Welcome And Series Roadmap

SPEAKER_04 0:09

Welcome to the Intersection of Faith in Politics. This is Wall Builders Live with David Barton and Rick Green. Thank you so much for joining us today. You can also visit us online at wallbuilders.com and wallbuilderslive.com. Today is the second in a four-part series on Constitution Alive with David Barton and Rick Green. This is actually a 12-hour series on the Constitution where David and I walk you through the Constitution. We do half the program at the Wall Builders Library where we pull those documents off the shelf and take you to the original intent of the Constitution. And then the other half is in the room. It's at Independence Hall where the Constitution was framed and the declaration was signed. So it's a it's a great program. We had a blast doing it, and we wanted to share a piece of that with you. So we're doing segment one this week. We're sharing it with you here on the radio. It's going to take four days of our radio program to do that. And today's part two. So if you missed yesterday, go to wallboulderslive.com and you can uh look in the archive section and get yesterday's program. And if for some reason you're gonna miss the next couple of days, you can do the same there at the website, and also you can share it with your friends and family to give them a chance to get educated on the true foundations of America. Let's pick up where we left off yesterday with Constitution Alive with David Barton and Rick Green.

Patriotism As Social Duty

SPEAKER_00 1:21

If you love your country, you you're saying I want what's best for all my neighbors, and I'm gonna work my tail off to have a good country because I want my neighbors to be prosperous and safe. I don't want thugs and criminals overrunning them. I want to make sure we got good government, I want to make sure they can keep the money they earn, I want to make sure they got a good education for the kids, and if I love my country, I'm gonna fight for those things.

SPEAKER_03 1:40

So you're not just thinking of yourself, not just thinking about the other people.

SPEAKER_00 1:42

You know, if it's just me, I'll I'll just go off the grid somewhere. I'll get out and just d just live my life the way I want to, I'll go right off the grid. No, if I love others, I've got to fight for my country. I've got to be willing to stand and say, and that's what he says, not just for the present, but for future generations. I want to keep these principles alive so that if the Lord tarries for 200 years from now, this country's still working, still the most prosperous, the most stable, the most free in the history of the world. But that's what patriotism is. And that's why it says it's both a social and a religious duty. We owe it to God to love other people. We're to love one another. Well, if you love them, you want the best for them, which means you want the best government you can possibly have. And that's what they understand.

SPEAKER_04 2:20

And you want to have laws that are also protecting that for the next generation. You don't want to spend so that you're CRE for the next generation. You want to preserve the principles that have made it possible for us to be free, which is why we're doing this. We want our generation to respect the next generation.

SPEAKER_00 2:32

There's one other thing he said that I think is worth pointing out. And this will kind of set us up on what we're doing, because we got those six verbs from John Jay, we're gonna follow. Yeah. But also, why sh why should Americans be involved in government? Why should we care? Why why shouldn't we go off the grid? And he answered that right here in this

Benjamin Rush On Public Education

SPEAKER_00 2:49

book. This is the book that caused him to be called the Father of Public Schools under the Constitution. Because again, he signed the declaration, ratified the Constitution. Now we've got thirteen nations that have come together as one nation. They weren't states, they were colonies, they were nations. And he says, Okay, now that we're a unified nation, the United States of America, what do we got to teach in our schools to make sure that we stay a unified nation? Because we've been thinking about ourselves all along. So what do we what do we need to know now to be a nation? And so in this particular book, he has a piece called On the Mode of Education Proper and Republic. And this is the first time anybody says, hey, now that we have the Republic of America, the United States of America, what mode of education do we have to have? And so this is what he covers and goes through. And it's interesting here, he says, the purpose of public schools primarily is a threefold objective. He says, first, public schools should teach students to love and serve God. He said, second, public schools should teach matters.

SPEAKER_03 3:46

Already we're we're off of what we're doing today. I mean, we've missed it.

SPEAKER_00 3:49

Well, the very next year he wrote a piece in here, and this is March the 10th, 1791. He did this. And this piece gives a dozen reasons we'll never take the Bible out of public schools in America. So, I mean, that was their mentality, and that's why we don't talk about it.

SPEAKER_03 4:02

Yeah, no wonder he's not a founder that's taught. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:05

You know, he's one of the top three back then in the minds of John Adams, but not today. So what we have is this is our number one purpose of public schools to teach young people to love and serve God. He said number two purpose of public schools to teach young people to love and serve their country. Number three purpose is to teach young people to love and serve their family.

SPEAKER_04 4:22

So wait, public schools are supposed to be teaching love God, love your country, and love your family.

SPEAKER_00 4:30

That's now that's a lot of wisdom. I don't see it being another day. No, no, not but you know, look at the results we're getting out of public education. We don't get our money's worth on anything today. So that's the objective. That's what it was until the 1960s when an activist Supreme Court said we ain't doing this anymore. You know, we've evolved past that. Well, it's not working out so good for us.

SPEAKER_04 4:46

But nonetheless, we stopped looking back at the history you see in this library and we said we're smarter than those guys.

SPEAKER_00 4:51

We're skipping spring training. Let's see how the baseball team does. That's that's the object. And that's what it is. Baseball team are not gonna do well if you didn't have spring training. So what we've got, and and every person of faith I know today, if I ask them to prioritize God, family, and country, they will say God, first, family, second, country, third. Benjamin Rush said, God, first, country, second family. Now, why did he get it wrong? He didn't get it wrong. He says if you ever lose control of your country, it will become the great enemy of your family. And so if you really want to protect your family, it's like patriotism, you gotta get involved with your country, make sure you got good leaders, good policies, make sure they follow the Constitution, because then your family is gonna be prosperous and successful. But right now, it's the government that's one of the chief enemies of the family, and it's because we don't know our documents and we haven't learned what public schools used to teach love and serve God, love and serve your country, love and serve your family. And that was the objectives we had. And that's where Benjamin Russ has got such wisdom.

SPEAKER_04 5:45

He's so right. Man, there's so much of that wisdom in this room and in these books. We gotta come back

Why Independence Hall Matters

SPEAKER_04 5:49

to it. Now, our next part of this of this chapter, I have to thank you for because we were actually sitting in a restaurant. I don't know if you remember this. We were in Nashville, Tennessee. We'd gone out there for you to speak to some legislators, and you and Cheryl and I were sitting in this restaurant, it's that one where they have live music. Do you remember that? I do, I do remember that. And I was telling you, hey, we've been teaching this constitution class around, we're gonna record it again. And you said, Why don't you do it at Independence Hall where the Constitution was framed? Oh, that's a dream. There's no way that would happen. You said, No, I've done it. So you talked me into calling them. I called them, it worked out, and we're gonna now be able to go to the very place where all of this happened. Really? Actual room, independence hall, and give folks a chance to learn and study the constitution in the room where it happened. So let's go to Philadelphia for Constitutional Live.

SPEAKER_02 6:34

Okay, we want to let you know about a new product we have here at Wall Builders called Lives, Fortunes, and Sacred Honor, the Signers of the Declaration. Like most Americans, you might be someone that you recognize some of the names of the Founding Fathers, but do you know their story? We want to help remedy that. My dad and I have written biographies on all 56 signers of the Declaration to help reintroduce people to the men who literally sign their names on the line for the sake of the nation. When they did this, they knew that they were essentially signing their death warrants. They were risking everything for the hope that they might be able to purchase freedom for the rising generation with their lives, their fortunes, and sacred honors. And in spite of the hardship that every one of them endured, none of them recant or backed away. Now, if you don't know their story, you can get to know all 56 of them. Go to wallbuilders.com and look for the book Lives, Fortunes, and Sacred Honor, the signers of the Declaration.

SPEAKER_01 7:35

We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.

SPEAKER_04 7:43

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect.

SPEAKER_01 7:46

In order to form a more perfect union.

