Book Review on
Original Intent:
The Courts, the Constitution & Religion
By David Barton
This book is, in my mind, one of the most important books to have been written since the birth of America as a nation. I say that because of the possible impact that it could have on America if each and every American were to acknowledge the true history of our nation and her people, and to fight to implement its honest conclusions.
A telling sign of this book's importance is in the criticism of those on the left, and the vitriol which they hurl against it and the author. They call themselves "church-state separationists," and they comprise of individuals who align themselves into groups such as the misnamed "People for the American Way" and "positiveatheism.org", "michiganatheists.org", as well as many other like-minded individuals. They make various claims against Barton, such as a belief that many of the quotes are bogus and have no origination in any preserved or extant documents. They also throw out assertions intended to harm his character, including that Barton is not a "lettered" historian, having no formal secondary education in history.
As to the first claim, it should be known that Barton used a scholarly approach in determining which quotes to include in his book. After the publication of his first book on the subject, The Myth of Separation, and the resulting criticism from the left, Barton determined to leave no possibility of criticism on these grounds in future editions and writings, and established more rigorous criteria for inclusion of a quotation in his books/works. Whereas in the past, he used the scholarly approach of insuring that any quotations "have been documented in a completely acceptable fashion for academic works," he instituted a much more stringent criteria which matched legal standards of any court of law in the United States, "relying solely on primary or original sources, using best evidence, rather than relying on the writings of attorneys, professors, or historians".
The interesting aspect of the result of all this hoopla, is that even if the critics were correct (and they are not) and we were to remove the dozen or so questionable quotations, the main thrust of the book remains intact, resulting in absolutely no damage to the thesis.
As to the second claim, it can easily be dismissed on two grounds:
1. Barton's scholarly approach is readily discerned in the book itself.
Barton's book is filled with over 1400 footnotes detailing the origination of all quotations from source documents. His "unschooled" work rivals/surpasses many other works by schooled historians.
2. The charge is an ad hominem attack.
Ad hominem attacks are attacks which seek to harm the argument by harming the author of the argument. This is done by attacking his integrity or character by allusion to some personal deficiency or other defect in his person or being. Ad hominem attacks are considered by any scholarly critic to be outside of the realm of acceptance. The idea is that the argument does not stand or fall by the character or integrity of the sayer, but by the strength of the statements accuracy and logic.
While one could certainly make an argument that a liar's work is unworthy of honest consideration, one must first establish that Barton's work can be defined in such a way - and this from an unbiased source.
Barton originally published The Myth of Separation, in 1988. That book was heavily researched with over 700 footnotes. The main purpose and thrust of this book was to counter the ridiculous claims of the atheists and other leftists who boldly stated that our Founding Fathers were all atheists. They might concede that some were deists, but they were certainly not Christian.
An example of this can be seen in the forward to a book written by the comedian, Steve Allen. In the forward of his book, Martin Gardner makes the incredible claim that,
"...Washington, John Adams, Franklin, Jefferson, and most of the other founding fathers, as well as Lincoln, were not Christians".
Though not an outright lie, this claim is stated in such a fashion as to suggest that the opposite corollary is true: that these men were either infidels, or indifferent to the Christian religion. Yet Barton's book clearly establishes this as completely false.
This claim regarding the Founding Fathers was repeated quite often by those who were opposing Pat Robertson, and Jerry Falwell, and many of the other Christians who were speaking out against the immoral trending in our society away from God in our government, and schools, and our society in general. And this, undoubtedly, was a main reason for the writing of Myth.
When Barton's Myth was published, it lit a fire of incredible magnitude in the loins of Christians who were desperately trying to understand why everything seemed to be falling apart in our society: the Boy Scouts were under attack, prayer was under attack, AIDS was pandemic, homosexuality was being promoted and forced upon society, etc.
After the initial criticisms were levied at Barton's book, Myth, he went to work to expand the scope of the book, and to make any corrections to those criticisms which were valid, resulting in a ton of background materials, and 6 appendices, making his new book, Original Intent, one of the most heavily footnoted books of 1996.
This book can be best described as a window into our past. The greatest obstacle to understanding the material is in understanding the context of the times in regards to our American ancestors (specifically our Founding Father's) thinking and understanding. This book brings a clarity unforeseen heretofore, and illuminates our understanding.
The book gives weight to discussions that argue for the historicity of a Christian Nation. Because of the work of this book, you will see that the criticisms do not come from your typical historian or book critic, but from those on the further extremes of the left. This is primarily due to the scholarly work of Barton, and its strength against frivolous arguments. When all is said and done, there is nothing to attack regarding the book, so they instead attack the author, by generalizing against Barton, and those who have come to learn the truth regarding our nation's Founding Fathers.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2010
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Top reviews from other countries
Gianni Zanetti
Interesting Conclusions, precise fact collection
Reviewed in Germany on December 20, 2014