CHAPTER SIX

MEN WHO SHAPED AMERICA

atrick Henry said, “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians. Not on religions but on the gospel of Jesus Christ.”[1]

John Jay , the original chief justice of the US Supreme Court and one of three men most responsible for the Constitution, declared, “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.”[2]

THE SIGNERS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

Fifty-three of the fifty-six founding fathers, who signed the Declaration of Independence, were members of orthodox (established) Christian churches. All of them were students of the Bible and their writings are filled with Bible quotes.[3] When these men quoted from other sources, thirty-four percent (34%) of their quotes were taken directly out of the Bible and another sixty percent (60%) of their quotes were taken from men like Blackstone who used the Bible to arrive at their conclusions. Thus, ninety-four percent (94%) of the founding father’s quotes were either based directly or indirectly on the Bible.[4]

As stated earlier, 53 of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence were members of Christian churches.[5] (The three who did not claim to be Christians were Thomas Pain, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin . It should be noted that both Franklin and Jefferson, though not Christians, were certainly not atheists. They both had a deep belief in and respect for God.) Ninety-seven percent of the founding fathers were practicing Christians who exercised their faith in public office and at home, and had it taught to their children in the schools.[6]

JOHN HANCOCK , a signer of the Declaration of Independence, said, “We think it is incumbent upon the people to humble themselves before God on account of their sins...[and] also to implore the Divine Blessing upon us, that by the assistance of His grace, we may be enabled to reform whatever is amiss among us, that so God may be pleased to continue to us the blessings we enjoy.[7]

JOHN WITHERSPOON: Witherspoon was the preacher who was asked by Congress to deliver a sermon to them on May 17, 1776. He spoke on God’s eternal purpose as unfolded in the drama of history. He mentioned Divine Providence and spoke much about liberty. Congress was so pleased that he was permitted to be one of the distinguished signers of the “Declaration  of Independence.”[8]

SAMUEL ADAMS was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and he said, “We have this day resorted the Sovereign to whom all men ought to be obedient. He reigns in Heaven, and from the rising to the setting of the sun, let His kingdom come”.[9]

ADAMS also said, “I conceive that we cannot better express ourselves than by humbly supplicating the Supreme Ruler of the world...that the confusions... among the nations may be overruled... when the kingdoms of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may be everywhere established.”[10]

CHARLES CARROL, a signer of the Declaration of Independence said, “Without morals a republic cannot subsist [survive] any length of time; they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion... are undermining... the best security for the duration of free governments”.[11]

BENJAMIN RUSH, a signer of the Declaration of Independence said, “The only foundation for...a republic is to be laid in Religion. Without this there can be no virtue, and without virtue there can be no liberty, and liberty is the object and life of all republic governments.[12]

Benjamin Franklin  was a signer of both the Declaration  of Independence  and the Constitution.

In the Constitutional Convention of 1787, the mood eventually reached an ugly pitch. It became painfully apparent to all present that the convention-and the union-was about to break up. The debate became hopelessly deadlocked and was growing increasingly bitter (part of the New York delegation had already gone home in disgust and others were preparing to follow). At that crucial moment, when there was not a man present who had any real hope of finding an effective solution, Ben Franklin  rose to speak.

“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. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a superintending Providence in our favor...And have we now forgotten this powerful Friend? Or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance? I have lived, Sir, a long time and the longer I live the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: ‘that God governs in the affairs of men.’ 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, Sir, 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. We shall be divided by our little, partial, local interest. Our projects will be confounded and we ourselves shall become a reproach and a byword down to future ages. And what is worse, mankind may hereafter, from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing government by human wisdom and leave it to chance, war, or conquest.

“I therefore beg leave to move that, henceforth, prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven and its blessing on our deliberation be held in this assembly every morning before we proceed to business.”[13]

That speech marked the turning-point. Their priorities rearranged, the delegates, nearly all of them believers, got on with the business of crafting the new constitution. [14]

Ben Franklin  wrote, while he was America’s ambassador in Paris, “He who shall introduce into public affairs the principles of primitive Christianity will change the face of the world.”[15]

In referring to the great revival of his day, he wrote: “It was wonderful to see the change soon made in the manners of our inhabitants. From being thoughtless or indifferent about religion, it seemed as if all the world were growing religious, so that one could not walk through a town in any evening without hearing psalms sung in different families of every street.”[16] He also said, “History will also afford frequent opportunities of showing the necessity of public religion...and the excellency of the Christian religion above all others, ancient or modern.” “Here is my Creed, I believe in God, the Creator of the Universe. That He governs it by His Providence. That He ought to be worshipped... As to Jesus of Nazareth...I think the System of Morals and his Religion, as he left them to us, is the best the World ever saw, or is likely to see.”[17]

GEORGE MASON, the Father of the Bill of Rights said, “As Nations cannot be rewarded or punished in the next world, so they must be in this, by an inevitable chain of causes and effects. Providence punishes national sins by national calamities”.[18]

#1. George Washington  was our first president.

