David Barton

It is unconstitutional to present to students the concept of the Creator which is so openly acknowledged in the Declaration of Independence and numerous other Founding writings. EDWARDS v. AGUILLARD, 1987; FREILER v. TANGIPAHOA PARISH BD. OF EDUC., 1999; SELMAN v. COBB COUNTY, 2005; KITZMILLER v. DOVER AREA SCH. DIST., 2005; HURST v. NEWMAN, 2006

It is unconstitutional for a classroom library to contain books that deal with Christianity, or for a teacher to be seen with his personal copy of the Bible at school. ROBERTS v. MADIGAN, 1990 It is unconstitutional for advertisers who purchase advertising space in school settings to include any religious content in their paid advertisement. DILORETO v. DOWNEY UNIFIED SCH. BD. OF EDUC., 1999; 89 ANDERSON v. MEXICO ACADEMY AND CENTRAL SCH., 2002; 90 OXFORD BAPTIST CHURCH v. CATAWBA COUNTY SCH. BD. OF EDUC., 2004 91

It is unconstitutional for a speaker to deliver a secular message to public schools if that expert is also publicly known to be a Christian even if he is a member of the President’s Drug Task Force. ALEXANDER v. NACOGDOCHES SCH. DIST., 1991; 92 CARPENTER v. DILLON ELEMENTARY SCH. DIST. 10, 2005. It is unconstitutional for a kindergarten class to ask whose birthday is celebrated by Christmas. FLOREY v. SIOUX FALLS SCH. DIST., 1979 94

It is constitutional for public schools to display Jewish and Islamic religious holiday symbols but not Christian ones. SKOROS v. CITY OF NEW YORK, 2006 95 There are hundreds of similar rulings. It is therefore not surprising that an independent poll affirmed that 77 percent of the nation believes that “the courts have gone too far in taking religion out of public life,” and that 59 percent believe that judges have singled out Christianity for attack.

Furthermore, as the latter two rulings suggest, Christmas tends to be an especially restrictive time of year, when many schools completely eliminate or severely censor historic holiday words and traditions. For example: • “Christmas Holiday” is frequently changed to “Winter Holiday” or “Winter Break” to avoid using the word “Christmas,” 97 which is offensive because it contains the word “Christ.”

David Barton – There is not a correct style of worship.  Jesus said there were only two qualifications and specifications for worship, “Worship Me in spirit and in truth.”  John 4:24.  That was it.

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In recent years, clashes over religious expressions have been among the most frequent controversies decided by federal courts, with the U. S. Supreme Court having issued numerous rulings on the subject (a previously unprecedented practice in American history). Consequently, a body of nine unelected Justices now exercises more control over how, when, where, or if public religious activities will occur than any other entity in America. In fact, one Justice describes the Court as “a national theology board.”

The modern Court largely amassed its control over religion first by discarding the traditional limitations of the religion clauses of the First Amendment, and then by adopting the phrase “separation of church and state” as the modern measuring stick for judging the propriety of a challenged religious expression. By imputing a non-historic meaning to this celebrated historic phrase, the modern Court began declaring unconstitutional many long-standing religious practices and expressions.

The subsequent overzealous application by state and local officials of these court decisions (and of the “separation” phrase in general) produced even greater restrictions. Because of the current widespread coupling of “separation of church and state” with First Amendment controversies, many Americans now believe that the phrase is part of the First Amendment. Yet concerning religion, the First Amendment only states: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.

For generations after its ratification, the courts relied solely on the clear and unambiguous wording of the First Amendment; the reliance on the “separation” metaphor is a recent judicial trend. For example, in the Supreme Court’s first 150 years, the separation idiom was invoked by the Court in only two cases; it has since been cited in seemingly countless cases. In fact, in actual cases filed under the First Amendment’s religion clauses in recent decades, the First Amendment was cited by courts in less than three thousand cases while the separation metaphor was cited in over four thousand. Strikingly, in examining First Amendment controversies, courts are more likely to cite the separation metaphor than they are the First Amendment itself.

That metaphor became the contemporary standard for judicial policy in 1947 in Everson v. Board of Education when the Court proclaimed: The First Amendment has erected a wall between church and state. That wall must be kept high and impregnable. We could not approve the slightest breach. 4 Relying on this phrase rather than the First Amendment, courts began striking down religious activities and expressions that had long been constitutional.

David Barton – The Holy Spirit must be present and the Word must be given in an uncompromising way.  That is it.  The style?  There are thousands of styles to choose from.

