Changes

A theme of ''Original Intent'' would be Barton's view that the rights of American [[citizen]]s are "God-given."  If people can be convinced that faith in God is not foundational to our American government and way of life, then God-given rights are no longer protected but given and taken at will by the government itself. As ''The [[Declaration of Independence]]'' penned by [[Thomas Jefferson]] intones:

A theme of ''Original Intent'' would be Barton's view that the rights of American [[citizen]]s are "God-given."  If people can be convinced that faith in God is not foundational to our American government and way of life, then God-given rights are no longer protected but given and taken at will by the government itself. As ''The [[Declaration of Independence]]'' penned by [[Thomas Jefferson]] intones:

''"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their [[Creator]] with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, [[Liberty ]]and the pursuit of Happiness. – That to secure these rights, [[Government]]s are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. . . ."''<ref>http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/index.htm</ref>  

''"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their [[Creator]] with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, [[Liberty]] and the pursuit of Happiness. – That to secure these rights, [[Government]]s are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. . . ."''<ref>http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/index.htm</ref>  

According to Barton, the framers of the ''United States Constitution'' <ref>http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.overview.html</ref> sweated and prayed together over the workings of that great document which has served the longest-lived government in the history of the world, and yet today young Americans - at sporting events and at graduation ceremonies - are summarily denied their Constitutional right to corporate, public prayer. Textbooks are cleansed of historical references to religion as a part of our nation's foundation, and any books in public schools that include those references are characterized as "controversial."  These are issues to which David Barton speaks and which he documents in his books, videos, and lectures.

According to Barton, the framers of the ''United States Constitution'' <ref>http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.overview.html</ref> sweated and prayed together over the workings of that great document which has served the longest-lived government in the history of the world, and yet today young Americans - at sporting events and at graduation ceremonies - are summarily denied their Constitutional right to corporate, public prayer. Textbooks are cleansed of historical references to religion as a part of our nation's foundation, and any books in public schools that include those references are characterized as "controversial."  These are issues to which David Barton speaks and which he documents in his books, videos, and lectures.