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Early Years
The First Charter of Virginia (granted by King James I, on
April 10, 1606)
• We, greatly commending, and graciously accepting of, their Desires for
the Furtherance of so noble a Work, which may, by the Providence of Almighty
God, hereafter tend to the Glory of his Divine Majesty, in propagating of
Christian Religion to such People, as yet live in Darkness and miserable Ignorance
of
the true Knowledge and Worship of God…
Instructions for the Virginia Colony (1606)
Lastly and chiefly the way to prosper and achieve good success is to make yourselves
all of one mind for the good of your country and your own, and to serve and
fear God the Giver of all Goodness, for every plantation which our Heavenly
Father hath not planted shall be rooted out.
William Bradford
• wrote that they [the Pilgrims] were seeking:
• 1) "a better, and easier place of living”; and that “the
children of the group were being drawn away by evil examples into extravagance
and dangerous courses [in Holland]“
• 2) “The great hope, and for the propagating and advancing the gospel
of the kingdom of Christ in those remote parts of the world"
The Mayflower Compact (authored by William Bradford)
1620 | Signing
of the Mayflower painting | Picture of Compact
“Having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian
faith, and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony
in the northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually,
in the presence of God, and one of another, covenant and combine our selves together…”
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John Adams and John Hancock:
We Recognize No Sovereign but God, and no King but Jesus! [April 18, 1775]
John Adams:
“ The general principles upon which the Fathers achieved independence were
the general principals of Christianity… I will avow that I believed and
now believe that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and
immutable as the existence and attributes of God.”
• “[July 4th] ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance
by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.”
–John Adams in a letter written to Abigail on the day
the Declaration
was
approved by Congress
"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." --October 11, 1798
"I have examined all religions, as well as my narrow sphere, my straightened means, and my busy life, would allow; and the result is that the Bible is the best Book in the world. It contains more philosophy than all the libraries I have seen." December 25, 1813 letter to Thomas Jefferson
"Without Religion this World would be Something not fit to be mentioned
in polite Company, I mean Hell." [John Adams to Thomas
Jefferson, April 19, 1817] |
.......click here to see this quote
in its context and to see John Adams' quotes taken OUT of context!
Samuel Adams: | Portrait
of Sam Adams | Powerpoint
presentation on John, John Quincy, and Sam Adams
“ He who made all men hath made the truths necessary to human happiness
obvious to all… Our forefathers opened the Bible to all.” [ "American
Independence," August 1, 1776. Speech delivered at the
State House in Philadelphia]
“ Let divines and philosophers, statesmen and patriots, unite their endeavors
to renovate the age by impressing the minds of men with the importance of educating
their little boys and girls, inculcating in the minds of youth the fear and love
of the Deity… and leading them in the study and practice of the exalted
virtues of the Christian system.” [October 4, 1790]
John Quincy Adams:
• “Why is it that, next to the birthday of the Savior of the world,
your most joyous and most venerated festival returns on this day [the Fourth
of July]?" “Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday
of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? That it
forms a leading event in the progress of the Gospel dispensation? Is it not that
the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation
of the Redeemer's mission upon earth? That it laid the cornerstone of human government
upon the first precepts of Christianity"?
--1837, at the age of 69, when he delivered a Fourth of July speech at Newburyport,
Massachusetts.
“The Law given from Sinai [The Ten Commandments] was a civil and municipal
as well as a moral and religious code.”
John Quincy Adams. Letters to his son. p. 61
Elias Boudinot: | Portrait of Elias Boudinot
“ Be religiously careful in our choice of all public officers . . . and
judge of the tree by its fruits.”
Charles Carroll - signer of the Declaration of Independence |
Portrait of Charles Carroll
" Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time; they therefore
who are decrying the Christian religion, whose morality is so sublime and pure...are
undermining the solid foundation of morals, the best security for the duration
of free governments." [Source: To James McHenry on November 4, 1800.]
