Week 8 countdown - the Gettysburg Address

 

This week we will review and memorize Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.  Here is the text of the Gettysburg Address from this website:  https://www.owleyes.org/text/gettysburg-address/read/text-of-lincolns-speech#root-8

Delivered at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

November 19, 1863

by Abraham Lincoln

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

As a reminder, this battle at Gettysburg was the death of the Southern cause.  Pickett's Charge, for example, destroyed Major General Pickett's division.   When Lincoln said that they were on a great battlefield, he was not exaggerating.

I bring to your attention the statement that our nation was "conceived in Liberty."  That can be interpreted a number of ways, and this is something we should consider. Was the Declaration of Independence the act of conception?  Or was the Declaration of Independence based on the sense of liberties due to the English Bill of Rights of 1689?  The English Bill of Rights came from the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and included the right to bear arms, freedom of speech, the right to bail, freedom from cruel punishments, and more.  Our expectations of liberty and freedom go back to the English Bill of Rights of 1689.  We declared our independence because we were already carrying in our hearts the sense of our rights going back 87 years, from 1776 to 1689.

Our sense of liberty also comes from God's blessings.  Remember that the Liberty Bell contains this inscription.  Leviticus 25:10 "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof."

You saw in the film The American Miracle where Richard Dreyfuss, the actor, said that if we don't love our country we will lose our country.  He was worried about the end of America.  People are worried about America dissolving.  Decades ago a Russian social scientist predicted that America would break up and become a collection of smaller countries, TEXIT on a larger scale.  Lincoln hoped that our government "shall not perish from the earth."  George Washington in his Farewell Address emphasized repeatedly the importance of maintaining the union and the Constitution.

The purpose of our 52 week study is to rekindle our love of America and our understanding of its greatness. If enough of us revive the love of America, then we shall have a new birth of freedom as Lincoln encouraged.  I  point out that Lincoln refers to us as "this nation under God."  If we treasure the blessings of liberty given to us by God in the creation of this nation, and we pray to God, we will with God's help triumph over those who wish to destroy America.

I have laid out the Gettysburg Address so it fits into four text boxes that can be mounted on index cards to carry in your pocket for memorization.  I am attaching it here for your convenience as an image.  I can email a PDF version (Gettysburg address.pdf) or a Word version to you if you ask me for it. It prints as one page.

Thank you for continuing in our joint study.  I am working on memorizing the speech.  I will admit that I might only succeed in memorizing parts of it, but it's the effort that matters, and the sense of importance owing to our desire to memorize it.

Thank you for your steadfastness in continuing the study with me.  We are behind in our overall schedule.  I plan to catch up.

Robert

 

 

Week 7 countdown - George Washington's Farewell Address

 Dear Friends,

In week 7 in our countdown to July 4, 2026 we are going to read George Washington's Farewell Address.  This ties in with our assignments in week 6, the movie "The American Miracle" and also with week 3 where we watched the film "Monumental."

From the movie we see the importance of George Washington to the Revolution and also to the new Constitution created in Independence Hall.  From the movie Monumental we see virtues deemed important for the success of the Pilgrims and we see the connections to Washington's references to virtue and morality.

You can get free online copies of George Washington's Farewell Address.  My copy is a small bound booklet.  I marked it up.  I numbered the paragraphs and found that there are 45 paragraphs.  I thought it would take me 45 minutes to read it, but I clocked it at 1 hour 11 minutes because I had two interruptions.

I must say that the writing style from that era is very wordy.  It was published on September 19, 1796, 20 years after the Declaration of Independence.  People back then began to view wordy writing as a hindrance.  Herbert Spencer wrote "The Philosophy of Style" in 1892 to recommend more succinct writing.  I thought that this important work could stand some editing, so I asked ChatGPT to summarize it.  I actually got 20 different summaries. At the end of this email I will include 2 of these summaries.

I strongly urge you to read the entire document yourself with a highlighter and pencil and mark up what you find important.  Then review what you marked up and decide what made the most impact upon you.  Remember that Washington worked hard to write this for guidance to our new nation.  We must respect his intellect and his intentions.

