The American Story: The Beginnings

by David Barton

AMERICA IS UNIQUE. No other nation in the world has experienced the widespread levels of stability, individual prosperity, and personal freedoms that have defined this nation. What made us different from other nations? Was it the people, the principles, or the blessing of God? It was all three, and they caused America to become the most exceptional nation in the history of the world.

Our past is filled with captivating accounts of the brave and the cowardly; of heroes and villains; of atrocities, corruption, and greed as well as self-sacrifice, honor, and redemption. America is not perfect. Yet we have a compelling story of those seeking religious and civil freedom, escaping oppression, pursuing opportunity, and often joining hands to achieve common goals. The American Story highlights this cooperation and presents some of the interesting moments and people that reveal God's Providence in America. We have a fascinating history that must be remembered.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, American, Christian, Politics, Faith

379 pages, Paperback

First published September 7, 2020

About the author

David 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.

Reviews

[Stephen Logan]

If you desire to know more about the Christian foundation of this country, you will be amazed to read this book and discover the clear influence the Bible, God's Word, has had on the founding and early settlement of America. Sadly though, you will also realize how far downward we have fallen away from Christian morals that God clearly blesses. I urge you to read this clear and simple to understand book. David and Tim Barton have done an excellent job making the book an easy read for everyone.

[Peter Neary]

It's a shame that many people who disagree with the premise of this book may never get a chance to enjoy seeing a wonderfully refreshing perspective on American history. As a lifelong patriot, I relished reading every page and learned so much! You don't have to take the author's word for their sources either, as the book was well researched and includes hundreds of footnotes for doing your own homework.
I highly recommend this book to any who love freedom or religion, and especially to every American who is an honest broker of truth.
The book explores American history through the lens of the influence of God and Christianity in forming the country, from Columbus through the 14th and 15th Amendments. The authors use a wide range of primary and secondary sources to make a strong case that God does take an interest in the affairs of men and that the religious influence of Christianity and imperfect men who follow its precepts has allowed America to become the great country that it is. The book is full of diagrams and images as well that help tell the American story. Even if one vehemently disagrees with the argument, the book is worth the read and I find it to be convincing and certainly worth pondering for any reader.

[Jillian]

I was really surprised at how captivated I was with this book. I love American history, and I love how this story was told. Chronological, short chapters, etc. It was very well-written and I love how focused they were on their message that the Bible and Christianity are both a huge part of the founding of this country. It's important not to forget that.

[Ronald Rafajko]

Excellent book, very well written, quick easy read with 64 pages of footnotes.
Very good rebuttal to the 1619 Project in the last 30 pages.
Should be a required reading for all K-12 student.

[Stacy Myers]

This is an excellent read about America’s faith history. Starting with the Pilgrims and ending with the abolition of slavery - you get a look at how the Christian faith was present in the founding of our country.

We used this as our homeschool history for the year and I supplemented with extra shorter books from the library.

[Caleb Comstock]

Every American must read this book.

[Molly Dennis]

This book is a refreshing, fact-based look at America’s roots.

'The American Story: The Beginnings' by David and Tim Barton is an exceptional piece of historical literature that successfully reframes early American history through the lens of primary source documents. If you want to know what the Founders truly believed... read their writings, speeches, papers, etc. As the leaders of WallBuilders, the authors bring incredible depth to the text by drawing directly from their private archive of original artifacts.

What makes this book stand out:
Exhaustive Documentation: The book contains dozens of pages of endpoints and meticulous footnotes, proving that every historical claim is heavily grounded in eye-witness accounts.
Balanced Narrative: It tackles difficult topics like slavery and early conflicts head-on without sugarcoating the facts, providing objective clarity via legal records.
Engaging Tone: Unlike dry academic textbooks, the storytelling format is smooth, captivating, and highly accessible for readers of all backgrounds.
Faith & Principles: It masterfully highlights how faith, individual liberties, and divine Providence intertwined to shape the unique foundation of the United States.

This is an indispensable read for anyone wanting a deeper, unfiltered appreciation for the trials, triumphs, and foundational principles that built America.

