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Noah Webster

As the school year comes to a close, this is a good time to remember a man who had a profound impact on America’s educational system: Noah Webster.

Noah was born on October 16, 1758 in Hartford, Connecticut ¹ and had four brothers and sisters. ² At the age of sixteen, he went off to Yale, ³ where he was twice called to go out as a soldier in the American Revolution. ⁴

After completing college, he became a schoolteacher. ⁵ Recognizing the importance of providing an American rather than a British education, Noah began writing distinctly American books ⁶ that taught children Americanized spellings, readings, and pronunciations as well as American history. ⁷ Noah was adamant that just as America had worked hard to become an independent Nation, she also needed a uniform language. ⁸ His profound influence in shaping America’s educational system earned him the title “Schoolmaster to America.” ⁹

Among his many remarkable achievements, the one for which he is probably most widely known today is his Webster’s Dictionary. In 1806, he produced an early small dictionary that provided proper spellings and meanings of words. ¹⁰ But he followed that with years of learning some twenty different languages so that he could trace the origins of English words back to their original roots in various languages, and then create a definition for the words based on those translations. ¹¹ As he explained, “I spent ten years in making a Synopsis of twenty languages, viz., the Chaldaic, Syriac, Hebrew, Samaritan, Arabic, Ethiopic, and Persian; the Hiberno Celtic or native Irish; the Anglo-Saxon, German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish; Greek, Latin, Italian, Spanish, French, Russian, and English, to which may be added the Armoric and Welsh.” ¹² In 1828, his massive dictionary was finally finished, containing some 70,000 words.

Strikingly, his strong Biblical faith is evident throughout the dictionary, and he frequently used Scriptures to help illustrate the meanings of words. (See, for example, the graphic of the word “wisdom” to the left.)
Five years later, taking what he had learned from his extensive work on the dictionary, Noah published an updated version of the King James Bible, replacing outdated ancient words with their more modern meanings. For example, he replaced the King James word “kine” with its modern equivalent, “cow or cattle.” Noah believed strongly in the inerrancy of God’s Word, so wanting to ensure that he had changed none of the doctrinal meanings of the Scriptures with his word changes, in the preface to his Bible he listed all the specific words that he had updated so that people would know and could investigate for themselves exactly what he had and had not changed. This 1833 Bible is considered the first “modern” language American translation.¹³ While preparing both his Dictionary and the Bible, Noah wrote many letters that reveal his deep love for God and the Scriptures. (We have posted some of those original letters which we own on our WallBuilders website.)

Another example of Noah’s strong Christian faith is found in a letter that he wrote in 1809. This letter was so well received that it was later printed in a magazine as a stand-alone article (The Peculiar Doctrines of the Gospel Explained and Defended).

Having spent his life working to improve educational content and make the Word of God more readable for the common man, Noah Webster died 170 years ago on May 28, 1843. ¹⁴

Endnotes

¹ Horace E. Scudder, American Men of Letters, Noah Webster (Boston: Houghton Mifflin and Company, 1882), 2.
² Emily Ellsworth Fowler Ford, Notes on the Life of Noah Webster, ed. Emily Ellsworth Ford Skeel (New York: Privately printed, 1912), I:15; Scudder, American Men of Letters (1882), 3.
³ Scudder, American Men of Letters (1882), 4; Ford, Notes on the Life of Noah Webster, ed. Skeel (1912), I:14-15.
⁴ Henry Phelps Johnston, Yale and Her Honor Roll in the American Revolution (New York: Privately Printed, 1888), 11-14,77-78, 341; Scudder, American Men of Letters (1882), 5-7.
⁵ Scudder, American Men of Letters (1882), 8-9.
⁶ Scudder, American Men of Letters (1882) 33-35.
⁷ Scudder, American Men of Letters (1882) 34-38, 277-278.
⁸ Scudder, American Men of Letters (1882) 242-243, 277.
⁹ Harry R. Warfeel, Noah Webster: Schoolmaster to America (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1936); see also reprints of Webster’s works such as William Webster, A Sequel to Webster’s Elementary Spelling Book (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1845).
¹⁰ Scudder, American Men of Letters (1882) 216.
¹¹ Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (New York: S. Converse, 1828), 1:Preface; Scudder, American Men of Letters (1882) 236.
¹² Noah Webster to Samuel Lathan Mitchell, December 12, 1823, Letters of Noah Webster, ed. Harry R. Warfel (New York: Library Publishers, 1953), 410.
¹³ The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments in the Common Version, ed. Noah Webster (New Haven: Durrie & Peck, 1833), Preface.
¹⁴ Scudder, American Men of Letters (1882) 279.

