How did America begin before 1776? The nation was declared in a single summer, but the convictions that made it possible had been growing in colonial soil for more than a century. In this first episode of Liberty Under God, Papa and Grandma Rita read through the roots of American liberty.
Key points
- 0:00 A Treasure Hunt That Became a Nation
- 1:26 Meet Papa & Grandma Rita
- 2:31 From the Preface
- 4:17 The Four Roots
- 4:54 Root One , A People Who Could Govern Themselves
- 8:43 Root Two , A Law Above the King
- 10:11 Root Three , A Virtue Without Which Freedom Dies
- 11:49 Root Four , The Fire That Made One People
- 15:02 For Reflection , Augustine on the Nations
- 16:42 Great God of Nations (1829)
- 18:03 The Whole Book, Free
What this episode covers
Long before independence, four convictions took root in the American colonies. The first was a faith that taught ordinary people to govern themselves under God, so that self-government began in the pew and the meeting house before it ever reached a legislature. The second was the old idea of a law above the king, a standard no ruler could set aside at will. The third was the ancient warning that freedom dies without virtue, that a free people must be a self-governed people or lose the liberty they claim. The fourth was the revival that swept the colonies and first made thirteen separate provinces begin to feel like one people. This episode walks each of these roots in turn, drawn from the certified GraceHaven Academy American History course, and shows why the summer of 1776 is better understood as a harvest than a sudden beginning. It is history told with God at the foundation, the way the whole Liberty Under God series is built: primary sources, honest reading, and the conviction that the story of a nation cannot be told rightly with its faith left out.
GraceHaven Academy teaches American history from the primary sources, with the hardest questions faced honestly and God at the foundation of every subject. Continue the series with Episode 2: the road to independence, read the whole Liberty Under God book free at gracehaven.ai/resources/liberty-under-god, or explore the curriculum: gracehaven.ai/academy.