Benjamin Franklin: | Portrait of Ben Franklin
“ God governs in the affairs of man. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the
ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His
aid? We have been assured in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build the
house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this. I also believe
that, without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building
no better than the builders of Babel” –Constitutional
Convention
of 1787 | original manuscript of this speech
“In the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayers in this room for Divine protection. Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered… do we imagine we no longer need His assistance?” [Constitutional Convention, Thursday June 28, 1787]
In Benjamin Franklin's 1749 plan of education for public schools in Pennsylvania, he insisted that schools teach "the excellency of the Christian religion above all others, ancient or modern."
In 1787 when Franklin helped found Benjamin Franklin University, it was dedicated as "a nursery of religion and learning, built on Christ, the Cornerstone."
Alexander Hamilton:
• Hamilton began work with the Rev. James Bayard to form the Christian
Constitutional Society to help spread over the world the two things which Hamilton
said made America great:
(1) Christianity
(2) a Constitution formed under Christianity.
“The Christian Constitutional Society, its object is first: The support
of the Christian religion. Second: The support of the United States.”
On July 12, 1804 at his death, Hamilton said, “I have a tender reliance on the mercy of the Almighty, through the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am a sinner. I look to Him for mercy; pray for me.”
"For my own part, I sincerely esteem it [the Constitution] a system which without the finger of God, never could have been suggested and agreed upon by such a diversity of interests." [1787 after the Constitutional Convention]
"I have carefully examined the evidences of the Christian religion, and if I was sitting as a juror upon its authenticity I would unhesitatingly give my verdict in its favor. I can prove its truth as clearly as any proposition ever submitted to the mind of man."
John Hancock:
• “In circumstances as dark as these, it becomes us, as Men and Christians,
to reflect that whilst every prudent measure should be taken to ward off the
impending judgments, …at the same time all confidence must be withheld
from the means we use; and reposed only on that God rules in the armies of Heaven,
and without His whole blessing, the best human counsels are but foolishness… Resolved; …Thursday
the 11th of May…to humble themselves before God under the heavy judgments
felt and feared, to confess the sins that have deserved them, to implore the
Forgiveness of all our transgressions, and a spirit of repentance and reformation …and
a Blessing on the … Union of the American Colonies in Defense of their
Rights [for which hitherto we desire to thank Almighty God]…That the people
of Great Britain and their rulers may have their eyes opened to discern the things
that shall make for the peace of the nation…for the redress of America’s
many grievances, the restoration of all her invaded liberties, and their
security to the latest generations.
"A Day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer, with a total abstinence from labor
and recreation. Proclamation on April 15, 1775"
Patrick Henry:
"Orator of the Revolution."
• This is all the inheritance I can give my dear family. The religion of
Christ can give them one which will make them rich indeed.”
—The Last Will and Testament of Patrick Henry
“It cannot be emphasized too clearly and too often that this nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason, peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.” [May 1765 Speech to the House of Burgesses]
“The Bible is worth all other books which have ever been printed.”
John Jay:
“ Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it
is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to
select and prefer Christians for their rulers.” Source: October 12, 1816.
The Correspondence and Public Papers of John Jay, Henry P. Johnston, ed., (New
York: Burt Franklin, 1970), Vol. IV, p. 393.
“Whether our religion permits Christians to vote for infidel rulers is a question which merits more consideration than it seems yet to have generally received either from the clergy or the laity. It appears to me that what the prophet said to Jehoshaphat about his attachment to Ahab ["Shouldest thou help the ungodly and love them that hate the Lord?" 2 Chronicles 19:2] affords a salutary lesson.” [The Correspondence and Public Papers of John Jay, 1794-1826, Henry P. Johnston, editor (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1893), Vol. IV, p.365]
Thomas Jefferson:
“ The doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend to all the happiness of man.”
“Of all the systems of morality, ancient or modern which have come under my observation, none appears to me so pure as that of Jesus.”
"I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus."
“God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are a gift from God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and that His justice cannot sleep forever.” (excerpts are inscribed on the walls of the Jefferson Memorial in the nations capital) [Source: Merrill . D. Peterson, ed., Jefferson Writings, (New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1984), Vol. IV, p. 289. From Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XVIII, 1781.]
Samuel Johnston:
• “It is apprehended that Jews, Mahometans (Muslims), pagans, etc.,
may be elected to high offices under the government of the United States. Those
who are Mahometans, or any others who are not professors of the Christian religion,
can never be elected to the office of President or other high office, [unless]
first the people of America lay aside the Christian religion altogether, it
may happen. Should this unfortunately take place, the people will choose such
men
as think as they do themselves.
