Experience the American dream with today’s Patriots of the Past interview. I’m your host, John Gillespie.
It’s January 2, 1780. I’m in Oxford, England, visiting with Professor William Blackstone.
JG: “Sir Blackstone, why has your book, Commentaries on the Laws of England, had such a profound influence on the founding fathers of America?”
WB: “Mr. Gillespie, my book is being used throughout America at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. It has influenced Patrick Henry, James Madison, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay, and many founding fathers because it establishes all human laws in the law of God, as revealed in the Scriptures and in nature. I am proud to say that major parts of your American legal system are based upon the Bible and my book.”
Read the full text of Volume I, Volume II, Volume III, and Volume IV of Commentaries on the Laws of England.
John and Jan Gillespie are the founders of the Rawhide Boys’ Ranch; they have fostered 351 teenagers and wrote the book Our 351 Sons; they have also assisted numerous churches in developing youth programs and expanding their total church ministries. After running for U.S. Senate, John founded 1776 American Dream, which exists to demonstrate the vision of our founding fathers and help our generation of youth passionately embrace those values.
