Foundations of Freedom Thursday – Did Article Six Limit State”€™s Rights? Was The One-Room Schoolhouse Effective? Today on  Foundations of Freedom Thursday, we are answering the questions you”€™ve sent us! As always, from a Biblical, historical, and Constitutional perspective; today we answer questions such as: “€œWhen did Article Six, the religious test clause in the Constitution, change in order to limit the state”€™s rights?”€ and “€œDoes the one-room schoolhouse work?”€ We also talk about white wigs, and how they were a pompous show of status, but they were not a joy to wear or maintain! Join us on this Foundations of Freedom Thursday!

Air Date:Â 11/02/2017

Guests: David Barton, Rick Green, and Tim Barton

Download: Click Here

Transcription note: Â As a courtesy for our listeners’ enjoyment, we are providing a transcription of this podcast. Â However, as this is transcribed from a live talk show, words and sentence structure were not altered to fit grammatical, written norms in order to preserve the integrity of the actual dialogue between the speakers. Additionally, names may be misspelled or we might use an asterisk to indicate a missing word because of the difficulty in understanding the speaker at times. We apologize in advance.

Foundations of Freedom Thursday

Thomas Jefferson Quote:

Thomas Jefferson said, “€œThe Constitution of most of our states, and of the United States, assert that all power is inherent in the people that they may exercise it by themselves. That is their right and duty to be at all times armed, that they are entitled to freedom of person, freedom of religion, freedom of property, and freedom of press.”€

Rick:

Welcome to WallBuilders Live! It”€™s Foundations of Freedom Thursday. That”€™s an opportunity each week to really dive into those foundational, constitutional principles; and to get your questions on those different principles. Every day here on WallBuilders Live, we’re talking about today’s hottest topics on policy, faith, and the culture. Always from a Biblical, historical, and Constitutional perspective.

But Thursday”€™s a little special because we dive specifically into your questions on these principles. We’re here with David Barton. He’s America’s premier historian, and also the founder at WallBuilders. Tim Barton with us also.  He’s our president here at WallBuilders and also a national speaker and pastor.

And my name’s Rick Green. I’m a former Texas state representative. Check us out at WallBuilders.com and also WallBuildersLive.com. Â Those two websites available to you today.

So guys, Foundation of Freedom Thursday, we’ve got a lot of questions. I know we are not going to get to all of them, but I’ll start rapid firing these things at y’all if you’re ready?

David:

Let’s go for it.

Did the Religious Test Clause Originally Limit the States? It Did Not!

Rick:

Alright, first one comes from Tom. He says, “€œI went into the Avalon Project and saw that in eight of the thirteen original states you have to believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in order to serve in public office. In one of those states, you had to believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in order to vote. First of all, I do not think that the Constitution would have been ratified had these states thought that no religious test clause pertained to them. When did this change in the Constitution?”€

Avalon Project Access To Old Documents – WallBuilders Library

David:

Several great things here. Number one, kudos to you for going to the Avalon Project and looking up the original Constitutions.

Tim:

And to read all thirteen, that’s incredible.

David:

That’s great. Every citizen ought to do that, and Avalon Project, we link it off our website at WallBuilders. It”€™s a great source. There are six, or eight, or ten that would link to, that are really good at putting up the original documents so you can see them for yourself.

They don’t have cometary, they don’t have interpretation. They just let you read it. You’re smart enough to know what they say. And so I love this. Â

Tom has done that. He said he says, “€œMan look at this, eight of the thirteen had this. So it doesn’t make sense that they would ratify a First Amendment that would have this religious test clause that would eliminate everything they have in-“€

Exactly Tom. And that’s the way the Constitution is to be read.

Article Six Was Specifically to Limit the Federal Government, Not the States

The Constitution limited only the federal government. It did not limit a single state in any way, shape, fashion, or form. Â Article six in the Constitution, religious test clause, was only the federal government can’t decide what denomination you’re from. States could.

