3 July 2009
Happy Independence Day
Posted by Joy Bischoff under: General .
This week Sharon’s Sunday Blog covers our whole three-day holiday. Have a wonderful fourth everyone.
By Sharon Anderson
THE SPIRIT OF ‘76
For several months I have been studying world history and working on a new time line packet, The Modern World– 1600 to the Present, the most recent in a series of packets I have created for home schoolers and other educators to help teach students of all ages. One of the events I have featured in this time line is the French Revolution. As we celebrate the Signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Spirit of ‘76, it is instructive to compare the American and French Revolutions. Here is some of the information from my time line summary of the French Revolution:
When the the United States declared and won independence, the people of France were aware of what was happening on the other side of the Atlantic. In France, millions read the translation of the Declaration of Independence. They knew Benjamin Franklin who had come to France as an ambassador. In 1777, the Marquis de Lafayette and other French soldiers went to assist George Washington in the Revolutionary War. As the French became more and more oppressed, they longed to have the same liberty and equality that Americans enjoyed, but the course and consequences of their revolution would be far different.
The French Revolution was a period of radical change, disruption, turmoil, and bloodshed that would last for ten years as various groups and individuals struggled for power and the French killed the French. During the Reign of Terror, as many as 50,000 people were murdered, seventy-two percent of them were workers or peasants accused of minimal crimes such as hoarding, desertion, or evading the draft.
In America, the signers of the Declaration of Independence had affirmed that all men were created equal and endowed by God with unalienable rights, including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and they appealed “to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of (their) intentions.” By contrast, a caricature published in 1819 called the “Radical’s Arms” summarizes the French Revolution. Above the picture of the guillotine, is a republican banner with the words, “No God! No Religion! No King! No Constitution!”
The French Revolution, as well as most other revolutions before and since, violently attacked existing institutions including government, family, and religion. The founders of the United States, on the other hand, acted with deliberation as official representatives of their colonies. They were not motivated by hatred of “all things British,” but by the desire for freedom. “With a firm reliance upon divine Providence,” they pledged to each other their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.
I hope that as we celebrate the birth of America, we will appreciate and emulate the greatness of our Founding Fathers who, in the words of Scott Bradley, “embraced honesty, integrity, justice, fairness, indeed, all of the honorable traits we admire . . . Those we call founders were honest, forthright, and upright in the declaration of their intentions, and they demonstrated by their action thereafter their integrity. . . There were not official acts of revenge carried out against (those who did not support independence) by the U.S. government after the Revolutionary War ended. . . There were no laws passed after the war that would confiscate the property of Tories, nor were there firing squads or hangings carried out by the government . . . These people were God-fearing and honorable to the core!”
Notes:
See To Preserve the Nation — In the Tradition of the Founding Fathers An American Government Lecture Series by Scott N. Bradley. Scott is a gifted teacher and Constitutionalist. Chapter 14 “All Revolutions are Not Equal” is of particular interest. For ordering To Preserve the Nation (20% off through July 31st!) go to http://www.topreservethenation.com/ You can listen to Scott Bradley online each Saturday from 10 am to 1 pm Mountain Time at http://www.libertynewsradio.com . Scott explains principles of good government and discusses threats to our Constitution. His articles may be found at http://www.turntotheconstitution.com/scott_bradley_home.html .
For more information on my history curriculum materials go to www.timelinesetc.com or www.timelinesetc.com/lds. I haven’t added the modern world yet, but you can find out more about History in Action and other features of the time line packets.
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