When you watched the movie "The American Miracle" you might not have picked up on how important Washington's presence was at the Constitutional Convention.  If he was absent, it might not have happened or been successful.  Washington presided over the convention.  And without Washington the Revolution probably would not have succeeded.  He was the father of our country because of the Revolution and the Constitution.

What made the most impact on me were these three lines.  In paragraph 26 he wrote "Of all the dispositions and habits, which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports." And later in paragraph 26 he said, "And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion."  Then in paragraph 27 he wrote, "It is substantially true, that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government."

These references to morality and religion are probably why the atheists who have taken control of the public schools have dropped George Washington's Farewell Address from the classrooms.

Now let us reflect on the movie "Monumental."  The monument highlights four virtues:  faith, morality, law, and education.  Then the result of these virtues is liberty.

The Pilgrims told us that our liberty depends on faith and morality.  Washington told us that our government depends on morality and religion.

Do you see how this all ties together?  You might want to go back to the Monumental film and skip forward to the virtues depicted in the Monument and review them. 

Rereading week 2, I see that I gave two assignments at once:  (1) Read the Mayflower Compact and (2) then see the film Monumental.  Here's the link to that week:

https://texasascendant.blogspot.com/2025/09/week-2-countdown-new-birth-of-freedom.html

That kind of throws off the counting.  I should have titled the email "weeks 2 and 3".  Sorry about that.  I am juggling a lot of things now.  I have renumbered the blog postings so that weeks 2 and  3 are in the same posting.  Then I renumbered the rest of the posts.

Below I give 2 summaries of George Washington's Farewell Address from ChatGPT.

Robert

Short Overview

George Washington’s Farewell Address (1796) is both his retirement announcement and a lasting set of political principles. He expresses gratitude for the people’s trust, explains why he is stepping down, and warns against dangers to the republic—especially political parties, sectional divisions, excessive public debt, and entangling foreign alliances. He urges unity, morality, religion, education, fiscal responsibility, and neutrality in foreign affairs as the pillars of America’s long-term stability and liberty.

Here’s a 3–5 minute oral summary script you can use for teaching or public speaking:

 

In 1796, after serving two terms, George Washington announced his decision to retire from the presidency. His Farewell Address was both a personal goodbye and a lasting statement of principles for the young nation.

Washington began by expressing deep gratitude for the trust and support of the American people. He admitted his own limitations and said that any success of his presidency was due to their confidence and the blessing of Providence. He explained that he was stepping down not out of diminished devotion, but because the country was stable enough to thrive without him.

The heart of his message focused on warnings for the future. Above all, he emphasized the importance of national unity. He reminded Americans that the Union was the foundation of independence, peace, prosperity, and liberty. He cautioned against regional divisions—North versus South, East versus West—that could weaken the bonds of common interest.

Washington also warned against the “baneful effects of the spirit of party.” Political factions, he said, might seem useful at times, but in truth they create jealousy, division, and open the door to corruption and even tyranny. He feared that parties could allow cunning leaders to place their own ambitions above the public good.

He stressed the need for constitutional respect and balance. Each branch of government must stay within its limits, and changes to the system should come only through lawful amendments, never through usurpation. Even small violations of the Constitution, he warned, set dangerous precedents that erode liberty.

Washington also highlighted the moral foundations of republican government. He insisted that religion and morality were indispensable supports for public and private life, and he urged the promotion of education so that citizens would be enlightened in their opinions. He further counseled fiscal responsibility: avoid unnecessary debt, pay off what is owed in times of peace, and accept taxation as a necessary burden of freedom.

On foreign affairs, Washington was clear: while the United States should trade with all nations, it should avoid permanent political alliances. He advised neutrality, warning against both passionate attachments and habitual hatreds toward other nations. America’s independence, he said, depended on steering its own course, free from the intrigues and rivalries of Europe.

