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Rights of Citizens:
The Bill of Rights
When the Constitution was ratified
in 1789, many people were concerned that it did not protect certain
freedoms. They thought that the Constitution should be changed or
amended to protect these freedoms,
after a war for independence from an oppressive despot had be won at
great cost. On December 15, 1791, ten amendments were added to the
US Constitution. These amendments guarantee certain freedoms and
rights of the people to protect themselves from any attempt to again
oppress the people, so they are known as the Bill of Rights.
Some of our freedoms and rights protected
against oppressive government in the Bill of Rights include:
- Freedom of Religion
- Freedom of Assembly
- To Keep and Bear Arms
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- Freedom of Speech
- Freedom of the Press
- Protection for those Accused
of Crimes
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A
Voice of Dissent: George Mason |
| As the delegates gathered at the
Pennsylvania State House in May 1787 to "revise" the
Articles of Confederation, Virginia
delegate George Mason wrote, "The Eyes of the United States
are turned upon this Assembly and their Expectations raised
to a very anxious Degree." Mason had earlier written the
Virginia Declaration of Rights that strongly
influenced Thomas Jefferson in writing the first part of the
Declaration of Independence. He left
the convention bitterly disappointed, however, and became
one of the Constitution's most vocal opponents. "It
has no declaration of rights," he was to state.
Ultimately, George Mason's views prevailed. When James
Madison drafted the amendments to the Constitution that were
to become the Bill of Rights, he drew heavily upon the ideas
put forth in the
Virginia Declaration of Rights. |
In keeping with the Highest Traditions of the Freedom afforded
only through Individual Self Government, The Foundation For
Christian Alternatives is delighted to present an Afternoon of
Freedom - The Bill of Rights to the citizens of the Winnsboro
Community. each attendee will receive a copy of the US CONSTITUTION,
THE BILL OF RIGHTS, THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
To be held at 4:00 on Bill Of rights Day
December 15th, 2007 at the Church.
What led to the development of the Bill of
Rights?
THE BLACK REGIMENT LED THE FIGHT IN OUR WAR
FOR INDEPENDENCE
Excerpts of speech by
Reverend Wayne C. Sedlak
Ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The British called them
the "Black Regiment" because of the black robes they wore mounting
the pulpit each Lord's Day. Powerful Pauline was the language for
Romans: "If magistrates are ministers of God only because the law of
God points out the necessity of such an institution for the good of
mankind, it follows, that whenever they pursue measures directly
destructive of the public good they cease being God's ministers,
they forfeit their right to obedience from the subject, they become
the pests of society, and the community is under the strongest
obligation of duty both to God and to its own members, to resist and
oppose them, which will be so far from resisting the ordinance of
God that it will be strictly obeying his commands." (5)
So hateful was the presence of such tyranny that the people
demonstrated against it publicly. One such demonstration led to a
confrontation with British police and the soldiers, responding to
taunts, in an unwarranted display of force, fired upon the crowd.
This "Boston Massacre" led to the trial of the soldiers involved.
When one of the soldiers was asked by the chief justice what
objection he had to offer why sentence of death should not be passed
upon him, that soldier replied in heated anger, "May it please your
Honors! I pray the death of the clergy."
So potent was the preaching which compelled the colonists that,
quite often, the War of Independence was referenced in Parliament as
"the Presbyterian Revolt". In retaliation, during the war, British
troops made Presbyterian and Congregationalist churches military
targets. Churches and Christian colleges in British occupied cities
were used as barracks and horse stables.
So impressive was the pulpit in providing leadership, that the
Sons of Liberty often organized their followers in the church
buildings and through the church officers. The Minutemen very often
found their leadership in elders and deacons of the churches. And
did you ever wonder why "one if by land and two if by sea" was to be
signaled from Old North Church tower?
Of course, when the epic struggle began, church authority was
responsible for calling men to action. Pastors often led the
colonists in actual battle. The Rev. Jonas Clark was with his flock
at Lexington green. In fact, "Old Jonas" had sworn never to run from
British guns and proved it when he fell from a musket ball. Trying
to fire from the ground, he was "run through" with a British
bayonet.
Another "member" of the "Black Regiment", the Rev. James Caldwell
became famous when, during battle, he supplied the much needed paper
wadding for the muskets from his church hymnals. Returning to the
battle front with an armful of Isaac Watts hymnals he exclaimed,
"Now boys, give 'em Watts!"
The Rev. Naphtali Daggett, professor of divinity at Yale, dashed
off with his fowling piece in hand when the British arrived at New
Haven. Others, such as Timothy Dwight were chaplains in the
Continental Army. So valuable was such service that Gen. Washington
repeatedly pleaded with the Continental Congress to provide him with
more chaplains, else, he feared, the Lord would turn His back upon
their noble cause.
Actual military leadership was not lacking either. The Rev.
General Muhlenberg led his brigade against Cornwallis at the battle
of Brandywine. According to historian J. R. Sizzo, at the time of
the ultimate surrender of the British at Yorktown, all of the
colonels of the Colonial Army but one were Presbyterian elders. In
addition, more than half of all the soldiers and officers of the
American Army during the war were Presbyterians. (6)
Such were the clergy and the church at large in the formation of
this great Republic. But...the question remains. Will such
leadership distinguish the clergy of this generation?
Footnotes:
5.)Wilkins, Steve, America: The First 350 Years
6.) Boettener, Lorraine |