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Another interesting anecdote about President Lincoln involved a Mrs. Carolyn Johnson of Philadelphia, the African American president of an organization to help soldiers. Mrs. Johnson, who had been a slave, wanted to make a gift and give it to President Lincoln for what he had done for black Americans. A Quaker friend of hers wrote a letter introducing Mrs. Johnson to President Lincoln, who agreed to meet with her. When Mrs. Johnson went to meet the President, she brought her Baptist minister with her because she was terrified to speak for fear of embarrassing herself. Her minister spoke with the President and then turned to Mrs. Johnson and asked if she had anything to say. According to Mrs. Johnson’s own account:

I had not a word to say and I cast my eyes upon the floor, when the fire began to burn within me and I tell you it was the Spirit. I looked up and said, “Mr. President, I believe God has hewn you out of the rock for this great and mighty purpose; so many have been led away by bribes, by silver, and gold, but you have stood firm because God was with you and He will be with you if you are faithful unto the end.” To which the President replied, “You must give God the praise, and not man.”

Mrs. Johnson then presented President Lincoln a magnificent basket of wax fruit that she personally had made for him. Returning to 1865, while there were numerous celebrations by black Americans and others at the end of the Civil War, even before the war had come to an end, a vote had been held in Congress on the constitutional amendment to abolish slavery the 13th Amendment. Congress passed that Amendment and a poster was quickly issued to honor the 137 members of Congress who had voted to end slavery. At the time of the vote, there were 118 Republicans in Congress and 82 northern Democrats. Of the 118 Republicans, all 118 voted to abolish slavery; of the 82 Democrats, only 19 voted to end slavery only 23 percent of Democrats and those were the northern Democrats!

When the vote was taken in Congress on the 13th Amendment to abolish slavery, the chambers were packed from wall to wall with expectant observers. After the numbers were counted and it was announced that the amendment had passed, a roar erupted from the celebrating the passage of the thirteenth amendment and the end of slavery thousands in the chamber; hats were thrown and voices were raised in exuberant cheers. Congress had voted to end slavery! How something that profound should be celebrated?

Members of the House asked that a sermon be preached to commemorate the event. And whom did they ask to preach the sermon? The Rev. Henry Highland Garnet, who became the first African American to speak in the halls of Congress.

Rev. Garnet preached his sermon on Sunday, February 12, 1865, and it was powerful. His discourse began with a recollection of his own personal experiences: What is slavery? Too well do I know what it is? I was born among the cherished institutions of slavery. My earliest recollections of parents, friends, and the home of my childhood are clouded with its wrongs. The first sight that met my eyes was my Christian mother enslaved. Rev. Henry Garnet Rev. Garnet’s sermon Garnet then reviewed the prominent historical leaders of both church and state who had strongly opposed slavery:

Augustine, Constantine, Ignatius, Polycarp, Maximus, and the most illustrious lights of the ancient church denounced the sin of slaveholding. Thomas Jefferson said – at a period of his life when his judgment was matured and his experience was ripe – “There is preparing, I hope, under the auspices of heaven, a way for a total emancipation.” The sainted Washington said, near the close of his mortal career and when the light of eternity was beaming upon him, “It is among my first wishes to see some plan adopted by which slavery in this country shall be abolished by law. I know of but one way by which this can be done, and that is by legislative action; and so far as my vote can go, it shall not be wanting.” Patrick Henry said, “We should transmit to posterity our abhorrence of slavery.” So also thought this Congress.

David Barton – The church I came from had an organ valued at 1.2 million dollars.  The church had a 500 voice choir, a 6,000 seat worship center.

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Several other pro slavery laws were also passed by Democrats in Congress, including the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law. That law required Northerners to return escaped slaves back into slavery or else pay huge fines. In many instances, the law became little more than an excuse for southern slave hunters to kidnap Free Blacks in the North and carry them into slavery in the South, for if a black was simply accused of being a slave, under the Fugitive Slave Law he was denied the benefit of both a jury trial and the right of habeas corpus despite the fact that those rights had been explicitly guaranteed by the Constitution.

Because the Fugitive Slave Law became little more than a law to sanction kidnapping, whenever a slave-hunter entered a State such as Massachusetts, broadsides were printed to warn black Americans about this threat to their freedom. Such broadsides were published when it was learned that a slave hunter had come north. The anti-slavery States wanted to make sure that every poster were printed to warn blacks about southern kidnappers and slave hunters black American in the North could take cover so they would not be kidnapped and taken to slavery in the South.