In closing, Washington reflected on his years of service. He admitted to possible errors but hoped they would be forgiven, and he looked forward to retirement as a private citizen under the protection of a free government. His parting words expressed his enduring wish for America’s unity, liberty, and happiness.

Washington’s Farewell Address remains one of the most influential political documents in American history. Its themes—unity, moderation, morality, fiscal prudence, and independence in foreign affairs—continue to echo in debates about the nation’s direction even today.

 

Week 6 countdown - American Miracle Movie - A New Birth of Freedom

 Dear Friends,

Our next step in counting down to July 4, 2026, week 6 in our countdown, is to watch the film, "The American Miracle."  I mentioned it in the email for week 2, so you had time to order it.

(https://texasascendant.blogspot.com/2025/09/week-2-countdown-new-birth-of-freedom.html)

 

If you have not ordered it, you can catch up by ordering it now and watching it when you can.  It is a great movie about the American Revolution.

As a reminder, here is the website for the film:  https://americanmiraclemovie.com/

When you watch this film, pay attention to George Washington.  Think about how indispensable he was for the success of our Revolution.

To prepare for a future assignment, order a copy of "Miracle At Philadelphia: The Story of the Constitutional Convention" by Catherine Bowen

 

https://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Philadelphia-Constitutional-Convention-September/dp/0316103985/

I have to make a reading plan.  We will nibble our way through this book.

Our history is amazing.  We just do not think about it.

Now let's think about last week's assignment, to memorize the preamble to our constitution.  

I really had to pound the preamble into my memory.  But I love it.  Think about it.  What else do we really need or want from our government?  Here it is again in bullet form:

We the People of the United States,
      (1) in Order to form a more perfect Union,
      (2) establish Justice,
      (3) insure domestic Tranquility,
      (4) provide for the common defence,
      (5) promote the general Welfare, and
      (6) secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity,
do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

I used the following ideas to frame the logic of the preamble.  Yes, it has a logical layout.

Look at the sequence of verbs:

form -> establish -> insure -> provide -> promote -> secure

Look at the sequence of objects and how one leads to another

Union -> Justice -> domestic Tranquility -> common defence -> general Welfare -> Liberty

Notice that "United States" is mentioned twice: once at the beginning and again at the end.

In the beginning it is "of the United States".  At the end it is "for the United States of America."

There is a lot of logic in this statement.

At our Republican meetings we say the pledge of allegiance.  How often do we recite the preamble to our Constitution?  Maybe we should recite it occasionally to remember why we are involved in Republican politics.  Our goal is good governance, not machine politics.  That is why our state party has a set of principles in our platform.

Lincoln asked for a new birth of freedom.  Lincoln founded our party and died for his principles.  We need a spiritual reformation.  We need to become the Americans our forefathers envisioned.  I hope our 52 week journey will help us reach that end, to fulfill Lincoln's challenge in his Gettysburg Address.  Here is the conclusion of his speech:

we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Thank you,

Week 5 countdown - Our Preamble - A New Birth of Freedom

 Dear Friends,
Today is 9/17/2025, and it is Constitution Day in honor of the signing of the U.S. Constitution on 9/17/1787.  The Constitution is a fitting subject for our 52 week "Rebirth of Freedom" project.  For week 5 of our effort, our goal is to memorize the preamble to the U.S. Constitution.  Here it is:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Isn't this beautiful?  It is succinct.  What else do you really want from a government?  Here's my secret.  I remember a lot of things, but memorizing something word-for-word is hard for me.  So I will tell you what I have done to memorize the preamble.  I have noticed that it has six bullet points and I count with my fingers as I recite it to ensure I have six bullet points.  Here it is written with the bullet points enumerated:

We the People of the United States,
      (1) in Order to form a more perfect Union,
      (2) establish Justice,
      (3) insure domestic Tranquility,
      (4) provide for the common defense,
      (5) promote the general Welfare, and
      (6) secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity,
do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

I have a pocket Constitution handy and opened to the preamble.  I look at it after I recite the preamble to see if I got it right.  Did I jumble the order?  Did I get the words precisely correct?  This is a little work, but it is an important part of the Constitution.  

