We Still Hold These Truths: Rediscovering Our Principles, Reclaiming Our Future

by Matthew Spalding

The future of liberty depends on renewing America’s principles

In the midst of frenzied efforts to remake our nation—of endless government initiatives involved in virtually every aspect of our daily lives—Americans are increasingly How did we get so far off track? And how can we get America back on course? Matthew Spalding answers these questions by looking to the timeless principles and practical wisdom that have been the source of America’s monumental success. Spalding, an expert in American political history at The Heritage Foundation, the esteemed research and educational institution, calls for a great renewal of these unchanging principles—and a new appreciation of their preeminent status in our nation’s life.

In We Still Hold These Truths Spalding explains and brings to life ten core principles that define us as a nation and inspire us as a people—liberty and equality, natural rights and the consent of the governed, private property and religious freedom, the rule of law and constitutionalism, all culminating in self-government at home and independence in the world. His enlightening and engaging tour through America’s founding not only recalls the deep roots of our "first principles" in Western civilization but also reveals their enduring lessons for today.

We Still Hold These Truths also offers a bracingly fresh analysis of how and why we have lost our bearings as a nation. Spalding masterfully examines the progressive assault on the Founders’ principles that began more than a century ago and that continues—indeed, is accelerating—in our time. Modern political leaders and cultural elites have all too readily abandoned the principles to which America is dedicated; even more troubling is how readily we all let it happen. Do we still hold these truths? Before we can rededicate our country to the core principles that made America the most prosperous, the strongest, and the freest nation in history, we must rediscover them ourselves. They must become again, as Thomas Jefferson said, "an expression of the American mind." In a world of moral confusion, and of arbitrary and unlimited government, America’s principles are our best access to permanent truths and the best ground from which to question the current direction of our nation. Upon this sure foundation, Spalding lays out a strategy to reclaim our future, and to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.


"This book recovers the timeless truths on which our self-governing nation was founded and which made America the model of human freedom. These first principles are the indispensable guides policymakers need now."
— PAUL RYAN, United States Congress

"In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty. But what are those essentials? And where do we get them from? Matthew Spalding, both a scholar and Knight Templar of American constitutionalism, is uniquely qualified not only to shed light on these questions but also to slay the intellectual dragons pitted against our Republic. This is vital armament in the battle for constitutional restoration."
— JONAH GOLDBERG, editor at large, National Review Online

"In his splendid new book, Matthew Spalding provides a spirited defense of the truths asserted by our Founders when they conceived the American republic. Combining the skills of the historian, the philosopher, and the political scientist, Spalding shows why Americans in our time should be no less confident than our forebears in holding these truths, and no less forceful in asserting them."
— ROBERT P. GEORGE, Princeton University

Genres: Politics, History, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Historical, American

267 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Christian D. D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the honour and pleasure of meeting the author back in 1996 when I was a precocious young intern (a few months shy of my 21st birthday, and in my junior year at the University of Southern California) at the Heritage Foundation. I'm pleased to see that Dr. Spalding has since been promoted to the position of Vice President of American Studies at Heritage--a well-deserved promotion!

But it wasn't until I read this book that I gained a full appreciation for Matthew's excellent and erudite writing skills. In "We Still Hold These Truths" (a most apropos title, I daresay), he gives a scholarly and philosophical analysis of the history of--and reason behind--the American Declaration of Independence and the drafting of the U.S. Constitutional. Equally important (indeed arguably even more so), he offers a passionate and well-reasoned defence of the timeless relevance of our nation's founding documents, the claims of the left-wing PC Thought Police (so-called "progressives"), race-baiters, gender-baiters, social justice warriors (SJWs), and democratic socialists notwithstanding.

A must-read for any true American patriot. Well done, Matthew!
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RANDOM STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS:

--p. 3: "Today, according to numerous studies, most of our high-school and college students do not know basic facts of American history." Ain't that the sad pathetic truth; I've met college-educated people who were not only utterly ignorant about the American Civil War and WWII, they didn't even recognise a picture of Elvis Presley, one of the icons of American pop cultural history!!

--p. 10: "More than anything else, the Americans were *British*." [author's original emphasis] This is a point I've tried to get across to several Brit-hating acquaintances of mine who fancy themselves great patriots, but such realities couldn't get through to their thick skulls; attitudes like theirs perpetuate the stereotype of conservative patriots as being uneducated, uncultured knuckle-draggers.

--pp. 10-11: "18 percent came from Ireland and Scotland....Scots-Irish settlers from the borderlands of Britain and Northern Ireland migrating to Appalachia." For more on this, read "Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America, by Jim Webb (retired U.S. Senator and former SECNAV under Pres. Ronald Reagan).

--pp. 113-114: "The Second Amendment prohibits confiscation of arms....As the Fourteenth Amendment applies to the states, this meant applying the provisions of the Bill of Rights against the states of well." Meh, tell that to the state (not to mention statist) officials of CA, HI, IL, MA, MD, NJ, and NY, who continue to openly and blatantly disregard and trample upon gun rights.

--pp. 165-166: "The concept of idealism rejects the practical reality of particular national interests in favor of dogmatic moralism, while the concept of realism suggests a narrow, cynical view that completely excludes moral considerations in dealing with other nations." Spot-on, or as Richard Nixon put it in his final book "Beyond Peace," "Realism without idealism is cynical and meaningless; idealism without realism is naïve and dangerous."

--p. 193: "The second anti-foundational concept is called 'historicism.' According to this view, not only are ideas relative to each other but all ideas and their meaning (and status) are relative to their moment in time. As such, ideas are relative to their moment in time." A-HA, so THAT explains why leftists disrespect the 1st Amendment (via Political Correctness), the 2nd Amendment (via gun bans), and the free-market (via excessive taxes, overregulation, and advocacy of so-called "democratic socialism").

--p. 194: "....the wide influence of Charles Darwin....(This can also be seen in the racist ideas of some progressive thinkers, who maintained the superiority of the Germanic peoples and the inferiority of all other races--hence their widespread support of eugenics.)" Indeed, one of my professors at USC, Rabbi Mordecai Finley, extensively discussed scientific racism and Social Darwinism in his excellent course Judaic Studies 211: The Holocaust.

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am still reading this excellent recount of the people and history that lead to the founding of the United States of America. Mr. Spalding does a great job at summarising in very easy to read style the ideas and historic movements that made the American Revolution possible as well as the ten sustaining principles that have shaped America as an exceptional force for freedom in the history of man.

[Jerry Wall · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good discussion of U. S. founding documents, the ramifications of those, problems, intricacy, yourselfness. etc.
Are our principles of society and government fixed, malleable, or what. How to look at those principles and discerning truth. Well written, from Heritage Think Tank perspective.
The English Bill of Rights of 1689, part of common law of Great Britain pointed to as document of influence on our understanding of individual rights. p. 18. Direct descendant of that document is our Constitutional Bill of Rights.
We have a government with 1. consent of the governed 2. equal rights of populace and 3. grounded in all men are created equal. p. 30 leitmotif through the book.
. . . no one has a natural right to use violence to alter or abolish the rule of law. p. 50
January 5 insurrection ignored this, felt they were exempt from this rule as appeared to be the case on the 2016 - 2020 government.
Per Founding Father (FF) Washington ... All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. p. 57
Four references to God (sic) in Declaration of Independence p. 58
But: Article Iv of Constitution: No religious East shall ever be required as a qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States. p. 61
Were we directed from Washington when to sow, and when to reap, Jefferson once noted, we would soon want bread p. 77
the oldest written constitution in the world is the one John Adams wrote for Massachusetts in 17980. p. 89
Constitution preamble provides that for six purposes to insure domestic tranquility provide for the common defense establish justice promote the general welfare form a more perfect union and the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. p. 100-101
19th Amendment Prohibition was a failed experiment in social reform. p. 115
Madison Federalist 51 You must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. p. 120
. . . it is the Constitution -- and not the legislature , the executive, of the courts -- that is the supreme law of the land. p. 128
. . . the shepherd cares for his defenseless sheep for the ultimate purpose of fleecing and consuming them. p 218
Public statements should be an occasion for informing and educating citizens about their obligations, as well as their natural and constitutional rights. p. 228

