about different types of government and leave with the idea that I need to read Plutarch!

[Alana Dimmick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I firmly believe every American citizen of our time needs to read it. Demille takes us back to the founding of our country, giving us a glimpse into the writings and books that influenced our founders and the decisions they made as they formed the U.S. government. This knowledge is all but lost to us today, especially in our public schools. He gives on overview of several influential writers and their messages, and then recommends original sources to see it for yourself. This changed my whole view of government and especially politics. I view government through a different lens now, and one I feel is more reflective of the original intent. It changes how I vote, it gives me ideas for what I can do now, every day, to be a good citizen who deserves the freedom I have. Thank you, Oliver Demille, for this gem.