I had a teacher who once made a statement that other have confirmed that they too were taught, but I never saw any evidence in the form of paper or pictures, BUT sometimes an assertion makes so much sense, it is at least worth considering. This instructor said that the original version of the “Declaration of Independence” that was nailed to the forts, church commons, and other social gathering places actually stated “Life, liberty, and pursuit of Land”.
The idea was that the founding fathers wanted to inspire people to fight for them. They were land owners themselves. The thought process was that if a man could have his own plot of land to build a house, grow crops and raise livestock, and raise his own family as he saw fit, free from government interference, he could truly be “free” and “happy”. Of course promising land to every soldier presented all kinds of problems and that lead to the change. Land ownership, free from banks, debt, and government influence was the key to what America had to promise.
This makes the irony of the “mortgage crisis” all that more profound.
The idea was that the founding fathers wanted to inspire people to fight for them. They were land owners themselves. The thought process was that if a man could have his own plot of land to build a house, grow crops and raise livestock, and raise his own family as he saw fit, free from government interference, he could truly be “free” and “happy”. Of course promising land to every soldier presented all kinds of problems and that lead to the change. Land ownership, free from banks, debt, and government influence was the key to what America had to promise.
This makes the irony of the “mortgage crisis” all that more profound.
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