I'm studying the Revolutionary War this year. I have lots of books I want to read, I finished 1776 and am getting through John Adams rather quickly. Some thoughts I have from what I've read so far:

-Maybe it's just David McCullough, the author, but over and over he mentions instances that in one way or another appear to be directed by God. I can't tell you how many times he tells a story from the Revolutionary War that indicates the Americans received help from above.

Example) (This is when the troops were retreating off Long Island). "Though nearly morning, a large part of the army still waited to embark, and without the curtain of night to conceal them, their escape was doomed.

Incredibly, yet again, circumstances--fate, luck, Providence, the hand of God, as would be said so often--intervened. Just at daybreak a heavy fog settled in over the whole of Brooklyn, concealing everything no less than had the night. It was a fog so thick, remembered a soldier, that one "could scarecely discern a man at six yards distance." Even with the sun up, the fog remained as dense as ever, while over on the New York side of the river there was no fog at all."

It's so faith-strengthening reading about the beginnings of our country. America really is such an amazing story.

Another observation I've had, mostly from reading John Adams, and now watching the HBO series "John Adams," is that our rights are God-given, not government-given. In the tv series, John Dickinson is trying to persuade Congress to give an olive branch to Great Britain and that by appeasing the crown America would receive back its rights. Adams persistently argues that Great Britain created the separation when it tried to take away American's rights and that rights are not given to us from the government, but from God. We especially see this happening today where the government is claiming to be the giver of rights. This is very dangerous, I'm sure Adams, Jefferson, Washington, and Franklin are rolling in their graves seeing the government trying to assert itself as the giver of rights. The Constitution was established to protect the people from the government. By the way, Washington was amazing! What do you think about Washington Beck? Or Adams Washington Beck?