[Elliot’s Debates, Vol. IV, pp 198-199, Governor Samuel Johnston, July
30, 1788 at the North Carolina Ratifying Convention]
James Madison
“ We’ve staked our future on our ability to follow the Ten Commandments
with all of our heart.”
“We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon
the power of government, far from it. We’ve staked the future of all
our political institutions upon our capacity…to sustain ourselves according
to the Ten Commandments of God.” [1778 to the General Assembly of the
State of Virginia]
• I have sometimes thought there could not be a stronger testimony in favor
of religion or against temporal enjoyments, even the most rational and manly,
than for men who occupy the most honorable and gainful departments and [who]
are rising in reputation and wealth, publicly to declare the unsatisfactoriness
[of temportal enjoyments] by becoming fervent advocates in the cause of Christ;
and I wish you may give in your evidence in this way.
Letter by Madison to William Bradford (September 25, 1773)
• In 1812, President Madison signed a federal bill which economically aided
the Bible Society of Philadelphia in its goal of the mass distribution of the
Bible.
“ An Act for the relief of the Bible Society of Philadelphia” Approved
February 2, 1813 by Congress
“It is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love, and charity toward each other.”
• A watchful eye must be kept on ourselves lest, while we are building ideal monuments of renown and bliss here, we neglect to have our names enrolled in the Annals of Heaven. [Letter by Madison to William Bradford [urging him to make sure of his own salvation] November 9, 1772]
At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, James Madison proposed the plan
to divide the central government into three branches. He discovered this model
of government from the Perfect Governor, as he read Isaiah 33:22;
“For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our
lawgiver,
the LORD is our king;
He will save us.”
[Baron Charles Montesquieu, wrote in 1748; “Nor
is there liberty if the power of judging is not separated from legislative
power and from executive power. If it [the power of judging] were joined to
legislative power, the power over life and liberty of the citizens would be
arbitrary, for the judge would be the legislature if it were joined to the
executive power, the judge could have the force of an oppressor. All would
be lost if the same … body of principal men … exercised these three
powers." Madison claimed
Isaiah 33:22 as the
source of division of power in government
See also:
pp.241-242 in Teaching and Learning America’s Christian History:
The Principle approach by Rosalie Slater]
James McHenry – Signer of the Constitution
Public utility pleads most forcibly for the general distribution of the Holy
Scriptures. The doctrine they preach, the obligations they impose, the punishment
they threaten, the rewards they promise, the stamp and image of divinity they
bear, which produces a conviction of their truths, can alone secure to society,
order and peace, and to our courts of justice and constitutions of government,
purity, stability and usefulness. In vain, without the Bible, we increase penal
laws and draw entrenchments around our institutions. Bibles are strong entrenchments.
Where they abound, men cannot pursue wicked courses, and at the same time enjoy
quiet conscience.
Jedediah Morse:
"To the kindly influence of Christianity we owe that degree of civil freedom,
and political and social happiness which mankind now enjoys. . . . Whenever
the pillars of Christianity shall be overthrown, our present republican forms
of government, and all blessings which flow from them, must fall with them."
John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg
In a sermon delivered to his Virginia congregation on Jan. 21, 1776,
he preached from Ecclesiastes 3.
Arriving at verse 8, which declares that there is a time of war and a time
of peace, Muhlenberg noted that this surely was not the time of peace; this
was the time of war. Concluding with a prayer, and while standing in full view
of the congregation, he removed his clerical robes to reveal that beneath them
he was wearing the uniform of an officer in the Continental army! He marched
to the back of the church; ordered the drum to beat for recruits and over three
hundred men joined him, becoming the Eighth Virginia Brigade. John Peter Muhlenberg
finished the Revolution as a Major-General, having been at Valley Forge and
having participated in the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, Stonypoint,
and Yorktown.
Thomas Paine:
“ It has been the error of the schools to teach astronomy, and all the
other sciences, and subjects of natural philosophy, as accomplishments only;
whereas they should be taught theologically, or with reference to the Being who
is the author of them: for all the principles of science are of divine origin.
