WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.240 Today, we're on our fourth of seven in the series on freedom principles, and we finished 2 00:00:05.240 --> 00:00:09.940 the foundation for freedom with our sixth and seventh citizen mandate. 3 00:00:09.940 --> 00:00:14.960 That is next. 4 00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:28.600 Hey, welcome back to the Barry Ferris Show. 5 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:29.960 I hope you're doing great. 6 00:00:29.960 --> 00:00:30.960 I really do. 7 00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:34.680 Today, we finish the final citizen mandates. 8 00:00:34.680 --> 00:00:39.880 We'll look at the sixth and the seventh coming from the Declaration of Independence. 9 00:00:39.880 --> 00:00:43.520 It is true that the social contract that the founders were contemplating would be more 10 00:00:43.520 --> 00:00:47.920 like a firm contract terms and conditions with the government that they were forming. 11 00:00:47.920 --> 00:00:52.680 But it's also true that they would have accepted the concept of citizen mandates. 12 00:00:52.680 --> 00:00:57.040 The government is operating at the direction of and for the benefit of the people. 13 00:00:57.040 --> 00:01:01.000 Plus, we're trying to strengthen our political fortitude. 14 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:05.600 We're endeavoring to remember that the government is not in place to rule over us. 15 00:01:05.600 --> 00:01:08.360 Anyone in government actually works for us. 16 00:01:08.360 --> 00:01:12.200 I've used the term citizen mandates to resurrect the concept that the government is supposed 17 00:01:12.200 --> 00:01:16.920 to operate with some humility as the servant of the people. 18 00:01:16.920 --> 00:01:22.660 So today, we look at citizen mandate number six and citizen mandate number seven. 19 00:01:22.660 --> 00:01:26.260 We have so far looked at five citizen mandates. 20 00:01:26.260 --> 00:01:29.940 Number one, government shall be limited. 21 00:01:29.940 --> 00:01:32.380 Wouldn't that be great? 22 00:01:32.380 --> 00:01:36.520 Number two, government shall submit to the rule of law. 23 00:01:36.520 --> 00:01:40.140 Number three, government shall apply all laws equally. 24 00:01:40.140 --> 00:01:43.260 Number four, government shall protect the rights of the individual. 25 00:01:43.260 --> 00:01:45.860 That should be the government's number one job. 26 00:01:45.860 --> 00:01:49.660 Number five, government shall not interfere with your economic freedom. 27 00:01:49.660 --> 00:01:50.660 You built the business. 28 00:01:50.660 --> 00:01:51.980 You get to keep the profits. 29 00:01:51.980 --> 00:01:53.580 You work the hours. 30 00:01:53.580 --> 00:01:55.180 You get to keep your pay. 31 00:01:55.180 --> 00:01:58.780 You get a total right to the rewards of your efforts and to dream. 32 00:01:58.780 --> 00:02:03.400 The sixth and seventh mandates, these citizen mandates that are derived from the Declaration 33 00:02:03.400 --> 00:02:11.220 of Independence, are government shall be governed under the consent of the people it governs. 34 00:02:11.220 --> 00:02:13.860 Of the people, by the people, for the people. 35 00:02:13.860 --> 00:02:20.380 And number seven, my favorite, government shall honor that these three freedom rights 36 00:02:20.540 --> 00:02:26.540 are timeless and that these rights are preeminent over all others. 37 00:02:26.540 --> 00:02:31.780 All legislation should be subordinate to the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of 38 00:02:31.780 --> 00:02:33.320 happiness. 39 00:02:33.320 --> 00:02:37.380 So to envision the driver for these last two citizen mandates, let's go back to the meeting 40 00:02:37.380 --> 00:02:42.380 of the Continental Congress on June 2nd in 1776. 41 00:02:42.380 --> 00:02:47.220 So on the floor is a resolution to debate independence. 42 00:02:47.220 --> 00:02:52.900 There are a bunch of roadblocks, and they're just making it impossible to even debate the 43 00:02:52.900 --> 00:02:56.540 topic by those that are opposed to independence. 