Acknowledgments & Preface
7
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Though an attorney (please do not hold that against me!) and former Texas State Representative involved in defending our founding principles for twenty years, I am not in any way claiming to be a Constitutional guru. I am not, by a long shot, the foremost expert on the Constitution. In fact, I am just like you. I am a citizen that is learning as I go.
One of the great benefits of co-hosting “WallBuilders Live! with David Barton and Rick Green” is the privilege of always learning new things about the Constitution and pieces of history that helped me to better understand the document.
I have the privilege of working with someone who is one of the foremost experts on the Founding Fathers and our Founding Documents, David Barton. Through my work as host of WallBuilders Live!, I also get to interview and spend time with some of the greatest legal and constitutional minds of our day. Mat Staver, Kelly Shackleford, Brad Dacus, Ed Meece, John Eidsmoe, Newt Gingrich, Mike Farris, Congressman Louis Gohmert, and so many others. We also work with some amazing individuals who have been responsible for re-igniting interest in our founding documents: Glenn Beck, Dennis Prager, Rabbi Daniel Lapin, Bob McEwen, Gen. Jerry Boykin, Chuck Norris, and more great Americans than we have space to list here. It is from these individuals that I almost daily discover new golden nuggets of information that send me back to the writings of the Founding Fathers for more understanding about the greatest government documents ever conceived in history.
I include all of that information to simply say that you do not need to be an attorney or professor or any other kind of “expert” to study the Constitution and understand the principles of America. In this class, we will discover the admonishment of America’s Founders for “every citizen,” regardless of background,
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CONSTITUTIONAL DEFENSE
education, or position, to read and study the Constitution. The very purpose of this book is to give all of us the tools to do that. We are in this together, so together, let us study and learn and improve.
To David Barton, forgive me for being repetitive, but the same words apply even more today than when I wrote Freedom’s Frame. You live more like Christ than any other man I have ever known. Thank you for your example, your mentorship, and your friendship. Like many others, I am taking a leisurely stroll down a path that you labored long and hard to blaze. Generations are indebted to you for the role you have played in preserving our nation’s heritage.
To the Torch of Freedom Foundation Board and supporters, thanks for investing in the next generation.
To Mom and Dad, thank you for instilling a love of America and Her principles.
To my Sovereign Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, thank you for the most important freedom of all.
To my wife, Kara, thank you for accepting the calling the Lord has put on our lives. No matter how many twists and turns, victories and defeats, highs and lows, you continue to be the most amazing, steadfast partner I could ever have dreamed I would have.
To Mike Holler for creating the Constitution Made Easy.
To the instructors and staff of the Constitutional Defense Program at the Patriot Academy Campus, thank you for running a smooth and effective operation. Thank you for the expert training you provide and for making it fun during the process!
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PREFACE
This Classroom Workbook is your easy-to-use note-taking tool during the classroom presentation of CONSTITUTIONAL DEFENSE!
If you are attending the abbreviated version of the course, there will be many blanks or sections left uncovered…think of that part as homework! All of the answers are found in the back of this workbook, and more detail can be found by watching the full DVD version. Some questions and answers are purposefully not covered in the DVDs so that you can enjoy the process of your own hunt for national treasures!
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CONSTITUTIONAL DEFENSE
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