Independence Day

In the movie Independence Day, Will Smith kills a bunch of aliens who attack the United States with giant killer UFOs. There are quite a few good one-liners and some awesome action sequences, but no one remembers any of those; they only remember the scene where the White House is blown to smithereens, and if they're old enough, they remember how everyone in the theater cheered at that moment.

That's the kind of independence most people are after these days—freedom from law, not freedom under law. What they seem to forget is that the Founding Fathers weren't a bunch of anarchists who simply wanted to do whatever they wanted without England butting in. The Founding Fathers only wanted England to treat the U.S. equitably as part of the British monarchy.

When England essentially refused to do so, the American Patriots decided to take matters into their own hands. Yes, there were other prominent motives for throwing off the yoke of English rule, most of them economic, but ideologically the Revolution was fuelled by a desire for a national government that was answerable to the people and inherently limited in scope and sovereignty.

Over the years, the United States have drifted away from the initial ideals of men like Madison, Jefferson and Adams. That doesn't mean we don't enjoy basically the same model of government they set up, and it certainly doesn't mean that we've lost any significant amount of liberties. We remain a checked-and-balanced nation that values freedom and responsibility, and we celebrate it every July 4th.

Sure, we still remember the formation of our country, the signing of the Declaration of Independence and all that. But nearly two and a half centuries later, the celebration of Independence Day is less about the origins of our nation than it is about its continuing commitment to liberty, freedom of conscience, and justice at home and around the world.

None of us at Exodus Books are flag-waving fanatics, nor do we support everything the U.S. does or stands for. Wars on foreign soil may or may not be justified, and as a nation we've certainly turned from biblical morality toward reprobate license. At the same time, the fact that we can worship Christ on Sunday without fear, preach His name to others, and still vote when the time comes is reason enough to light off some fireworks and eat fried chicken at the beginning of each summer.