Awe Inside The Framing Room

SPEAKER_04 8:43

I'm actually standing in the very spot where American giants like John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and others actually had the courage to light the torch of freedom. This is the room. These walls actually witnessed the great debates of Benjamin Franklin and Madison and Mason and Hamilton and other patriots that hashed out those details to our American Constitution. So to actually be in this room where it happened is very, very exciting for me. Those documents led to and paved the way for the greatest, most free, most amazing nation in the history of the world. And this is where it all began, right here. In fact, that chair behind me that you can see, that's where George Washington sat as he presided over that constitutional convention. So just being in this room, I'm in a little bit of a sense of awe. I hope you are as well. And those at home that are joining us from their webinar, I kind of I guess I had a reminder last night of how special it is to be in this room. We came by to check out all our equipment, make sure everything was going to work well tonight. And uh two rangers here were nice enough to get us in and show us what we needed to do. And in visiting with them, I found it quite amazing that even after several years of working here, they still had that awe every time they came in the room. In fact, one of them, nice lady, told me she'd been working here three years. First two years, she did not allow herself to come across that rail into this room where I'm standing now. Young man that's been here a year still has not allowed himself to come into this area. Now, I didn't say they weren't allowed, they're park rangers. They could have come over here anytime. But because of a sense of awe, a sense of respect for this place and what happened in this room, they've not done so. And that was a good reminder to me of just how special this is and how blessed we are to get to be in this room tonight. And speaking of those rangers, they're the ones that actually not only preserve this place and and protect this majestic and historic room, but they make it available for people from all over the world to come into this room and actually see where the seeds of liberty were sown, where they were planted. And I think it's a great testament for America to still be that beacon of hope around the world. So I'm really, really appreciative of those rangers that make that possible for us. There's a few of them outside this room that can hear you, and I would appreciate it if you would thank them for what they do every day to keep us alive. Maybe some of them will watch the DVDs later and they'll know that we were thanking them for what they do. I just think it's neat to keep history alive and give people a chance to witness it and participate in it. I don't think I can get across to you how excited I am about this. I kinda feel like, and I use sports analogies a lot, so forgive me for that, but I feel like that kid that has finally uh met their hero and they're about to get the autograph of their favorite ball player ever. Because being in this room is as close as I'm ever going to get to actually shaking the hands of the founding fathers. So this is uh if I'm a little bit giddy, you'll just have to forgive me tonight. I'm more excited than I thought I would be. I knew I'd be excited, but I'm just I'm just kind of uh um in awe of what we're what we're about to do. So I I can't help but think as I'm coming in here tonight, and I know it wasn't a true story, and I know it's a bunch of fiction in there, but I had I was kind of thinking about National Treasury. Remember that movie? You know, Nicholas Cage is running into Independence Hall. He finds those those uh secret spectacles of Benjamin Franklin, and they're able to see the secret and you know, decode the message on the back of the Declaration of Independence. And I know we're not gonna find any secret spectacles of Benjamin Franklin. We're not gonna see any secret messages on the on the back of the declaration. But I can promise you tonight, what we will find on the front side of the Declaration and the Constitution, in those words that were made available for the whole world to see, we're gonna find, we're gonna rediscover the secret sauce of American exceptionalism. We're gonna find that formula, rediscover and re-establish that formula that made America so successful. So thank you for joining me tonight and being being part of it. Those those men that gathered in this room on those two occasions and put those documents in place, it wasn't enough just to write those words. The the words of the Declaration would would just be words on paper in some attic somewhere collecting dust, if it hadn't been for the men that sat in this room and were willing to stand for the things that they were saying, willing to bring the words to life by literally putting their lives on the line. And as overwhelmed as I am to be in this room tonight and in in the day that we live in, I I can only imagine what it would have been like to be in here, in this room, whenever they signed the Declaration

The Silence Of The Signers

SPEAKER_04 13:02

of Independence. When they were willing to put their lives behind the words that they were saying. I know we always read in history it was July 4th. Of course, the only guys to sign those few days between the first and the fourth was actually uh Secretary Thompson and John Hancock, the president of Congress. The rest of the guys came back in here on August 2nd. There was three or four other guys that didn't sign till later, but most all of them came in here on August 2nd. You can imagine that's a little bit different date. I mean, that's a little bit different occasion. It's it's one thing to vote and say, hey, uh Hancock, why don't you put your name on that document and send it over to King George? It's another thing to put your name on the line knowing that King George is coming after you after you put your name there. And they did that. They gathered here, and I love the I love the letter that that Benjamin Rush wrote to John Adams. These guys corresponded a lot after the revolution.