44 00:02:56.540 --> 00:02:58.140 It's a political zoo. 45 00:02:58.140 --> 00:03:03.420 Every procedural point imaginable is raised to delay even getting the resolution on the 46 00:03:03.420 --> 00:03:04.620 floor. 47 00:03:04.620 --> 00:03:10.740 Here it is, resolved, that these united colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent 48 00:03:10.740 --> 00:03:16.340 states that are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all political 49 00:03:16.460 --> 00:03:24.460 connection between them and the state of Great Britain is and ought to be totally dissolved. 50 00:03:24.460 --> 00:03:27.100 Plain and simple, direct and to the point. 51 00:03:27.100 --> 00:03:31.020 So for George Washington, who's just been fighting like crazy and had weary troops, 52 00:03:31.020 --> 00:03:35.780 it was disappointing that the resolution didn't just pass right then and there. 53 00:03:35.780 --> 00:03:39.460 It could have actually passed, but it wouldn't have been unanimous. 54 00:03:39.460 --> 00:03:45.100 So the guys who were opposed to it made the case that it just has to be unanimous. 55 00:03:45.100 --> 00:03:47.380 That was actually a pretty compelling argument. 56 00:03:47.380 --> 00:03:52.420 You can't ask me to put my whole colony into this new government unless my colony agrees. 57 00:03:52.420 --> 00:03:56.060 Otherwise, you're sort of forcing us out the gate to do something we don't really think 58 00:03:56.060 --> 00:03:57.940 is going to hold up. 59 00:03:57.940 --> 00:04:01.820 So we've been at war for almost a year, but some of the states were opposed to independence 60 00:04:01.820 --> 00:04:03.660 for a whole bunch of other reasons. 61 00:04:03.660 --> 00:04:09.560 So Dickinson, who's opposed to independence, and he's from Pennsylvania, he makes the case 62 00:04:09.560 --> 00:04:13.220 that the vote must be unanimous, which was clever. 63 00:04:13.220 --> 00:04:19.019 So Hancock, John Hancock, the president, who's pro-independence, believes Dickinson's 64 00:04:19.019 --> 00:04:20.700 argument's actually pretty good. 65 00:04:20.700 --> 00:04:26.180 So he votes against John Adams and says it must be unanimous, otherwise he believes the 66 00:04:26.180 --> 00:04:28.060 new nation will fall soon. 67 00:04:28.060 --> 00:04:29.780 It's just not going to hold up. 68 00:04:29.780 --> 00:04:30.780 So now what do you do? 69 00:04:30.780 --> 00:04:33.660 I mean, we could lose everything. 70 00:04:33.660 --> 00:04:38.980 So Adams, who is quick on his feet if he's anything, proposes a declaration first. 71 00:04:38.980 --> 00:04:41.900 It was actually a pretty brilliant political move. 72 00:04:41.900 --> 00:04:45.460 So to go straight to the resolution assumes too much. 73 00:04:45.460 --> 00:04:49.820 This document, whatever we want to call it, will be a good intermediary step. 74 00:04:49.820 --> 00:04:52.420 It'll help establish why we need a new government. 75 00:04:52.420 --> 00:04:56.260 It'll lay out why we want independence before voting for independence. 76 00:04:56.260 --> 00:04:59.260 And it would give more time to win over those opposing votes. 77 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:02.800 So Adams, John Adams, proposes a committee 78 00:05:02.800 --> 00:05:04.640 to write a declaration. 79 00:05:04.640 --> 00:05:06.580 He basically says, we need a declaration, 80 00:05:06.580 --> 00:05:08.760 a document of some sort to kind of lay out 81 00:05:08.760 --> 00:05:10.920 what it is we're voting on. 82 00:05:10.920 --> 00:05:12.880 The guys who have seen the brutality 83 00:05:12.880 --> 00:05:14.820 of the British firsthand and have witnessed 84 00:05:14.820 --> 00:05:17.080 so many violations of human rights say, 85 00:05:17.080 --> 00:05:19.260 we all understand what we're voting on, John. 86 00:05:19.260 --> 00:05:21.420 We have no questions about it at all. 87 00:05:21.420 --> 00:05:24.120 They're in total support of the resolution to separate. 88 00:05:24.120 --> 00:05:25.520 They see it really clearly. 89 00:05:25.520 --> 00:05:27.800 They're the early adapters. 