Brief History of American Government:

 

It’s hard to think of the current United States of America as a group of territories under rule by a foreign dictatorship. It reminisces of what it may have looked like under Nazi German rule if they had had a few more million troops, a few more billion dollars, and a few more countries who liked them. In any case The United States of America was just that, a group of territories, for well over a hundred years, except the dictatorship controlling them was a monarchy and the ruling country was Great Britain. These thirteen colonies as they were called, worked together, not as separate territories and conquered lands, but as similar groups of people banding together in trade, defense, and common law. This was what set the 13 Colonies apart from any other territory owned by Great Britain at the time. As early as 1620, when the pilgrims first arrived, laws were created outside the original charter granted by their sponsors to help govern the group of explorers and homemakers. They wrote the Mayflower Compact, stating that they would live in accordance with the Christian faith, and that they would enact “laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices…” for the good of the colony, and abide by those laws (Mayflower Compact : 1620). They had left England to escape religious persecution by King James I and the Anglican Church. William Bradford who penned the Mayflower Compact, and John Carter who became the government immediately after the signing, both saw religious freedom as the ability to worship God however one sees fit. In other words, a specific denomination of Christianity was not to be favored by the ruling class and forced upon its subjects. This idea of religious freedom and what that means will become a point of contention for centuries after.

 

In 1647, the Ol’ Satan Deluder Act was passed in Massachusetts that stipulated that a community of fifty or more families had to hire a teacher to instruct the students in a class. Reading was deemed the most important skill because, as the bill states, Satan will “keep men from the knowledge of the Scriptures, as in former times by keeping them in an unknown tongue” (The Old Deluder Act (1647)). This meant that children who are not taught to read can never read the Bible, and therefore never understand for themselves faith as taught by the Scriptures. This is not a reference to a Koran, a Canon, or ancient myths of pagan literature; religious freedom was seen as freedom to worship God in a Christian setting however one chooses, with the Holy Bible as the basis of belief. In this day and age, Catholicism was seen as the most controversial “religion,” not Islam. Christianity was the only religion recognized in any governmental setting, and the Christian God was the only object of public prayer—which was frequently done.

 

As the colonies developed, each had their own Commonwealth, and within the Commonwealth, common law was the basis for governance. For example, elected officials had to be of the Protestant religion in many state charters. The governor of Virginia declared it a crime to not attend church on Sundays and Holidays. The Delaware Charter of 1662 stipulated that the purpose of the colony itself was to bring the natives to the understanding of Christian faith and to live under its precepts themselves: “Our said People Inhabitants there [i.e. Delaware], may be so religiously, peaceably and civilly governed, as their good Life and orderly Conversation may win and invite the Natives of the Country to the Knowledge and Obedience of the only true GOD, and He Savior of Mankind, and the Christian Faith, which is Our Royal Intentions, and the adventurers free Possession, is the only and principal End of this Plantation.” The charter of Rhode Island said nearly the exact same thing: “Wherebv our said people and inhabitants, in the said Plantations, may be so religiously, peaceably and civilly governed, as that, by their good life and orderly conversations, they may win and invite the native Indians of the country to the knowledge and obedience of the only true God, and Savior of mankind.” The same document implores its citizens to edify “in the holy Christian faith and worship as they were persuaded.” New York’s Charter of Liberties and Privileges blatantly states that faith in Jesus Christ (Christianity) is a precursor to religious freedom within the state: “27. [Religious toleration.]-THAT No person or persons which profess faith in God by Jesus Christ Shall at any time be any ways molested punished disquieted or called in Question for any Difference in opinion or Matter of Religious Concernment.” Finally, Delaware demanded religious tests for all lawmakers in its charter in 1701: “all Persons who also profess to believe in Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the World, shall be capable (notwithstanding their other Persuasions and Practices in Point of Conscience and Religion) to serve this Government in any Capacity, both legislatively and executively.”

 

In 1776, the colonies came together and listed twenty-eight grievances they had with King George III’s Governance over the colonies and formally withdrew from England’s protection declaring independence. Each of the thirteen colonies then rewrote their respective Commonwealth charters as state constitutions, removing all mentions of loyalty to the king or England. The requirements of Christian religious practice and subservience to Christian morality can be found in the respective state constitutions, similarly worded to that of the charters. In 1787 The United States Constitution was ratified making no mention of God, religion, or faith except in Article VI Section 3: “The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” And in Amendment I of the Bill of Rights: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Many states took issue with this wording. South Carolina for example in its ratification of the United States Constitution on May 23, 1788, required that Article VI statement on religious tests be altered to say “no other religious test” instead of “no religious test” (“Ratification of the Constitution by the State of South Carolina). North Carolina’s same ratification letter shows the general interpretation of religion to include that of a “Creator” and describes it as a “duty which we owe” to the same: “20th. That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence, and therefore all men have an equal, natural and unalienable right to the free exercise of religion according to the dictates of conscience, and that no particular religious sect or society ought to be favored or established by law in preference to others” (Ratification of the Constitution by the State of North Carolina; November 21, 1789). Rhode Island puts forth similar verbiage as its requirements for ratification of the US Constitution: “4th That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, and not by force or violence, and therefore all men, have an equal, natural and unalienable right to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience, and that no particular religious sect or society ought to be favored, or established by law in preference to others” (Ratification of the Constitution by the State of Rhode Island; May 29, 1790).