John Hart – Quiet Farmer. Selfless Patriot.

“Having put his hand to the plow, he would not turn back.”

When fifty-six men of varying backgrounds, temperaments, means, and abilities, mutually pledged “our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor,” the words were not mere platitudes. Each knowingly signed his name. Many, if not most of those men lost loved ones and homes. Many accumulated great financial debt resulting in bankruptcy or loss of their properties. None sacrificed his honor.

Such was John Hart, signer of the Declaration from New Jersey and one of the many noted Christians among the Founding Fathers. Unlike some other Founders, Hart left little by way of written testimony. But his Christian character was widely attested to by those who knew him best. WallBuilders’ museum features some legal documents signed by John Hart and in which he affirms the legal oaths, on “the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God” (i.e., the entirety of the Scriptures). Significantly, many colonial oaths were not merely taken on the Bible, but used this specific stronger language.¹

Not much is known about John Hart’s younger years, including not even the exact year he was born (ca. 1711-1715). He learned bravery and patriotism from his father who helped raise a volunteer army, named “The Jersey Blues,” to assist in the French and Indian War.²

Also like his father, John became a gentleman farmer, acquiring a large property where he raised grains for his mill, a multitude of livestock, and reared his 13 children. He was a natural leader in his community and in his church. His reputation as “Honest John Hart” earned him the confidence and respect of those around him.³ Although he preferred to remain on his farm, he answered duty’s call to public service time and time again. Over the course of 29 years he held several local and state offices. He early became interested in the cause of freedom, even helping to select New Jersey’s delegates to the Stamp Act Congress in 1765.⁴

John Hart was himself elected to the Continental Congress where, somewhere near the age of 60, he voted for the Declaration of Independence with “unusual zeal.”⁵ Since the British army was already ravaging New York at the time, he fully understood the eminent personal cost entailed by affixing his name to the Declaration of Independence. And it wasn’t long before he realized those consequences.

The British Army quickly swept into New Jersey. His property was pillaged by Hessian mercenaries. His two eldest sons were serving in the Continental Army and his remaining children had to flee their home. John was chased from his dying wife’s bedside and hunted by the enemy. He wandered about the countryside to avoid discovery by the British, rarely sleeping in the same place two nights in a row. In fact, he even had to sleep in the “resting place of a large dog” to avoid detection by a nearby British patrol.⁶ Several times, he was forced to flee as fast as he could to “save his neck” since he had been “marked for vengeance” by the British.⁷

John was never even tempted by the pardons offered by the British for “rebels” who would recant and declare their loyalty to the Crown.

Eventually, he was able to return to his destroyed home in 1777 and regather his scattered family. He began to restore his farm and property, but his health was permanently broken and he never fully recovered from the physical hardships of strain and exposure. His farm was later sold off to cover debts incurred during the war. He died before the end of the War, having yet witnessed the freedom for which he sacrificed so much. We owe much to men such as John Hart who gave his all so that future generations might live in freedom and security.

To learn more about John Hart’s faith and character and that of his wife’s, read Lives of the Signers and Wives of the Signers (both reprinted by WallBuilders).

Endnotes

1. See, for example, Joseph Brevard, An Alphabetical Digest of the Public Statue Law of South Carolina (Charleston: John Hoff, 1814), II:86, “Oaths-Affirmations,” 1731; Oliver H. Prince, A Digest of the Laws of the State of Georgia (Milledgeville: Grantland & Orme, 1822), 3, “An Act for the case of Dissenting Protestants, within this province, who may be scrupulous of taking an oath, in respect to the manner and form of administering the same,” passed December 13, 1756; Samuel Nevill, The Acts of the General Province of New Jersey (Woodbridge, NJ: James Parker, 1761), 135, “An Act for the Raising and Maintaining One Hundred and Twenty Effective Men, for the Defense of the Frontiers of the Colony of New Jersey,” passed June 3, 1757; John Haywood, A Manual of the Laws of North Carolina (Raleigh: J. Gales, 1814), 34, “Oaths and Affirmations. 1777”.

