AMERICA'S LAND: CONSECRATED BY GOD
by David W. New, Esq.
[This article is based on a speech with the same title delivered by David New at a Prayer Rally in Lafayette Park, Washington, D.C. on August 25, 2009, sponsored by the Faith and Freedom Institute. Dr. Gary G. Dull, Pres. & Dr. Dave Kistler, V. Pres.]
"Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground." Exodus 3:5
Did you know that the land in America was legally conveyed to the United States under the authority of God? Historically, this is a true statement. For example, all the land that makes up the original 13 colonies, the Northwest Territory (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin) and as far west as the Mississippi River was conveyed to the United States under the express authority of God.
In effect, God's authority is the foundation for America's title to the land.
This means that all of the land that the White House, the Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court sit upon came to the United States under the authority of God. Simply put, God's authority consecrated the land or set it apart for the United States. Notwithstanding any objections by radical secularists, this is a historical fact which can be proved.
America did not obtain her title to the land through a religious ceremony or from a religious proclamation. We got title to America through a legal document called a contract. Acting for the United States to negotiate the contract were Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and John Jay. They signed the legal document which gave America her title deed to the land.
                                      The Deed to AmericaQuestion: if you had to prove in a court of law that you own the home you live in, how would you do it? You could go to your safety deposit box at the bank and get the deed to your land. Then you could show the deed to the judge and prove that you own the land.
How would you do that for the United States of America? If you had to, how would you prove in a court of law that the land which makes up America was owned by the United States?
Actually it's very simple. You could show the judge the Deed to America. You could produce a document known as the Treaty of Paris of 1783. In a very real sense, the Treaty of Paris is the Deed to America.
The Treaty of Paris of 1783 is the treaty which ended the Revolutionary War between Great Britain and the United States. The American Revolution was a hard-fought war which came at a high price in human life and suffering. Finally, the two parties decided to end the war and sign a peace treaty.
A treaty is simply a contract. A contract is a legal agreement between two or more parties. In the Treaty of Paris, Great Britain and the United States agreed to stop fighting and make the peace. There are ten Articles in the Treaty of Paris. Article 1 is the one we are interested in. Article 1 effectively is the Deed to America.
The Most Important Words in the Deed to America
The first ten words in the Treaty of Paris are the most important words in the Deed to America. These are the words which establish the legal authority for everything that appears in the Treaty including the Deed to America. If anyone thinks that God had nothing to do with the formation of America, just invite them to read the first ten words in the Treaty of Paris. They are:
"In the name of the most holy and undivided Trinity."
However short and brief these words are, they have profound consequences for America and her relationship to God. They are the foundation for everything that is America from her inception to the present day. Along with the Declaration of Independence, they are the foundation for We the People in the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Gettysburg Address, the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Nineteenth Amendments, and the Pledge of Allegiance.
The most holy Trinity is a Christian doctrine which teaches that the One True God exists as three persons, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
To act "In the name of . . . " means to act under the authority of. For example, if a policeman orders you to stop 'In the name of the law' it means that the policeman is ordering you under the authority of the State not to move.
In our case, both Great Britain and the United States in the Treaty of Paris are acting under the authority of God or to be more precise, under the authority of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit to end the Revolutionary War and acknowledge the Independence of the United States. Thus, the United States which has evolved from the Articles of Confederation to the U.S. Constitution owes its legal existence as a matter of law to the authority of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
                          The Text to the Deed to AmericaThere are ten Articles in the Treaty of Paris of 1783. Our primary interest concerns Article 1, the Deed to America. The full text of Article 1 is provided below. However, for the sake of brevity, I have abridged the Preface to the Treaty of Paris. The Treaty begins this way:
"In the name of the most holy and undivided Trinity.
It having pleased the Divine Providence to dispose the hearts of the most serene and most potent Prince George the Third, by the grace of God . . . and of the United States of America, to forget all past misunderstandings and differences . . . they mutually wish to restore . . . between the two countries . . . perpetual peace and harmony; and having . . . . laid the foundation of peace . . . at Paris . . . which articles were agreed to . . . . and constitute the Treaty of Peace . . . between the Crown of Great Britain and the said United States. . . have agreed upon and confirmed the following articles.
Article 1:His Brittanic Majesty acknowledges the said United States, viz., New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, to be free sovereign and independent states, that he treats with them as such, and for himself, his heirs, and successors, relinquishes all claims to the government, propriety, and territorial rights of the same and every part thereof."
 
Key Points in the Deed to America
 
1. Of course, the most important part of the Treaty are the opening words: "In the name of the most holy and undivided Trinity."
These words are the source of authority for everything in the Treaty including the Deed to America.
2. The first sentence of Article 1 is very important as well. It says: "His Brittanic Majesty acknowledges the said United States . . . to be free sovereign and independent states . . . "
Our right to the land in America is "acknowledged" by Great Britain in this clause. In most deeds, land is transferred from one party to the other by using words like 'grant,' 'grantor,' 'grantee,''convey,' 'transfer,' etc. In this Deed, the word "acknowledges" is used. This is because payment for the land was not made with money. Victory in the battlefield was the payment. King George the Third was merely 'acknowledging' what was already true since the American victory at Yorktown in 1781. America was free, sovereign and independent.
3. The next sentence says: " that he treats with them as such, and for himself, his heirs, and successors . . . "
This clause is the reason Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles cannot make any claims to the land in America. All heirs and successors to the Throne of Great Britain are bound by the terms of the Deed.
4. The last sentence says that King George "relinquishes all claims to the government, propriety, and territorial rights of the same and every part thereof."
In this sentence, King George relinquishes or surrenders all claims of ownership to the land in America. The Deed specifically says "every part thereof." This means that the King does not own one square inch of the land in America that is described in Article 2.
 
                                A Suggested Reading for Secularists
A good way for secularists to read the Treaty of Paris and the Deed to America is to place the words "In the name of the most holy and undivided Trinity" before each clause in Article 1. Reading Article 1 this way will help those secularists who are intellectually honest to understand why America's right to the land is based on the authority of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Read Article 1 this way:
"In the name of the most holy and undivided Trinity . . . His Brittanic Majesty acknowledges the said United States . . . to be free sovereign and independent states . . . "
"In the name of the most holy and undivided Trinity. . . His Brittanic Majesty . . . relinquishes all claims to the government, propriety, and territorial rights of the same and every part thereof."
                 More Proof the Treaty of Paris is the Deed to America
Article 2 provides overwhelming evidence that the Treaty of Paris is literally the Deed to America. By my computer count, there are 513 words in Article 2. Article 2 lists in great detail ". . . the boundaries of the said United States . . . " In effect, Article 2 is America's Liber and Folio to the land. Every legal requirement for a deed is satisfied by Article 1 and Article 2.
Therefore, there can be no question that Article 1 and 2 constitute a deed. None of the other great documents in American history, the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence or the U.S. Constitution were intended to be a deed. The Treaty of Paris is the Deed to America.
Is the Deed to America in Legal Force Today?
Yes. Before 1787, the United States had agreed to a number of important treaties and agreements with other nations. The framers of the new Constitution wanted to reassure the other world powers that any agreement made with the United States prior to the adoption of the U.S. Constitution would continue to be honored. And of course, they also wanted to protect America's title to the land in the Treaty of Paris. Therefore, the framers wrote a provision within the Constitution to include all prior treaties and agreements. The Treaty of Paris and other agreements prior to 1787 are covered in Article VI which says: " . . . and all Treaties made . . . "
Can America Lose Title to the Land?
 
America's title to the land is not unconditional. Since America got title to the land under the authority of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, then it should be obvious that it is possible for America to lose her title to the land. If America denies the authority which gave her the land, then she loses her right to the land. It's that simple.
Suppose America no longer acknowledged God. Suppose America said 'No' to In God We Trust and 'No' to "under God" in the Pledge to Allegiance? How would that affect America's title to the land? If America denies God, then the land will no longer be consecrated or set aside by God for the United States. God's authority and the land go hand in hand together.
 
From the beginning, there has been a deep spiritual link between God, America and the land.
It is time for America to return to her spiritual roots. It is time for a spiritual revival in America. We need to return to the kind of moral values that the framers had, the framers who wrote the Constitution and the First Amendment. In America, everyone has a God given right to the religion of their choice. Sadly, radical secularists and our misguided legal system promote an attitude of intolerance for religion. This is wrong. America needs a revival to protect our title to the land.