90 00:05:27.840 --> 00:05:30.120 So John Adams says, but the rest of the world 91 00:05:30.120 --> 00:05:31.240 doesn't see it. 92 00:05:31.240 --> 00:05:33.080 The army doesn't even see it. 93 00:05:33.080 --> 00:05:37.080 We need a declaration and it's gotta be established 94 00:05:37.080 --> 00:05:39.840 so that when we vote, it will be noticeable 95 00:05:39.840 --> 00:05:42.260 that we're voting in a fair way. 96 00:05:42.260 --> 00:05:45.600 So three days go by, it's June 10th. 97 00:05:45.600 --> 00:05:48.920 So who should write it, John, you? 98 00:05:48.920 --> 00:05:50.740 No, he says, it's gotta be broad. 99 00:05:50.740 --> 00:05:52.240 It's gotta be a committee of five. 100 00:05:52.240 --> 00:05:54.320 Of course, I have to be on it, John Adams says, 101 00:05:54.320 --> 00:05:57.560 but we need Ben Franklin on it for all kinds of reasons. 102 00:05:58.320 --> 00:05:59.160 But Jefferson's gotta be on it. 103 00:05:59.160 --> 00:06:00.920 We've gotta get Virginia and he's a great writer. 104 00:06:00.920 --> 00:06:02.320 We won't get the South without him. 105 00:06:02.320 --> 00:06:03.960 We got Robert Livingston of New York 106 00:06:03.960 --> 00:06:05.240 and Roger Sherman of Connecticut 107 00:06:05.240 --> 00:06:06.960 because they hold so much clout. 108 00:06:06.960 --> 00:06:08.800 So in the committee, they have a brief argument 109 00:06:08.800 --> 00:06:11.640 over who's actually gonna write the actual document. 110 00:06:11.640 --> 00:06:14.040 And Adams, to his credit, leads again. 111 00:06:14.040 --> 00:06:17.160 He steps up and he says, let's be honest, they hate me. 112 00:06:17.160 --> 00:06:18.920 It has to come from Virginia. 113 00:06:18.920 --> 00:06:21.600 If we have any hope of winning the South and Jefferson, 114 00:06:21.600 --> 00:06:24.360 you are a great writer and you're good at that 115 00:06:24.360 --> 00:06:27.280 and you're poetic and for some reason, people like you. 116 00:06:28.160 --> 00:06:31.320 So we're still on June 10th and Ben Franklin stands up 117 00:06:31.320 --> 00:06:34.120 and gives this stirring speech on the new nation. 118 00:06:34.120 --> 00:06:36.520 It's a vision of what it could be. 119 00:06:36.520 --> 00:06:40.480 It's a less refined people, more enterprising, more rugged, 120 00:06:40.480 --> 00:06:42.620 a new people, a new spirit. 121 00:06:43.500 --> 00:06:45.320 But if you look around the room, 122 00:06:45.320 --> 00:06:48.600 Washington is reading the room 123 00:06:48.600 --> 00:06:51.560 and he slinks back in near despair. 124 00:06:51.560 --> 00:06:53.880 He doesn't think that it's gonna go through. 125 00:06:53.880 --> 00:06:56.560 After all the bloodshed of the past year, 126 00:06:56.560 --> 00:06:58.200 he's thinking, are we not able to see 127 00:06:58.200 --> 00:06:59.720 the writing on the wall? 128 00:06:59.720 --> 00:07:01.560 Britain wants to rule us. 129 00:07:01.560 --> 00:07:03.840 This whole process seems like a political, 130 00:07:03.840 --> 00:07:06.160 bureaucratic, irritating one. 131 00:07:06.160 --> 00:07:09.320 We've got men dying for the cause right now. 132 00:07:09.320 --> 00:07:12.720 But the committee to write the declaration is approved 133 00:07:12.720 --> 00:07:14.420 and they go to work with vigor. 134 00:07:14.420 --> 00:07:17.120 So from June 28th to July 1st, 135 00:07:17.120 --> 00:07:19.000 Thomas Jefferson writes the first draft 136 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:20.920 and the committee makes some semantic changes 137 00:07:20.920 --> 00:07:23.400 and they expand the list of charges against the king. 138 00:07:23.920 --> 00:07:25.520 Well, I thought of something else he did. 139 00:07:25.520 --> 00:07:30.520 And then it includes a strong anti-slavery provision. 140 00:07:31.240 --> 00:07:33.080 John Adams has the cleanest hands of all. 141 00:07:33.080 --> 00:07:34.600 He doesn't own any slaves 142 00:07:34.600 --> 00:07:36.600 and he has the strongest moral argument. 143 00:07:36.600 --> 00:07:38.840 He's unbending on the issue. 144 00:07:38.840 --> 00:07:40.580 We have to include the rights of all men 145 00:07:40.580 --> 00:07:44.160 or we're being hypocrites out the gate, John Adams argues. 