Man cannot make, or invent, or contrive principles: he can only discover them;
and he ought to look through the discovery to the Author.”
“ The evil that has resulted from the error of the schools, in teaching
natural philosophy as an accomplishment only, has been that of generating in
the pupils a species of atheism. Instead of looking through the works of creation
to the Creator himself, they stop short, and employ the knowledge they acquire
to create doubts of his existence. They labour with studied ingenuity to ascribe
every thing they behold to innate properties of matter, and jump over all the
rest by saying, that matter is eternal.” “The
Existence of God--1810”
Benjamin Rush:
• “I lament that we waste so much time and money in punishing crimes
and take so little pains to prevent them…we neglect the only means of establishing
and perpetuating our republican forms of government; that is, the universal education
of our youth in the principles of Christianity by means of the Bible; for this
Divine Book, above all others, constitutes the soul of republicanism.” “By
withholding the knowledge of [the Scriptures] from children, we deprive ourselves
of the best means of awakening moral sensibility in their minds.” [Letter
written (1790’s) in Defense of the Bible in all schools in America]
• “Christianity is the only true and perfect religion.”
• “If moral precepts alone could have reformed mankind, the mission
of the Son of God into our world would have been unnecessary.”
"Let the children who are sent to those schools be taught to read and
write and above all, let both sexes be carefully instructed in the principles
and obligations of the Christian religion. This is the most essential part
of education”
Letters of Benjamin Rush, "To the citizens of Philadelphia: A Plan for
Free Schools", March 28, 1787
Justice Joseph Story:
“ I verily believe Christianity necessary to the support of civil society.
One of the beautiful boasts of our municipal jurisprudence is that Christianity
is a part of the Common Law. . . There never has been a period in which the
Common Law did not recognize Christianity as lying its foundations.”
[Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States p. 593]
“ Infidels and pagans were banished from the halls of justice as unworthy
of credit.” [Life and letters of Joseph Story, Vol. II 1851, pp. 8-9.]
“ At the time of the adoption of the constitution, and of the amendment
to it, now under consideration [i.e., the First Amendment], the general,
if not the universal sentiment in America was, that Christianity ought to receive
encouragement
from the state, so far as was not incompatible with the private rights of
conscience,
and the freedom of religious worship.”
[Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States p. 593]
Noah Webster:
“ The duties of men are summarily comprised in the Ten Commandments, consisting
of two tables; one comprehending the duties which we owe immediately to God-the
other, the duties we owe to our fellow men.”
“In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of
the first things in which all children, under a free government ought to be
instructed...No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion
must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges
of a free people.”
[Source: 1828, in the preface to his American Dictionary of the English Language]
Let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers just men who will rule in the fear of God [Exodus 18:21]. . . . If the citizens neglect their duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted . . . If our government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the Divine commands, and elect bad men to make and administer the laws. [Noah Webster, The History of the United States (New Haven: Durrie and Peck, 1832), pp. 336-337, 49]
“All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible.” [Noah Webster. History. p. 339]
“The Bible was America’s basic textbook
in all fields.” [Noah Webster. Our Christian Heritage p.5]
“Education is useless without the Bible” [Noah Webster. Our Christian
Heritage p.5 ]
Farewell Address: The name of American, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discriminations. With slight shades of difference, you have the same religion" ...and later: "...reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle..."
“ It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and Bible.”
“What students would learn in American schools above all is the religion of Jesus Christ.” [speech to the Delaware Indian Chiefs May 12, 1779]
"To the distinguished character of patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian" [May 2, 1778, at Valley Forge]
During his inauguration, Washington took the oath as prescribed by the Constitution
but added several religious components to that official ceremony. Before taking
his oath of office, he summoned a Bible on which to take the oath, added the
words “So help me God!” to the end of the oath, then leaned over
and kissed the Bible.
Nelly Custis-Lewis (Washington’s adopted daughter):
Is it necessary that any one should [ask], “Did General Washington avow
himself to be a believer in Christianity?" As well may we question his
patriotism, his heroic devotion to his country. His mottos were, "Deeds,
not Words"; and, "For God and my Country."
“ O Most Glorious God, in Jesus Christ, my merciful and loving Father;
I acknowledge and confess my guilt in the weak and imperfect performance of the
duties of this day. I have called on Thee for pardon and forgiveness of my sins,
but so coldly and carelessly that my prayers are become my sin, and they stand
in need of pardon.”
“ I have sinned against heaven and before Thee in thought, word, and deed.
I have contemned Thy majesty and holy laws. I have likewise sinned by omitting
what I ought to have done and committing what I ought not. I have rebelled against
the light, despising Thy mercies and judgment, and broken my vows and promise.
I have neglected the better things. My iniquities are multiplied and my sins
are very great. I confess them, O Lord, with shame and sorrow, detestation and
loathing and desire to be vile in my own eyes as I have rendered myself vile
in Thine. I humbly beseech Thee to be merciful to me in the free pardon of my
sins for the sake of Thy dear Son and only Savior Jesus Christ who came to call
not the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Thou gavest Thy Son to die for
me.”
[George Washington; from a 24 page authentic handwritten manuscript book dated
April 21-23, 1752
William J. Johnson George Washington, the Christian (New York: The
Abingdon Press, New York & Cincinnati, 1919), pp. 24-35.]
"Although guided by our excellent Constitution in the discharge of official duties, and actuated, through the whole course of my public life, solely by a wish to promote the best interests of our country; yet, without the beneficial interposition of the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, we could not have reached the distinguished situation which we have attained with such unprecedented rapidity. To HIM, therefore, should we bow with gratitude and reverence, and endeavor to merit a continuance of HIS special favors". [1797 letter to John Adams]
James Wilson:
Signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution
Supreme Court Justice appointed by George Washington
Spoke 168 times during the Constitutional Convention
"Christianity is part of the common law"
[Sources: James Wilson,
Course of Lectures [vol 3, p.122]; and quoted in Updegraph v. The Commonwealth,
11 Serg, & R. 393, 403 (1824).]
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Public Institutions
Liberty Bell Inscription:
“ Proclaim liberty throughout the land and to all the inhabitants thereof” [Leviticus
25:10]
Proposals for the seal of the United States of America
• “Moses lifting his wand and dividing the Red Sea” –Ben
Franklin
• “The children of Israel in the wilderness, led by a cloud by day
and a pillar of fire by night.” --Thomas Jefferson
On July 4, 1776, Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson
and John Adams "to bring in a device for a seal for the United States
of America." Franklin's proposal adapted the biblical story of the parting
of the Red Sea. Jefferson first recommended the "Children of
Israel in the Wilderness, led by a Cloud by Day, and a Pillar of Fire by
night. . . ." He then embraced Franklin's proposal and rewrote it
Jefferson's revision of Franklin's proposal was presented by the committee
to Congress on August 20, 1776.
Another popular proposal to the Great Seal of the United States
was:
"
Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God"; with Pharoah's army drowning
in the Red Sea
The three branches of the U.S. Government: Judicial, Legislative,
Executive
• At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, James Madison proposed the
plan to divide the central government into three branches. He discovered this
model of government from the Perfect Governor, as he read Isaiah 33:22;
“For the LORD is our judge,
the LORD is our lawgiver,
the LORD is our king;
He will save us.”
Article 22 of the constitution of Delaware (1776)
Required all officers, besides taking an oath of allegiance, to make and subscribe
to the following declaration:
• "I, [name], do profess faith in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ
His only Son, and in the Holy Ghost, one God, blessed for evermore; and I do
acknowledge the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by divine
inspiration."
New York Spectator. August 23, 1831
“ The court of common pleas of Chester county, [New York] rejected a witness
who declared his disbelief in the existence of God. The presiding judge remarked
that he had not before been aware that there was a man living who did not believe
in the existence of God; that this belief constituted the sanction of all testimony
in a court of justice: and that he knew of no cause in a Christian country where
a witness had been permitted to testify without such belief.
New England Primer:
Used in public and private schools from 1690 to 1900 second only to the Bible
Some of its contents:
A song of praise to God
Prayers in Jesus’ name
The famous Bible alphabet
Shorter Catechism of faith in Christ