PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, in just punishment of our manifold
transgressions, it hath pleased the Supreme Disposer of all Events to visit
these United States with a calamitous War, through which his Divine Providence
hath hitherto in a wonderful Manner conducted us, so that we might acknowledge
that the race is not to the Swift , nor the Battle to the Strong:
AND WHEREAS, notwithstanding the Chastisements
received and Benefits bestowed , to few have been sufficiently awakened
to a Sense of their Guilt , or warmed with Gratitude, or taught to amend
their Lives and turn from their from their Sins, so that he might turn
his Wrath; AND WHEREAS, from a Consciousness of what we have merited at
his hands, and an Apprehension that the Malevolence of our disappointed
Enemies, like the Incredulity of Pharaoh, may be used as a Scourge of Omnipotence
to vindicate his slighted Majesty, there is Reason to fear that he might
permit much of our Land to become the pray of the spoiler, our Borders
to be be ravaged, and our habitations destroyed:
RESOLVED,
THAT it be recommended to the several
States to appoint the First Thursday in May next to be a Day of Fasting,
Humiliation,[and Prayer].
Done in CONGRESS,this Twentieth day of
march, in the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy-Nine
, and in the Third Year of our Independence.
JOHN JAY,President.
attest.CHARLES THOMPSON, Secretary
"I have lived, sir, a long time, and
the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth -- God
Governs in the Affairs of Men, And if a Sparrow cannot fall to the ground
without His notice, Is it possible that an empire can rise without His
aid?"Benjamin Franklin
"He who shall introduce into public affairs
the principles of a primitive Christianity, will change the face of the
world"Benjamin Franklin
"Except the Lord build the house, They
labor in vain who build it." "I firmly believe this."Benjamin Franklin,
1787, Constitutional Convention
"We have staked the whole of all our
political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government,
upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control
ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."
President James Madison
"The religion which has introduced civil
liberty is the religion of Christ and His Apostles.... This is genuine
Christianity and to this we owe our free constitutions of government."Noah
Webster
"Whether this [new government] will prove
a blessing or a curse will depend upon the use our people make of the blessings
which a gracious God hath bestowed on us. If they are wise, they will be
great and happy. If they are of a contrary character, they will be miserable.
Righteousness alone can exalt them as a nation [Proverbs 14:34]. Reader!
Whoever thou art, remember this, and in thy sphere practice virtue thyself
and encourage it in others."Patrick Henry
"The Bible is worth all other books which
have ever been printed."Patrick Henry
"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 the gift of God? That they
are not to be violated but with His wrath? I tremble for my country when
I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever."President
Thomas Jefferson
"The reason that Christianity is the
best friend of Government is because Christianity is the only religion
that changes the heart."President Thomas Jefferson
"Of all systems of morality, ancient
or modern, which have come under my observation, none appear to be so pure
as that of Jesus." Thomas Jefferson, To William Canby, 1813
"We have no government armed in power
capable of contending in human passions ubridled by morality and religion.
Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is
wholly inadequate for the government of any other."John Adams, address
to the militia of Massachusetts, 1798.
"If we make religion our business, God
will make it our blessedness." John Adams
"I hold the precepts of Jesus as delivered
by Himself, to be the most pure, benevolent and sublime which have ever
been preached to man..."President Thomas Jefferson
"The highest story of the American Revolution
is this: it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil
government with the principles of Christianity."President John Adams
"Before any man can be considered as
a member of civil society, he must be considered as a subject of the Governor
of the Universe. And to the same Divine Author of every good and perfect
gift [James 1:17] we are indebted for all those privileges and advantages,
religious as well as civil, which are so richly enjoyed in this favored
land."James Madison
"We've staked the whole future of American
civilization not on the power of government, far from it. We have staked
the future of all our political institutions upon the capacity of each
and all of us . . . to Govern ourselves according to the commandments of
God. The future and success of America is not in this Constitution, but
in the laws of God upon which this Constitution is founded." President
James Madison
"Providence has given to our people the
choice of their rulers. And it is the duty as well as the privilege and
interest, of a Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their
rulers." First Chief Justice of Supreme Court John Jay
" ...It is to be regretted, but so I
believe the fact to be , that except the Bible there is not a true history
in the world..."