2. John Sanderson, Biography of the Signers to the Declaration of Independence, (Philadelphia: TR.W. Pomeroy, 1827), 9:94; L. Carroll Judson, A Biography of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, and of Washington and Patrick Henry (Philadelphia: J. Dobson, and Thomas, Cowperthwait & Co., 1839), 189.

3. Sanderson, Biography of the Signers (1827), 9:99; Rev. Charles A. Goodrich, Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence (New York: Thomas Mather, 1836), 228.

4. Benson J. Lossing, Biographical Sketches of the Signers of the Declaration of American Independence (New York: George F. Cooledge and Brother, 1848), 88.

5. Robert W. Lincoln, Lives of the Presidents of the United States; with Biographical Notices of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence (New York: William W. Reed, 1833), 360.

6. Lincoln, Lives of the Presidents (1833), 360; Sanderson, Biography of the Signers (1827), 9:113.

7. Judson, A Biography of the Signers (1839), 191; Lossing, Biographical Sketches of the Signers (1848), 88.

Founding Fathers on Prayer

David Barton was interviewed about the National Day of Prayer in 2016. This interview provides useful historical information that you might be interested in sharing with your friends and neighbors. The four questions David was asked appears below, along with his answers.

Why is it important that we pray for our country and its peoples?

First, because God tells us to (1 Timothy 2:1-4), and it is important that we obey Him (John 14:15, Acts 5:32). Second, because God answers prayer (Matthew 21:22, John 14:13-14). Third, God honors prayer and turns His attention to those who pray. He takes note of people who pray and His ear remains open to them (such as in 2 Chronicles 7:14). Fourth, prayer not only gives God a vehicle by which He can respond and answer prayers but prayer also changes those who pray, for praying helps us to be God-conscious, and when we are God-conscious as individuals, our behavior is different than if we rarely think about God (Romans 1:28). I think that George Washington incorporated many of these elements when he explained why he called the nation’s first federal day of prayer. According to President Washington, “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.”¹

Cite an example that stands out to you of how prayer changed the course of the United States or accomplished a monumental goal.

There are numerous moments, but I’ll choose the answered prayers attested to by Founding Father Benjamin Franklin. About five weeks into the Constitutional Convention of 1787 when they were attempting to draft the U. S. Constitution, their efforts were a signal failure. As things were beginning to break up and delegates return home to their states, Franklin challenged them and called them to prayer. He told them:

In this situation of this Assembly, groping as it were in the dark to find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when presented to us, how has it happened, sir, that we have not hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of Lights to illuminate our understanding? In the beginning of the contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for the 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 that 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; and I also believe that without His concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel. . . . I therefore beg leave to move that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business.²

Notice that Franklin openly acknowledged that their frequent prayers throughout the Revolution had been answered. Hence, America became an independent nation rather than remain a subjugated British colony. That is just one example of how answered prayer changed the course of the nation. But to return to the Constitutional Convention, Washington recorded that they went to church to hear an address.³ At the church, the Rev. William Rogers had a special prayer for the Constitutional Convention:

[W]e fervently recommend to thy fatherly notice . . . our federal convention. . . . [F]avor them, from day to day, with thy immediate presence; be Thou their wisdom and their strength! Enable them to devise such measures as may prove happily instrumental for healing all divisions and promoting the good of the great whole; . . . that the United States of America may furnish the world with one example of a free and permanent government. . . . May we . . . continue, under the influence of republican virtue, to partake of all the blessings of cultivated and civilized society.⁴

Franklin believed their prayers over the Convention had been answered. After five weeks of failure, following the recess and time of prayer, they reconvened and in only ten weeks produced the document that has become the longest on-going constitution in the history of the world. Franklin definitely saw a difference after the recess and prayer. While he was not willing to say that the finished Constitution was inspired in the same sense as the Bible, he nevertheless believed that it was the product of God’s direct intervention, explaining:

[I] beg I may not be understood to infer that our general Convention was Divinely inspired when it formed the new federal Constitution . . . [yet] I can hardly conceive a transaction of such momentous importance to the welfare of millions now existing (and to exist in the posterity of a great nation) should be suffered to pass without being in some degree influenced, guided, and governed by that omnipotent, omnipresent, and beneficent Ruler in Whom all inferior spirits “live and move and have their being” [Acts 17:28].⁵

Other delegates agreed. Alexander Hamilton is reported to have declared:

For my own part, I sincerely esteem it a system which without the finger of God never could have been suggested and agreed upon by such a diversity of interests.⁶

James Madison agreed, and reported:

It is impossible for the man of pious reflection not to perceive in it a finger of that Almighty Hand which has been so frequently and signally extended to our relief in the critical stages of the Revolution.⁷

As far as these delegates were concerned, the finger of God – that is, His Divine power – had guided their writing of the Constitution. George Washington (president of the Convention) similarly attested:

As to my sentiments with respect to the merits of the new Constitution, I will disclose them without reserve. . . . It appears to me then little short of a miracle that the delegates from so many different states . . . should unite in forming a system of national government.⁸

Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration from Philadelphia who closely monitored the proceedings, concurred, openly testifying:

I do not believe that the Constitution was the offspring of inspiration, but I am as perfectly satisfied that the Union of the States in its form and adoption is as much the work of a Divine Providence as any of the miracles recorded in the Old and New Testament were the effects of a Divine power.⁹

So, I would point to the independence of America and the creation of its unique Constitution and government as direct answers to prayer.

An excellent book recording other such moments of answered prayer is by Georgia State Senator Barry Loudermilk.¹⁰

In your estimation, what happens to a country when it drifts away from God?

When a country drifts away from God, God drifts away from that country. When God drifts away from the country, His blessings also leave. Founding Father Samuel Adams (“The Father of the American Revolution”) fully understood this and reminded citizens:

May every citizen in the army and in the country have a proper sense of the Deity upon his mind and an impression of that declaration recorded in the Bible: “Him that honoreth Me I will honor, but he that despiseth Me shall be lightly esteemed” [1 Samuel 2:30].¹¹

Numerous other Founding Fathers understood this truth and clearly expressed it. In fact, political leaders for generations embraced this belief. For this reason, President Abraham Lincoln reminded the nation in the midst of the Civil War:

[I]t is the duty of nations as well . . . 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 [Psalm 33:12]. . . . 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.¹²

Jeremiah 8 elucidates the problems that come when a nation drifts from God:

Since they have rejected the word of the Lord, what kind of wisdom do they have? Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners . . . They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious, saying “Peace, peace” when there is no peace . . . they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen . . . I will take away their harvest, there will be no figs on the tree, and their leaves will wither. What I have given them will be taken away.

So, there is much consequence when a nation turns from God. After all, Psalms 9:17 warns, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” God expects individuals to remember and acknowledge Him, but He also expects nations to do the same. Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us that in all our ways (public as well as private) we are to acknowledge Him; Psalm 79:6 and Jeremiah 10:25 call for God’s wrath upon all nations that do not call upon His name; and the warranty of 1 Samuel 2:30 that “Those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be disdained” was delivered to the nation’s civil leaders, not religious ones.

If you could lead the entire country in prayer this National Day of Prayer, what would you pray for? What should our collective prayer be for this country?

I would definitely pray for our leaders and those in authority, as we are commanded to do (1 Timothy 2:1-4). However, I would probably pray even more for America’s Christians. Founding Father Samuel Adams reminds us that “While the people are virtuous, they cannot be subdued, but when once they lose their virtue, they will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader.”¹³ Benjamin Franklin agreed, declaring “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.”¹⁴ So why does this apply to Christians? Because George Barna, an eminent national pollster who especially surveys issues related to Biblical thinking and values, reports that of the thousands of surveys he has conducted over recent decades, “of more than 70 moral behaviors we study, when we compare Christians to non-Christians, we rarely find substantial differences.”¹⁵ So, there is almost no difference in the way that Christians and non-Christians behave in most moral areas. Barna further investigated how many American Christians actually hold a Biblical worldview – how many of them view the world around them through the filter of Biblical truth. Barna used a very simple standard for measuring the answer to that question:
For the purposes of the survey, a “Biblical worldview” was defined as believing [1] that absolute moral truth exists; [2] the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches; [3] Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic; [4] a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works; [5] Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and [6] God is the all-knowing, all-powerful Creator of the world Who still rules the universe today. In the research, anyone who held all of those beliefs was said to have a Biblical worldview.¹⁶

So what percent of Christians agreed with these six fundamental, timeless doctrines of orthodox Biblical Christianity? Only 9 percent!¹⁷ – Significantly, nine out of every ten Christians did not believe these most elemental doctrines of the Bible. And among Born-Again Christians (again, those who are considered most serious about their faith), only 19% held a Biblical worldview on these six non-negotiables of Christianity.¹⁸