[Bob Cooling]

Facts Triumph Over Propaganda

This book SHOULD be read by every citizen of the United States, to help them better understand the founding principles of our "experiment" in a representative/republican form of government. I found this book to be an encouragement at this low point in our country's history. This book demonstrates that the United States' founding documents: The Declaration of Independence, The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution , all have the Bible as their "source" document.
The book is well written and the information is exhaustively documented with a plethora of footnotes. Tim and David Barton are to be commended on their attempt to set the record straight about the real history of the United States and defining what must take place if the US ever endeavors to be a leader of the free world once again.

[Dan DalMonte]

This is an absolutely fantastic book. It will remove the lie of the secularists that our country was meant to be a secular nation founded on slavery. Our nation is not perfect but it is full of idealistic people who fled religious persecution in Europe and then expanded across the West. Much of the westward expansion had an evangelistic intent. The Bible is baked into our founding documents. Barton does a great job giving us access to primary sources, original quotes from the likes of Jefferson and Franklin. What was really important was getting to know the real Christopher Columbus! Barton has done a great service at this time at which the Marxist and Maoist Left is trying to separate us from our history.

[Jim Proser]

The Factual Wrecking-Ball of the 1619 Project

Written in the clean and direct style of today, this irrefutable testament to the noble efforts of American leaders belies the woke nonsense of modern progressives, particularly the heinous 1619 Project.

This inspiring and hope-filled history of Christianity in America shines the light of liberty, personal courage and divine guidance over generations to come.

Read and teach these words and principles so eloquently offered by geniuses of our nation’s legacy. Refresh your love of freedom by reading this book.

[Amy]

I absolutely loved this book! In my opinion, it is a book that everyone should be required to read. I learned so many fascinating facts about history that I never knew. I love that everything has a source so you know where the information is coming from. I gained a new love and appreciation for this great country of ours.

[Tami]

I found the book very interesting and full of facts I didn't know. Of course, much of it we learned in history class, but that was mainly the big picture. One thing is certain--our nation was founded and built upon Christian principles.

[Katie Buckner]

I well-researched broad overview of the Christian beginnings of the USA. It combats the woke narrative of American history with facts, examples, and hundreds of endnotes for further research, if desired. A good basis for understanding American history.

[Hector]

David Barton shows the undergirding of our American story to be a unique and providential one. Take the time to read it, I believe it will change your perspective on our story and continuing history.

[Ruby Bibi]

