Defending Faith and Freedom

By Emma Cross ('26) and Meredith Higgins ('26)

Emma Cross (l) and Meredith Higgins (r)

We are proud to feature this exemplar piece, co-written by two seniors, Emma Cross and Meredith Higgins. Their work offers a well-researched and thoughtfully articulated exploration of liberty as envisioned by America’s Founding Fathers. Grounded in historical evidence and careful analysis, the essay examines how faith, freedom, and liberty shaped the principles that gave rise to our nation. Inspired by Ben Hart’s writing Faith and Freedom, the students build on Hart’s insights to consider how moral conviction and religious belief informed the Founders’ understanding of true liberty. Timely and reflective, this work connects those enduring ideals to the 250th celebration of America, reminding us that the foundations of our republic remain both relevant and inspiring today. 

Throughout Benjamin Hart’s patriotic reflective writing, Faith and Freedom, he explains and teaches that the ideas of faith and national liberty are intertwined within the context of the founding of America. Within the introduction to this piece, Hart included a statement of purpose; “The plan of this book is to correct the many popular misconceptions about America’s past, repair the damage inflicted upon our nation’s heritage by the liberal history lesson, and to tell the true story of the unfolding of an idea we often take for granted-the idea of Liberty. Our mission as citizens is to rediscover exactly how it is we came to be Americans so that we understand exactly what is required to remain Americans” (Hart 28-29). The book is framed around this propositional statement, which defines the goal that Hart desires every American to understand about the foundation of government of early America. Hart succeeds in this goal through addressing misconceptions by defending the truth, telling the truth and knowing the truth so that Americans can best understand the roots of their nation. 

One of the greatest misconceptions about America’s founding is the idea that freedom is simply the absence of constraints. Hart counters this by saying that true freedom is rooted in responsibility that requires protection. This shows the significance of a strong foundation of a government. Hart explains the context of Jamestown in its early days, when it was lacking order and growing to be more unruly. In response to this chaos, Sir Thomas Dale said, “The price for liberty is responsibility, the colonists…had abdicated their responsibilities, and as a result had lost their liberties.” (Hart 145). This displays the necessity of a government that protects and outlines clearly defined laws to keep the people orderly and safe. As a result, lacking these things leaves leeway for chaos in a society that has the freedom to do anything, including unjust and immoral things. The solution for this is establishing proper definitions and regulations that not only allow freedom to flourish but also preserves it. The outcome is that society will not fall into chaos that ultimately takes away freedoms of some, but instead will pave the way for accountable freedom for all. 

In the establishment of America, another common misconception is that history is just facts, not interpretation. Hart strongly disagrees with this statement saying that it is because of the modern, secular worldview that is prominently found in historical reflective writings today. Modern historians have twisted history according to their bias, leaving out the facts that include the influence of Christianity in the founding of America despite the truth this may leave out. Hart blatantly rebuttals this deception by explaining how the early founders understood the sinful nature of humanity and applied it to how they constructed America. They had a “Christian understanding of human nature” which influenced the format of the government because it took selfishness of the people into account, (Hart 321). Current historians remove God and hide the Christian roots of the nation because to them, it gets in the way of proving that freedom in America can be separate and thrive despite religion. They seek to prove that America was founded in spite of religious influence, and therefore liberty can be protected without considering Christian morals. This is not necessarily true because freedom and faith were so tightly knit together during the founding of the country, as the writers themselves had the lens and bias of the virtues outlined in Scripture. 

To tell the true story of liberty, Hart emphasizes that freedom in America was never meant to exist apart from moral responsibility and divine order. The colonists understood liberty as a sacred trust given by God, not simply the absence of restraint. As the Declaration of Independence states, people are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights..life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” (Hart, 280). This truth defines liberty as something that must be protected through moral discipline and lawful structure. Hart reminds readers that liberty depends on virtue, and when virtue declines, so does freedom. As John Dickinson, a Founding Father and American statesman from Pennsylvania, observed, “When states lose their liberty, he said, ‘this calamity is generally owing to the decay of virtue’” (Hart, 251). In this way, liberty unfolds not through rebellion or self-interest, but through shared moral foundations that align human freedoms with divine will. 

Freedom needs to be defended, and this is where Americans of the current day have a role which they need to perform. Through the changing times new problems have arisen in the country, and since they are new problems there is a habit growing to treat them with modern ways rather than the established way for 240 years. When the Constitution was first coming into play, the need to defend freedom was seen, and that is why the Declaration of Rights was important for the Continental Congress to pass. Back then, “the sacred ties of virtue, honor and love of country” were present in the American founders and people, (Hart, 264). Today, it is important that Americans continue to value these attributes, and continue to love the country which has such a strong foundation. To love the country better, Americans must understand its foundation so that they may continue the building. 

The American Constitution frames the government in terms of ensuring the liberty of the people and perpetuating their prosperity. This is a key factor to the need for the current day Americans to protect this document, and continue to uphold it. It was constructed for the good of the people, but this document is something that some Americans are beginning to dislike. The purpose of this was to protect the rights of the people without allowing the government to take over. However, understanding that people, ungoverned, would lead to problems, they constructed a government that was limited but still active, and people that were free yet still regulated. The Constitution starts off saying this: “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America” (Hart, 318). This means that the government was to look after the welfare, the protection of the people and take care of them, but establish some rules that would keep the people happy, safe, and progressing. In establishing America's rights, the commands of Heaven were the basis for morality, rules, and law. The leaders agreed that people of our sinful, human nature are deceitful, and so self-interest must be properly channeled to lift up the community. The same was true with the government, and that is why balance was needed. In the writing of these rights, the founders believed that only God’s spirit could help others resolve their differences and create a new government founded upon truth. This all displays the importance of current Americans' role in upholding this document, because in the end, it is what is needed to sustain their rights and freedoms. 

In conclusion, Benjamin Hart’s Faith and Freedom demonstrates that America’s founding document cannot be understood fully if the relationship between faith, virtue and liberty are separate. This is a significant part of the process to learn the true story of the unfolding of the idea of liberty in America. Hart confronted many historical misconceptions, and this was necessary to show that freedom was never intended to exist without morality and divine guidance within the process in America. The founders’ Christian understanding of human nature of sin and selfishness was key in creating this document successfully. Hart ultimately calls on modern Americans to rediscover these roots, so that they may be able to more productively preserve the freedom that was intended for Americas, and better uphold the morality and spirituality that the nation was built on.