WASHINGTON’S MOTHER: George’s mother, Mary Washington, said “Remember that God is our only sure trust.”[19] A woman who lived in her home said that every day, after breakfast, without exception, for at least the fifty years that she had known her, Mrs. Washington retired to her bedroom and spent an hour in prayer and in the reading and studying of the Word of God.[20]

WASHINGTON’S YOUTH: In a television mini-series recently produced, it was implied that Washington  had an affair. There is not the least shred of historical evidence for that intimation.[21] In this mini-series or another which was aired about the same time, Washington is depicted as one cursing at his soldiers. General Porterfield  said, “I was often in Washington’s  company under very exacting circumstances and never heard him swear or profane the name of God in any way.”[22] After Washington’s death, a British general and enemy in the recent war said of him, “[He was] the purest and noblest character of modern time-possibly of all time.”[23]

WASHINGTON’S WRITINGS AND SPEECHES are filled with references to the Almighty. In the book, “George Washington  the Christian”, by William Johnson, there is found a collection of eighty different titles Washington used for the Almighty in his various writings. The list includes such names as: Almighty Being; Almighty God; All-Powerful Guide; All-Wise Dispenser of Events; Author of All Good; Beloved Son; Beneficent Author of All Good; Creator; Benign parent of the Human Race; Divine Author of the Universe; God of Armies; Gracious God, etc. [24]

WASHINGTON’S PRAYER LIFE: George Washington  wrote, in his own hand, a twenty-four page book called “Daily Sacrifice”. The first entry was subtitled Sunday Morning and these are the words: “Let my heart, therefore, gracious God, be so affected with the glory and majesty of (Thine honor) that I may not do mine own works, but wait on Thee, and discharge those weighty duties which Thou requirest of me...”[25]

The next entry, Sunday Evening: “O most glorious God...I acknowledge and confess my faults; in the weak and imperfect performance of the duties of this day. I have called on Thee for pardon and forgiveness of sins, but so coldly and carelessly that my prayers are become my sin and stand in need of pardon. I have heard Thy holy word, but with such deadness of spirit that I have been an unprofitable and forgetful hearer...But, O God, who art rich in mercy and plenteous in redemption, mark not, I beseech Thee, what I have done amiss; remember that I am but dust, and remit my transgressions, negligences and ignorances, and cover them all with the absolute obedience of Thy dear Son, that those sacrifices (of sin, praise and thanksgiving) which I have offered may be accepted by Thee, in and for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ offered upon the Cross for me.”[26]

In Monday Morning’s  entry Washington wrote: “Direct my thoughts, words and work, wash away my sins in the immaculate Blood of the Lamb, and purge my heart by Thy Holy Spirit...daily frame me more and more into the likeness of Thy Son Jesus Christ.”[27]

Monday Evening: “Thou gavest Thy Son to die for me and hast given me assurance of salvation, upon my repentance and sincerely endeavoring to conform my life to His holy precepts and example.”[28]

Washington  always prayed aloud, as was the custom of many people in his day. He also rose early and at four o’clock each morning spent a portion of the time in the library kneeling before his chair with his Bible open before him. [29]

Throughout all of his life, unless there was an absolute emergency, at nine o’clock in the evening he left the living room, took a candle and retired to his library. Then at ten o’clock, he went to his bedroom. On several occasions, people who happened to be in his home, due to emergencies, found that they had to go to the library to seek his attention. Invariably, they found him on his knees in front of a chair, a candle on the stand nearby, and praying before an open Bible.[30]

During his war years, he often went out into the woods. One night at Valley Forge, a Quaker overheard Washington  praying in a thicket. The Quaker told that he had come unexpectedly upon a person who was kneeling in prayer and saw the tears on his cheeks. This man was George Washington.[31]

When the First Congress was in session, word came that Boston was under attack. The chaplain read the words of the 35th Psalm; “Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me. Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help.” Tears filled the eyes of the delegates as all but one man stood with bowed head to pray. This one who did not stand was Colonel George Washington; he was down on his knees![32]

WASHINGTON’S MILITARY CAREER:

