Fruits of Independence (I)

Contrary to the thoughts

and dreams of oOr modem
radicals (in church and state as
well as the university) this
continent was founded by men
who were driven by a desire ti>
see the Lord Jesus Christ
honored and His kingdom
come. Columbus, . Cortez, .
Balboa, and any number of the
early explorers to cross the
perilous ocean to this land in
the late 15th and early 16th
centuries had this in common.
These men were followed
by Englishmen of similar .
vision. The settlers of
Jamestown came (in 1607) fot
the purp'ose of establishing a
society where men might live
freely to the glory of Ood. The
pilgrims of Plymouth came for
the same reason thirteen years
later. These two groups of early
settlers, set the tone for all that
would follow in this nation.
This would be a place
dominated by nothing so much
as the gospel and faith in
Christ. '
The most important fact
about any nation or people ,is its
faith. Ood, as the Ruler of the
universe has determined to rule
over people and nations in
terms of His covenant. This
means that those who honor
Him will be honored and those
who despise Him will be
lightly esteemed. He has told
us in Proverbs 14:34 that
"Righteousness exalts a nation
but sin is a reproach to any
people." In saying this Ood
tells us the rule by which we
shall have prosperity and
blessing or cursing and misery.
If we adhere (as a nation) to the
rule of righteousness (His
Word) we will be exalted. If
we depart from this rule, we
will be destroyed.
Ood watches over men and
nations to this end. One may
trace the progress or decline of
16 * THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon t October, 1996
our nation in terms of its
faithfulness or unfaithfulness to
the Word. And, throughout
history there has been
something of an ebb and flow
in regard to faithfulness. At
the close of the 17th century
the faith had suffered
significant decline North and
South but most severely
perhaps in New England. It is
thus, not too surprising that the
sad events at Sa!em took place
at this time. B1,It Ood in the
midst of the 18th cenrury
wrought a great work in
bringing about a revival of the
faith through the preaching of
His Word. Men like Jonathan
Edwards, Oilbert Tennant, and
Oeorge Whitefield, were used
mightily to revive the faith of
those who founded this
country. '
That revival in many ways,
prepared this nation for the
struggle for independence
which came in 1775-1783
with Oreat Britain. Many
have noted that apart from the
Oreat Awakening, there would
never have been a war of
independence. Ood granted an
amazing victory through the
efforts of bold men like
Washington, Harry Lee,
P\l.trick Henry, a'rid many
others. The Treaty of Paris '
established the colonies as"
independent s ~ t s
unchallenged.
Revolutions are a dime a
dozen. Revolutions that end in
true liberty are one in a million.
The uniqueness of American
independence is noted by
Samuel Morison:
HAll modem history proves
that it is easy enough for a,
determined minority to pull Britain that (jeneral leaders of the Revolution
down a government, but Washington himself toasted wanted only a redress of
exceedingly difficult to the King nightly at his grievances, not a revolution of
reconstruct, to re-establish law headquarters until January of government. (M. E. Bradford,
and order on new foundations. 1776. (Ibid., pp. 5-6) John Original Intentions, p. 16) and
And in no other great Adams would confess after the this stands in stark contrast to
revolution have the initial War that at any time during
the French Revolution.
agitators long survived the war he would gladly have
liquidation by their successors. given up American Alexander Hamilton once told
Dozens of nations ... have independence, could the a French visitor, "Our
won independence -_ but how colonies but return to their separation from the mother
many have secured liberty?" happy situation in 1763 before country cannot be called a
(The Oxford History of the' the successive British ministers revolution, [j.e. like that of the
American People, p. 270) began to push one scheme after Frenchl. There have been no
One ofthe reasons this was another of American taxation. changes in the laws, no one's
so was the distinctly limited (Ibid., p.1) interests have been interfered
goal ofthe patriots of 1776. Patrick Henry stated the with, everyone remains in his
Their great concern Was to debt the citizens of this country place, and all that is altered is
preserve the basic order r---------------, that the seat of
which the people of this government is changed."
counhy had come to '''Ciod, as the Ruler of the universe has (Morison, The
identify with liberty delermined 10 rule over people and , Conservative American
nations in terms of His covenant This
rather than to subvert or Revolution, p. 17) That
means that those who honor Him will '.
overthrow that order. was only a slight
f h h
be honored and those who despise
Most ate people w 0 exaggeration.
came to this country Him will be lightly esteemed," ,
cherished the English , The founders (and the
constl
'tutl'on and the basl'c people of the country in
had 10 their English forbearers
liberties which had been in these words, "We are general) revolted in horror from
enshrined in the Magna Carta the terrors of the French
descended from a people whose
-- this, to the people of this Revolution and the efforts to
government was founded on
land, defined liberty. This liberty; our glorious forefathers bring about equality. Patrick
opinion did not change even of Cireat Britain made liberty Henry did not hide his distaste
after the abuses and usurpations the foundation of everything . . for the Revolution in France.