SPEAKER_02 13:53

Hey guys, this is Tim Barton from Wall Builders. I'm gonna let you know about a new resource that should be a tool in your toolbox. This is the reprint of Thomas Jefferson's original draft of the Declaration of Independence. Now, there's lots of reasons it would be cool to own a reprint like this, but one of the things that I want to highlight is not only is this a reprint that is in Thomas Jefferson's own hand and cursive, it shows some of his edits along the way, which is really fun, but it also shows what Thomas Jefferson thought was the most significant grievance in the original draft. It's the longest grievance, it's the last grievance. It was a grievance against the slave trade, arguing actually also against slavery, and arguing for the humanity of all that were in slaves. Thomas Jefferson thought that was the most important. Now, it didn't make it the final draft, and we will explain why in the resource packet you get when you order one of these copies. But friends, this is something that you want in your collection. Go to wall butter.com and look for Thomas Jefferson's original draft of the Declaration of Independence.

SPEAKER_04 15:10

He said, No one said a word as they were they were called forward. He said it was it was totally silent. And and Secretary Thompson from the front of the room started on his right over here with New Hampshire, and he said, Josiah Bartlett of New Hampshire. And Bartlett got up, he he came forward, he he took the pen, he dipped it in the ink, and he signed in total silence the Declaration of Independence. He went back and he sat down, and one by one they came. John Hart of New Jersey. And you can just imagine as they came forward and took the pen out of that silver ink well and dipped it in the ink, and you could hear that pen scratching along the surface of the declaration. Well, no one said anything. One by one they came. And then finally, Elbridge Jerry got up to come forward, and the silence was broken. Now, Elbridge Jerry was not a well-known founding father. We don't talk much about him today at all. He went on to be vice president later, but only thing you need to know about him for this particular story is that Elbridge Jerry was the smallest of the founders. I mean, he was a little guy. He was not the towering seven-foot uh Thor-like figure that stands before you here speaking tonight. He was what are you laughing at? Okay, so all right, I'm a little guy. Okay, I'm 5'8 with my boots on. All right. This guy was even smaller than me. And he gets called forward to sign the declaration. And then this guy, Benjamin Harrison, Colonel Benjamin Harrison from over here from Virginia, big guy. I mean, he was the largest of the founders. He hollers out at Jerry just as Jerry's about to sign. Now, this is the most important political moment in the history of the world. I mean, this is a serious occasion. And the big guy from the back of the room says, the little man up front, he says, I shall have a great advantage over you, Mr. Jerry, when we're hung for what we're now doing. By the size and great weight of my body, well, I'll be dead in a minute or two. But by the lightness of yours, you're gonna dance in the air for an hour or more before you're finally dead. Only words spoken during the well, now after the signing, they they do say, some say that Franklin said, who sat here, he said, uh, you know, we we better all hang together or else we'll surely hang separately. So, I mean, they knew what they were doing when they signed the document. And I'll tell you those two things because I think it's important for us to know that those guys that were in here, they knew what they were doing. They knew this was going to be a death warrant. They knew that by putting their name on the dotted line, they would have to give it all. And I love the fact that when they came up and took that pen and dipped it in the ink, when they signed, it was right beneath that final sentence. It says, in support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. Those were true patriots. They were sinners, they were fallen, they made terrible mistakes just like all of us. But they were patriots because they didn't just get excited, you know, sign the petition, go home, forget about it. These guys stood by their signature. Every single one of them. They did not back down, not one of them failed to follow through on the commitment that they had made. In fact, when you think about the sacrifice that they made, all 56 of them giving of their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor in one way or another, some of them literally giving their lives, many of them giving their entire fortunes, some of them lost their wives, lost their sons. They sacrificed a lot for us, for us to be free, so that generations later, we could be free. I think sometimes we forget that our freedom's not free. We we we forget that there have been those that came before us that paid the ultimate price for us to be able to enjoy these blessings of liberty we talk so much about. And it it didn't stop in this room when these guys lit that torch of freedom. There were others that had to come alongside, that had to rally to the cause.