During the war, Washington  frequently rode ten or twelve miles from the camp to attend public worship, and he never neglected this attendance, when opportunity presented itself.[33]

For a period of three years during the French and Indian war, Washington  was in charge of the forces defending this country. For two of these three years he pulled double duty, serving as both commander in chief of the frontier defense of Virginia and chaplain. As chaplain, he conducted worship services on Sunday for his army.[34]

On one of the campaigns of the French and Indian war, he fought in the Battle of Monongahela. On July 9, 1755, at the end of two hours of battle, more than half of the, British and American troops (714 of the 1,300) had been shot down. Only thirty of the French and Indians XE "French and Indians"  had been shot. Washington’s XE "Washington’s"  commanding officer, General Edward Braddock, was killed. There were 86 British and American officers involved in that battle and at the end George Washington was the only officer who had not been shot off his horse.[35]

When they arrived back at the fort, Washington wrote a letter to John Augustine Washington, as follows:

“Dear Jack:

            As I have heard since my arriv’l at this place, a circumstantial acct. of my death and dying speech, I take this early opportunity of contradicting both, and of assuring you that I now exist and appear in the land of the living by the miraculous care of Providence, that protected me beyond all human expectation.  I had 4 bullets through my coat, and two Horses shot under me, and yet escaped unhurt...”[36]

Fifteen years after this battle, Washington XE "Washington"  and his life-long friend, Dr. Craik, were exploring the same wilderness territory in the Western Reserve. Near the junction of the Kanawha and Ohio rivers, a band of Indians came to them with an interpreter. The leader of the band was an old Indian chief who wanted to talk to Washington. A council fire was kindled and this is what the chief said:

“I am a chief and ruler over my tribes. My influence extends to the waters of the great lakes, and to the far blue mountains. I have traveled a long and weary path, that I might see the young warrior of the great battle. It was on the day when the white man’s blood mixed with the streams of our forest, that I first beheld this chief. I called to my young men and said, ‘Mark yon tall and daring warrior? He is not of red-coat tribe-he hath an Indian’s wisdom, and his warriors fight as we do-himself alone is espoused. Quick let your aim be certain, and he dies.’ Our rifles were leveled, rifles which, but for him knew not how to miss...’Twas all in vain, a power mightier far than we shielded him from harm. He cannot die in battle. I am old, and soon shall be gathered to the great council fire of my fathers in the land of shades, but ere I go, there is something that bids me speak in the voice of prophecy: Listen! The Great Spirit protects that man, and guides his destinies-he will become the chief of nations, and a people yet unborn will hail him as the founder of a mighty empire.”[37]

When Washington XE "Washington"  became commander in chief of the American forces in the Revolution, the very next day he issued this order, “The General most earnestly requires and expects a due observance of those articles of war established for the government of the army, which forbid profane cursing, swearing, and drunkenness. And in like manner he requires and expects of all officers and soldiers, not engaged in actual duty, a punctual attendance on Divine service, to implore the blessing of Heaven upon the means used for our safety and defense.”[38]

WASHINGTON’S INAUGURAL ADDRESS: On April 30, 1789, Washington  stepped out onto the outdoor balcony of Federal Hall in New York, in full view of the assembled multitude. He requested that a Bible be brought. Having placed his right hand on the open book, he took the oath of office. And then, embarrassed at the thunderous ovation which followed, the pealing church bells, and the roaring of artillery, the new President went inside to deliver his inaugural address to Congress. Speaking with gravity which verged on sadness, his voice deep and tremulous, he went further than he had ever gone before in stressing the role of God in the birth of the nation. He said:

“It would be peculiarly improper to omit, in this first official act, my fervent supplication to that Almighty Being, who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benefaction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States...No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States....We ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained.”[39]

Washington’s  first act, after taking the oath of office to become president of the United States, was to lead the Senate and the House of Representatives on foot to St. Paul’s Church for a two hour service of worship. [40]

WASHINGTON’S PRESIDENCY: In the establishment of his presidential household, he reserved to himself the Sabbath, free from interruptions of private visits, or public business.[41] Washington’s minister, Lee Massey said, “He was the most punctual attendant at church I have ever known. No company ever prevented his coming.”[42] G. W. P. Curtis, a member of Washington’s family said, “Washington was a strict... observer of the Sabbath. He always attended Divine service in the morning, and read a sermon or some portion of the Bible to Mrs. Washington in the afternoon.” [43]

Five months after Washington  became President, he issued the proclamation for the first national Thanksgiving Day in which he called upon the people to give thanks to God. In this proclamation he said, “Whereas, it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the Providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor... to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God...”[44] At another time he said, “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.” [45]

