#declaration_of_indepdendence

Pastor Smith continues his study of "America's History and Spiritual Heritage" with this discussion of "The Tension Between Republican Government and Democratic Government" and the influences of the Puritans and Deists on the founding fathers of the United States.

This is the second in a series on America's history, celebrating the United States' 250th birthday. Pastor Smith offers a perspective on the founding of the United States of America and on the era that shaped the Founding Fathers' views on government. America's founding fathers debated what form of government would shape the nation.

Would the United States be a democracy, in which the rule and authority rest in the hands of the majority? Would the United States be a republic whose laws are made by representatives of the people who must comply with the nation’s Constitution and protect individual rights from the will of the majority?

Pastor Smith asserts that the Declaration of Independence shows that the 56 signers sought to form a democracy; however, the signers of the Constitution of the United States in 1787 established a republic.

Pastor Smith introduces his Patriotic series for the summer months, celebrating America's 250th anniversary with a brief illustration of the meaning of a covenant, using the Declaration of Independence as an example of a covenant between the fathers of the American Revolution and the thirteen colonies.