Tim:

And that’s a big deal you pointed out. They couldn’t determine denomination. So they couldn’t say, “€œWait a second, you’re not Anglican. You can’t hold office in federal government.”€

It had nothing to do with saying that we can’t measure the morality of people that are coming in. Because that would be foolish to say, “€œHey, we don’t care what your moral beliefs are. You know what? You believe that women are less than men, you believe that we should throw homosexuals off the rooftop. Hey, you know what, we’re not going to hold that against you because there’s no litmus test.”€ No.That would be foolish. Although, it”€™s what some people argue today.

Congress Was Not to Prefer an Establishment of Religion

The point they were making- even you see it in the First Amendment- was that Congress cannot prefer an establishment of religion in the sense of a denomination.

David:

And by the way, which establi- is it the Baptist establishment? Or is it the Methodist establishment?

Tim:

Or the Congregationalists?

David:

That”€™s right.

Tim:

Because when people talk about the idea of the “€œseparation of church and state.”€ The reason Jefferson wrote a letter to the Baptists of Danbury Connecticut, is because at the time the Congregationalists were the largest denomination in America.  And the Baptists were afraid the Congregationalists were going to take over like they had seen over in Europe. Where a denomination, the king said, “€œOK, everybody’s now Catholic. Everybody’s Anglican.”€

They were afraid that was going to happen in America, and that there was going to be an established religion- to them a denomination. But this established religion. They said, “€œOK, well, we don’t want to do that.”€

Well, Jefferson points out, “€œGuys, you don’t have to worry about that in America. Congress can’t establish a religion. It’s protected in the First Amendment.  Your religious freedom is protected.”€

Back then, Belief in the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost Was Just a Basic Understanding of Morality

But the same thing even with a religious litmus test. They couldn’t say, “€œWait a second, you’re not a Congregationalist, therefore, you can’t hold office.”€

But it’s very different than what their understanding was. Because back then to believe in the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit- the Holy Ghost, that was not about a religious litmus test. Â This was just about basic understanding of morality.

David:

And what happens in the First Amendment, people put the emphasis on the word “€œreligion”€ rather than on the word “€œestablishment.”€ And the emphasis on “€œestablishment.”€

They’re not saying you can’t have religion. Â They are saying you can’t have a particular version of religion. You can’t require everyone to take a Trinitarian test, or a Unitarian test, or you can’t do that.

And you can’t make us all one denomination. Because in Europe, the Lutherans were the state established denomination. Â In Germany, the Anglicans were the state established denomination. Â In Great Britain, the Catholics were the state established nomination, in Spain and France.

And that’s what they’re saying. They”€™re not saying, “€œWe don’t- it’s not that we don’t want religion. We don’t want you to come in and say we all have to be one religion. We get to choose it.”€

Article Six Did Not Limit Citizens or States- Only the Federal Government

And by the way, to say that voters can”€™t have a religious test is ridiculous, as Tim pointed out. This limits only the federal government. So if I as a voter want to say, “€œI’m not going to vote for anybody but Baptists, or Methodist, or Presbyterian.”€ I can do that. The First Amendment and Article six, they did not limit citizens, and they don’t limit states.  They only limit the federal government.

Tim:

And to that end, even the Constitution doesn’t limit states from having-

David:

That”€™s right.

Tim:

Those very explicit regulations saying, “€œWait a second. No, no, no. If you are not this, if you’re not that-“€ No, those states can do that. The federal government cannot, under the Constitution. Now obviously, there have been some changes.  After the Civil War with application of saying, “€œWait a second, no we’re going to take off federal, and we’re going to apply it to states.”€

Since the Civil War, Some of It Has Now Been Applied to States

And so some of that has now been applied to states, to where now we could certainly see that states probably wouldn’t be able to get away with that anymore. But when you look back to the original intent, the idea was that the Constitution is only limiting the federal government. States have the freedom under-

David:

Now, Tim, what you just mentioned is exactly the last part of the question, too. Because when did this change for the states? And it changed for the states you said, after the Civil War. And that”€™s right.

Because the 14th Amendment came through.  The 13th Amendment abolished slavery. The 14th Amendment said, “€œHey, if you’re a former slave in the southern states you get the same rights every other citizen in that state gets.”€  And the 15th Amendment gave voting rights.