WASHINGTON’S FAREWELL ADDRESS:

Washington  said, “...I shall take my present leave but not without resorting once more to the Benign Parent of the human race, in humble supplication that, since He has been pleased to favor the American people with opportunities for deliberation in perfect tranquility...so His divine blessing may be equally conspicuous in the enlarged views, the temperate consolations, and the wise measures, on which the success of this government may depend.”[46]

In his farewell address, he reminded America of the course which had brought them to success and warned them what must be done to continue to have this success. Four of his warnings were religious in nature. He pointed out that the two foundations for political prosperity in America were religion and morality. Washington emphasized, “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain, would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars..."[47] Washington believed that if an individual attempted to separate religion and morality from the government that he would not be a friend of American patriotism. He continued, “I consider it an indispensable duty to close the last solemn act of my official life by commending the interests of our dearest country to the protection of Almighty God, and of those who have superintendence of them to His holy keeping.”[48]

Washington prayed for our Nation... “Almighty God, we make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in thy holy protection; that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government; to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow citizens at large. And finally, that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, and love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility and pacific tamper of mind which are the characteristics of the Divine Author. Without a humble imitation of these things we can never hope to become a happy nation. Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ, our Lord...Amen.[49]

SUMMARY:

A nephew who had lived in Washington’s  home said that after fighting the French and Indians, after winning the Revolutionary War, after serving two terms as President of the United States by unanimous election, he never heard him boast about anything he had ever done. He was indeed a man who walked humbly with his God.[50]

George Washington is the father of our country.

·        He was incapable of fathering children but by the grace of God he, like Abraham of old, fathered a nation.

·        He spent 45 years of his life in public service.

·        He served as the Commander-in-Chief of our armed forces.

·        He’s the man who was the president of the convention that gave us the Constitution.

·        He was unanimously elected the first President of the United States.[51]

·        He was the one who called for the First Amendment and the Bill Of Rights.

WASHINGTON’S DEATH: Feeling that the hour of his departure was at hand, he desired that everyone leave the room so that he might have some time alone to commune with his God, as he had done all of his life. Later that evening, when his secretary, Tobias Lear, returned, Washington said to him, “‘Tis well.” Then feeling that he was about to die, he took his hand, closed his eyes, folded his arms across his chest and said, “Father of mercies, take me to thyself,” and thus he died.[52]

#2. JOHN ADAMS,  our second President said, “The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were...the general principles of Christianity... I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.”[53] He said in his inaugural address, “And may that Being who is supreme over all... continue His blessing upon this nation...consistent with the ends of His providence.” He also said, “Statesmen may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free constitution is pure virtue”.[54] “Suppose a nation in some distant region should take the Bible for their only law book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited...What a utopia, what a Paradise would this region be.”[55]

#3. Thomas Jefferson,  our third President, (a devout believer in God but one of the three who did not claim to be a Christian, a man that was elected to be President by only one vote)[56] said, “Studious perusal of the sacred volume will make better citizens, better fathers, better husbands.”[57] He said, “God who gave us life gave us liberty.[58] And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure if we have removed their only firm basis: a conviction in the minds of men that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to [be] violate[d] but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is Just; that His justice cannot sleep forever.”[59] “The Bible is the cornerstone of liberty.”[60] “And may that Infinite Power which rules the destinies of the universe lead our councils to what is best, and give them a favorable issue of your peace and prosperity.”[61]

In his inaugural address he said, “I...need...the favor of that Being in whose hands we are, who led our fathers...who has covered our infancy with His providence and our riper years with His wisdom and power, and to whose goodness I ask you to join in supplications with me, that He will so enlighten the minds of your servants, guide their councils...” [62]

#4. James Madison,  our fourth President considered being a minister of the Gospel before running for the office of President of the United States.[63] Madison was known as the father of the Constitution. He helped form the Bill of Rights which guarantees our religious freedom.

#5. James Monroe was our fifth President. He said, “I enter on the trust to which I have been called...with my fervent prayers to the Almighty that He will be graciously pleased to continue to us that protection which He has already so conspicuously displayed in our favor.”[64] “With a firm reliance on the protection of Almighty God, I shall forthwith commence the duties of the high trust to which you have called me.”[65]

#6. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, our sixth president, read the Bible through every year.

·        He served as the secretary for an ambassador to Russia when he was only 14 years old.

·        He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

·        He served as foreign ambassador under presidents George Washington and John Adams.

