Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness
By: Linda Weaver Clarke
“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.” When we pledge
allegiance to our country, what does that mean to us? Do we take our freedom for
granted? Many countries have no rights and are not at liberty to say what they feel
or to worship as they please. In some countries, Christianity cannot be preached
among the people. Newspapers, media, and even the Internet are all government
controlled.
Do we think of the freedom we possess? Have you ever thought about the patriots
who fought for this liberty that we enjoy? These brave men desired to live in a free
land, not ruled by a monarchy. They wanted to choose for themselves and worship
according to the dictates of their own heart.
When Thomas Jefferson sat down and wrote the Declaration of Independence, it
inspired every patriot to fight for his liberty. As General George Washington stood
before the Continental Army with the document in his hand, he took a look at the
weary men before him in their tattered clothes, many barefoot, and he realized they
had not eaten a decent meal for months. These underfed men were a sight!
Washington knew these men needed to be inspired and this document would do the
trick.
Washington took a deep breath and then read in a clear voice, “…We hold these
truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and
the pursuit of Happiness.”
As these patriots listened to every word, they were buoyed up, inspired, ready to
fight for their freedom against the tyranny placed upon them. The fire inside them
grew and no one could stop the need they felt for liberty. The Declaration of
Independence was inspired of God.
Nathan Hale felt it burning in his breast. He was a 23-year-old artist and
schoolteacher who was caught with sketches of British gun emplacements that he
was supposed to turn over to George Washington. The penalty for being a spy was
to be hanged. As he marched up the steps of the gallows, he held his head high.
When he turned to face the enemy, he declared boldly, “I regret that I have but one
life to give for my country.”
When Thomas Paine saw the sad condition of the Continental Army, he wrote,
“These are the times that try men’s souls…Tyranny, like hell, is not easily
conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the
more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: ‘Tis
dearness only that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to set a proper
price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed, if so celestial an article as
Freedom should not be highly rated.”
The Continental Army consisted of farmers and merchants, not learned in the way of
combat. The crossing of the Delaware in a blizzard will never be forgotten. Many
were sick and poorly clothed, and their feet were wrapped with cloth to protect
them from freezing weather. They lacked enough food for everyone and many times
went hungry. The Continental Army was outnumbered, but George Washington was
inspired to take his army across the Delaware, knowing the enemy would be drunk
and weary from the Christmas festivities. It was a never-forgotten battle of victory
that stunned the British, a surprise attack, and not one patriot was killed in that
battle.
The patriots knew the value of freedom and were willing to pay the price. The British
looked down their noses at them as untrained and uneducated rabble. When they
found the Continental Army to be so strong and stubborn, they moved a part of
their forces to the south with the idea of moving northward, capturing one state at a
time. When Washington realized their plan, he sent another army of men to stop
them.
In August of 1780 in South Carolina, a great and terrible battle took place. When all
seemed lost, General de Kalb and his men continued to valiantly fight for their
country. He believed in the cause of liberty so much that he refused to give up. He
received eleven wounds, both musket ball and bayonet, before he collapsed and fell
to the ground. British General Cornwallis had been watching from a distance and
when he saw the courageous general finally fall to the ground, he sent his aides to
retrieve him with a stretcher. Three days later he died in the name of freedom.
General Jean de Kalb was the most courageous and valiant man Cornwallis had ever
seen in the face of battle, fighting until he dropped, not giving up his cause for
liberty, and for this, he paid him the highest military honor at his burial.
The army that Washington had sent was not familiar with the south. But Colonial
Francis Marion knew how to deal with the enemy in his own homeland. He was
known as the Swamp Fox and had the deadliest fighting command in the whole
revolution. Colonial Marion had trained his men to disappear into the thick forest
and swamps of South Carolina without a sound, strike from ambush, and quickly
move through the woods like silent shadows. They were able to cripple the British
army and torment them, and then fade into the forest and undergrowth. These men
were fighting for their homes, their liberty, their families, and their rights, which
had been threatened by the British and the fearsome Hessians since they arrived.
These German mercenaries were skilled fighters, paid by the British to cut down the
patriots.
After eight long years, the patriots beat the greatest military power in the land. Have
we ever thought about the tremendous price these men paid for our freedom? The
next time we look at our flag, remember the cost as you pledge your allegiance to
the flag of the United States of America and remember that we are “one nation
under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.” That’s what helps us stand
out as a great nation. Without God’s help, we would never have won the war alone.
Alexis de Toqueville, a French Statesman, visited our country in the early 1800s. He
said that he looked for the “greatness of America.” It was not until he witnessed the
great faith of the American people in their churches that he found the true
greatness here. He said, “America is great because she is good. If America ever
ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”
Copyright 2006 – Reproduction of this article may only be used with the author’s Bio
intact.
Linda Weaver Clarke received her Bachelor of Arts Degree at Southern Utah
University. She has written a historical/fiction/romance novel, Melinda and the Wild
West, which will be released this summer by American Book Publishing. Linda has
given several Writing Workshops, encouraging others to put their thoughts down on
paper. If you would like to know more about Linda and her novel, her web site is
http://www.lindaweaverclarke.com.