Well, you get into the 20th century, and I think it”€™s somewhere around 1919, 1923 in the Gitlow decision, somewhere thereabouts. The Supreme Court said, “€œYou know what? If we look back to 60 years ago when they did the 14th Amendment, and if we squinch our face till our eyes go fuzzy, we can read that amendment to say that the Constitution limits the states instead of the federal government.”€

The Supreme Court Selectively Incorporated The Constitution

And so what happened, they call it the selective incorporation of the Constitution. A phrase by phrase, amendment by amendment, selectively incorporated the Constitution against the states rather than against the federal government. So now the federal government is in charge of telling the states what they can and can’t do. Â And that’s exactly the opposite.

And in the case of a test like this, it was not until 1961. Â Now mark it, 1961. We’re talking almost two centuries after the Founding Fathers did their state constitutions. Â Just a little under that, 175 -80 years. Â 85 years, whatever it was. Â Almost two centuries later; the U.S. Supreme Court in Torcaso vs. Watkins went back and struck down one of those original constitutions.

They struck down the Constitution of Maryland, which required you had to believe in God to hold office. And now remember, Founding Fathers, they’re the ones doing this, and they’re the ones doing the Constitution.

Tom’s exactly right. The Founding Fathers would not tie their own hands with the Constitution on something they gave themselves the right to do. So we’re reading it wrong today. Â And the right way to read it-

You Won”€™t Know The Constitution Is Being Read Wrong Unless You Go Back and Read It For Yourself

Tim:

But you would only know you’re reading it wrong unless you do what Tom did.

David:

That”€™s right. And study it. That”€™s right.

Tim:

And go back and actually read those original things and go, “€œWait a second, they said this? And those are the same guys that did that?”€

This is where, again, you”€™ve said it.  But man; bravo.  Kudos to Tom for going back and reading this. If more Americans went back and read those original writings- what they really did, you see the original ideas, and intent, and design behind what they did. And it changes the way you view the Constitution.

David:

And so what happens is because of that in 1961, the Supreme Court said, “€œOh the Founding Fathers got the Maryland Constitution wrong. You can’t do-“€

Wait a minute, the Founding Fathers got the Constitution wrong? Which Constitution have you sworn to uphold?

And this is where you really point to judicial activism. In the 60″€™s is where judicial activism really started going. And so like Tim said, kudos to Tom.

Go Read The Original Documents

But hopefully, everybody else will do the same thing. Go to our website, check the links to historical documents. Go there to Avalon Project, to others. You can read these original documents. Â Really cool stuff. Great question by Tom.

Rick:

Yeah, good question, Tom. We’re going take a quick break! We’ll be right back with more of our audience questions. If you’ve got a question, send it in to [email protected]. We’ll be right back on WallBuilders Live.

George Washington Quote:

George Washington: “€œThe Constitution approaches nearer to perfection than any other government hitherto instituted among man.”€

American History

This is Tim Barton from WallBuilders with another moment in American history. In 1963, the United States Supreme Court decided that voluntary Bible reading could no longer be part of the school day.

Founding Father Benjamin Rush, known as the father of public schools under the Constitution, pointedly warned that the Bible should be read in schools in preference to all other books.

He specifically warned that if America ever ceased promoting Biblical principles in schools then we would waste so much time and money and punishing crimes. It takes so little pains to prevent them.

He was right, we now have seven million Americans in prison on probation or on parole. The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Sadly, this was unnecessary. Â But is the result of no longer teaching the morals of the Bible in schools.

For more information about the Founding Fathers views on the positive impact of the Bible in schools go to WallBuilders.com.

Did The One-Room Schoolhouse Work? Yes!

Thomas Jefferson Quote:

Thomas Jefferson said, “€œIn questions of power then let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.”€

Rick:

Welcome back to WallBuilders Live! Thanks for staying with us on this Foundations of Freedom Thursday.

Next question is actually anonymous.  And here’s what it says. It says, “€œI am not sure if this is the right place to send this, but I had a comment on a recent discussion on the radio program.”€ So they”€™re a listener, that’s good.

They said, “€œThe ideas about education, and returning to mingling students of various ages were interesting.  But they are just talking points until someone does it and demonstrates that it works.