·        He served as Secretary of State under President James Monroe.

·        He served as a US Representative.

·        He served as a US Senator.

·        He served as the nation’s sixth President.[66]

In a speech on July 4th, 1837, he stated that “The redeemer’s mission upon earth laid the corner stone of human government, upon the first precepts of Christianity.” He said, “The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected, in one indissoluble bond, the principles of the civil government and the principles of Christianity.”[67] He also said, “The United States of America were no longer Colonies. They were an independent nation of Christians.”[68] “I shall look for whatever success may attend my public service; and knowing that ‘except the Lord keep the city the watchman walketh but in vain,’ with fervent supplications for His favor, to His overruling providence I commit with humble but fearless confidence my own fate and the future destinies of my country.”[69]

#7. ANDREW JACKSON , our seventh President, was a daily Bible reader. He said, “The Bible is the rack on which our republic rests.”[70]

#8. MARTIN VANBUREN, our eighth President, was a regular church attendee.[71] He said, “May it be among the dispensations of His providence to bless our beloved country with honors and with length of days.”[72] “I only look to the gracious protection of the Divine Being whose strengthening support I humbly solicit, and whom I fervently pray to look down upon us all.[73]

#9. WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON,  our ninth President, said, “I deem the present occasion sufficiently important and solemn to justify me in expressing to my fellow-citizens a profound reverence for the Christian religion[74]...is essentially connected to all true and lasting happiness; and to that good Being who has blessed us by...religious freedom...let us commend every interest of our beloved country...”[75]

#11. JAMES K. POLK, our eleventh President said in his inaugural address, “In assuming responsibilities so vast, I fervently invoke the aid of that Almighty Ruler of the Universe in whose hands are the destinies of nations and of men...With a firm reliance upon the wisdom of Omnipotence to sustain and direct me in the path of duty which I am appointed to pursue...I take upon myself the solemn obligation to preserve... the Constitution XE "Constitution"  of the United States.”[76]

#13. CALVIN COOLIDGE, our thirteenth President said in his inaugural address, “...America seeks no earthly empire... The higher state to which she seeks the allegiance of all mankind is not of human, but of divine origin. She cherishes no purpose save to merit the favor of Almighty God.”[77] He said, “The foundations of our society and our government rest so much on the teaching of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease...[78]

#14. FRANKLIN PEARCE, our fourteenth President said that it violated his religious convictions to even read his mail on Sunday. He said, “There ought to be one day considered to be the Lord’s day, and it should be given to the service of the Lord and don’t let anything interfere.”[79] “Let not the foundation of our hope rest upon man’s wisdom... It must be felt that there is no national security but in the nation’s humble, acknowledged dependency upon God and His overruling providence.”[80]

#15. JAMES BUCHANAN, our fifteenth President said, “In entering upon this great office I must humbly invoke the God of our fathers for wisdom and firmness...”[81]

#16. ABRAHAM LINCOLN was our sixteenth President.

CHILDHOOD: When Lincoln was a child and living in a log-cabin, his mother taught him the Bible and had him memorize many scriptures. Lincoln was nine years old when his mother died, but he continued to attend church with his step-mother and his sister, Sarah. Each child sat on one side of the mother-there they sat, Abraham and Sarah![82]

THE DAYS AS A LAWYER: As Lincoln got older, he quoted the Bible with ease and he used passages from the Bible as the basis for his logical conclusions. He was baptized by immersion for the remission of sins by a church of Christ minister.[83] He told a group of black people in Baltimore who had given him a costly Bible, “All the good the Savior gave to the world was communicated through this book. But for it we could not know right from wrong.”[84]

FIRST TRIP TO WASHINGTON, D.C.: On his first trip to Washington, D.C., someone gave Lincoln a flag with the words inscribed, “Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed; for the Lord God is with thee wheresoever thou goest” (Josh. 1:9). These words became a source of limitless courage for Lincoln.[85]

LINCOLN AS PRESIDENT: Lincoln’s first inaugural address was delivered March 4, 1862. He said, “If the Almighty Ruler of nations with his eternal truth and justice, be on your side, the North, or yours, of the South, that truth, and that justice will surely prevail...”[86]

As a President, his speeches were literally saturated with God’s word. He often quoted Luke 11:17, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against itself falleth.” He used this Bible verse as his plea to preserve the Union. Lincoln once said to his friend, L. E. Chittenden: “That the Almighty does make use of human agencies, and directly intervenes in human affairs, is one of the plainest statements of the Bible. I have had so many evidences of His direction, so many instances when I have been controlled by some other power than my own will, that I cannot doubt that this power comes from above.”[87]