of the Parliament and King. . We drew the spirit of liberty The French, he said, "have a
(Ibid., p. 18) from our British ancestors; by liberal and destructive spirit,
Samuel Morison has noted, that spirit we have triumphed one of infidelity which under
"the American Revolution over every difficulty." (Mr. E. the name of philosophy worked
began as a defensive movement Bradford, Against the its evil will so that everything
to maintain the rights and Barbarians, p. 97) that ought to be dear to man is
liberties which the English covertly but successfully
I h d I d
The War of Independence
co onists a a ways n j o y , assailed. French democracy
d h h h f
'" h was a defensive war rather
an to w ic t ey e t t ey was a bloody horror. It was a
t
'tl dOl d h d than a revolution in any
were en Ie. ur ea ers a new and quite different
no wish to scramble the modem sense of the word. It
ff rt t t b k
' t revolution than was pursued
existing social structure and was an e 0 0 pu ac III 0
re-structure it on some new place what had been lost by the here." (Against the Barbarians,
basis." (The Conservative tyrannies of King and pp. 98-99)
American Revolution, p. 5) 50 Parliament. Edmund Indeed there is precious little
strong was the attachment to Pendleton explained that the with which to identify the War
October, 1996 f THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon f 17
of Independence and its
aftermath with the French
Revolution and its reign of
terror. Morison notes, "But the
mere mention of the French
and Latin-American
revolutions shows how
fundamentally ours differed
from theirs. Our Revolution
may be said to have begun
with Washington and Jefferson
in Virginia and the brace of
Adamses in Massachusetts;
and ended with Washington,
John Adams, and Jefferson as
the first three presidents under a
new federal constitution, with
Sam Adams governor under a
conservative State Constitution
written by his cousin John. By
contrast, in no other important
revolution of modem times did
the leaders who started the
revolution end it." (Ibid., p. 3)
Opponents of the revolution
here suffered no atrocities akin
to what happened in France.
There were no summary
executions or purges of
enemies of the people.
Morison notes, "Whilst
treatment of the Loyalists is not
one of the things which we
view with pride, it was not
nearly so severe as the
treatment of
counter-revolutionary groups in
the great revolutions of our
time. Thousands in France,
hundred of thousands in
Russia, and millions in China
were arbitrarily killed by
revolutionaries for no other
reason than that they were
opposed to the new regime, or
owned property that the new
regime wanted. By contrast, in
this country there were no
mass expulsions, much less
executions; and the great
majority of American Loyalists
never left the States but
eventually became good
American citizens. Also, a
surprisingly large number who
did leave, drifted back." (Ibid.,
p.8)
The typical revolutionary of
modem times never gained
control or had influence during
our revolution. The eaily
agitators like Tom Paine, left
soon after the war for France
where he could gain a
respectable hearing. The
rowdy Sons of Liberty in
Boston and Philadelphia quietly
disappeared because, as
Morison notes, "they had
nothing constructive to offer,
and the people simply forgot
their existence: (Ibid., p. 28)
Credit for this must go to the
restraining hand of Christianity
which held in the reins of the
revolutionary impulse. The
laws of Nature and Natures
(jod held sway over the minds
of the vast majority in this
country so that lawlessness
could not gain a foothold. The
people here fought for the
principle that there were laws
that could not be annulled by
kings or parliaments and were
not about to fall into the same
disrespect for divine, eternal
authority they had observed in
others.(TO BE CONTINVED)
18 f THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 'I October, 1996
In Freedom's Cause: A Story
of Wallace and Bruce by G. A.
Henty. Preston/Speed
Publications, RR 4, Box 705,
Mill Hall, Pa. 17751. Ph.
(717) 726-7844 (c) 1996, hb.
$20.00.
Liberty or death. This was
the stark choice the people of
thirteenth/fourteenth century
Scotland faced if they rose up
against their English rulers.
Many would say that it was no
choice at all. How could the
Scottish people ever hope to
gain their freedom on the
battlefield? Many of the nobles
were English supporters. Few
people could be expected to
rise up against the numerically
overwhelming English anny
that would assuredly invade
from the South. Edward I, the
king of England, would
qUickly and consistently resist
any and all attempts by .
Scotland to rule itself. The
odds seemed insunnountable.
Yet with the right leader, with
a long tenn commitment and
above all with Gods good
providence it could be
accomplished.
Using Bums' masterful
historical work, The Scottish
War of Independence as his
basis, G. A. Henty penned this
thrilling account of Scotlands