That’s how the homeschoolers got respect for their ideas, and it’s what would have to happen in order to have anyone acknowledge this is both doable and desirable. I encourage you all to consider starting such a school or throwing your support behind someone who desires to do so. As you’re well aware, the educational establishment is going to resist this idea until it is proven to be valid.”€

Well, it was definitely proven back when we used to do it this way. But David, Tim, so kind of remind us what the discussion was we had that led to this particular question.

Education Has Gone From Having Levels of Knowledge to Just Age Levels

David:

One of the things we were talking about, was five major changes that progressives made when they took over education in the 1920s. They went from having levels of knowledge to just age levels. If you were 8, then you have to- you’re in a group that knows this much, or whatever. And sort of saying, “€œWell, you don’t know how to read, and you’re 14 years old. We put you in knowledge level one.”€

Well, what we do today is say, “€œYou’re 14 years old. OK, you’re in the eighth grade.”€ But what if you don’t know anything?

See what progressive did, they grouped you by your age rather than by how much you knew. And so we used to approach education from a knowledge base, not from an age base- a chronological base.

It used to be that you went to school maybe three months a year.  And then progressives said, “€œNo, no, no. We need you for nine to twelve months. Otherwise, how can we indoctrinate you if we don’t have you the whole time?”€ And then went- they just made so many massive changes. They went from teaching students how to think, to teaching them how to learn.

Schools Began Producing Factory Workers Instead of Thinkers and Problem Solvers

Tim:

Let me throw out another thought too.  So this is also just kind of understanding maybe even some of the progressive thought and idea. This is also when we have the kind of the factory boom going on, and progressives taking over. And they realized, “€œHey, we need good factory workers.”€ And for a factory worker, you don’t need to be a problem solver. You need to take orders. Just do whatever you’re told.

And so education starts shifting, going that direction. Where students- “€œHey,  just memorize it. Just do this. Just trust me on this.”€ And so our schools instead of producing thinkers and problem solvers, begin producing factory workers who can just mind their-

David:

Mass production.

Tim:

…business and do what they were told. But this was part of progressives. Â You can see how they laid this out. But this was part of their strategy, was almost to dumb down individuals in school.

McDonaldization of Education

David:

Today they call it McDonaldization of education. McDonald’s is great at cranking out burgers. They all look the same, all taste the same, and you just crank them out, crank them out.

And that’s what we’ve done to education- is McDonaldization of education. We don’t turn out individual students. We turn out students that all look like the same hamburger. And so that’s what progressives have done.

They”€™ve taken individuality away.  They make you part of a group. And that’s why today we don’t think about individuals having inalienable rights. We think about whether this group should have more rights, this group should have less rights.  Whether the rich should be different from the poor. We break everything. And that’s all progressive thinking.

So as looking at how we got around that, we pointed to the fact that you had the one-room schoolhouse. And in there, they all were the- you had all different ages thrown together. You’d have eighteen-year-olds with six-year-olds, and they all learned at the same time. And and the teacher taught everyone individually.

Tim:

And let me back up. Â So you said eighteen-year-olds with six-year-olds. In the one-room schoolhouse, if you’re eighteen, you are way behind.

David:

Yeah, you should’ve graduated when you were fourteen.

The One-Room Schoolhouse Had Eight Levels, and the Goal Was Content Mastery

Tim:

Right. Because the one-room schoolhouse, you only had the eighth level. Which we would know as the eighth grade. Â But only went to the eighth level. And generally between the age of eleven and fourteen is when you finished the eighth level, which was by content mastery.

So you had learned enough, or you mastered the content enough, that at this point now if you’re eleven to fourteen, you’re ready for college.  You”€™re ready to get a job, you’re ready to whatever your next step of life was.

And so this wasn’t even just this idea of these four to six-year-olds all the way up to eighteen. No, and really they were almost a lot closer together in age except they just had such this huge breadth of knowledge that they grasped.  And they grasped it so well and very quickly. Whereas, today well, “€œWait a second.  No, you’re in fourth grade? You don’t need to know how to do that yet.”€

David:

Yeah.

Tim:

“€œThat’s not till the sixth grade, and that’s not till the eighth grade.”€ Instead of, “€œNo, no, no. Let’s just master content.”€ And the faster you master content, then the faster you can excel and grasp more content.