[Dave Franklin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matthew Spalding’s “We Still Hold These Truths” is a compelling examination of the American Founding, in a book which actually takes the principles espoused by the Founders seriously. Spalding argues that the Founding documents form a consistent, well-articulated, and true understanding of man which supplies us with a solid basis for creating a government mindful of the proper ends of political life.

While Spalding’s reading of the Founding documents is careful and instructive, it, at times, is overly sanguine. He rightly states that Americans justified their independence by “asserting truths said to be self-evident,” and that “In the American theory of constitutional government,” With this,the author glosses over some increasingly disturbing trends, if not the Zeitgeist itself.

Nearly fifty years ago, Malcolm Muggeridge issued a prescient forewarning with respect to the possibility of self- government when a large faction of the population renounces the duties, but not the privileges of citizenship. Muggeridge observed that, “Western man has grown weary of the struggle to be free…his freedom is too much for him, and he wants to shed it…western man seeking to shed his freedom has arranged his own punishment, binding him…and calling it liberation.” Hence, western man , and, more specifically, American man, has become more than willing to acquiesce to the siren song of the administrative state.

Certainly, Spalding acknowledges the salience of the ascendency of administration. Thus, he states, “Where the Founders went to great lengths to moderate democracy and limit government, the progressives believed that barriers to change had to be removed or circumvented to speed popular change and grow government. “ What he fails to note, to paraphrase Richard Nixon’s allusion to Keynes, is that we are all progressives now.

Whether we are headed toward a new despotism that will destroy the human spirit is an open question. Spalding’s book is important, inasmuch as it sounds a partial alarm regarding the centralizing and consolidating trend afoot toward administrative government. Our response is, at this juncture, still uncertain.

[Bob O'Bannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes it is possible that fanatical nationalism can lead to idolatry, and yes it’s true that the United States does not constitute God’s people, but it is also true that our nation was built on unique and enduring principles of human dignity and human flourishing that are worth knowing, cherishing and preserving.

Spalding has done a remarkable job of explaining the 10 principles that define our common purpose as Americans: liberty, equality, natural rights, consent of the governed, religious freedom, private property, the rule of law, constitutionalism, self government, and independence. This is really just basic American history, but I honestly was ashamed to be reminded of how much of this history I have forgotten.

Spalding also takes time to show how American ideals are under assault by the contemporary progressive agenda: “Liberty is no longer the freedom of self government in the context of constitutional order and the institutions of civil society, but becomes the autonomous pursuit of personal self-realization within the horizon of national social ideals.” (207).

In chapter 11, Spalding makes the case for “reclaiming our future” by offering many practical policy suggestions. He sums up the challenge before us well: “We must shore up all of the institutions of civil society that are increasingly under progressive assault — families, churches, schools, and private associations – for their own sake, but also so that they can sustain and cultivate the virtues and character required for republican government.” (232).

This really should be mandatory reading for every American citizen.

[Lexi Call · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as an assigned book for my class, and I've never loved reading for school so much. This is a really great book to educate and remind us Americans of our roots and our national goals as a people. Really loved this book.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! Sorry to be finished.

[Kathy Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

[Michael DeStefano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Using a prose, not unlike that of a History Channel narrator, one could actually hear the author in crystal clarity as his narrative lays before the reader a revealing dissertation.

