Editors Note: Two years ago CO was launched as an 8 page quarterly hard-copy newsletter, with 120 subscribers. A year ago it became a free one page monthly e-newsletter and now has thousands of readers worldwide because its readers, like you, pass it on to family and friends. CO readers are those who realize the Constitution is a special and unique document that must be preserved if Americans, along with all peoples of the world, are to maintain their freedoms — and their free agency. Now let us reexamine those principles of freedom and government we have learned during this past year. We learned ...

# 1: That the road leading up to America’s Revolutionary War (1775) — its Declaration of Independence (1776) —and its new and bold Constitution (1787) — was a long drawn-out effort that began centuries before by others who had also yearned to implement those laws of liberty recorded by Moses in the Bible, but were suppressed by the dominance of "Rulers Law."

# 2: It was the English who never gave up trying to establish "the rights of the people" — and their descendants brought that yearning of freedom for self government to the new land called America — a land where the tribal form of government of its Native Indians provided little opposition to the new settlers coming to America, whose descendants soon moved westward.

# 3: Of the similarity of the American colonists in 1776, mostly refugees from religious oppression — 3 plus million, strong believers in God; subject to the tyranny of despotic rule, and living in a harsh and unforgiving land— with that of the Israelites of ancient times — also 3 plus million, held in slavery 400 years by the Egyptians, also strong believers in the God of their fathers — Abraham, Issac and Jacob — who were led out of slavery into a desert waste land to become a God-led nation.

# 4: That despots and tyrants never give up their tyrannical rule easily, or without much bloodshed — the price of freedom, both then and throughout history, even in our own day and time as the world confronts terrorists like Saddam Hussein .

# 5: That a tax on tea triggered the Revolutionary War, a war whose time had come, and stirred up by Samuel Adams.

# 6: That initially the colonists did not want to break with England, but the king would not even talk with the colonists, let alone compromise. They held out hope into late June 1776, just shortly before the Declaration of Independence was signed by 56 courageous men who knew they were putting their lives, their family’s lives, and their fortunes on the block of freedom.

# 7: How Jefferson was chosen to write the Declaration of Independence —how he had been prepared (raised up) for this major role in creating America’s freedoms — how he carefully crafted his Declaration into 3 component parts: part 1 outlined 29 complaints against the king; part 2 makes reference to "man’s Creator," and to His "laws of nature and of nature’s God ..." This is where he wrote:"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal ..." and then outlines the 8 principles of good government which he borrowed from the teachings of Moses, then asked for the protection of "divine Providence."

# 8: How Adam Smith’s book, "The Wealth of Nations (March 1776)," and his "free-market principles — the freedom to Try; to Buy; to Sell; and to Fail —" were essential to the FF’s, who were among the first to adopt Smith’s economic principles to good government. Now many believe the publication date of this book was more than just coincidence.

# 9: About the dependence of Washington on prayer, and God’s answers to his prayers. We learned Cornwallis, after his defeat at Yorktown, even felt God was on the side of the Americans, and of Washington. Washington indicated his prayers were answered on 59 different occasions, helping him and his rag-tag army win an "impossible war."

# 10: How America nearly self destructed after the war — how Washington resisted being crowned King of America, and how he felt during this very dark period of America’s history, before the Constitution was drafted, and that all his work was in vain.

# 11: How James Madison rallied the Congress to call for a constitutional convention, and how he persuaded Washington to attend it; how only 2 states were present on May 17, 1787, the day the convention was to convene — how the next two weeks was used by the delegates of Virginia to prepare an agenda for the convention — their assignment: to only amend the Articles of Confederation, not to throw them out — which the convention did — and create a totally new Constitution.

#12: About the long and divisive debates between the delegates — especially among the small and large states over equal representation — how they learned to compromise for the greater good — how and why they sidestepped the issue of slavery — even then a contentious issue — and after 4 long hot months in Philadelphia, on September 17, 1787, 39 men signed the document some say was inspired by the diamond dust of heaven — a document that has been battered — a document that some would like to destroy — but a document that has become the beacon of freedom all around the entire world.

In April we begin a study of the Constitution’s 286 principles of government outlined in the Constitution. Please continue to e-forward this newsletter to your family and friends. For those interested in obtaining the book, "The Making of America," or the video, "A More Perfect Union," go to www.nccs.net to browse, or call 1-800 388-4512 to order (after 10 a.m. EST) . Thanks to those who have ordered this video and given it to their local school system. Become an e-multiplier and forward this newsletter to your e-address list.. The more enlightened people there are on the Constitution, the better we all are. Thank you. Now, until April 2003. DSC