Today In Schools We Keep Kids From Advancing

And this is one of the big areas where education fails, is not only do we put everybody in the same category, we keep them from advancing.

David:

That”€™s right.

Tim:

In that category, until you are another year older and ready for the fifth or sixth grade.

David:

And that’s why you have so many kids in school who are bored because they want to go so much faster. Or you have to go for mediocrity because instead of teaching the smart kids you got to shoot for the middle of the class. Because you got some kids that aren”€™t smart, some that are.

If You Teach Something, It Helps You Learn It Even More

And so we’re holding them by age. And one of the things you know is that if you teach something, it helps you learn it even more. One of the ways you really learn something is by teaching others, Â Whether it be you become a youth coach in basketball, or football, or whatever. You start learning more about it.

Well, that’s what we used to have in a one-room schoolhouse. The twelve-year-olds were teaching the nine-year-olds, but what they’d already learned. And so by doing that- and by the way, that’s the way we raise families. We don’t say, “€œOK, all my nine-year-old daughters over here in this bedroom.  All my twelve-year-old daughters over here in this bedroom, all my fourteen-year-olds-“€

No, we put them all together. We mix them all up. That”€™s what a family is, is all different ages and personalities.  We mix them together. And so what we’ve done, and progressive stuff is really contrary to even the rule of nature, and the rule that we do families.

Brookhill Ranch Summer Camp

And Tim, you are a teacher- for years you were one of the camp counselors for Brookhill and we think that’s the best Christian camp out there. There are great Christian camps all over the United States, but we are really fans of Brookhill. I’ve mentioned before-

Rick:

Because we’ve seen the results. Â We’ve seen what it did for our own kids, David.

David:

Yeah, and not only with- because what Brookhill does, they put you in dorm rooms; guys in one dorm room, girls in the other.

Tim:

Well, dorm sounds a little more extravagant.

David:

Well, that”€™s true.

Tim:

Because this is out on a ranch, and so they do have kind of these cabins out on the ranch. And it is really old school. They don’t even have air conditioning.  They have big box fans and in all the corners. And so every kid”€™s bringing their own fan. But you have third through ninth graders that are the campers in this cabin.

Third Through Ninth Graders Stay in the Same Cabin

David:

And they”€™re all in the same cabin. Third through ninth graders in the same cabin.

Tim:

Then you have tenth, eleventh, and twelfth graders that are your junior counselors.  And then your college-age students are your senior counselors of the bunkhouse. So when I was a senior counselor, I mean it was strategically what we do so that the kids that are eighth or ninth grade that are in your cabin.  You pull them aside the very first day and say, “€œOK guys, here’s the thing.  We’ve got a lot of these young kids and we got to watch out for them. We got to help be the leaders, we got help set the tone.”€

You Set Up Your Older Kids to Be the Leaders

And so you set up your older kids to be the leaders. So they understand, “€œHey, I’m the leader and I’m going to help.”€ And you put a vision of leadership in them.

Well, then you have your sophomore, juniors, and seniors from high school that are serving. And so you’re helping them learn this servant leadership. “€œHey guys, so we get help every morning when the kids get up.  We’re going to help make their beds, and we’re going to clean, and so-“€ Â

But you are teaching them to function as a unit and as a family. And so all the third graders are looking up to these eight, ninth graders going, “€œThey”€™re so cool! They talk to me, and they hang out with me, and they helped carry my backpack in!”€ It’s an incredible-

David:

And it helps the third graders become more mature.

It”€™s An Incredible Cohesive Unit

Tim:

It’s an incredible, cohesive unit. It brings the third graders up, it helps the eighth and ninth graders learn to develop leadership and to think about somebody outside themself. I mean the whole structure is just incredible how it develops.

All of these kids, and so much and we talk about the activities and things that.  You always make the joke, “€œLawyers would hate this camp because kids get to ride horses and go-carts and-“€

David:

And shoot rifles and archery-

Tim:

They actually don’t even wear helmets on the horses or the go-carts, and all these things they do. But in the midst of it, they are learning some incredible life lessons.