146 00:07:44.160 --> 00:07:45.620 So the committee agrees. 147 00:07:45.620 --> 00:07:48.160 It comes out of the committee and goes to the whole Congress. 148 00:07:48.160 --> 00:07:50.140 Congress makes some more substantial changes. 149 00:07:50.140 --> 00:07:52.840 They delete a condemnation of the British people. 150 00:07:53.080 --> 00:07:55.160 You can't say all the British people are bad. 151 00:07:55.160 --> 00:07:58.000 And they delete a reference to Scotch mercenaries. 152 00:07:58.000 --> 00:08:00.640 Some of Congress is made up of Scots. 153 00:08:00.640 --> 00:08:03.480 But the most sad thing is they delete the denunciation 154 00:08:03.480 --> 00:08:05.860 of the African slave trade. 155 00:08:05.860 --> 00:08:07.100 Now, before this is deleted, 156 00:08:07.100 --> 00:08:09.040 the number of people in the room against the slave trade 157 00:08:09.040 --> 00:08:10.500 actually outnumbers those who are for it, 158 00:08:10.500 --> 00:08:14.160 even though 41 of the 56 own slaves. 159 00:08:14.160 --> 00:08:15.840 They have all their own rationalizations. 160 00:08:15.840 --> 00:08:18.040 They rationalize that they treat them well 161 00:08:18.040 --> 00:08:20.520 and that they should be set free, 162 00:08:20.520 --> 00:08:22.340 but that they can't quite set them free yet 163 00:08:22.820 --> 00:08:24.540 until everyone else does at the same time. 164 00:08:24.540 --> 00:08:26.860 And then when everyone else sets them at the same time, 165 00:08:26.860 --> 00:08:28.660 then there won't be as much comparative 166 00:08:28.660 --> 00:08:30.180 adverse economic impact. 167 00:08:30.180 --> 00:08:31.340 They have their arguments. 168 00:08:31.340 --> 00:08:35.340 But the South and the New England delegates won't budge. 169 00:08:35.340 --> 00:08:37.620 If the antislavery provision remains, 170 00:08:37.620 --> 00:08:39.980 they will not vote for the declaration. 171 00:08:39.980 --> 00:08:42.059 So John Adams is adamant as well. 172 00:08:42.059 --> 00:08:43.860 Look, we believe in natural rights. 173 00:08:43.860 --> 00:08:44.700 I believe in God. 174 00:08:44.700 --> 00:08:46.340 He created us all equal. 175 00:08:46.340 --> 00:08:48.220 We have to start things out the right way. 176 00:08:48.220 --> 00:08:50.880 We've got to have an antislavery provision 177 00:08:50.880 --> 00:08:52.680 in the declaration. 178 00:08:52.680 --> 00:08:56.320 So the South gets up and walks out of the room. 179 00:08:56.320 --> 00:08:57.320 No deal. 180 00:08:58.160 --> 00:08:59.360 Now what do you do? 181 00:09:00.400 --> 00:09:02.060 Either you get nothing, 182 00:09:02.060 --> 00:09:03.640 or you get a declaration of independence 183 00:09:03.640 --> 00:09:05.380 that argues for treating all people equally 184 00:09:05.380 --> 00:09:06.220 in its preamble, 185 00:09:06.220 --> 00:09:09.220 even though it omits and leaves out 186 00:09:09.220 --> 00:09:11.000 a glaring violation in current day 187 00:09:11.000 --> 00:09:12.360 of treating people equally. 188 00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:15.280 But since it argues for natural rights 189 00:09:15.280 --> 00:09:17.360 and does not say one way or the other 190 00:09:17.360 --> 00:09:18.500 anything about slavery, 191 00:09:18.500 --> 00:09:21.740 the advocates of making it explicit in this document 192 00:09:21.740 --> 00:09:24.220 slowly get won over, 193 00:09:24.220 --> 00:09:26.740 except John Adams. 194 00:09:26.740 --> 00:09:27.660 But to keep things moving, 195 00:09:27.660 --> 00:09:29.380 they move forward with a revised declaration 196 00:09:29.380 --> 00:09:31.420 that edited out antislavery. 197 00:09:31.420 --> 00:09:34.060 So they decide to move forward with Lee's resolution. 198 00:09:35.340 --> 00:09:37.540 We're going to separate from Great Britain. 199 00:09:37.540 --> 00:09:39.260 Forget the declaration of independence. 200 00:09:39.260 --> 00:09:41.060 We're going to separate from Great Britain. 201 00:09:41.060 --> 00:09:43.660 So Lee's resolution actually passes 12 to zero 202 00:09:43.660 --> 00:09:45.080 with one abstention. 