Blaze Magazine Interview With David Barton: 'Saving History

Editor’s note: Every issue of The Blaze Magazine includes an exclusive “In the Hot Seat” interview with movers, shakers and celebrities we believe Blaze readers would like to get to know a little better. For the latest issue, Mike Opelka talked with David Barton, founder and president of WallBuilders, a national pro-family organization that presents America’s forgotten history and heroes, and a man whose knowledge of American history is so complete that Glenn Beck refers to him as “the Library of Congress in shoes.” David’s latest book, “The Jefferson Lies: Exposing the Myths You’ve Always Believed About Thomas Jefferson,” was released in April and remains among the top sellers of political biographies.

Here is a taste of the newest “In the Hot Seat” feature. The full interview is available only in The Blaze Magazine.

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BLAZE: Your personal collection of American history contains thousands of original documents from the founding of our country. Is there one document you would most like to have as part of your private collection?

BARTON: Not long ago, I was offered the opportunity to purchase the deed to the Mayflower—the ship on which the Pilgrims traveled to America. I would have dearly loved to have had that deed, but it was beyond my budget. That document, representing that historic ship, was the epitome of the Pilgrims; and the Pilgrims produced the Mayflower Compact—the first government document written in America—a republican form of government; private property ownership, with land being purchased from the Indians; the birth of the civil rights movement through their opposition to slavery; the start of common school education; protection for the rights of religious conscience; and so many other American attributes. The Pilgrims are truly national heroes, and the deed was a document I would have loved to have.

BLAZE: Which Founding Father would you most like to have dinner with?

BARTON: I would have to say that two rank equally high, but for different reasons. One is George Washington, but I’d probably just sit there and stare in dumbfounded silence. The other is Thomas Jefferson, but in his case, I would definitely not be silent. I just finished the book “The Jefferson Lies,” drawing from his 19,000 letters to help set the record straight about him, for 20th century secular progressive liberal historians have very effectively tarnished his life and character. I would specifically ask him about all of the modern lies about him, and I would record all of his answers on camera and then broadcast that tape on every network across the nation to restore Jefferson to a place of honor and veneration.

BLAZE: We’ve just marked 50 years without prayer in public schools. As a man of great faith, how would you go about returning prayer to our public schools and not offend different religions?

BARTON: The 1962 decision that struck down school prayer openly acknowledged that school prayer at that time was both voluntary and non-denominational, yet the court decided it was time for prayer at schools to stop. Period. I believe the voluntary approach is still the best approach.

By the way, recent polling shows that some 82 percent of the nation supports daily, voluntary, spoken prayer at public schools, and 86 percent support prayers to begin government meetings, whether Congress, state legislatures or city councils.

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Read the rest of the full interview only in the pages of The Blaze Magazine and get answers to these questions:

• What is the most misunderstood document among the founding documents?
• If you were to line up the American presidents in order of their “greatness,” who would you put in the top three spots; and who would be in the bottom three?
• In your opinion, who is the greatest American never elected president? (In other words, someone who ran for the office, but lost.)
• Did any of your children ever come home from school with a failing grade in history?
• And more . . .

Subscribe to The Blaze Magazine today.