John Jay, January 1, 1813
" Accept my thanks for your friendly
letter of the 17th ult., and for the sermon and report which accopmanied
it. Whether the religion permits Christians to vote for infidel rulers,
is a question which merits more consideration than it seems to have generally
received... Although the mere expediency of public measures may not be
a proper subject for the pulpit, yet , in my opinion, it is the right and
duty of our pastors to press for the observance of all moral and religious
duties, and to animadvert on every course of conduct that may be repugnant
to them..." John Jay in a letter to John bristed, april 23, 1811
"Human law must rest its authority ultimately
upon the authority of that law which is divine....Far from being rivals
or enemies, religion and law are twin sisters, friends, and mutual assistants.
Indeed, these two sciences run into each other."James Wilson, a signer
of the Constitution and an original Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court
"Let the children...be carefully instructed
in the principles and obligations of the Christian religion. This is the
most essential part of education. The great enemy of the salvation of man,
in my opinion, never invented a more effectual means of extirpating [removing]
Christianity from the world than by persuading mankind that it was improper
to read the Bible at schools."Benjamin Rush
"It is no slight testimonial, both to
the merit and worth of Christianity, that in all ages since its promulgation
the great mass of those who have risen to eminence by their profound wisdom
and integrity have recognized and reverenced Jesus of Nazareth as the Son
of the living God."President John Quincy Adams
"...so great is my veneration for the
Bible, and so strong my belief, that when duly read and meditated on, it
is of all books in the world, that which contributes most to make men good,
wise, and happy---that the earlier my children begin to read it, the more
steadily they pursue the practice of reading it throughout their lives,
the more lively and confident will be my hopes that they wil prove useful
citizens to their country, respectable members of society, and a real blessing
to their parents." President John Quincy Adams
"The general principles on which the
fathers achieved independence were.... the general principles of Christianity."President
John Quincy Adams
"...a true American Patriot must be a
religious man...He who neglects his duty to his maker, may well be expected
to be deficient and insincere in his duty towards the public" First
Lady Abigail Adams
"The Bible is the Rock on which this
Republic rests."President Andrew Jackson
"If there is anything in my thoughts
or style to commend, the credit is due to my parents for instilling in
me an early love of the Scriptures. If we abide by the principles taught
in the Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper; but if
we and our posterity neglect its instructions and authority, no man can
tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury all our glory in
profound obscurity." Daniel Webster
An
extensive compilation of Daniel Websters quotes and writings.
"It is extremely important to our nation
, in a political as well as religious view , that all possible authority
and influence should be given to the scriptures , for these furnish the
best principles of civil liberty , and the most effectual support of republican
government. The principles of all genuine liberty , and of wise laws and
administrations are to be drawn from the Bible and sustained by it's authority.The
man therefore who weakens or destroys the divine authority of that book
may be accessory to all the public disorders which society is doomed to
suffer...."Noah Webster
"The Bible must be considered as the
great source of all the truth by which men are to be guided in government
as well as in all social transactions...." Noah Webster
"The moral principles and precepts contained
in the Scriptures ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions
and laws...." Noah Webster
"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
"The religion which has introduced civil
liberty is the religion of Christ and his apostles , which enjoins humility
, piety and benevolence ; which acknowledges in every person a brother
, or a sister , and a citizen with equal rights. This is genuine Christianity
, and to this we owe our free constitutions of government...." Noah
Webster
"It is the sincere desire of the writer
(Noah Webster) that our citizens should early understand that the genuine
source of correct republican principles is the Bible , particularly the
New Testament or the Christian religion." Noah Webster