It”€™s A Lot Like the Idea of a One-Room Schoolhouse, They Are All Helping Each Other Learn Different Lessons

It is a lot of like the idea of a one-room schoolhouse, where together they are making this cohesive unit. Â And they’re all helping each other learn different lessons.

David:

Think about even a homeschool family. Because the question here addressed homeschoolers. Well, homeschoolers- how? Homeschoolers all learn together. It’s a one-room schoolhouse for a family.

And consistently homeschoolers get two to four grade levels higher academic scores on the identical academic test that public schools take. But this method of mixing them all together, you get better results.

Tim:

Yeah. And so certainly with traditional homeschool, you do see that. Now, you see a lot more homeschoolers almost outsourcing, to where their kids are going to some church to take the science class away.

Homeschoolers Follow the One-Room Schoolhouse Pattern And Consistently Show Better Results Than Public Schools

And so even in homeschool, there is some more traditional in the sense of modern, traditional education on some levels. But you do see it. Â You’re right, with homeschool families to this day- and they do excel statistically on average above public schools as far as their academic performance when you look at the A.C.T. and S.A.T.

David:

Well, here’s one more. It just so happened that we got a note in this week on this very question.  Unrelated, of course, they didn’t know that this question was being asked. But I want to read this note.  It says, “€œDavid; I, my mom, and my two daughters went to the same one-room schoolhouse first through eighth grade.”€

There you are again. Â You only went through eighth grade then you either got a job or went to college.

“€œ—first through eighth grade. My daughters always tested the national test in the “€˜genius”€™ category. In a one-room schoolhouse, you’re going to hear everything nine times. When the young kids need help, they get help from an older student. When I was in kindergarten, our teacher was 18 years old with 32 students and all nine grades. I ran into her a while back, and she reported-“€

Letter From Family That Had Kids Graduate From Both the Progressive System, and From the Old System

Tim:

Now nine grades would be kindergarten through eighth grade. Is what we”€™re talking about. Because it only went to the eighth grade, but kindergarten is he”€™s including as one of these grades.

David:

“€œI ran into my teacher a while back, and she reported she had no trouble. We burned our own trash. We cleaned our own school and all drank out of the same cup. And if in trouble in school- and if we got in trouble at school, we got in more trouble when we got home.”€

Tim:

Absolutely.

Rick:

My wife would hate that drink out of the same cup thing. Â

Tim:

Oh yeah.

Rick:

She”€™d be all germs, all-

Tim:

And actually, every homeschool mom listening right now is saying, “€œOh no, we would never do that.”€ Just building a strong immune system, that’s all we’re doing. We are helping our immune system.

David:

If you’re on a ranch and grew up as a kid, you saw the dog drink out of the bowl. So it’s got to be good enough. Â You get germs and then you get immunity.

So- he says, “€œI could go on and on. My daughters are very, very successful and they’re the top of their fields. The state of Nebraska closed these schools, and our son had to go to public school. He struggled, but passed with OK grades.”€

The One-Room Schoolhouse Has Been Proven Successful Over and Over Again

So in his family, he’s got graduates of the progressive system, and graduates of the old system. And what a difference he saw, in his own family, with the kids from that.  The one-room schoolhouse has proved t0 be effective over and over again. That’s a good way to go back to- but great comment. Allows us to extrapolate and expand on that a little bit. Good comment.

Rick:

Hey, David, before we go to break. Â So the person writing the letter, this was a recent letter? When was this?

David:

The person writing the letter, it came in actually the day after I got the question.

Rick:

Ok.

David:

So it’s recent. I mean this is-

Rick:

Interesting.

David:

And by the way, I think South Dakota still has the one-room schoolhouse. There are parts of the Dakotas. Â I think there are parts of Colorado that still have them.

Tim:

Yeah, there are a few states that still have one-room schoolhouse. It’s very unique, but there are a few states that still do.

David:

Yep.

Rick:

Interesting. All right, quick break. We’ll be back. We’ve got time for one more question today stay with us. You’re listening to WallBuilders Live.