It was common among the Founding Fathers that many of them read through the Bible from cover to cover once every year. As John Quincy Adams affirmed, “I have myself for many years made it a practice to read the Bible once every year.”¹⁹ Yet this has become very rare among Christians today. We do not know our own guidebook; and too often it is read merely as a devotional book rather than as a book to affect and regulate every aspect of our thinking and behavior. Our modern understanding of the Bible is so shallow that we cannot point to the verses that historically were used to form the basis of the free-enterprise system, the republican form of government, the common school movement, the civil rights movement, the impetus for written governing documents and limited government, including Bills of Rights. Yet, all of these institutions and movements came from the Bible. In fact, notice how many presidents (not ministers of the Gospel, which is who we would expect to say these things today, but rather it was political leaders who) recognized this truth:

“The experiment is made and has completely succeeded – it can no longer be called in question whether authority in magistrates [civil leaders] and obedience of citizens can be grounded on reason, morality, and the Christian religion.”²⁰ “The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were. . . . the general principles of Christianity.”²¹ President John Adams

“[The Bible] is the rock on which our Republic rests.”²² President Andrew Jackson

“It was for the love of the truths of this great Book [the Bible] that our fathers abandoned their native shores for the wilderness. . . . The same truths sustained them in their resolutions to become a free nation; and guided by the wisdom of this Book, they founded a government under which we have grown from three millions, . . . and from being but a stock on the borders of this continent we have spread from the Atlantic to the Pacific.”²³ “The Bible. . . . is indispensable to the safety and permanence of our institutions.”²⁴ President Zachary Taylor

“[The Bible] is the best gift God has given to men. All the good the Savior gave to the world was communicated through this book. But for it, we could not know right from wrong.”²⁵ President Abraham Lincoln

“No candid observer will deny that whatever of good there may be in our American civilization is the product of Christianity. Still less can he deny that the grand motives which are working for the elevation and purification of our society are strictly Christian. . . . A belief in Jesus Christ is the very fountainhead of everything that is desirable and praiseworthy in our civilization, and this civilization is the flower of time.”²⁶ “[T]he teachings of the Bible are so interwoven and entwined with our whole civic and social life that it would be literally – I do not mean figuratively, I mean literally – impossible for us to figure to ourselves what that life would be if these teachings were removed.”²⁷
President Teddy Roosevelt

“America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived from the revelations of Holy Scripture.”²⁸ President Woodrow Wilson

“American life is builded, and can alone survive, upon . . . [the] fundamental philosophy announced by the Savior nineteen centuries ago.”²⁹ President Herbert Hoover

“In the formative days of the Republic, the directing influence the Bible exercised upon the fathers of the Nation is conspicuously evident. . . .We cannot read the history of our rise and development as a Nation without reckoning with the place the Bible has occupied in shaping the advances of the Republic.”³⁰ “I suggest a nationwide reading of the Holy Scriptures during the period from Thanksgiving Day to Christmas. . . . [G]o to . . . the Scriptures for a renewed and strengthening contact with those eternal truths and majestic principles which have inspired such measure of true greatness as this nation has achieved.”³¹ President Franklin D. Roosevelt

“In this great country of ours has been demonstrated the fundamental unity of Christianity and democracy.”³² “The fundamental basis of this Nation’s law was given to Moses on the Mount. The fundamental basis of our Bill of Rights comes from the teachings which we get from Exodus and St. Matthew, from Isaiah and St. Paul. I don’t think we emphasize that enough these days.”³³ President Harry Truman

“[R]eligious faith is the foundation of free government.”³⁴ “[T]his relationship between a spiritual faith – a religious faith – and our form of government is so clearly defined and so obvious that we should really not need to identify a man as unusual because he recognizes it.”³⁵ President Dwight D. Eisenhower

“Of the many influences that have shaped the United States of America into a distinctive Nation and people, none may be said to be more fundamental and enduring than the Bible. Deep religious beliefs stemming from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible inspired many of the early settlers of our country . . . [and] laid the foundation for the spirit of nationhood that was to develop in later decades. The Bible and its teachings helped form the basis for the Founding Fathers’ abiding belief in the inalienable rights of the individual – rights which they found implicit in the Bible’s teachings of the inherent worth and dignity of each individual. This same sense of man patterned . . . the ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.”³⁶ President Ronald Reagan

There are many others as well.

