High Cost of Freedom

We are living in a time when people do not know our history, do not care to understand it. That is dangerous because there are people who will rewrite our history. They deny the facts of our true founding. They reject that men of faith in the God of the Bible founded the nation. The revisionists love to talk about Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and Benjamin Franklin because they were not devout Christians, however, they neglect to tell us that these men, though not Christians, were not opposed to Christianity. They even supported it. The grand majority of the founders were men of devout faith. Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the Declaration of Independence, declared that our rights of freedom come from God: “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

It had been over 150 years since the first pilgrims had landed in Plymouth. The thirteen colonies united in defense for the first time against the abuses of England. The king had deprived them of the right to self-rule. He had taken away their judicial system and placed judges that were loyal only to him. He had put his army there to carry out his orders at the expense of the colonies. He had taken away their right to fund their governments and economies. He had forbidden trade with any other nations. His laws became a burden too big to bear.

Eventually, a war erupted for our independence. England never imagined that there was any possibility that the colonies could win their freedom.  The war spanned eight years with battles fought from Canada to South Carolina. Over 8,000 Americans died in action, but most of the wounded also died because of inadequate medical care and rampant diseases, causing the number of dead to rise to 25,000.

General George Washington led the American army through some of the most challenging conditions any military has ever faced. They were outnumbered, out trained, out supplied, with no navy to speak of, and continually fighting a war of attrition. Despite these obstacles, they won. There were some unexplainable things that some people consider more than coincidences that saved the army on many occasions, such as: the dense fog that came in at just the right moment and allowed Washington’s troops to cross the East River in New York without detection; the sudden change in the weather that brought a freeze that hardened the ground and allowed the army to make its escape from Trenton, New Jersey. Their survival in some of the most inhospitable conditions proved to be an extraordinary feat both in cold and hot weather and without proper clothing and adequate food. With enlistments continually expiring and trained soldiers replaced with fresh recruits, it is incredible that the army survived. One example of the many instances of protection over George Washington, was when musket balls were flying through the air and all the while he remained safe, is startling. The French navy arriving at precisely the right time to seal off the British troops from an escape by sea was incredible. Perhaps the most significant event ever was the refusal of George Washington to become our first king when the war was over. It was offered to him, but he refused it.

Several years after the war was over and the peace treated was signed in Paris declaring the independence of the United States of America, our founding fathers produced the Constitution of the United States. It has been and continues to be one of the most exceptional documents ever written. We are grateful to God for it and pray for men and women to fill our places of government who love and cherish this document and who acknowledge the blessings of God over our nation.