Because the Fugitive Slave Law allowed Free Blacks to be carried into slavery, this law was disastrous for blacks in the North; and as a consequence of the atrocious provisions of this Democratic law, some 20,000 blacks in the North left the United States and fled to Canada. In fact, the Underground Railroad reached the height of its activity during this period, helping thousands of slaves escape from slavery in the South all the way out of the United States and into Canada simply to escape the reach of the Democrats’ Fugitive Slave Law.

In 1854, the democratically controlled Congress passed another law strengthening slavery: the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Even though Democrats in Congress had already expanded the federal territories in which slavery was permitted through their passage of the Missouri Compromise, they had retained a ban on slavery in the Kansas-Nebraska territory. But through the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Democrats the Underground Railroad moved thousands of black Americans to safety repealed those earlier restrictions, thus allowing slavery to be introduced into parts of the new territory where it previously had been forbidden, thereby increasing the national area in which slavery would be permitted.

This law led to what was called “bleeding Kansas,” where pro slavery forces came pouring into that previously slave free territory and began fighting violent battles against the anti slavery inhabitants of the territory. The Kansas Nebraska territory covered much of what is now the upper United States Following the passage of these pro-slavery laws in Congress, in May of 1854 a number of the anti-slavery Democrats in Congress along with some anti slavery members from other political parties, including the Whigs, Free Soilers, and Emancipationists formed a new political party to fight slavery and secure equal civil rights for black Americans.

David Barton – Does that church worship God?  Yes.  I was in a church the other day that had about 25 members and a little guitar

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The God of heaven and earth is the same yesterday and today and forever Hebrews 13:8. He has seen the affliction of our countrymen with an eye of pity. He has seen the anguish which has taken place when parents have been torn from their Rev. Jones’s sermon children and children from their parents, and conveyed with their hands and feet bound in fetters on board of ships prepared to receive them. He has seen them exposed for sale, like horses and cattle upon the wharves. He has seen the pangs of separation between members of the same family.

Though masters and mistresses have been deaf to their cries and shrieks, they have been heard in Heaven. The ears of Jehovah have been constantly open to them: He has heard the prayers that have ascended from the hearts of His people and He has as in the case of his ancient and chosen people the Jews come down to deliver our suffering countrymen from the hands of their oppressors. He came down into the Congress of the United States last winter when they passed a law, the operation of which commences on this happy day.

In behalf of our brethren, it becomes us this day to offer our united thanks. Let the song of angels, which was first heard in the air at the birth of our Savior Luke 2:13-14, are heard this day in our assembly. Let us sing psalms unto Him and talk of all His wondrous works. Let the first of January the day of the abolition of the slave trade in our country be set apart in every year as a day of public thanksgiving. And when our children shall ask in time to come, saying, and “What mean the lessons, the psalms, the prayers, and the praises in the worship of this day?” let us answer them by saying, “The Lord on the day of which this is the anniversary abolished the trade which dragged your fathers from their native country and sold them as bondmen in America.”

Very few today know that in 1808 Congress abolished the slave trade, or that Bishop Absalom Jones delivered such a compelling sermon. Although slavery still had not been abolished in all the States, things definitely were moving in the right direction. Yet a major reversal was about to occur.

By 1820, most of the Founding Fathers were dead and Thomas Jefferson’s party the Democratic Party had become the majority party in Congress. With this new party in charge, a change in congressional policy emerged. Recall that the 1789 law prohibited slavery in a federal territory. In 1820, the Democratic Congress passed the Missouri Compromise and reversed that earlier policy, permitting slavery in almost half of the federal territories. Several States were subsequently admitted as slave States; and for the first time since the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, slavery was being officially promoted by congressional policy. Yet, the only way for the Democratic Congress to promote slavery was to ignore the principles in the founding documents. As Founding Father and President John Quincy Adams explained:

The first step of the slaveholder to justify by argument the peculiar institutions of slavery is to deny the self-evident truths of John Quincy Adams the Declaration of Independence. He denies that all men are created equal. He denies that they have inalienable rights.

David Barton – Does that church worship God?  Yes.  Our church worships God.  Many different churches do, as long as they are under the authority of God’s Word and are worshipping God in spirit and in truth.