 

While there is no direct mention of "freedom of religion" in the body of the U.S. Constitution there is clarity to its importance and ubiquitousness within the affairs of government in that Article VI of the U.S. Constitution states "This Constitution and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof: and all treaties made or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding." Since Christianity was clearly advocated in our state constitutions, no power belongs nor can it be given to our Federal Government to patrol the expression of Judeo-Christianity in any public or private sector event. Therefore, we call upon our government to execute the Constitution with reference to the original colonies' state constitutions, the Declaration of Independence, and the Mayflower Compact to correctly perform the three branches of government (as said in the U.S. Constitution), and (as stated in the Bill of Rights) – and when necessary, to draw from the Holy Scripture for all moral decisions not already covered in the common law.

 

Works Cited

 

“Charter of Connecticut - 1662.” The Avalon Project - Laws of War: Laws and Customs of War on Land (Hague IV); October 18, 1907, avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/ct03.asp.

 

“Charter of Delaware - 1701.” The Avalon Project - Laws of War : Laws and Customs of War on Land (Hague IV); October 18, 1907, avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/de01.asp.

 

“Mayflower Compact : 1620.” The Avalon Project - Laws of War : Laws and Customs of War on Land (Hague IV); October 18, 1907, avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/mayflower.asp.

 

“New York's Charter of Liberties and Privileges, 1683.” THE CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF NEW YORK FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE COLONIAL PERIOD TO THE YEAR 1905, SHOWING THE ORIGIN, DEVELOPMENT, AND JUDICIAL CONSTRUCTION OF THE CONSTITUTION, CHARLES Z. LINCOLN, www.nycourts.gov/history/legal-history-new-york/documents/Publications_1683-Charter-Liberties-transcript.pdf.

 

“Ratification of the Constitution by the State of North Carolina; November 21, 1789.” The Avalon Project - Laws of War : Laws and Customs of War on Land (Hague IV); October 18, 1907, avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/ratnc.asp.

 

“Ratification of the Constitution by the State of Rhode Island; May 29, 1790.” The Avalon Project - Laws of War : Laws and Customs of War on Land (Hague IV); October 18, 1907, avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/ratri.asp.

 

“Ratification of the Constitution by the State of South Carolina; May 23, 1788.” The Avalon Project - Laws of War : Laws and Customs of War on Land (Hague IV); October 18, 1907, avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/ratsc.asp.

 

“Religion in the 13 Colonies - America a Christian Nation.” America a Christian Nation, sites.google.com/site/americachristiannation/home/religion-in-the-13-colinies.

 

“The Articles of Confederation of the United Colonies of New England; May 19, 1643.” The Avalon Project - Laws of War : Laws and Customs of War on Land (Hague IV); October 18, 1907, 20 Feb. 2019, avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/art1613.asp.

 

“The Old Deluder Act (1647).” Constitution Society: Everything Needed to Decide Constitutional Issues, constitution.org/primarysources/deluder.html.

 

 

---

A Call to Action:

We need to be reminded of our nation's forgotten history - that this nation was founded on both the Bible and the Constitution, and the constitution was backed by moral law. Original state constitutions, the U.S. Constitution, and the Mayflower Compact help us see into our nation's past, and can help us re-right the future. Currently, our congressmen and others in political authority are usurping the laws that were meant to keep this nation as one nation under God, and are manipulating our U.S. Constitution to interpret it according to their own political schemes. In order to stop them, we must first understand our nation's history, and the tools that were given to us to defend our liberty. Therefore, it is our mission to preserve these founding documents, and inform We the people of the United States about our country's heritage.

 

We must protect our common law, and the authority behind it by publicizing the U.S. Constitution, and the true story of our nation's history and beginning. We must take America back to its Judeo-Christian heritage, and preserve the moral values and freedoms given to us by God.

 

You can help by spreading the news of the truth to your city, county, or town. This site will be updated periodically, so be looking for a newsletter. Based on your feedback, we will bring tools to this website that will enable you to get involved in your local elections and proclaim the truth to our nation. We look forward to serving you.