Matthew Spalding’s approach here is quite simple in its concept; expose the reader to a brief history of the burgeoning years of our country, offer us a flavor of the superior literacy of the colonies at the time and through a tantalizing sprinkling of the literary influences that shaped the Founders’ thoughts, he demonstrated how their efforts bore the genius of the longest lasting Constitution in world history.

Spalding described in great detail, the genesis of those ‘truths’ we hold so dear. He explained, in his narrator’s voice (that even now echoes in my head), how “Equality, natural rights and the consent of the governed,” are used as the springboard into creating a document that would become the very foundation of our nation, what that document said in principle, and how it is to be employed in practice.
Matthew Spalding, We Still Hold These Truths, (Wilmington, DE: ISI Books, 2009), p. 29.

“From ancient Greece, the Founders learned mostly what to avoid…Alexander Hamilton voiced their collective assessment in Federalist 9: ‘It is impossible to read the history of the petty republics of Greece and Italy without feeling sensations of horror and disgust at the distractions with which they were continually agitated, and at the rapid succession of revolutions by which they were kept in a state of perpetual vibration between the extremes of tyranny and anarchy.’” (Ibid, p. 17.)

He also captured the present-day threats to those ‘truths’ and how those threats came into being. Spalding offers the U.S. Citizen in the twenty first century a blueprint showing what we can do about salvaging our future by getting us back to our roots; back to placing the U.S. Constitution as the supreme law of the land.

“Our principles always await rediscovery, not because they are written on faded parchments in glass cases, but because the immutable truths of liberty are eternally etched on the human soul.” (Ibid, p. 239.)

[goddess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another one of those "every American ought to read" books. This particular book was recommended by a speaker I heard at Education Week at BYU. The author begins with America's unique founding and humble beginnings. There is no nation quite like ours. America became great for a number of reasons, but we will lose our exceptional nature if we don't hold true to the principles and values that helped us in the first place. Too many factions and special interest groups are hijacking our culture. Since when is pure capitalism evil? What happened to self-government? We have bloated into a ginormous bureaucracy where appointed judges are changing the face of the Constitution, legislators are passing over-reaching laws and regulations, and we are appeasing our enemies across the globe. It's time to return to the original intent of the Constitution.

The author was vivid and concise, explicit and resourceful. I love gaining a few new insights into our Founders and their actions, as well as the purposes and functions of our national government.

[Todd Wilhelm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an excellent review of our nation's founding, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, how we have wandered far from the ideals of our fledgling nation and what we must do to return to the rule of law as outlined in the Constitution.

"All nations change over time, We have wandered far for many years. Yet our constitutional faith has not been erased from our consciousness. Nor has it been defeated in our politics. Our principles always await rediscovery, not because they are written on faded parchments in glass cases, but because the immutable truths of liberty are eternally etched on the human soul.

Do we still hold these truths?

In times of peace and war, prosperity and poverty, political consensus and social unrest, every generation of Americans is challenged to vindicate the sacred cause of liberty.

This is our noble task now. Let us act worthy."

-page 230

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Read. "Renewing America's principles doesn't mean going back to the eighteenth century, or some other time for that matter. Think of principles as the unchanging standards that inform changing experiences. The questions is not, "What Would the Founders Do? but what will we do as we go forward toward an unknowable future with these fixed principles as our trustworthy guides. It is not about looking back to the past, but rather looking down at our roots in order to look up to our highest ideals."

[Gary Sedivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a good history book, both about the founding fathers, and how our political system has drifted away from the founding concepts.
It deals with the ideas that the founders struggled with slavery, and did not ignore it, or consider that blacks were lesser humans. The founders were mostly believers in the Jewish/Christian God.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This was an outstanding book! It explains in clear terms the ideas embodied in our Constitution, the history behind them, and how they work in practice. This would be a fantastic textbook for a government class.

[Micheál Dáithí · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written. Very well referenced and footnoted. Excellent Bibliographic Essay at the end with resources for further research and reading to include a web site specifically for the book.

[Tera Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Opens your eyes to the government corruption.

[D. R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/drtucker...