Washington Needs A Spy

SPEAKER_04 18:32

In fact, I I love what happened a few months later after Washington had begun to finally get his ragtag bunch together and and uh begin to uh be able to do some things and he had freed Boston, and now a few months after the signing of the declaration in September of 1776, he's actually in New York City. And and in New York, you've got a situation where the the British have have attacked at Staten Island, they defeated us at Long Island, and they've pushed Washington back to Manhattan. And now Washington's kind of dug in there, he's trying to figure out what to do next. He's he he he he's gotta he needs to know where the British are gonna move next. He needs to know where their troop fortifications are, where their movements are, where they may attack next. He doesn't know any of this, and there's only one way he's gonna get that kind of information. George Washington needs a spy. But but in 1776, a spy was not what we think of today. I I don't know about you. When I think of a spy today, I think of a secret agent. I think of one of these cool guys, you know, like Bond or Bourne or, you know, I'm thinking of these guys that dress cool, they they got all the gadgets, they act cool, they talk cool. I mean, they have gadgets that will allow them to accomplish any mission impossible. I mean, it doesn't, these guys can actually, with their gadgets, they can run down the side of a mile-high building without any problem. And and even when they don't have the gadgets, I mean, you gotta watch out because these guys can kill you with a paperclip, a toothpick, a magazine. It doesn't matter. They're gonna take care of you. And they never lose their cool. Chaos all around them, and they can still ask for a martini, shaken, not stood. I mean, I don't know how they do it. But I'm in awe of these guys. That's not what it was like in 1776. All right, that's our movies. It sounds pretty. Go back to 1776, man. If you were a spy, you were the lowest of the low. You weren't a military hero. You were a hired gun. You were you you were not somebody that either side trusted. And and Washington knew that. He knew that if he sent one of those types of folks, they're gonna be killed upon capture. He wasn't even sure he'd get the right information back. What Washington wanted was he wanted one of his trusted officers to step up and volunteer for this mission. But but he wasn't about to demand it of him. He wasn't gonna uh demand such a demeaning and dangerous mission. See, if you were killed on the battlefield, there was honor in that. If you were captured as a spy and hung, no honor in that. Your legacy was destroyed, your reputation was ruined. So Washington's trying to figure out how to do this, talking to some of his officers. One of these guys gets an idea. And he goes back to his tent. And he and he's got a bunch of his officers there in his tent, and in hushed tones, Colonel Tom Knowlton is telling these guys why he needs somebody to step up and and take care of what the general needs. Nobody's willing. In fact, Knowlton finally gives up. He he turns to leave. He's gonna head back to General Washington, telling him he's failed. And as he turns to leave, this kid standing at the door had come to the meeting late. He was actually ill with a fever. So he arrived at the meeting late. And as Knowton's about to leave, this kid steps forward and he says, I will undertake the mission.