203 00:09:45.080 --> 00:09:46.900 But it wasn't without some drama. 204 00:09:46.900 --> 00:09:48.180 So on July 2nd, 205 00:09:48.180 --> 00:09:51.500 this really old guy that's the rep for Rhode Island 206 00:09:51.500 --> 00:09:53.260 is literally on his deathbed 207 00:09:53.260 --> 00:09:55.620 and they tote him back in there 208 00:09:55.620 --> 00:09:56.740 so that he can vote. 209 00:09:56.740 --> 00:09:57.900 And he votes yes. 210 00:09:57.900 --> 00:09:59.500 New Hampshire guy says yes. 211 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:04.320 Texas says yes, Rhode Island says yes, Connecticut says yeah. 212 00:10:04.320 --> 00:10:09.560 New York abstains until July 19th because they hadn't gotten word yet from Albany. 213 00:10:09.560 --> 00:10:11.680 Things took a lot of time back then. 214 00:10:11.680 --> 00:10:15.640 New Jersey says yeah, Pennsylvania passes. 215 00:10:15.640 --> 00:10:19.440 That's because Ben Franklin's still working on Dickinson to get him to vote yes. 216 00:10:19.440 --> 00:10:23.000 Delaware, by a majority vote, says yeah, two to one. 217 00:10:23.000 --> 00:10:28.360 Maryland says yeah, Virginia says yeah, North Carolina yields to South Carolina. 218 00:10:28.360 --> 00:10:30.640 We're not going to vote until South Carolina votes. 219 00:10:30.640 --> 00:10:34.920 South Carolina says you've got to remove the anti-slavery provision from the Declaration 220 00:10:34.920 --> 00:10:38.760 of Independence or the dream of independence is gone. 221 00:10:38.760 --> 00:10:40.700 We're not going to vote for this. 222 00:10:40.700 --> 00:10:47.480 So Ben Franklin says, John, you've got to let this go, which he finally does. 223 00:10:47.480 --> 00:10:51.280 His argument to John is, look, I know you feel this is immoral and you're right, but 224 00:10:51.280 --> 00:10:57.200 we don't have independence at all if we don't pass this resolution. 225 00:10:57.200 --> 00:11:00.800 And if we don't allow for the process here, we have nothing. 226 00:11:00.800 --> 00:11:04.520 Let's get independence now, then you can go after the anti-slavery provision with all 227 00:11:04.520 --> 00:11:07.280 your energy right after we get this. 228 00:11:07.280 --> 00:11:13.900 So with Adams' reluctant approval, Thomas Jefferson dramatically crosses out the anti-slavery 229 00:11:13.900 --> 00:11:19.400 provision right in front of Rutledge of South Carolina so that he can vote for the resolution. 230 00:11:19.400 --> 00:11:25.240 So South Carolina votes yeah, North Carolina votes yeah, Georgia says yeah. 231 00:11:25.280 --> 00:11:27.960 Pennsylvania is now on its second call for a vote. 232 00:11:27.960 --> 00:11:32.440 Franklin knows that Dickinson still has his reservation, so he asks that the delegates 233 00:11:32.440 --> 00:11:35.280 be polled and Dickinson gets outvoted. 234 00:11:35.280 --> 00:11:37.760 So Pennsylvania finally says yes. 235 00:11:37.760 --> 00:11:42.640 So the resolution to separate from British rule passes. 236 00:11:42.640 --> 00:11:47.800 Now New York actually abstained and they allowed for that because they just didn't get the 237 00:11:47.800 --> 00:11:49.920 information back yet from Albany. 238 00:11:49.920 --> 00:11:53.900 And they'll sign off on the 19th of July and the resolution to separate will be tacked 239 00:11:53.900 --> 00:11:58.500 on to the end of the Declaration of Independence, but we haven't finished the Declaration of 240 00:11:58.500 --> 00:11:59.740 Independence yet. 241 00:11:59.740 --> 00:12:06.020 So now back to the Declaration of Independence, it's July 3rd and Hancock asks if there are 242 00:12:06.020 --> 00:12:07.020 any objections. 243 00:12:07.020 --> 00:12:10.500 A quarter of the text has been removed. 244 00:12:10.500 --> 00:12:13.780 All the stuff on anti-slavery is killed. 245 00:12:13.780 --> 00:12:16.820 There are a few little improvements to sentence structure. 246 00:12:16.820 --> 00:12:18.780 They eliminate some redundancy. 