I guess I knew it, but it was decidedly reinforced in the presentation about Abraham Lincoln which I attended at our Education Conference today. What was it? It was that not only was our Constitution hanging in the balance in Lincoln’s administration, but the Declaration of Independence was as well. It was totally repudiated and disavowed by the Southern States in the Civil War.
The written documents of the South firmly rejected the premise of the Declaration of Indpendence that “all men are created equal.” And they likewise discarded that idea along with the whole Declaration! I hadn’t realized that.
Tonight my wife and I went to a concert here at Brigham Young University. We are here for an education conference. There is some nightly entertainment – if you pay extra.
George Washington had the looks and stature of a President. He was tall, nearly 6’4” and strong of build. He was a great horseman and a victorious soldier. He had a strong moral compass and great character. Plus, he had been front and center in all the major events in the creation of the new nation.
George Washington was against political parties, Thomas Jefferson was against electioneering, and James Madison had to fight hard to figure out a method to elect a President that would appeal to the 55 men who were in the Constitutional Convention. Now, we can hardly understand how the Electoral College even works.
The size of the United States of America was doubled by Thomas Jefferson’s purchase of the area “owned” by the French. Napoleon was in dire need of money to pursue his grand war in Europe. Jefferson wasn’t sure that such a purchase was within his power as President. But he was sure that this opportunity didn’t come around very often—so he bought the whole offered territory. This became known as the Louisiana Purchase.
In the upcoming Presidential election it would seem to be very important to consider what our first President of the United States said about one thing to look for: