No accident

A new film tells the story of America’s miraculous founding and the civic responsibility we all carry.

“A republic, if you can keep it.” Benjamin Franklin spoke those words in Philadelphia, where the delegates to the Constitutional Convention were leaving Independence Hall in 1787. A crowd had gathered to hear the news of what had transpired and to learn about the form this new nation would take. As the elder statesman of the Convention, Franklin understood the depth and consequences of framing a Constitution for a republic, rather than the more familiar and established form of governing through monarchy.

This is one small but consequential slice of history that has become emblematic of America’s journey as a nation. It is also the heart of a new film by Timothy Mahoney. “The American Miracle: Our Nation Is No Accident” is a cinematic film based on the book by New York Times bestselling author and radio host Michael Medved. The film, which opens in theaters nationwide June 9, asks, “What if the establishment of the United States of America, against all odds, was no accident? What if God’s Divine Hand guided the steps of the Founding Fathers, due to their faithfulness to Him and belief in His Providence? What if America is a miracle?”

Mahoney and his team, including executive producers and producers Douglas B. Maddox and Ralf W. Augstroze and marketing director Jane E. Bjork, have crafted a film that is a hybrid of storytelling and scholarship. Filmed in the actual locations where the Founders gathered, debated, fought, and eventually signed the Declaration of Independence, it carries the heavy responsibility of being faithful to fact and circumstance. Mount Vernon, Fort Frederick, and the childhood home of Thomas Jefferson are just a few notable locations the filmmakers were granted access to under the watchful and scrupulous eye of the film’s historical advisor, retired Air Force Col. James Gallager, himself a direct descendant of nine patriots who served in the Revolutionary War.

Two years of filming and editing produced what Mahoney describes as a “drama that is documented through scholarly work and scholars’ comments.” Dramatized in its approach, the film alternates between significant events of the time surrounding the Revolution and insights from historians and scholars. Among the scholars are Pulitzer Prize winners, presidential and military historians, professors, authors, and biographers.

Mahoney, who has long had an interest in the intersection of archeology, science, religion, and history, was approached by Medved to bring his book to the big screen. It was a responsibility Mahoney takes seriously. “Our Founders were very clear that our rights came from a higher power — the Creator — not man. And those Founding Fathers were absolutely guided to create this Constitution as a document that holds us together as a people — actually defining our ‘constitution.’”

In addition to Gallager, Prof. Robert P. George is McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University. He holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a D.Phil. from Oxford, and chaired the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. New York Times bestselling author Paul Kengor is a professor of political science at Grove City College, a Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University, and the author of several bestsellers on American history and the presidency, including two books on Ronald Reagan, upon which the film “Reagan” is based. Academy Award winner Richard Dreyfuss is also featured. The “Jaws” star and A-list actor has long been concerned with civic responsibility and is outspoken about the absence of teaching civics in our schools, citing the need to empower future generations with the critical-thinking skills they need to fulfill the vast potential of American citizenship. In all, there are 16 scholars and commentators who lend their expertise and knowledge to the film, validating the drama that unfolds in the story. Those dramatic moments are portrayed by a talented group of dedicated artists, including Kevin Sorbo and Pat Boone playing the younger and older versions of Thomas Jefferson, Cameron Arnett in the role of slave turned Revolutionary War hero Peter Salem, singer and actress Rachel Day Hughes as Abigail Adams, and Barry Stevens in a convincing role as Benjamin Franklin.

We have a republic, Franklin conveyed, but it will be up to the people to keep it. And that duty will require constant vigilance in the coming centuries. “The American Miracle” gives viewers the core understanding of the providential nature of the Founding and how it guided our Revolutionary leaders. It is genuinely divinely inspired — and good timing as it comes just one year before America’s Semiquincentennial, or the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

The film is both heartwarming and sobering, considering the immense responsibility each of us, as Americans, has in upholding the virtues and principles that keep the nation going. Franklin confirmed the start of the Republic, but worried about the public’s ability to appreciate and preserve it. So, “A republic, if you can keep it” is a quote serving just that purpose: as a hope and a warning. “The American Miracle” helps show us why.

“The American Miracle” will enter theaters nationwide on June 9, with tickets available for pre-order starting May 9. More information can be found on the film’s website (www.AmericanMiracleMovie.com).