CIVIL WAR DAYS: Lincoln designated April 30, 1863, as a national day of “fasting, humiliation and prayer.” In his proclamation he said, “We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!”[88] “It behooves us then to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray clemency for forgiveness upon us.”[89] It is the duty of nations, as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God,...[90] and to recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.”[91]

Lincoln once told a friend, “The character of the Bible is easily established... It contains an immense amount of evidence of its own authenticity...I decided a long time ago that it was less difficult to believe that the Bible was what it claimed to be than to disbelieve it.”[92]

During the Civil War, Lincoln devised and orchestrated a gigantic plan called “The Sanitary Commission” to care for the sick and wounded soldiers. It was very successful. When Dr. John D. Hill, a prominent physician from Buffalo, later complimented the President for conceiving such an idea, Lincoln replied, “You must carry your thanks to a Higher Being. One stormy night I tossed on my bed, unable to sleep as I thought of the terrible sufferings of our soldiers and sailors. I spent an hour in agonizing prayer to God for some method of relief, and he put the Sanitary Commission in my mind, with all its details, as distinctly as though the instructions had been written out by pen and handed to me. Hereafter, always thank your heavenly Father, and not me, for His organization, which has eased so much pain and saved so many lives.”[93]

During the Civil War, Lincoln was seen many times praying. We know that sometimes he prayed all night long. One of his prayers was, “O God, I cannot lead this people. O God, unless Thou doest help us, we shall have no victory. O God, help me. Thou, Lord must help.” Schuyler Colfax, who would eventually become a Vice-President of the United States, said Lincoln would often get up as early as four o’clock in the morning in order to have time to read his Bible and pray before visitors would begin to arrive at the White House. Lincoln once told his intimate friend, Noah Brooks, “I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.”[94] One evening, his friends left him sitting by the fireplace, his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands. They came back the following morning to find him still in the same position. As they stepped quietly into the room, they could hear him praying in agonizing tones, over and over again, “O God, O God, if it be possible let this cup pass from me.”[95]

One day Lincoln stood at the hospital bedside of General Sickles. Sickles asked Lincoln if he had been anxious about the battle at Gettysburg. “No, I was not,” came the reply, “I will tell you how it was. In the pinch of the campaign up there, when everybody seemed panic-stricken, and nobody could tell what was going to happen, oppressed by the gravity of our affairs, I went to my room one day, and I locked the door, and got down on my knees before Almighty God, and prayed to Him mightily for victory at Gettysburg. I told Him that this was His war, and our cause, His cause, but we couldn’t stand another Fredericksburg or Chancellorsville. And I then and there made a solemn vow to Almighty God, that if He would stand by our boys at Gettysburg, I would stand by Him...And after that (I don’t know how it was, and I can’t explain it), soon a sweet comfort crept into my soul that God Almighty had taken the whole business into his own hands and that things would go all right at Gettysburg.”[96]

At Gettysburg he said, “A GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE AND BY THE PEOPLE, AND FOR THE PEOPLE SHALL NOT PERISH FROM THE EARTH.” These are great words, but these words did not originate with that great President. These were taken from the fly leaf of his Wycliffe Bible which was written centuries before Lincoln was born. The preface actually read, “The Bible is the government of the people, and for the people.”[97]

LINCOLN’S THANKSGIVING DAY PROCLAMATION: On October 3, 1863, an Act of Congress designated an annual National Day of Thanksgiving. Lincoln said, “I do, therefore, invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States...to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens...[It is] announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord....It has seemed to me fit and proper that God should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people.[98]

LINCOLN’S DEATH: On the night of April 14, 1865, Lincoln went with his wife to the theater. The play was nearing its end when they had arrived, but he was not watching it. His wife, Mary, was at his side. He was leaning in his chair and talking to her. The long war and the struggle was over. The victory was won. The union was secure. He said, “Mary, you know what I would like most of all in the world to do? I would like to take you with me on a trip to the Near East. We could go to Palestine. We could visit Bethlehem, where He was born.” At that point, John Wilkes Booth stepped into the box. Lincoln continued, “We could go to Nazareth and Bethany.” Booth lifted the gun toward the President’s head. “And Mary,” he continued, “we could go up to Jeru--.” A shot rang out! The consequence was his death.[99]

# 18. Ulysses S. Grant was our eighteenth President. He said, “Hold fast to the Bible as the sheet anchor of your liberties; write its precepts on your heart and practice them in your lives. To the influence of His Book we are indebted for this progress made, and to this we must look as our guide in the future.[100]