Most Christians today no longer know, recognize, or even agree with what our political leaders (much less our ministers) used to openly declare about the Bible and its influence. So, while I would pray for our leaders, I would especially pray for Christian citizens — that they would again begin to read, study, know, and understand the Bible. American can be no stronger than its citizens, and whether the citizens will be strong (and virtuous) depends on whether they know the Bible (cf. Matthew 22:29).

Endnotes

¹ George Washington proclamation for a National Thanksgiving, October 3, 1789, Jared Sparks, The Life of George Washington (London: Henry Colburn, 1839), II:302.
² James Madison’s Notes on the Convention, June 28, 1787, Max Farrand, The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1911), I:450-452
³ George Washington, diary entry for July 4, 1787, The Writings of George Washington, ed. Worthington Chauncey Ford (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1891), XI:148: “And (the Convention having adjourned for the purpose) went to hear an Oration on the anniversary of Independence…”
⁴ The Massachusetts Centinel (August 15, 1787), 1.
⁵ Benjamin Franklin, “A Comparison of the Conduct of the Ancient Jews and of the Anti-Federalists in the United States of America,” no date, The Works of Benjamin Franklin, ed. Jared Sparks (Boston: Tappan, Whittemore, and Mason, 1837), V:162.
⁶ Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, James Madison and Other Men of Their Time, Alexander Hamilton to Mr. Childs, October 17, 1787 The Federalist and Other Contemporary Papers on the Constitution of the United States, ed. E.H. Scott (New York: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1894), 646.
⁷ James Madison, Federalist #37, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, & James Madison, The Federalist (Philadelphia: Benjamin Warner, 1818), 194.
⁸ George Washington to Marquis de Lafayette, February 7, 1788, The Writings of George Washington, ed. Jared Sparks (Boston: Russell, Odiorne, and Metcalf, 1835), IX:317.
⁹ Benjamin Rush to Elias Boudinot, July 9, 1788, Letters of Benjamin Rush, ed. L. H. Butterfield (Princeton, New Jersey: American Philosophical Society, 1951), I:475.
¹⁰ Barry Loudermilk, And Then They Prayed. Moments in American History Impacted by Prayer (Campbell, CA: FastPencil, 2011).
¹¹ Samuel Adams, article signed “Vindex” originally published in the Boston Gazette, June 12, 1780, The Writings of Samuel Adams, ed. Harry Alonzo Cushing (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1908), IV:189.
¹² Abraham Lincoln, Proclamation Appointing a National Fast Day, March 30, 1863, Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln, eds. John G. Nicolay & John Hay (New York: Tandy-Thomas Company, 1894), VIII:235-236.
¹³ Samuel Adams to James Warren, February 12, 1779, Writings of Samuel Adams, ed. Cushing (1905), IV:124.
¹⁴ Benjamin Franklin, April 17, 1787, The Writings of Benjamin Franklin, ed. Jared Sparks (Boston: Tappan, Whittemore and Mason, 1840), X:297.
¹⁵ Christine Wicker, “Dumbfounded by divorce. Survey inspires debate over why faith isn’t a bigger factor in marriage,” Dallas Morning News, 2000.
¹⁶ “Barna Survey Examines Changes in Worldview Among Christians over the Past 13 Years,” The Barna Group, March 6, 2009.
¹⁷ “Barna Survey Examines Changes in Worldview Among Christians over the Past 13 Years,”The Barna Group, March 6, 2009.
¹⁸ “Barna Survey Examines Changes in Worldview Among Christians over the Past 13 Years,” The Barna Group March 6, 2009.
¹⁹ John Quincy Adams, Letters of John Quincy Adams to His Son on the Bible and Its Teachings (Auburn, NY: Derby, Miller, & Co., 1848), 10-11.
²⁰ John Adams, “A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America: Preface,” Works of John Adams, ed. Adams (1850), IV:293.
²¹ John Adams to Thomas Jefferson, June 28, 1813, Works of John Adams, ed. Adams (1850), X:45-46.
²² Ronald Reagan, “Proclamation 5018 – Year of the Bible, 1983,” February 3rd, 1983, The American Presidency Project. See the same quote in a proclamation from President George H. W. Bush on February 22, 1990, “International Year of Bible Reading,” Code of Federal Regulations (Washington, D. C.: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1991), 21.
²³ Inaugural Address, March 5, 1849, Zachary Taylor 1784-1850 Millard Fillmore 1800-1874: Chronology Documents, Bibliographical Aids, ed. John J. Farrell (Dobbs Ferry, New York: Oceana Publications, Inc., 1971), 27; Stephen Abbott Northrop, A Cloud of Witnesses (Portland: American Heritage Ministries, 1987, reprinted from the 1894 work), 447-448.
²⁴ “The President and the Bible,” New York Semi-Weekly Tribune (Wednesday, May 9, 1849) IV:100:1.
²⁵ Abraham Lincoln, “Reply to Committee of Colored People of Baltimore Who Presented Him with a Bible,” Complete Works, eds. Nicolay & Hay (1894), Two:574.
²⁶ “Our Nation, A Product of Christianity,” Springfield Republican (1884), editorial.
²⁷ Theodore Roosevelt, “On Reading the Bible: Delivered before the Members of the Bible Society, 1901,” Modern Eloquence, ed. Thomas B. Reed (Philadelphia: John D. Morris and Company, 1903), XV:1770-1776.
²⁸ Woodrow Wilson, An Address in Denver on the Bible, May 7, 1911, The Papers of Woodrow Wilson, ed. Arthur S. Link (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1977), 23:20.
²⁹ Herbert Hoover, “Radio Address to the Nation on Unemployment Relief,” October 18, 1931, Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States (Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1976), 490.
³⁰ Franklin D. Roosevelt, “Statement on the Four Hundredth Anniversary of the Printing of the English Bible,” October 6th, 1935, The American Presidency Project.
³¹ Franklin D. Roosevelt, “Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day, 1944,” November 1, 1944, The American Presidency Project.
³² Harry S. Truman, “Address at Lighting of the National Community Christmas Tree on the White House Grounds,” December 24, 1946, The American Presidency Project.
³³ Harry S. Truman, “Address Before the Attorney General’s Conference on Law Enforcement Problems,” February 15, 1950, The American Presidency Project.
³⁴ Dwight Eisenhower, “Remarks Upon Lighting the National Community Christmas Tree,” December 24, 1953, The American Presidency Project.
³⁵ Dwight Eisenhower, “Remarks to the First National Conference on the Spiritual Foundations of American Democracy,” November 9, 1954, The American Presidency Project.
³⁶ Ronald Reagan, “Proclamation 5018 – Year of the Bible, 1983,” February 3, 1983, The American Presidency Project.