-There are many misconceptions that we carry about past periods in history. The history of this country is no different. The background of this United States, how it came to be and why those who braved death to first come on these shores; what our founding fathers believed in and why they worded the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution as they did, and why there was a need for a Bill of Rights, are all parts of our history that have been distorted over time.
-Only by examining original documents penned by those same persons who lived in the periods we’re examining, and looking at events that were happening that were occurring at that time, can we begin to understand the intent of the founding fathers when they wrote the documents that form the bedrock of our country.
-The authors have done a tremendous job in dispelling many of the falsehoods that we have come to accept as truth, only because, like a child playing the game of “telephone”, facts have been modified, but in our current time those modifications are being broadcast in order to suit the arguments of those whose agenda runs contrary to that of the original intent of the founders of this country. This book, alongside the book by Mary Grabar, who wrote the highly informative “Dubunking the 1619 Project”, should be required reading for any citizen of this country, and is a vital read for anyone involved in government.
-The primary theme which runs through the entire book is how much our founders, and those who came to this country beginning from the early 17th century, had God as the focus of their lives, and were always governed by biblical teachings.
-We know that there were many people that came to the New World for religious freedom, but we learn here that the major nations of that time, though all under the Christian umbrella, each promoted their own sect to the point that worship of any other branch of Christianity was punished severely. England was governed by the crown and the Anglican Church; France by Catholicism and in Germany, it was the Protestant Church established through Martin Luther.
-Though many examples of the harsh treatment by European governments against those who chose to worship differently are given, the story of William Penn is representative of what people who differed with the state religion went through. William Penn, we learn, was the son of a distinguished military officer, also named William Penn, and who was knighted for his service to the King. When the younger Penn was influenced in college to the Quaker belief, it appeared to him to be a purer form of worship than the official Anglican religion. Though his father tried to protect him, the younger Penn, who now was actively advocating for the Quaker faith, was put into prison but successfully argued for his own release in front of a jury. After the death of Penn’s father, the King sent Penn to the New World and bequeathed land to him (Pennsylvania) in payment of a debt owed to Penn’s father. But the story only begins there.
-Where stories abound of the new settlers stealing land and cheating the natives out of property, Penn believed (in line with the thinking of other northern colonists) that fairness to all peoples was a credo that all had to live by, and he purchased whatever land he was “given” by the crown, sometimes purchasing the same land several times from each of several tribes who all claimed ownership. He was also an advocate for religious freedom, where all people in the lands he controlled were able to worship as they chose.
-Those coming to the New World weren’t just looking for a new land where they could freely worship. The intent, which is repeated in documents by the founding fathers and was incorporated into our founding documents, was preventing a state religion from being established as was prevalent throughout Europe. The Constitutions of each of the founding colonies was based on biblical models, but, as opposed to the practice in Europe, the colonists were granted the freedom to practice religion as they chose.
-Jumping ahead through time, though continuing with the subject of religion, we are exposed to the expression, coined by Thomas Jefferson, “separation of church and state”. But the meaning of that wasn’t the elimination of religion. It was referring to what’s known as the “Establishment Clause”, which states that no state religion shall be established. He was reiterating the ideas which those early colonists wanted as the foundation of this new land, that, though religious morals and guidance was vital for any country to succeed, the government should never control how each citizen was to worship. In Jefferson’s words “I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.” He was stating that the government may never create an official state religion, nor can the government prohibit the worship of any religion. In the words of the author, this “definitely was not intended to create the type of religion-free public square desired by current activist groups.”
-Joseph Story, a founder of Harvard Law School, a US Supreme Court judge and who “in 1833, penned an authoritative legal commentary on the US Constitution - a work still used today” is quoted as saying “The promulgations (promotion) of the great doctrines of religion - the being, and the attributes, and Providence of one Almighty God; the responsibility to Him for all our actions, founded upon moral accountability; a future state of rewards and punishments; the cultivation of all the personal, social, and benevolent virtues - these never can be a matter of indifference in any well-ordered community. It is, indeed, difficult to conceive, how any civilized society can well exist without them.”
-The author takes us on a tour of the background of our country, dispelling myths about the Boston Tea Party; giving revelations about the many battles for our independence which only by “the finger of God” were we able to be victorious, and the sacrifice and losses that the signers of the Declaration had to endure because of their stand against the British.
-Among the many other subjects which the authors have examined is the slave trade, and like so much of history, can’t be pigeon-holed into a choice of slavery or non-slavery, but is also nuanced. Rather than being denounced as a slave country, the United States pushed for freedom of all people. Frederick Douglass, a former slave himself, is quoted as defending the founders, and gave many proofs that this country was not created to support slavery. Though we now know that slavery is a horrible practice, in the 17th and 18th century it was commonplace throughout the world. Those who came to these shores, though, especially the Pilgrims and Quakers, actively preached against the practice. Documents show that in 1646, when a ship bearing slaves came on their shores, they freed those slaves and arrested the slave owners. Many of the Northern colonies even passed laws prohibiting slavery. In contrast, the Southern colonies, starting with Virginia and being mainly Anglicans, believed that the king would provide for them. When hardship came, they were not prepared to put in the effort as they always expected help to arrive from England, and so, they welcomed slaves who would do the work for them. As compared to the total population, slaves owners were still a small minority.
-Though slavery was present in the south in much greater proportions than in the North, blacks also owned slaves. In fact, it was normal for that time period for people who lost in battle to be taken as slaves by the victors. (Mary Grabar, in her book, “Debunking the 1619 Project”, goes into greater detail on this subject, and presents facts which would be astonishing to those whose only exposure to black history is that presented by organizations like “Black Lives Matter”. ) Many of the first groups of workers that came to this country, though, were actually indentured servants who could win their freedom. The first case of a landowner successfully bringing a case to court, for him to acquire as a slave a man who came here as an indentured servant, was in 1654 where the landowner was a black man (who came to these shores himself as an indentured servant, but who became successful) and who won the right to keep another black man who was an indentured servant as a permanent slave. Slaves then, over time, were held by both whites and blacks. But the writings of most of the founding fathers proved that the majority felt that it was an abhorrent practice that had to be done away with.
-The book is filled with numerous other fascinating areas covered by the authors. In reading this book, I’ve highlighted passages on almost every other page as the book is filled with information I’d never heard before, or had the wrong impression of.
-Other subjects covered are equally interesting, like the story of Columbus, which corrects history’s account of him as killing the natives and being greedy for wealth; the explanation of why so many of our founding fathers who were anti-slavery were prevented from freeing their slaves due to the laws present in the states at that time; the similarities between the Constitution and Bill of Rights and biblical teachings which reveal that our whole government is based on the Bible; etc. In short, it’s a fact filled journey from the time of Columbus to the current time which reveals so much of the history of this country, along with the religious convictions our founders.
-This is such a well documented book and encompasses so many facets of our early era, that it would be a point of reference for anyone’s library, and is especially important in the face of the many liberals and progressives who downplay the role that religion has always played in our nation’s founding and continued success, and who have distorted the legacy of the great men who founded this country.