Take some time to think about each item on the list of six.

You might explore this website about Constitution:  https://www.constitutionday.com/

You might have heard this already.  We have the oldest written constitution in the world.  After the 3rd French Republic, I quit counting how many Constitutions France has had.  What is called the "British Constitution" is not a written document, but a collection of traditions that they call a constitution.  What our founding fathers did was unique and remains one-of-a-kind.  

We have a lot to be proud of.

This counts as week 5 in our 52 week countdown to July 4, 2026.  We will be doing two-a-week for a while to catch up, but they are not hard. Try to finish this by Saturday 9/20.

Thank you,
Robert

Week 4 countdown - Charlie Kirk and 911 - A New Birth of Freedom

Dear Friends, 

We are doing a 52 week countdown to July 4, 2026, the 250 anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.  We missed a few weeks because of political distractions, but we will catch up.  This installment will be special because so much has happened recently.  I emailed this on 9/15/25.  Charlie Kirk was murdered on 9/10/25 and we had the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers the day after.  I think it is really important to talk now about all of these issues because they are related.  This email will have 4 sections:  (1) The American Dream, (2) The Murder of Charlie Kirk, (3) the 24th anniversary of 9/11/2001, and (4) recognizing a pillar of American culture.  These are all important.

The American Dream

We must realize that America is a great country with a great culture.  There are so many things that make America great, but I will focus now on something surprisingly simple:  the 60th anniversary of The Sound of Music.

Joy and hope and idealism are at the heart of the American Dream.  Rodgers and Hammerstein created a work of fiction, based very loosely on history, and after success on Broadway made it into the highest grossing film at its time.  Sixty years later and we are still enjoying it , inspired by the beauty of the Alps and the idealism, joy and hope expressed in the show.

Americans have joy in their hearts!  That is one of the things that makes us great.  And we have the freedom to create a work of fiction like "The Sound of Music."  People following their dreams led to the Wright Brothers creating manned flight and changing history.  We have changed the world by pursuing our dreams, made possible by the liberty we enjoy from our Constitution.

The Murder of Charlie Kirk

Accounts say that the young man who murdered Charlie Kirk came from a good family, but somehow this young man was persuaded that Charlie Kirk was evil and needed to be killed.  There are left wing teachers who go into the schools in order to change the world by indoctrinating our children.  And there are left wing activists who use fear and hatred to manipulate young people in order to create political converts.

The left has been doing this for decades.  Whittaker Chambers described in his 1952 memoir, "Witness," how his brother was told by his college instructors that the world was horrible, so the young man killed himself.  Young people today are fed the same lies and you hear young people say that the world is so bad that they don't want to bring children into this world.  Add to that an unspoken epidemic of mental illness sweeping through the youth of America and it is no wonder we have a crisis.  

Back in 2022 I started a Bible Class called "Christian Awareness" to teach young people to recognize the deception and manipulation used to mislead them.  But tactical politics consumed my time.  Our young people are going into the world defenseless.  They are not coached on how to spot the snares of wicked people.  We need to fix that.

The 9/11 Attack on the Twin Towers

We just had the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attack and after 24 years it seems that our leaders are still refusing to understand what happened back then.    Remember that before 9/11 there were other attacks on the Twin Towers.  The refusal of our leaders to face the problems are documented in books like "Willful Blindness, a Memoir of the Jihad" by Federal Persecutor Andrew C. McCarthy (https://www.amazon.com/Willful-Blindness-Andrew-C-Mccarthy/dp/1594032130/) and in "Catastrophic Failure" by Stephen Coughlin (https://www.amazon.com/Catastrophic-Failure-Blindfolding-America-Jihad/dp/1511617500/).