* Originally published: January 4, 2017.

* This article concerns a historical issue and may not have updated information.

The Webster Regiment

An anniversary occurs each April of an 1861 event: the formation of the Twelfth Massachusetts Regiment. Benjamin F. Cook, who enlisted as a Union private in the Civil War and quickly rose through the ranks, was later tasked by his comrades with documenting the history of that regiment.¹ Affectionately known as “The Webster Regiment,” it was named after Fletcher Webster, the longest surviving son of the great Daniel Webster ² (who is commonly referred to as the “Defender of the U.S. Constitution”).

Fletcher Webster had previously served under his father in the State Department and was one of the two men chosen to deliver the news of President William Henry Harrison’s death to Vice President John Tyler.³ On April 21, 1861, responding to an event that happened in Baltimore two days earlier⁴ as well as to President Abraham Lincoln’s call for volunteers, Fletcher Webster gave a moving speech urging the formation of a new regiment.⁵ Benjamin Cook recorded a newspaper’s description of the scene:

Mr. Webster’s remarks were patriotic in the extreme. He could, he said, see no better use to which the Sabbath could be put than to improve it by showing our gratitude to Divine Providence for bestowing upon us the best government in the world, and to pledge ourselves to stand by and defend it. ⁶

Webster concluded that speech by stating:

Let us show the world that the patriotism of ’61 is not less than that of the heroes of ’76; that the noble impulses of those patriot hearts have descended to us.⁷

The crowd responded and a new regiment was formed. Having enlisted enough men to fill “sixteen full companies,”⁸ it arrived at Fort Warren the first week in May. Significantly, WallBuilders owns original organizational documents for this regiment that we thought you might enjoy seeing. They establish temporary officers, chaplains, etc., pending the official recognition of the regiment, which occurred in early June.