18th Vice-President, Henry Wilson  said, “Remember ever and always, that your country was founded...by the stern old Puritans XE "Puritans"  who made the deck of the Mayflower an altar of the living God, and whose first act on touching the soil of the new world was to offer on bended knee thanksgiving to Almighty God.”[101]

#19. RUTHERFORD HAYS was our nineteenth President and was a daily Bible reader. At his inauguration he started, a Sunday night hymn sing on the steps of the capital. People were invited from all faiths to come there at the central seat of the government of the entire nation and sing praises to God.[102]

#20. JAMES GARFIELD  was our twentieth President. He was a Christian, a preacher and an elder of the Christian Church.[103] Upon his inauguration, he announced that he was stepping down from the highest office of the land, (being an elder in the Lord’s church) to become the President of the United States. He refused a cabinet meeting one Sunday. His advisor said, “You must be there Mr. President!” He replied, “I’m sorry about that but I can’t be there.” The advisor responded, “President, sir, I’d like to know the nature of such a meeting that would keep you from this important meeting.” He said, “That appointment is with my God. I go there every Sunday to Bible study and worship. I won’t be to your meeting.”[104]

#21. JAMES A. ARTHOR,  our twenty-first President, at his inauguration, opened the Bible to the 23rd Psalm and reverently kissed the page.[105]

#22, & 24. GROVER CLEVELAND  was unusual in that he was President #22 and #24. He said, “Above all, I know that there is a Supreme Being who rules the affairs of men and whose goodness and mercy have always followed the American people, and I know He will not turn from us now if we humbly and reverently seek His powerful aid.”[106]

He carried his mother’s Bible to his inauguration and rested his hand on Psalm 112. He stated he that rather than an acceptance speech, the thing that ought to be read for an incoming President of the United States were words more fitting than could be written by any president’s speech writer, ought to be the words of God. [107]

Psalm 112:1-10: “Praise the LORD. Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in his commands. 2 His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. 4 Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man. 5 Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice. 6 Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever. 7 He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. 8 His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes. 9 He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor. 10 The wicked man will see and be vexed, he will gnash his teeth and waste away; the longings of the wicked will come to nothing”.

#23. BENJAMIN HARRISON, our twenty-third President, considered the ministry, then served as a teacher, deacon and elder in his church.[108] He said, “Entering thus solemnly into covenant with each other, we may reverently invoke and confidently expect the favor and help of Almighty God-that He will give to me wisdom, strength, and fidelity, and to our people a spirit of fraternity and a love of righteousness and peace.”[109] He also said, “God has placed upon our head a diadem and has laid at our feet power and wealth beyond definition or calculation.”[110]

#25. WILLIAM MCKINLEY, our twenty-fifth President was a man of deep religious principles and Christian faith.[111] He said, “The more profoundly we study this wonderful Book and the more closely we observe its divine precepts, the better citizens we will become and the higher will be the destiny of our nation.”[112]

#26 THEODORE ROOSEVELT, our twenty-sixth President said, “My fellow-citizens, no people on earth have more cause to be thankful than ours, and this is said reverently, in no spirit of boastfulness in our own strength, but with gratitude to the Giver of Good who has blessed us with the conditions which have enabled us to achieve so large a measure of well-being and happiness.”[113]

#28. WOODROW WILSON, the twenty-eighth President said, “There are a good many problems before the American people today, and before me as President, but I expect to find a solution to those problems just in the proportion that I am faithful in study of the Word of God.”[114]

#29. WARREN G. HARDING  was our twenty-ninth President. He said, “I accept my part with single-mindedness of purpose and humility of spirit, and implore the favor and guidance of God in His Heaven.”[115]

#31. HERBERT HOOVER, the thirty-first President said at his inaugural address, “This occasion is not alone the administration of the most sacred oath which can be assumed by an American citizen. It is a dedication and consecration under God to the highest office in service of our people. I assume this trust in the humility of knowledge that only through the guidance of Almighty Providence can I hope to discharge its ever increasing burdens.”[116] “I ask the help of Almighty God in this service to my country to which you have called me.”[117]

#33. HARRY S. TRUMAN, the thirty-third President said, “The basis of our Bill of Rights comes from the teaching we get from Exodus and St. Matthew, from Isaiah and St. Paul. I don’t think we emphasize that enough these days. If we don’t have a proper foundational moral background, we will finally end up with a ...government which does not believe in rights for anybody except the State”! [118] He also said, “We believe that all men are created equal because they are created in the image of God.”[119]