If you think that it sounds absurd to say that highly educated and successful people turn their backs on reality, let me remind you of Bernie Madoff and the financial collapse he created in spite of numerous warnings, as documented in the book, "No One Would Listen" by Harry Markopolis (https://www.amazon.com/No-One-Would-Listen-Financial/dp/0470919000/).  Maybe by the time the 25th anniversary of 9/11 happens President Trump will get rid of the gatekeepers and manipulators that are stopping him from seeing the unresolved threats from 9/11.  We can only pray and hope.

The Battle Hymn of the Republic - A Pillar of American Culture

On September 14, 2001, in St  Paul's Cathedral in London, the British sang the The Battle Hymn of the Republic in a memorial service to honor the Americans killed on 9/11.  Here it is:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmpo0csiIMs

I was driving home from work and when I heard this on the radio -- the British singing this song -- I had to pull off the road, stop and cry.  All the emotions from the 9/11 attack came pouring out in my tears.

Your Assignment for this Week

Here are the lyrics to the Battle Hymn of the Republic.  Sing it to yourself!  The deadline is this coming Saturday,

1 Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.

Refrain:
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

2 I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps;
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read the righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on. [Refrain]

3 He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of all before His judgment seat;
O be swift, my soul, to answer Him; be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on. [Refrain]

4 In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me;
As He died to make us holy, let us die to make men free,
while God is marching on. [Refrain]

Here are Revelation 14:19 - 20

19 So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.

A lot of politicians forget about the wrath of God.

We have a great county and a great culture, but we are under relentless pressure by people who hate the freedoms and liberties God has intended for us, because they hate God as much as they hate the blessing of liberty God has bestowed upon us.  To be forewarned is to be forearmed.

Our hope is in God.

Thank you,

Robert

As a reminder of our previous countdown weeks, I have posted them on the internet:

Week 1 - A New Birth of Freedom
https://texasascendant.blogspot.com/2025/09/week-1-new-birth-of-freedom.html

Week 2 countdown -- A New Birth of Freedom
https://texasascendant.blogspot.com/2025/09/week-2-countdown-new-birth-of-freedom.html

Week 2 and 3 countdown - the Pilgrims- A New Birth of Freedom

Dear Friends,

If we are going to do a 52 week countdown to July 4, 2026, then tomorrow, July 19, is week 2 in the countdown.  I propose that the next thing we do is to read the Mayflower Compact and think about it.

Last week we read the Declaration of Independence and gave that some thought.  Here is a statement from the Declaration:  "Nor have we been wanting in Attentions to our British Brethren.... We have reminded them of the Circumstances of our Emigration and Settlement here."  So we can ask, "what are the circumstances of their emigration?"  

 

This Week - the Mayflower Compact

Our task for this week is to read the Mayflower Compact and think about its implications regarding the "circumstances of their emigration."  Here is the text of the compact, quoted from this article,  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayflower_Compact

IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c. Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the first Colony in the northern Parts of Virginia; Do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually, in the Presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid: And by Virtue hereof do enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions, and Offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general Good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due Submission and Obedience. IN WITNESS whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape-Cod the eleventh of November, in the Reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, Anno Domini; 1620

Notice that in the preamble to this groundbreaking example of self-government they say that the purpose of their trip is "for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith?"  

 

Next Week - More on the Pilgrims

Let's investigate the Pilgrims more.  For the next week, order and watch the film named "Monumental."

https://www.amazon.com/Monumental-Search-Americas-National-Treasure/dp/B0085Z6ZHE/

I remember that when I watched this documentary years ago I was surprised by how much I did not know about the plight of the Pilgrims in England.  I learned much from this documentary.  If you have Amazon Prime, you can stream the film.  You can look at the resellers; one promises delivery by Monday.  So if you want to see "Monumental" by next Saturday, 7/26, you can see that shipping delays can interfere with our schedule.

To minimize the impact of delays, you should order now a film for a future week in our countdown.  To appreciate the fight for our independence, please order now the film entitled, "The American Miracle"

I saw it at the theater but I have ordered it and will watch it again.  Here is the website for the film:  https://americanmiraclemovie.com/

These are excellent films that connect us to our heritage.  I hope that you will enjoy our walk together through our history. 

Robert Canright