: : : AMERICAS YOUTH FOR TRUTH : : :

The following history of America's beginnings will include recorded documented TRUTHS regarding the pilgrims who first settled in America, the educational system and government of these first settlers, the education of our Founding Fathers, the colleges established to educate America's youth, and the establishment of America's government. These are truths that have been hidden from you!

When the pilgrims, (America's first settlers who came from Great Britain to escape the tyranny of England and establish a land of freedom, liberty and prosperity), landed in America in 1607, the first thing they did was to erect a large cross on public land and hold a prayer meeting to acknowledge their faith and trust in Almighty God and His Son Jesus Christ and to ask for blessings upon this new land. In 1620 these men and women authored the Mayflower Compact which is considered the birth certificate of America and reads, in part, as follows: "In the name of God amen. Having undertaken for the glory of God an advancement of the Christian faith, in honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern part of Virginia." note: These first settlers were still under the rule of England and would remain so until the American Revolution when they would gain their freedom.

The New England Primer was the first textbook ever printed in America. It was introduced in Boston in 1690 and for two centuries (200 years) students in America learned to read from this book, which today we would call a first-grade textbook but they didn't have grade levels then, so they simply called it a Primer. A bible verse was attached to each letter of the alphabet and students would have to memorize each bible phrase to learn the alphabet and be able to read. This was the alphabet of America's schools for two hundred years and most of the Founding Fathers learned to read using the New England Primer. John Quincy Adams was schooled using the New England Primer. When he was 14 years old, under this system of education, he received a Congressional diplomatic appointment overseas to the court of Catherine the Great in Russia as secretary to the Ambassador! Can you imagine that happening in today's educational system?

Harvard University was the first college established in America (1636) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This was the school attended by John Adams, John Hancock, Samuel Adams and other Founding Fathers. Harvard's declared educational purpose was clearly stated as: "Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well the main end of his life and studies is to know God and Jesus which is eternal life, John 17:3, and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning."

During and immediately following the Revolution, the nation governed itself under the Articles of Confederation. In 1787, while still under the Articles of Confederation, the Founding Fathers passed the Northwest Ordinance, setting forth the provisions whereby territories could become states in the new Union. When the Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation, the Founding Fathers re-passed the Northwest Ordinance to ensure its continued effectiveness under the new Constitution. Article III of the Northwest Ordinance linked education and religion together by declaring: "Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged." It is very clear that the Founding Fathers believed that schools and education systems were a proper means to encourage the religion, morality, and knowledge which, by this article of law, they concluded to be so "necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind." This emphasis on religion, a worship of God and His Son Jesus Christ through the reading of the Bible and prayer, was a standard component in each state constitution as they became a part of the United States. The Founding Fathers, by means of federal law, were ensuring that religious principles remain at the basis of American education. This was their intent, this was their purpose, and this was their instruction to each one of us from then to now. They understood that if America was to endure, it would be because they had successfully conveyed to future generations those principles on which America had been birthed, nurtured, and developed!

There is no question that American education did not separate Christian principles from student instruction and there is no question of the academic success of that approach. America's current educational standards pale in comparison to the standards of the Founder's generation. For example, it was very normal for students to begin college at the age of thirteen in the Founder's era. Benjamin Rush, the youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence and the first Founder to call for free national public schools, graduated from Princeton University when he was 14 years old. He also said, "I believe no man was ever early instructed in the truths of the Bible without having been made wiser or better by the early operation of these impressions upon his mind." Keep in mind that Benjamin Rush was instrumental in organizing America's education system under the new Constitution. He is considered the Father of America's schools. He preferred the Bible to all other compositions as a schoolbook. And he said: "The Bible contains more knowledge necessary to man in his present state than any other book in the world." He also said: Knowledge is most durable, and religious instruction most useful, when imparted in early life."

It should be clearly seen from this recorded history of America's beginnings that the early settlers and the Founding Fathers succeeded in establishing America as a Christian nation. A nation that would enjoy the blessing of Almighty God under His guidance and direction. These blessing have flowed over this nation for many years. As you read through America's Youth For Truth pages, you will learn where the leaders of America began to turn away from our Christian heritage and the Founding Father's principles. You will also learn how important each one of you will become as America's Future Leaders in America's Youth For Truth!

Reference sources - Library of Congress, Washington D.C., America's God and Country by William J. Federer published 1994, The Foundations of American Government by David Barton published 1993, Education and the Founding Fathers by David Barton published 1993, America's Godly Heritage by David Barton published 1993, The Image and the Reality: Thomas Jefferson and the First Amendment by David Barton published 2003, The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) resource section, First Liberties of the Rutherford Institute resource center, Center for Reclaiming America for Christ, Coral Ridge Ministries.