By Betsy Mayer
On July 4, 2026, America celebrates 250 years of independence. We owe a lasting debt to our Founding Fathers who, at the peril of their lives, established a system of ordered liberty based on limited government, federalism, and the rule of law.
Lest we forget, the Founding Fathers were fathers! “Fifty-four of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence married and had a total of 337 children among them—an average of six each.”1 Each was willing to sacrifice his life, fortune, and sacred honor to secure the blessings of liberty for his “posterity”—children, grandchildren, and ever-expanding generations of Americans.
How is their “posterity” doing 250 years later?
Over the last 60-plus years, the American family has been under fierce attack. According to Saving America by Saving the Family, a January 2026 report published by the Heritage Foundation, the number of intact families is declining
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Saving America by Saving the Family, www.heritage.org, p. 1.
Ibid., pp. 3–4.
Ibid., pp. 10–27.
Ibid., pp. 35–39.
Ibid., p. 37.
Ibid., p. 37.
Ibid., p. 37.
Ibid., p. 38.
“Blue Law,” Legal Information Institute, www.law.cornell.edu.
Saving America, p. 38.
“Did Constantine Change the Sabbath?,” sabbathsentinel.org, April 8, 2019.
“Sunday in the Early Church,” The Ministry, January 1977.
“Roman Church Councils between 506–796,” The Sabbath Sentinel, Dec. 11, 2018.
“Traces of the Sabbath During the Dark Ages,” History of the Sabbath, J. N. Andrews.
“Some Probabilities of the Southern Chain-gang System,” The American Sentinel, vol. 10, no. 35, Sept. 5, 1895.