Truman also said, “We all can pray. We all should pray. We should ask the fulfillment of God’s will. We should ask for courage, wisdom, for the quietness of soul which comes alone to them who place their lives in His hands.”[120]

#34. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER , our thirty-fourth President said, “The spirit of man is more important than mere physical strength, and the spiritual fiber of a nation than its wealth.”[121] He prayed, “Almighty God...[we are] beseeching that Thou will make full and complete our dedication to the service of the people...Give us, we pray, the power to discern...that all might work to the good of our beloved country and for Thy glory. Amen.”[122]

#35. JOHN F. KENNEDY, our thirty-fifth President said, “With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on, God’s work must truly be our own.”[123]

#36. LYNDON B. JOHNSON, our thirty-sixth President said, “The men who have guided the destiny of the United States have found the strength for their tasks by going to their knees.”[124] “For myself, I ask only, in the words of an ancient leader: ‘Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this Thy people, that is so great?”’[125]

#39. JIMMY CARTER, our thirty-ninth President said, “I would like to have my frequent prayer answered that God let my life be meaningful in the enhancement of His kingdom and that my life might be meaningful in the enhancement of the lives of my fellow human beings.”[126]

# 40. RONALD REAGAN, our fortieth President was immersed for the remission of sins in the Christian Church and his mother was a member of the Church of Christ.[127] He said, “America was founded by people who believe[d] that God was their rock of safety. I recognize we must be cautious in claiming that God is on our side, but I think it’s all right to keep asking if we’re on His side.”[128] Reagan also said, “The time has come to turn to God and reassert our trust in Him for the healing of America... Our country is in need of and ready for a spiritual renewal.”[129]

#41. GEORGE BUSH, our forty-first President said, “The Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers may He not leave us or forsake us so that we may incline our hearts to Him, to walk in all His ways...that all peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God and there is no other.”[130] He prayed, “Heavenly Father, we bow our heads and thank You for Your love. Accept our thanks for the peace that yields this day and the shared faith that makes its continuance likely. Make us strong to do Your work, willing to heed and hear Your will, and write on our hearts these words, ‘Use power to help people.”’ For we are given power not to advance our own purposes, nor to make a great show in the world, nor a name. There is but one just use of power, and it is to the serve people. Help us to remember it, Lord. Amen.”[131]

#43. GEORGE W. BUSH, our forty-third President, made a public statement that he was a born again Christian. On September 14, 2001, after the World Trading Center and the Pentagon were attacked, he called for a national day of prayer for America. In his speech, he referred often to God and said, “We are assured that ‘neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers... will be able to separate us from the love of God...”’ (Rom 8:38, 39 NIV).[132]

THE TENNESSEE CONSTITUTION OF 1796: Article VIII, “No person who denies the being of God, or a future state of rewards and punishments, shall hold any office in the civil department of this State.”[133]

OATH REQUIRED FOR THE STATE OF DELAWARE (1776). “I, ________, do profess faith in God the Father and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, and in the Holy Spirit, one God, blessed for evermore; and I do acknowledge the holy scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by divine inspiration.”[134]

DECLARATION OF CONGRESS, November 1, 1782. “It being the indispensable duty of all Nations, not only to offer up their supplications to ALMIGHTY GOD, the giver of all good, for His gracious assistance in the time of distress, but also in a solemn and public manner to give Him praise for His goodness in general...hereby recommend...the observation of THURSDAY the twenty-eight day of NOVEMBER next, as a day of solemn THANKSGIVING to GOD for all His mercies.”[135]

A Joint Resolution of House and Senate declared that 1983 would be “The Year of the Bible.”[136]

SUMMARY:

We have seen that the Bible has...

·        Remained the world’s best seller

·        Led in the fight for individual equality

·        Inspired humane treatment

·        Influenced schools and education

·        Had an effect on law and order

·        Influenced governments

·        Produced the roots of American democratic law

·        Inspired America’s greatness

Draw a line, if you will, around the nations who have God and the Bible and you will divide between barbarism and civilization, between ignorance and education, between greed and charity, between oppression and freedom, between life and the constant nagging shadow of death.

The Bible, my friends, yes, the Bible and the God who gave it, is the secret of America’s greatness.

What Made America Great?

What's so Great About America?

What Made America Great?
Chapter 3

The Persecution

The Dream for Freedom

Men Who Shaped America

Separation of Church and State

The Fall of America

The Cost of Freedom

A Warning to America

The Collapse of America

Hope for America

Appendix What Made America Great?