247 00:12:18.780 --> 00:12:22.340 They get some final edits in place and it's agreed to. 248 00:12:22.340 --> 00:12:27.420 So on July 4th, McNair goes and rings the bell. 249 00:12:27.420 --> 00:12:32.660 Everyone's name is called out to come forward and sign the document and 34 of the 56 signers 250 00:12:32.660 --> 00:12:34.900 sign as the bell is rung dozens of times. 251 00:12:34.900 --> 00:12:37.460 That's how many people were there at the time. 252 00:12:37.460 --> 00:12:41.060 The rest sign August 2nd, the one after that. 253 00:12:41.060 --> 00:12:47.700 So the Declaration of Independence was approved and on July 4th, 1776, the 13 North American 254 00:12:47.700 --> 00:12:51.020 British colonies were going to separate from Great Britain. 255 00:12:51.020 --> 00:12:55.540 Though this document changed world history, John Adams said a very interesting thing. 256 00:12:55.540 --> 00:13:01.060 The Declaration itself didn't really contain any novel political philosophy. 257 00:13:01.060 --> 00:13:05.480 He pointed to the fact that others had previously discussed these ideas of freedom. 258 00:13:05.480 --> 00:13:09.940 It was based on the absolute truth that all people were given rights by God to be treated 259 00:13:09.940 --> 00:13:11.420 with freedom rights. 260 00:13:11.420 --> 00:13:13.900 Every student of natural law agreed. 261 00:13:13.900 --> 00:13:18.980 What made this novel was that never before had a nation been founded on these notions 262 00:13:18.980 --> 00:13:20.180 of freedom. 263 00:13:20.260 --> 00:13:25.300 Madison said that the truth had been discovered much earlier, but that the object was to assert 264 00:13:25.300 --> 00:13:26.940 not to discover truth. 265 00:13:26.940 --> 00:13:29.300 In other words, the truth had already been out there. 266 00:13:29.300 --> 00:13:31.020 It just needed to be upheld. 267 00:13:31.020 --> 00:13:33.940 And now that would happen with the founding of a new nation. 268 00:13:33.940 --> 00:13:35.940 But it was a cliffhanger. 269 00:13:35.940 --> 00:13:39.180 Many were reluctant to revolt due to honor of authority. 270 00:13:39.180 --> 00:13:40.860 They just didn't take this lightly. 271 00:13:40.860 --> 00:13:44.700 But once that bell rang, they were all in. 272 00:13:44.700 --> 00:13:47.740 Up until now, the freedoms that were enjoyed were limited to interpretation. 273 00:13:48.700 --> 00:13:50.060 They ebbed and flowed over the years. 274 00:13:50.060 --> 00:13:53.500 If you had a good king and a good house of commons, the everyday Joe might have a shot 275 00:13:53.500 --> 00:13:55.460 at some decent protections. 276 00:13:55.460 --> 00:13:57.020 But with a bad king, not so much. 277 00:13:57.020 --> 00:14:00.220 And the grievances of the colonies were legit. 278 00:14:00.220 --> 00:14:04.060 To the founders, the Declaration was based on a belief in absolute truth. 279 00:14:04.060 --> 00:14:06.740 It was based on the fundamental doctrine of natural rights. 280 00:14:06.740 --> 00:14:10.360 And the government's role would be limited and explicitly put in its proper place under 281 00:14:10.360 --> 00:14:12.260 a social contract. 282 00:14:12.260 --> 00:14:17.420 We talked about why the founders believed natural rights are absolute and natural law 283 00:14:17.420 --> 00:14:21.780 is absolutely true in a bit of detail last week. 284 00:14:21.780 --> 00:14:25.460 To this day, even though the U.S. Constitution is borrowed in many countries from around 285 00:14:25.460 --> 00:14:30.180 the world, the Declaration of Independence remains a great historical landmark. 286 00:14:30.180 --> 00:14:34.620 It's the first formal assertion by a whole nation that they have the right to be governed 287 00:14:34.620 --> 00:14:39.100 by a government of their own choice with the primary purpose of that government explicitly 288 00:14:39.100 --> 00:14:45.020 set all established to protect those freedom rights. 289 00:14:45.020 --> 00:14:49.380 Now these freedom rights are the natural rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of 290 00:14:49.380 --> 00:14:50.380 happiness. 291 00:14:50.380 --> 00:14:51.380 They're inherent. 292 00:14:51.380 --> 00:14:56.540 Every human has the nature that wishes to live safely, choose freely, and benefit from 293 00:14:56.540 --> 00:14:58.820 her own efforts. 