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Hamilton at last conceded to his friends that if he did not face Burr in a duel, he knew that he would be publicly branded as a coward and that his own personal reputation would be so tarnished that he could never again hold public office. He explained: baron burr

David Barton tells us that to those who, with me, abhorring the practice of dueling, may think that I ought on no account to have added to the number of bad examples, I answer that my relative situation, as well in public as private, . . . impressed on me . . . a peculiar necessity not to decline the call. The ability to be in future useful, whether in resisting mischief or [achieving] good . . . would probably be inseparable from . . . public prejudice [against me if I refuse]. 56

Hamilton did not want to fight, yet he knew that he must at least appear to fight – and “appear to fight” is a key phrase. Since it was his personal commitment that he would shoot no man unless it were on a military battlefield in defense of life or country, Hamilton therefore decided not to fire at Aaron Burr but rather to fire his pistol into the air – or even not fire it at all. In those final days before the duel, Hamilton recorded his decision for posterity:

I have resolved, if . . . it pleases God to give me the opportunity, to reserve and throw away my first [shot]; and I have thoughts even of reserving my second [shot] – and thus giving a double opportunity to Col. Burr. 57 Hamilton believed that Burr would take full advantage of this opportunity and that Burr would likely shoot him down.

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Hamilton and Burr had a long history of political opposition, born chiefly of Hamilton’s strong conviction that Burr’s character made him completely unfit for public office. Hamilton made this opinion clear to his friends: [Burr is] as unprincipled and dangerous a man as any country can boast. . . . [T]here is nothing in his favor. His private broom’s letter to his son and so corrupt methods will be to man of either party . . . who does not think Mr. Burr the most character is not defended by his most partial friends. . . . [He] has no principle, public or private. . . . [H]e is believed by friends as well as foes to be without [honesty or integrity]. . . . [He is] in debt vastly beyond his means of payment, [and] with all [his] habits [of extravagance], he cannot be satisfied with the regular [salary] of any office of our government, [][] him a necessary resource. . . . I could scarcely name a discreet unfit man in the United States for . . . office. 55 As subsequent events later proved, Hamilton’s assessment of Burr’s character was completely accurate.

Because of his unwavering conviction of Burr’s dangerous tendencies, Hamilton did everything he could to keep Burr from gaining any public office. He opposed Burr for State governor, for U. S. President, for foreign diplomat, and for every other position Burr sought. Burr’s arrogance did not permit him to suffer such public defeats, and in an attempt to save face, he challenged Hamilton to a duel.

David Barton shows us that at the time of Burr’s challenge to Hamilton, dueling was still an accepted practice in America. If challenged, you could, and usually would, defend your honor in a personal duel. Although as a military leader, Hamilton was trained in the art of war and weaponry, he was part of a slowly growing movement which disapproved of personal duels. He therefore tried to dissuade Burr from the duel, and even offered other recourses – all of which Burr refused.

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James left home to attend college at Princeton, and Jacob, like a good father, was concerned about how his son would behave while away at school. He exhorted his son: “I flatter myself you will be what I wish, but don’t be so much flatterer as to relax of your application – don’t forget to be a Christian. I have said much to you on this head, and I hope an indelible impression is made.” 54

 Jacob Broom – reminding his son to stay true to the Christian teachings in which he was raised! This letter provides more evidence that the Founding Fathers were indeed men of religious conviction.

David Barton explains that  in the picture over the landing is Alexander Hamilton – honored in several other places throughout the Capitol. He was a signer of the Constitution and, as an author of The Federalist Papers, is considered one of the three men most responsible for the ratification of the Constitution.

You may recall that Alexander Hamilton died a premature death (at age 48) at the hands of Aaron Burr in a duel in 1804. For all practical purposes, Hamilton was executed by Burr.

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Recall that under British law, it had been illegal to print a Bible in the English language in America. Following Yorktown, America was no longer under that restriction, and a plan was advanced in Congress to print America’s very own, very first, English-language Bible.

 This plan was presented by publisher Robert Aitken of Philadelphia, who offered his own presses for the project. Interestingly, according to the congressional documents accompanying this proposal, on January 21, 1781, the Bible was described to Congress as “a neat edition of the Holy Scriptures for the use of schools.”

 Congress approved the plan and appointed a committee to oversee the printing of the Bible. The result was what has now become one of the rarest books in America – indeed, in the world: the first Bible printed in the English language in America.  The front of that Bible contains the endorsement that “The United States in Congress assembled . . . recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United States.” This Bible was the result of our Founding Fathers and the American Congress!

The surrender at Yorktown occurred in 1781, the “Bible of the Revolution” was printed in 1782, and the peace treaty with Great Britain was signed in 1783. Interestingly, even that peace treaty – negotiated and signed by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay – reflects the strong religious sentiments of our Founders. For example, notice its opening declaration: “In the Name of the most Holy and undivided Trinity. Amen!” (A copy of the original treaty can still be seen at the John Quincy Adams State Drawing Room in the U. S. State Department in Washington, D. C.)

