Capitol Annex 7/7/09More David Barton: A Closer Look At His Analysis Of The Texas Social Studies TEKS(snip) Barton's analysis
Students should be familiar with the fundamental principles of America government set forth in the 126 words in the first three sentences at the beginning of the Declaration and those principles should be regularly reviewed throughout their tenure as a student:
When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitles them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. 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. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.
(It is from this section that students are to recite by memory under state law.)
The principles set forth here and subsequently secured in the Constitution and Bill of Rights include:
1. There is a fixed moral law derived from God and nature
2. There is a Creator
3. The Creator gives to man certain unalienable rights
4. Government exists primarily to protect God-given rights to every individual
5. Below God-given rights and moral law, government is directed by the consent of the governed
Capitol Annex 7/7/09Barton’s Review Of Social Studies Standards Lacks Much To Be Desired (Including Actual Facts)(snip)
In his review, Barton writes that the signers of the Declaration of Independence and the sacrifices they made must have more focus placed on them in the curriculum standards. He writes:
2. The Signatories of the Declaration and the Sacrifices they Made. Nowhere do the TEKS indicate that the writers of the Declaration should be examined; rather they only vaguely mention that students should “identify the contributions of significant individuals during the revolutionary period, including Thomas Jefferson and George Washington”
. The current modern trend is to present only two or three signers of the Declaration (in the aforementioned case, only one); and almost universally absent is any presentation of the personal sacrifices incurred in honoring their pledge of giving their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor. Virtually unknown to this generation are their sacrifices – that 7 of the 56 signers died during the Revolution; that 3 were made prisoners of war (and 3 wives of the signers were also made prisoners of war); 3 signers lost their children; 3 lost their wives; 17 lost their fortunes and estates; several lost their health; etc. Students should be asked to identify and study not just the typical two or three signers but several of them, including their character, sacrifices, family, and leadership. Such an historical examination will also inculcate the elements of patriotism and citizenship required by state law.
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Barton’s statistics about Declaration signers somehow sounded familiar to us. Then, we remembered it sounded similar to an e-mail forward that started making the rounds back in 2000. That email was collected and debunked at Snopes.com. Kudos to Vince at Capitol Annex for "exposing" Barton as a big fake!
Sonia