294 00:14:58.820 --> 00:14:59.980 Natural rights do not come. 295 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:05.600 government or from laws, they come from God, the Creator. Or if you don't believe in God, 296 00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:10.880 they come from nature and what you can observe. They belong to every human being. Just as every 297 00:15:10.880 --> 00:15:17.840 human owns his own mind and body, he owns the freedom rights equally. Natural rights do not 298 00:15:17.840 --> 00:15:23.280 depend on some group membership. You don't gain access to natural rights because of your views or 299 00:15:23.280 --> 00:15:30.480 your economic status. You are born with natural rights. The Declaration was really an answer to 300 00:15:30.480 --> 00:15:35.840 the question of government versus the people. Do people exist to serve government like modern day 301 00:15:35.840 --> 00:15:42.480 leftist believes? Or does government exist to serve people so that the individual will remain 302 00:15:42.480 --> 00:15:48.400 free? This document was a triumph of the individual over government as an institution. 303 00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:54.480 It also promulgated equal treatment under the law. No one group or entity would have special 304 00:15:54.480 --> 00:15:59.840 privileges over another. Private property will be respected. The government would need to be 305 00:15:59.840 --> 00:16:05.120 limited and not have the power to harass or otherwise unnecessarily regulate you or your 306 00:16:05.120 --> 00:16:11.520 business. You have the right to govern and sustain yourself. The Declaration of Independence possesses 307 00:16:11.520 --> 00:16:18.880 two sentences that sum it up. So let's break that down. We hold these truths to be self-evident. 308 00:16:19.840 --> 00:16:25.600 Now this was to clarify that they believed the following to be absolutely true and they changed 309 00:16:25.600 --> 00:16:31.280 it from sacred to self-evident to remove any doubt that the U.S. would not be a church state. 310 00:16:32.400 --> 00:16:35.600 That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator. 311 00:16:36.240 --> 00:16:41.680 Creator they used instead of God. It gave the deists that are in the room comfort to come to 312 00:16:41.680 --> 00:16:45.920 their own conclusions. But everyone agreed that all of us are created by the same creator and 313 00:16:45.920 --> 00:16:52.560 that gives us a certain equality. We are created and we have equal value. Now in the Judeo-Christian 314 00:16:52.560 --> 00:16:58.880 belief that were among the founders, the dominant belief, it also meant that we are special among 315 00:16:58.880 --> 00:17:04.400 the animals and created in God's image. That we could find purpose and meaning in life with the 316 00:17:04.400 --> 00:17:11.119 capacity to think, believe, trust, hope, produce, and operate autonomous from our appetites and 317 00:17:11.119 --> 00:17:17.760 instincts. And that we have the capacity to aspire, dream, and shoot for the stars with 318 00:17:18.319 --> 00:17:23.760 certain unalienable rights. These rights are without dispute. Kind of funny they went back 319 00:17:23.760 --> 00:17:30.720 and forth on unalienable and inalienable but they are incontrovertible. Everyone agreed that these 320 00:17:30.720 --> 00:17:36.000 rights are owned. You can't separate these rights from the person. You can't give up these rights. 321 00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:41.920 You might give up your right to decide the traffic laws but no matter what you can't give up these 322 00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:48.160 three freedom rights. That among these are life straight from natural rights and law and others. 323 00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:55.040 No person or government can unlawfully take the life of an innocent citizen. You should not be in 324 00:17:55.040 --> 00:18:01.200 fear of the government interfering with your life in any way at any time. Liberty straight from 325 00:18:01.200 --> 00:18:06.960 natural rights and law and bacon and others. You are free to move, worship, work, marry as you please. 