Foundations of Democracy in the United States of America

Writings from 1774 to 1783 – Declaration

By: Shawn Henry Potter, Lois Carol Potter

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Length: 3 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

Can you describe America’s founding principles? Thomas Jefferson said America’s founding principles “should be the creed of our political faith, the text of civic instruction, the touchstone by which to try the service of those we trust.” He added, “should we wander from them in moments of error or of alarm, let us hasten to retrace our steps and to regain the road which alone leads to peace, liberty, and safety.” Can you name America’s most influential founders? For many, the first people that come to mind are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams. To be sure, they played important roles. But, have you heard about their colleagues Phillis Wheatley, Lemuel Haynes, Elizabeth Freeman, Benjamin Bannaker, Absolom Jones, James Forten, and so many others? Without hearing these voices, our understanding of our founding principles, and of our founders themselves, is incomplete. This 12-volume series contains 240 of America’s most important founding documents written from 1606 to 1877. From the establishment of Jamestowne in 1606 to the declaration of a national day of thanksgiving and prayer in 1877, Americans from every background – men, women, black, white, rich, and poor – engaged in a national dialogue about the meaning of self-government, equal justice, and liberty. They discussed, defined, and applied America’s founding principles as life’s journey led them through periods of Aspiration (1606-1660), Intervention (1660-1740), Disputation (1714-1760), Revolution (1760-1774), Declaration (1774-1783), Foundation (1783-1789), Application (1789-1801), Vacillation (1801-1817), Accommodation (1817-1829), Reinterpretation (1829-1850), Confrontation (1850-1861), and Restoration (1861-1877). The result of their labors has been the creation of the most prosperous, just, and free nation on earth – the United States of America. In volume 5, we read about the era in American history called Declaration (1774-1783). Chafing under the yoke of British oppression and inspired by the Word of God and the writings of John Locke, Charles de Montesquieu, and Sir William Blackstone, Americans declared their intention to establish a government on the principles of equality, unalienable rights, and self-government. “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” (Prov 29:18)