 When word of the signed peace treaty reached America, George Washington officially resigned as Commander-in-Chief. In the final of the eight pictures in the Rotunda, George Washington is informing his military staff and the leaders of Congress of his resignation (see page 12). Washington then sent a circular letter to the thirteen governors and State legislatures informing them of his resignation. In that letter, Washington rejoiced in America’s recent successes and then closed by offering this prayer for the States and the governors:

the 1783 peace treaty

I now make it my earnest prayer that God would have you and the State over which you preside in His holy protection, – that He would incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government, – to entertain a brotherly affection and a love for one another, for their fellow citizens of the United States at large, and particularly for their brethren who have served in the field, – and finally, that He would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and [peaceful] temper of the mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, without an humble imitation of whose example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy nation.

 The final thing George Washington reminds the governors and States is that if they don’t imitate Jesus, America won’t be a happy nation.  

One of the statues in the Rotunda is of our 20th President, James A. Garfield. Garfield, according to his own account, experienced a miraculous intervention of God in his life which saved him from certain drowning in the Ohio-Pennsylvania canal. His is a wonderful story, told in his biography, From Log-Cabin to the White House. Following the Providential intervention that literally saved his life, Garfield gave his heart to the Lord, committed his life to Christ, and became a minister of the Gospel.

In fact, in one of his letters, he describes a revival in which he personally preached the Gospel 19 times, with 34 individuals coming to Christ and 31 of them being baptized. Although such activities are not typically associated with our Presidents today, this was part of the life of James A. Garfield, the 20th President of the United States and a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

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Consider next signer John Hancock. After serving as a President of Congress during the Revolution, he was elected Governor of Massachusetts, where he issued several proclamations calling the citizens to prayer, fasting, and thanksgiving. Hancock’s proclamation from October 15, 1791, is typical of his others: it contains strongly evangelical language. For example, notice the request with which he closes that proclamation: And pray especially “that universal happiness may be established in the world; [and] that all may bow to the scepter of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the whole earth be filled with His glory.” John Hancock also issued other religious proclamations, each equally evangelical in nature, and all fully reflective of his own Christian beliefs. 

John Hancock is another of our Founders who was open about his faith and who has been honored with a statue at the Capitol, located in the east corridor of the Senate wing.  

Consider signer Samuel Adams. Because of his leadership in events like the Boston Tea Party and organizations such as the Sons of Liberty, he has been titled “The Father of the American Revolution.” After the Revolution, Samuel Adams remained very active in political affairs. For example, he was one of the individuals responsible for the movement that led to the drafting and adoption of the Bill of Rights, and he later became the Lieutenant Governor and then Governor of Massachusetts.

 As governor, he, like John Hancock, issued several proclamations for prayer, fasting, and thanksgiving which used strong evangelical language. For example, in his 1795 proclamation, Adams closed by asking citizens to pray “that the peaceful and glorious reign of our Divine Redeemer may be known and enjoyed throughout the whole family of mankind.” This prayer request was often repeated by Adams, as, for example, in his 1797 proclamation, in which he asked that the people pray for “speedily bringing on that holy and happy  period when the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may be everywhere established, and all the people willingly bow to the sceptre of Him who is the Prince of Peace.”

 Samuel Adams was a strong and outspoken Christian – a fact confirmed both in his private writings and in the official public records. He was such an important leader that he, too, has been honored with an individual statute, located in East Central Hall.

 Religious proclamations acknowledging God and calling on His aid (like those already seen from Jonathan Trumbull, John Hancock, and Samuel Adams) were frequent from our Founders, not only in their individual state leadership roles as governors but also in their collective national leadership roles in Congress. For example, during the Revolution, Congress issued no less than fifteen national prayer proclamations. Those proclamations, each written by different committees composed of different Founding Fathers, were all characterized by strong Biblical language. This should come as no surprise, however; after all, in the Declaration of Independence, our Founders announced to the world that they were proceeding “with a firm reliance on Divine Providence”; and the numerous prayer proclamations issued throughout the Revolution prove that they meant what they said.

 There are many other Founding Fathers in the Rotunda painting of the signers of the Declaration who are worthy of examination, but it is sufficiently established that numerous Christians were among the signers and that much spiritual depth was represented by the individuals in that one painting.

 The Rotunda painting of the surrender of the British at Yorktown depicts the conclusion of the last military battle of the American Revolution. Even though two more years would pass before a final peace treaty was signed, for all practical purposes, after Yorktown, America was free from British laws and policies and was now able to establish her own.

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