[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 108 (Tuesday, August 4, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1529]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E1529]]



   ENCOURAGING THE STUDY OF OUR FOUNDING DOCUMENTS BY SCHOOL CHILDREN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NEWT GINGRICH

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, August 4, 1998

  Mr. GINGRICH. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing a House Concurrent 
Resolution encouraging schools to dedicate at least one day of learning 
during the school year to studying the founding documents of our great 
nation: the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the 
Federalist Papers.
  These works establish the fundamental principles upon which the 
American experiment in government is based. They are the core that 
makes America unique and different from the rest of the world. In 
Europe, power was bestowed from God to the King who ruled the people. 
In this model, the center of power is the state. However, in the 
American model, power comes from God to the citizen who then lends it 
to the state. Self governance requires very hard work, patience, and 
persistence, but it also guarantees us freedom.
  Further, I think it would be very healthy for every teacher and every 
student in America to spend time wrestling with the question. ``What 
did the Founding Fathers mean by the term ``Creator''? The Declaration 
of Independence states: ``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.'' I believe that when children start to realize 
that each and every person is endowed by God, then they begin to 
understand that if you sell them drugs, you are corrupting a person 
endowed by God. In fact, every violation of a person's unalienable 
rights is a violation of a Creator endowed right. I believe this 
understanding of our relationship with each other reorients the way we 
view each other in and the American body politic.
  These are fundamental concepts which need to be reinforced for every 
child in America. I want to commend Senator Grace Kearns from Ohio, 
Senator Don Benton from Washington, Senator Colin Bonini from Delaware, 
Georgia Senator Chuck Clay, State Representative Andre Bauer from South 
Carolina, and Alabama Representative Bob McKee for introducing bills to 
implement this idea at the state level and Assemblyman Keith Olberg 
from California for getting a similar bill passed in California in 1996 
requiring these documents to be specifically taught in high schools. I 
hope that my colleague in the House will join me in encouraging more 
study of the founding documents by American school children.

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