Calvin Coolidge Quote:

Calvin Coolidge said, “€œThe more I study the Constitution, the more I realize that no other document devised by the hand of man has brought so much progress and happiness to humanity. To live under the American Constitution is the greatest political privilege that was ever recorded to the human race.”€

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Samuel Adams Quote:

Samuel Adams said, “€œThe liberties of our country and the freedom of our civil Constitution are worth defending against all hazards, and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks.”€ Â

Rick:

Welcome back to WallBuilders Live. Â Thanks for staying with us! Only a few minutes left today. Â So we got a quick question. One left for you guys.

What Was the Significance of the White Wigs?

Here it is from David. “€œHello,-“€ not from David Barton- from David Mullin to David Barton, to Tim Barton.  “€œHello. Was the use-“€ This is kind of funny actually. “€œWas the white wig a political symbol, a wealth symbol, a military one for commanders or judges, as their robes were symbols of authority?  God bless you. And Merry Christmas.”€

Already, see these guys love Christmas with you, David.

David:

We got them indoctrinated right, man.They got the right view on the world.

Rick:

No doubt. You guys have your white wigs on before we ask this question, pull them out from under. Â Everybody get your wigs out from under the tables. Here we go.

Tim:

So actually, if it”€™s just white, my dad’s pretty much almost there.

Rick:

I’m getting close to that. Â I shouldn’t laugh.

Tim:

My wife points to an individual hair saying that’s my wisdom.

David:

I take it. Â that’s not a microaggression, that’s a macroaggression.

Tim:

That was that was a macro for sure.

David:

And I take offense to- that’s not a wig. They’re all attached. You can pull on it if you want to. They’re all there. They’re real.

White Wigs Started Back in 1624 Under Louis the 13th

So the answer to the question is powdered wigs. Â White wigs started back in 1624 under Louis the 13th. They became symbols of the Royal Court. So they became big in Great Britain as well. They came to America with the colonial governors, the British governors that were sent here. Because I mean they were very class conscious.

And so here they are in America with all these colonists. And so the governors wore wigs. Â Then those in the legislature were wigs. But you got to remember, in colonial America they did not like that ostentatious kind of stuff. Â They didn’t like the royalty, they didn’t like the High Church.

That’s why in New England, till I think is 1870 or thereabouts, it was illegal in New England til 1870″€™s. Because that was a High Church tradition, you didn’t do that.

We”€™re just common people. And so they did not do wigs in New England area. But interestingly, the wigs were often made out of horsehair or out of goat hair. And they didn’t get washed, and they stunk, and they often were filled with lice.

Tim:

I don’t want to be royalty.

Rick:

Put those wigs back, that we pulled out from under the table.

The Wigs Were A Status Symbol, But They Stunk and Often Had Lice

David:

The reason they call them powdered wigs, is you powdered the lice and you put lavender scent in there to make the wig smell good. So your powdered wigs were putting white starch in there with some perfume, so that when you wore the stinky wig and- so very, very few of the Founding Fathers actually wore those wigs. We weren’t into the royalty symbol.

It was a status symbol. Â And the richer you are, the wealthier you are, the higher you are- the bigger your wig. Â The more poof it has, and the more-

But that wasn’t us.  There are a few times where you’ll see wigs on Americans.  But it’s just not that big a deal. Reverend Jared talked about if he- in Virginia, that’s a high church-state. If he had seen a wig it would have scared his horse and scared him. They didn”€™t really do them much.

Rick:

I do think. though, if you look at that portrait of George Mason we often use. I do think he invented the mullet.

From The One-Room Schoolhouse to White Wigs… Thanks For Listening to Foundations of Freedom Thursday

David:

Yeah, there you go.

Rick:

Yeah. So it wasn”€™t Billy Ray Cyrus.  It was George Mason- father the Bill of Rights.

Alright, folks. Â That’s enough on here today. Thank you for listening.

Send in your questions, by the way. Â We love getting your questions for Foundations of Freedom Thursday. You can send them in to [email protected]. That’s [email protected]. You’ve been listening to WallBuilders Live.

President Calvin Coolidge Quote:

President Calvin Coolidge said: “€œThe more I study the Constitution, the more I realize that no other document devised by the hand of man has brought so much progress and happiness to humanity. To live under the American Constitution is the greatest political privilege that was ever recorded to the human race.”€

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