How To Listen And Find Resources

SPEAKER_02 21:21

This is Tim Barton for the Wall Booger Show, and I just want to make sure you know that you can listen to us wherever you go. If you get up in the morning, you do a workout, if you're mowing the grass in the afternoon, if you're driving somewhere, and you want the opportunity to get some insight into vocal realm from a historic, a constitutional, and a biblical perspective, hearing from incredible expert voices. We are on basically every platform that you can find. Whether it's Apple Music or iHeartRadio, Spotify, Podcast Index, Overcast, Pocket Cast. There's so many things. I don't even know what all of these are, but if you go to wallbuilders.show, you will find a list of all of the places where you can. Listen to the program. And of course, if you already listen to podcasts, you know how to download a podcast, you know how to find us. We would encourage you to download the podcast so you can listen at your convenience. If you're not in the car, that's no problem. Download the podcast. Take us with you on the road. We want to be an encouragement to you in your day. Go to wallbuilders.show to find out all the places where you can stream or download. Hey guys, this is Tim Barton from Wall Builders. I want to let you know about a special landing page we have on the Wall Builders website. If you go to wallbuilders.com, there is a little box that says Wall Builders is celebrating 250 years of American freedom and independence. Click on that little box and it will take you to the landing page for 250 years of America. And on the landing page, there are several different little boxes you can click on. One of them is for events. It will let you know of some major events that are that are coming up that are going on that you can actually come and participate in. You can come here. My dad or I give speeches, tell them the stories about the birth of the nation, about the founding fathers, the faith connection in America. There's also a tab for resources that you can click on, and it will take you to lots of different speeches and sermons and documents and proclamations from the founding era. And then there's also a little tab that will take you to the Wall Builder store with lots of resources, all the things that may be a hat you want to wear, a shirt to wear, or other Wallbuilders products to read. This is the place to go to celebrate 250 years.

Nathan Hale Steps Forward

SPEAKER_04 23:29

Now to really understand what's happening in this tent, you gotta understand this was not your ordinary group of officers. This was not your ordinary soldier at the at the door. In fact, these men were Colonel Tom Knowlton's Rangers. These were the original special forces. This was the first group of Army Rangers. They had recently been put together by Washington. These were the guys that were the special forces. Now, the only way for me to wrap my head around that, and you know, living in the day that I live in and trying to think about the revolutionary era guys special forces. I gotta think like this, okay? Maybe you can join me in this. Just think Chuck Norris with a ponytail. Okay, that's the only way I can get my head around that. Okay, so so you got these special forces guys, all these guys with their ponytails, they've gathered in the tent, and Nolton's trying to find a volunteer. Well, the guy at the door is none other than Captain Nathan Hale. He's only 21 years old. 21 years old. Now, this is a guy that had graduated from Yale at 18. He had studied for the ministry, went to become a teacher for a few years, and he's teaching in New London, Connecticut. And while he's teaching there, the war breaks out. Lexington and Concord happens. Now, he's only just halfway through his 19th year when Lexington and Concord breaks out. So he's still a teenager, basically. But when he hears about Lexington and Concord, he shows up at the town hall meeting there in his hometown to discuss what's happening. And this 19-year-old stands up in front of his community and he says to them, he said, We should take up arms, we should march immediately and not lay down those arms until we've achieved independence. Independence? Nobody uttered the words in the word independent in his hometown yet. But this this young man shakes his community from that colonial submission, shakes the hands of his students, and he marches off to war. And now here we are, a year and a half later. He finds himself outside this tent of Colonel Nolton's, and and a buddy of his is actually there. He's also an officer, a guy named William Hall. Captain William Hall had um gone to school with him at Yale.

Constitution Alive Closing Thoughts

SPEAKER_04 25:22

Well, we're out of time for today, folks. That was part two in a four-part series on Constitution Alive. This is the the first segment of that entire program. Twelve-hour program. We're just giving you a taste of it this week out of segment one. And and by the way, the reason we say Constitution Alive is because that document is not dead. The Constitution, even though 200 years ago, is not irrelevant. In fact, it is alive and it applies to our life today. So that don't get that confused with the whole living, breathing document that you've heard from some Supreme Court justices that it changes and evolves. No. In fact, it's exactly as the Founding Fathers intended it, if we will apply it the way that it was intended, and that's what we have to do to save the Constitutional Republic. So we're helping to get others educated on that as well. It's called Constitution Alive with David Barton and Rick Green. Segment one is going to take us about four days to share with you here on the radio program. Today was part two. If you missed yesterday, get on our website at wallboulderslive.com, click on the archives, and you can listen to yesterday's program. And over the next two days, we'll get the conclusion of that first segment. Again, just giving you a taste of it, giving you a chance to get educated on these foundations of America, and hopefully for you to share them with others as well. If you'd like the entire program, you can visit our website to find out more there at wallboulders.com. Appreciate you listening today to Wall Boulders Live with David Barton and Rick Green.