The Price of Freedom

In one of the bleakest moments of the American Revolution, General Washington was in dire need of inspiring his ragged and dejected troops, many of whose enlistments were set to expire soon. The continental army had suffered a series of defeats in New York State and had been forced to retreat toward New Jersey. The prospect of the revolution surviving was in doubt. It was at this time that Washington resolved to embark on one of the most daring and crucial missions of the war. On Christmas night of 1776 he led his troops across the icy Delaware River and marched throughout the night to launch a surprise attack on Hessian forces stationed at Trenton, New Jersey. The victory at Trenton and subsequently at Princeton was key to reviving the revolution and convincing many that Washington's army could stand against the vastly superior British forces.

Washington crossing the Delaware

As General Washington was preparing for this historic campaign, he knew the troops needed to be reminded of the divine errand in which they were engaged. To do this, on December 23, 1776 he had an essay read to the men entitled THE AMERICAN CRISIS by Thomas Paine. It began with the words that have been repeated so often since that time,

“These are the times that try men souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”

Paine’s words were stirring to the troops. The essay continued as follows.

“the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated.”

These men were being called upon to pay the price the God of Heaven had put on freedom, and it was a high price indeed. As they heard these inspired words Washington’s soldiers rose to the occasion. The cost they paid was great, and the triumph they achieved was glorious.

Much has been said over the years about the stalwart men who stood up at their time in history to sign ‘their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor’ to the declaration of independence that has been bequeathed to us. Consider the price they were required to pay. Fifty-six men placed their signatures on that document in 1776. As cited by Ezra Taft Benson in his book THIS NATION SHALL ENDURE, at least nine of them died as a result of the war for independence or the hardships placed upon them incident to the war. One of these men was Caeser Rodney. Despite the warnings of his doctors and family, Rodney crawled from his sickbed where he was suffering from cancer and traveled throughout the night during a severe storm to arrive just in time to cast a deciding vote for his delegation in favor of declaring independence. This action led to Rodney’s death.

Fifteen of the signers of the Declaration of Independence lost their considerable fortunes as the cost of their stance for liberty.

All fifty-five signers of the declaration made a decision that committed them to a course. If the British had won the war, all of them would have been executed as traitors to the crown. However, knowing this could be the eventual outcome, every one of them placed their trust in God and in the knowledge that God intended men to be free. For this faith they were willing to put forward their very lives.


Today we enjoy the gift that was purchased at such a dear cost by those who went before us. What others paid the highest price to attain was passed down to us as a legacy with neither cost nor requirement. They undoubtedly knew the cost would be significant, but were willing to pay the price heaven had placed upon the most desirable of its goods.

John Adams, the second president of the United States and a man honored as one of the founding fathers of our nation summed up the position of these great men very eloquently. Referring to his decision to sign the Declaration of Independence, Adams said the following:

“Sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish, I give my hand and my heart to this vote. It is true, indeed, that in the beginning we aimed not at independence. But there’s a Divinity which shapes our ends. . . . Why, then, should we defer the declaration? . . . . You and I, indeed may rue it. We may not live to see the time when this Declaration shall be made good. We may die; die colonists; die slaves; die, it may be, ignominiously and on the scaffold. Be it so. Be it so. If it be the pleasure of Heaven that my country shall require the poor offering on my life, the victim shall be ready. . . But while I do live, let me have a country, or at least the hope of a country, and that a free country.”

“But whatever may be our fate, be assured. . . that this Declaration will stand. It may cost treasure, and it may cost blood; but it will stand, and it will richly compensate for both. Through the thick gloom of the present, I see the brightness of the future, as the sun in heaven. We shall make this a glorious, an immortal day. When we are in our graves, our children will honor it. They will celebrate it with thanksgiving, with festivity, with bonfires and illuminations. On its annual return they will shed tears, copious gushing tears, not of subjection and slavery, not of agony and distress, but of exultation, of gratitude and of joy.”

“. . . . All that I have, and all that I am, and all that I hope, in this life, I am now ready here to stake upon it.”

Those who paid the price for our liberty knew what was to be demanded of them. There can be no doubt of that fact. Yet they were willing to cover the cost.

In our day, as we stand on the stage of history with the rich legacy and heritage of freedom given to us at very little cost to ourselves, do we have the same conviction? Returning to the immortal words of Thomas Paine, “What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly.”

Now 233 years have passed since the Declaration of Independence was signed. The high costs have faded to the pages of history books. Freedom has become little more than a buzzword to many of our generation because we’ve not known its contradiction. If dearness only gives everything its value, do we hold freedom dear enough in our day to honor the price our fathers have paid? Thankfully, there are many who do.

Yet the true value of freedom today can only be understood through divine inspiration. As God speaks to the hearts of men in our day, many are beginning to understand that our freedoms cannot remain without a price being paid. While we were given the priceless gift of freedom from our forebears, we must stand up to pay the cost of preserving freedom and passing it on to our children. Threats to our freedom are all about us. While the freedom of man is at the foundation of God’s plan, the deprivation of man’s freedom is the plan of the adversary.

It is up to us to give life in our day to the words of John Adams. As he and others have gone to their graves, we must stand up to honor the freedom they have left to us. Each July fourth as we celebrate "with thanksgiving, with festivity, with bonfires and illuminations", may we remember that which we celebrate, and add to the celebrations our "copious, gushing tears of exultation, gratitude and of Joy".

We must stand up for freedom in our day. As forces combine to subvert the principles for which our founding fathers gave their lives, we must fight for a return to these principles. As leaders emerge claiming a need to “re-make” America, we must cleave to the inspired tenants of our Constitution. As the agendas of wicked minds are put forward to consolidate power and exercise dominion over our lives, we must raise our voices in defense of our liberty. It has been said that “we will answer each to Heaven for the way we spend our priceless liberty”. We know how countless men and women who have gone before us will be able to answer this question. Their lives serve as their answer. Our answer is not yet fully written. This is our moment in history to stand up for freedom and use our liberty to ensure it remains intact for our posterity.

Richard

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Resources:

The American Crisis; No. I, Thomas Paine, published 1776
http://libertyonline.hypermall.com/Paine/Crisis/Crisis-TOC.html

This Nation Shall Endure, Ezra Taft Benson, published 1977 (pp. 25-30)

The Making of America, W. Cleon Skousen, published 1985 (pp. 79-80)