326 00:18:07.520 --> 00:18:14.000 You are a slave to no man. Now slavery at the time was a worldwide problem and the transatlantic 327 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:19.440 slave trade was horrible in the Caribbean, Brazil, and the United States and it was getting worse. 328 00:18:20.320 --> 00:18:27.200 This right to liberty repetitively pronounced did cause early success against slavery even before 329 00:18:27.200 --> 00:18:32.400 the U.S. Constitution was ratified but after the declaration Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, 330 00:18:32.400 --> 00:18:38.720 Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New England adopted measures to abolish slavery and by 1804 331 00:18:38.720 --> 00:18:44.640 all the northern states had adopted policies to abolish slavery and though the south was 332 00:18:44.640 --> 00:18:51.040 persistently obtuse and wrong this right to liberty was the energy that eventually won the 333 00:18:51.040 --> 00:18:57.440 Civil War and established the 13th and 14th amendments. It would have happened in 1776 if 334 00:18:57.440 --> 00:19:06.560 John Adams had his way. And the pursuit of happiness unique to the United States. This expansion from 335 00:19:06.560 --> 00:19:13.920 private property to you can have purpose you have no upper limit to your aspiration. That to secure 336 00:19:13.920 --> 00:19:19.120 these rights governments are instituted among men deriving their just powers from the consent 337 00:19:19.840 --> 00:19:28.240 of the governed. The social contract based on the mandates. So the Declaration of Independence 338 00:19:28.240 --> 00:19:34.400 adds two more mandates upon the government and here are all seven together. Government shall 339 00:19:34.400 --> 00:19:41.200 be limited. Government shall submit to the rule of law. Government shall apply all laws equally. 340 00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:45.920 Government shall protect the rights of the individual. Government shall not interfere 341 00:19:45.920 --> 00:19:50.800 with your economic freedom. Government shall be governed under the consent of the people that it 342 00:19:50.800 --> 00:19:56.800 governs and government shall honor that the three freedom rights are timeless and that these rights 343 00:19:56.800 --> 00:19:59.840 are preeminent over all others. These 344 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:03.240 Seven mandates build a strong foundation for the three pillars of freedom. 345 00:20:03.240 --> 00:20:06.720 Freedom rights are hopeful. They stand tall. 346 00:20:06.720 --> 00:20:10.760 The right to life builds confidence that you can enjoy a peaceful existence free 347 00:20:10.760 --> 00:20:11.240 from 348 00:20:11.240 --> 00:20:15.320 arbitrary rule. The right to liberty encourages free expression and the 349 00:20:15.320 --> 00:20:16.640 ability to worship 350 00:20:16.640 --> 00:20:20.320 according to your beliefs. And the right to pursue happiness 351 00:20:20.320 --> 00:20:23.400 allows you to dream big. So, 352 00:20:23.400 --> 00:20:27.640 with these seven citizen mandates, we've got a pretty good foundation. 353 00:20:27.880 --> 00:20:31.160 If we obey these as a government, 354 00:20:31.160 --> 00:20:35.400 we can now build the pillars of freedom. Next week we're going to look in more 355 00:20:35.400 --> 00:20:36.720 detail at the first pillar, 356 00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:39.880 the right to life. To your freedom. God bless you. 357 00:20:39.880 --> 00:20:44.840 Hi, I'm David Farah. Thank you for listening to my dad's podcast, 358 00:20:44.840 --> 00:20:48.920 The Barry Farah Show, Culture Shift. Click subscribe now 359 00:20:48.920 --> 00:20:52.920 to be sure you don't miss an episode. Share this podcast with your friends on 360 00:20:52.920 --> 00:20:53.800 social media 361 00:20:53.880 --> 00:20:56.720 and give The Barry Farah Show your five-star rating. 362 00:20:56.720 --> 00:20:58.120 See you next time.