by Sarah Burnett (Bartlesville, OK)
A Patriot’s History of the United States: From Columbus’s Great Discovery to America’s Age of Entitlement, Revised Edition
Currently, much of American history is written from a perspective that sees everything through a lens of oppression (such as The New York Times’ 1619 Project), or from a perspective of Marxism (such as Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History of the United States”). George Orwell said, “The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” We need to know the true foundations of our history. This book is written from the perspective that America is exceptional because it is founded on Christian principles, the belief that the law of God is put in the heart of every man, the right to private property, and capitalism. It’s a fascinating read, walking through both the dark and the joyous days of America’s past, with stories to intrigue, heroes and villains to learn about, and American policy laid out in a thorough yet interesting way. If you can’t read all of its 867 pages, the extensive indexes provide an opportunity to find specific events and read about them from a Patriot’s perspective.
If You Can Keep It: The Forgotten Promise of American Liberty https://www.amazon.com/If-You-Can-Keep-Forgotten/dp/1101979992/
This book outlines the miracle that is America, and how our founding came about. But more importantly, it explains in memorable ways, the philosophical frameworks that underpinned our Revolution, and how we must return to those values to “keep” American Liberty.
Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery
https://www.amazon.com/Amazing-Grace-Eric-Metaxas-audiobook/dp/B000PMFTJA
As a teenager, this book changed my life, and I still think of Wilberforce every day that I am involved in politics. In 19th Century England, where there was a very limited understanding of human rights, Wilberforce’s conversion to Christianity thrust him into taking on the slave trade. It took over 40 years, but because of his efforts, he ended slavery in England. This book taught me lessons of tenacity and perseverance, but also strategic elements like the importance of having a network, confronting the culture as well as the policy, writing bills that change perception and dismantle the economics of a trade, and so much more.
The Real American Founding: A Conversation
https://online.hillsdale.edu/landing/real-american-founding
I’ve realized that being 250+ years removed from our founding, many of our cultural discussions are not based on the Christian worldview that they had, or the understanding of government that was taught in their law schools of the 18th Century. This series was fascinating as it grappled with the comfortable and uncomfortable parts of how our founders thought, and is a course that would spark vigorous debate but also healthy questions for today’s Patriot.
The Constitution of the United States and The Declaration of Independence
Understanding our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution, in my opinion, are the two things that will help us answer the questions we face today. The powers divided between three branches in the Constitution, the Bill of Rights that makes our nation unique among the world at large, the Declaration with its firm understanding of natural rights coming from God – these documents form a united framework to understand and compel us to stand for our liberties today.
Original post via OKGrassroots
See also Grassroots Reading Room Archives for more great book recommendations!