[Lora Elizabeth]

This is not to be missed. It includes some eye opening facts about Christopher Columbus, Pocahontas, the origins of America’s early Colleges, Ministers, the Bible, Salem Witch Trials, origins of slavery in America, Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, James Armistead, God’s providence through the war and more. An interesting book that has some statements that dispute what we have in our mind as truth. An excellent book to have on your book shelf for future reference.

[Bri Rainey]

I LOVED this book. Couldn’t put it down.

[Jennifer Hunt]

Outstanding!! Gives a concise, compelling, and thoroughly documented look at America’s Christian heritage. Read with my Middle Schoolers and they enjoyed it as well.

[Denver Hines]

Just like Virginia’s General, this book has a lot of very valuable info about history it’s just way too schooly and has way too many boring details.

[Michael Betrus]

Excellent resource that should help anyone refute the notion that our country was founded as a secular nation. Lots of short, concise, and engaging chapters. I found the sections on the Founders, the Constitution, slavery, and education to be the best.

[Ryan Hughes]

I only wish it was longer

[Dana]

A MUST read. I regret everything I ever said while teaching US History from the ignorant, biased curriculum I was given. This book is enlightening and empowering. The true story of our country’s founding is far better than what we’ve been conditioned to believe.

[Makayla Ledingham]

Reading this will spark patriotism in you

And I understand more fully the reason that John Adams said that this country is on fit for a moral and religious people and is inadequate for anyone else

Also why being an American is one of the biggest blessing on planet earth

It showed me just exactly why the 4th of july is so special

So glad I read this before the 250th anniversary of our great nation

[Juliana]

The authors are in complete denial of reality. They create nonexistent arguments against the existence of Christianity in the US in order to "prove" its existence. They also defend genocide and assimilation of Native peoples, and they go to great lengths to excuse specific founding fathers for enslaving people.

This is not a history book; it's a poorly written and poorly researched argumentative religious propaganda essay that claims the secular world is actively erasing Christianity from history with no basis for such a claim.

Half of the book is just the authors pointing at quotes containing the word "God" and saying, "See?! The founding fathers WERE Christian!" even though nobody said they weren't.

[John W Bachman]

Book reflects confirmation bias of USA being guided by God

The book starts with a premise of God guiding USA to higher heights God is on the side of our Christian nation. It then provides the history to support the theme. It ignores evidence to the contrary.It is a book that finds what it is looking for and assumes positive outcomes are because of Gods intervention rather than just history’s story. It uses lots of references but they are examples of the narrative and bias the authors possess. It lacks critical thinking and disparages secular commentators as ill informed and not blessed with their faith. The book is conjecture and I would nor recommend it.

[Becca]

As always with Barton, a rapid-fire hailstorm of facts. It doesn't read like a novel, but instead hits you in bullet points, the way Barton speaks. Even so, the book is worth the price for the 64 pages of endnotes alone, full of primary and early sources begging to be further delved into. I am awed by Barton's research capabilities, the wide scope of his knowledge, his ability to synthesize information, and his passion to disseminate truth. Truly a hero of American history.

[Calum Shaw]

Some very interesting pieces of history. However, they say from the outset that they are effectively biasing themselves to look at American history through the lens of the providence of God. Who gets to decide what is God’s providence? Overall, it didn’t sit well with me.

[Nancy]

Great history lesson.

[Gordon Haines]

Well documented and thorough. The authors did a good job opening my eyes to the thinking and struggles the founders went through. I enjoyed the book.

[Aaron Hand]

A very interesting and well-written book on American history from a Christian perspective. I'm thankful for this book. Totally a "5".