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The Origins of Our American Creed
Real Clear History ^ | February 5th 2013 | Brian Vanyo

Posted on 02/05/2013 5:08:48 AM PST by Jacquerie

In his second inaugural address, Barack Obama challenged us to live out the meaning of our creed as stated in the Declaration of Independence. But he then redefined those ideals to suit his political aims. Change is necessary, he said, because “when times change, so must we.”

To preserve liberty, we must defend our principles, not change them. And doing so requires an understanding of their origin. To truly live out the meaning of our creed, we must first recognize what defined our founding as a nation. So let us objectively look at that beginning.

Colonial America was never home to a single race, language, or religion, yet a distinct American identity formed early in our history—the diverse American people were united in society by a common idea, a shared political philosophy based in Natural Law. Thomas Paine described this unique, but unexpected, American bond as follows:

"If there is a country in the world where concord, according to common calculation, would be least expected, it is America. Made up as it is of people from different nations, accustomed to different forms and habits of government, speaking different languages, and more different in their modes of worship, it would appear that the union of such a people was impracticable; but by the simple operation of constructing government on the principles of society and the rights of man, every difficulty retires, and all the parts are brought into cordial unison."

(Excerpt) Read more at realclearhistory.com ...


TOPICS: History; Reference
KEYWORDS: constitution; declaration; history
The Left must ignore the first 150 years of colonial America; it was a case study in the success of the civil society. Until the French and Indian War, the British government largely ignored us, and sat back to enjoy the benefits of ever increasing commerce.

The colonies composed of religious people organized themselves into self governing units that respected the individual. This is what good people do when left alone.

1 posted on 02/05/2013 5:08:52 AM PST by Jacquerie
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To: Jacquerie

BUMP


2 posted on 02/05/2013 5:27:30 AM PST by knarf (I say things that are true ... I have no proof ... but they're true)
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To: Jacquerie; All

Fly the Gadsden Flag from now until Tyrant Obama is IMPEACHED!


3 posted on 02/05/2013 5:55:40 AM PST by Graewoulf ((Traitor John Roberts' Commune Obama"care" violates Anti-Trust Laws, AND the U.S. Constitution.))
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To: Jacquerie

I am thinking the melting pot theory is a bit overused here. There were a few Dutch, French and Spanish speakers but the vast majority who were here were English speakers. All were from monarchies and most were persecuted or chose to develope societies here in accordance with their beliefs. Virginia was settled by folks looking for money and Georgia was a penal colony.
All...the vast majo
I am not seeing the authors point that there was a cumbayah moment nor was there a sign at Carpenter’s Hall “Si, hable Espanol”

But then I could be wrong.


4 posted on 02/05/2013 6:22:33 AM PST by Adder (No, Mr. Franklin, we could NOT keep it.)
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To: Adder

Not sure what happened....

Should have read:
“All...the vast majority....were educated in classic western thought and culture. They shared those belief systems and could come to an agreement.”

My apologies.


5 posted on 02/05/2013 6:25:46 AM PST by Adder (No, Mr. Franklin, we could NOT keep it.)
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To: Adder
Well, what I have read over the years only supports Thomas Paine's comment.

The point is that over time, and left to their own devices, these very different peoples naturally organized their societies with similar results. The foundation of our thirteen republics was a common belief in God, and His law. Their governments did not violate the traditions and practices of the preexisting civil society.

6 posted on 02/05/2013 7:02:56 AM PST by Jacquerie ("How few were left who had seen the republic!" - Tacitus, The Annals)
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To: Jacquerie

That is most correct.
Upon reflection,rather than language, I am thinking that Paine MIGHT have been referring to religious differences which could be and were extremely pronounced. Yes, overarching was God and Christianity in general but the different sects could be a real problem. For example, I believe Samuel Adams had a virulent dislike of Catholic Church.


7 posted on 02/05/2013 7:13:08 AM PST by Adder (No, Mr. Franklin, we could NOT keep it.)
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