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13 Colonies: Georgia
by Roberta Wiener and James R. Arnold
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for 6th-8th grade
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1776
by David McCullough
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1776
by David McCullough
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18 Penny Goose
An I Can Read Book Level 3
by Sally M. Walker
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Realistic fiction for 2nd-4th grade
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Adventures of the American Revolution
by Susan Olasky
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AIO Imagination Station Book #13
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$5.99
Alexander Hamilton
by Ron Chernow
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$10.00 (2 in stock)
America's Ethan Allen
by Stewart H. Holbrook; illustrated by Lynd Ward
9th printing from Houghton Mifflin
Picture Book Biography for 4th-6th grade
1950 Caldecott Honor Book
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America's Paul Revere
by Esther Forbes
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Biography for 2nd-6th grade
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American Children Through Their Books
by Sister Monica Kiefer
1970 printing from University of Pennsylvania Press
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
American Heritage History of the American Revolution
by Bruce Lancaster
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
American History Stories Volume 2
by Mara L. Pratt
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$11.95
American Revolution
Landmark Series
by Bruce Bliven
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Historical Non-fiction for 5th-8th grade
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American Revolution
America at War Series
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Historical Non-fiction for 4th-6th grade
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American Revolution
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American Revolutionaries
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American Story: The Revolutionaries
Time-Life: The American Story
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Amos Fortune, Free Man
by Elizabeth Yates, illustrated by Nora S. Unwin
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Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1951 Newbery Medal winner
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And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?
by Jean Fritz & Margot Tomes
from PaperStar Books
Biography for 2nd-4th grade
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$7.99
And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?
by Jean Fritz & Margot Tomes
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Biography for 2nd-4th grade
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Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Dover Thrift Editions
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Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
World's Greatest Literature
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Triangle Histories: The Revolutionary War
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Beginning of the Republic
A Basic History of the United States Volume 2
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American History Reference for 9th-Adult
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$17.00
Ben Franklin
See and Read: Beginning to Read Biography
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Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia
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Benjamin Franklin
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Heroes of History
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$11.99
Benjamin Franklin: The Autobiography and Other Writings
Signet Classics
by Benjamin Franklin
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Autobiography for 9th-Adult
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$5.95
Betsy Ross: Designer of our Flag
Childhood of Famous Americans
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$7.99
Biographies of the Revolution - Set
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Black Heroes of the American Revolution
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1992 Odyssey Classics edition from Clarion Books
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Black Man in America
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The Revolution Trilogy #1 of 3
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1956 Newbery Medal winner
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Common Sense
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Concise Illustrated History of the American Revolution
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Crispus Attucks: Black Leader of Colonial Patriots
Childhood of Famous Americans
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Crossing
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Declaration of Independence
History Speaks
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Declaration of Independence
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Declaration of Independence
Documenting U.S. History
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Declaration of Independence and Other Great Documents of American History
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Drums
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Early American History for Intermediate Grades (really old)
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Early American History for Intermediate Grades - Guide
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3rd edition from Beautiful Feet Books
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Early Thunder
by Jean Fritz
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Eliza Pinckney
Weekly Reader Heroes of the Revolution
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Exploration, Revolution, and Constitution
American History Series
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Faith and Freedom Trilogy
Faith and Freedom
by Douglas Bond
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$33.97
Famous Figures of the American Revolution
from Figures in Motion
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Far Frontier
by William O. Steele; illustrated by Paul Galdone
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Fiddler's Green
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Fiddler's Gun
by A. S. Peterson
1st edition from Rabbit Room Press
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Fight for Freedom
by Benson Bobrick
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Fighting for Liberty and Virtue
by Marvin Olasky
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Fighting Ground
by Avi
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$2.50 (1 in stock)
Flag for Our Country
by Eve Spencer
from Steck-Vaughn Company
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$6.00
Forgotten Founding Father
Leaders in Action Series
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Biography for 9th-12th grade
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$16.95 $10.00 (2 in stock)
Fourth of July Story
by Alice Dalgliesh
2nd edition from Aladdin Paperbacks
Historical Non-fiction for 2nd-4th grade
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$8.99
Francis Asbury
by Geoff Benge, Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biographies for 4th-7th grade
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$11.99
From Colonies to Country with George Washington - Book Only
My American Journey
by Deborah Hedstrom
from Multnomah Books
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From Colonies to Country with George Washington - Set
from Unknown Publisher
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
General Washington's Army
by Marko Zlatich, Illustrated by Peter F. Copeland
2003 Printing from Osprey Publishing
for 6th-Adult
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George vs. George
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Reprint from National Geographic
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George Washington
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
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George Washington
Heroes of History
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Biography for 4th-7th grade
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$11.99
George Washington
by Cheryl Harness
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$8.99
George Washington
by Heather Lehr Wagner
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington
Childhood of Famous Americans / History's All-Stars
by Augusta Stevenson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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$6.99
George Washington - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Peter F. Copeland
from Dover Publications
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$4.99
George Washington for Kids
by Brandon Marie Miller
1st edition from Chicago Review Press
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George Washington You Never Knew
by James Lincoln Collier
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington's Breakfast
by Jean Fritz
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Biography for 1st-4th grade
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George Washington's World
by Genevieve Foster, expanded by Joanna Foster and edited by Rea Berg
from Beautiful Feet Books
History Reference/Biography for 7th-10th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
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$21.95
George Washington's World (pictorial hardcover)
by Genevieve Foster
from Charles Scribner's Sons
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$38.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington, Spymaster
by Thomas B. Allen
from National Geographic
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington: Our First Leader
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Augusta Stevenson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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$7.99
George Washington: Soldier and Man
by North Callahan
from William Morrow & Company
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Gingerbread for Liberty!
by Mara Rockliff, Illustrated by Vincent X. Kirsch
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$17.99
Give Me Liberty
Leaders in Action Series
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Biography for 9th-Adult
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Give Me Liberty!
by Russell Freedman
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Glorious Days, Dreadful Days
Stories of America
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$5.50 (1 in stock)
Great Little Madison
by Jean Fritz
1st edition from G.P. Putnam's Sons
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$9.00 (2 in stock)
Guns for General Washington
by Seymour Reit
from Harcourt
Historical fiction for 4th-8th grade
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$9.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Haym Salomon: Liberty's Son
by Shirley Milgrim, illustrated by Richard Fish
from Jewish Publication Society
for 4th-8th grade
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Hero Tales
by Theodore Roosevelt & Henry Cabot Lodge
from Cumberland House
Biography for 7th-10th grade
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Heroes and Heroines of the American Revolution - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Peter F. Copeland
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
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$4.99
Heroes of the American Revolution
by David Brownell
from Bellerophon Books
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$2.50 (2 in stock)
History of Human Society: Pioneer America
The History of Human Society
by John R. Alden
1st edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 10th-Adult
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
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