Although Fletcher Webster was killed a little over a year later on August 26, 1862, at the Second Battle of Bull Run,⁹ the regiment retained its nickname as “The Webster Regiment.” It went on to fight in major battles at Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, and elsewhere, and was later declared by General Meade to be “the finest regiment in the service.”¹⁰

Endnotes

¹ “Captain Benjamin Franklin Cook,” Antietam: On the Web; Benjamin F. Cook and James Beal, History of the Twelfth Massachusetts Volunteers (Webster Regiment) (Boston: Twelfth (Webster) Regiment Association, 1882), 3-5.
² William Schouler, A History of Massachusetts in the Civil War (Boston: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1868), 111.
³ “John Tyler,” United States Senate.
⁴ “Exciting days of the Civil War are Recalled: When Webster’s Regiment Passed Through York,” The Reading Eagle (Friday, August 4, 1922).
⁵ “The Late Colonel Fletcher Webster,” Harper’s Weekly: A Journey of Civilization (New York: Harper Brothers, Saturday, September 20, 1862), VI:299; Cook and Beal, History of the Twelfth (1882), 9-10.
⁶ Cook and Beal, History of the Twelfth (1882), 9-10; Schouler, Massachusetts in the Civil War (1868), 111.
⁷ Cook and Beal, History of the Twelfth (1882), 10.
⁸ Cook and Beal, History of the Twelfth (1882), 10-11.
⁹ “Webster, Fletcher,” The National Cyclopedia of American Biography (New York: James T. White & Co, 1906) XIII:169; “Death of Col. Fletcher Webster,” New York Times, September 2, 1862.
¹⁰ Cook and Beal, History of the Twelfth (1882), 143.

Celebrating Abigail Adams

Abigail Adams is the first of only two women in American history to be the wife of one President and the mother of another. Born in 1744 to a Congregationalist minister, her formal education was limited, but her self-education was extensive, and her wisdom and advice caused her to be a trusted adviser to significant Founding Fathers, especially her famous husband, John Adams. ¹

Probably the most profound influence in guiding and shaping her life was her strong Christian faith. Her knowledge of the Scriptures was intimate, evidenced not only in her life but especially in her letters. Consider just a few from the year 1775 when she was personally witnessing the start of the American Revolution. For example, following the Battles of Lexington and Concord, she told her husband, John:

Nor doth the eye say unto the hand, “I have no need of thee” [1 Corinthians 12:21]. The Lord will not cast off His people, neither will He forsake his inheritance [Psalm 94:14]. Great events are most certainly in the womb of futurity, and if the present chastisements which we experience have a proper influence upon our conduct, the event will certainly be in our favor. . . . Pharaoh’s [i.e., King George III’s] heart is hardened, and he refuseth to hearken to them and will not let the people go [Exodus 8:32]. May their deliverance be wrought out for them, as it was for the children of Israel [Exodus 12]. ²

Several weeks later in describing the 1775 burning of Charlestown and Battle of Bunker Hill, she told him:

“The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; but the God of Israel is He that giveth strength and power unto His people. Trust in Him at all times, ye people, pour out your hearts before Him; God is a refuge for us” [Ecclesiastes 9:11 and Psalm 62:8]. Charlestown is laid in ashes. The battle began upon our entrenchments upon Bunker’s Hill, Saturday morning about three o’clock, and has not ceased yet, and it is now three o’clock Sabbath afternoon. ³

A week later, she wrote:

We live in continual expectation of hostilities. Scarcely a day that does not produce some; but like good Nehemiah, having made our prayer unto God and set the people with their swords, their spears, and their bows, we will say unto them “Be not ye afraid of them; remember the Lord, who is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives and your houses” [Nehemiah 4:14]. ⁴

She later told John:

And unto Him who mounts the whirlwind and directs the storm [Nahum 1:3] I will cheerfully leave the ordering of my lot; and whether adverse or prosperous days should be my future portion, I will trust in His right hand to lead me safely through [Psalm 139:10], and after a short rotation of events, fix me in a state immutable and happy. ⁵

By the end of 1775, a number of their friends had been killed in the conflict with Great Britain, and her own mother had also passed away. She told John:

How long, O Lord, shall the whole land say, I am sick! [Isaiah 33:24] Oh show us wherefore it is that Thou art thus contending with us [Job 10:2]. In a very particular manner I have occasion to make this inquiry, who have had breach upon breach – nor has one wound been permitted to be healed ere it is made to bleed afresh. In six weeks I count five of my near connections laid in the grave. . . . But the heavy stroke which most of all disturbs me is my dear mother. . . . He who deigned to weep over a departed friend [John 11:35] will surely forgive a sorrow which at all times desires to be bounded and restrained by a firm belief that a Being of infinite wisdom and unbounded goodness will carve out my portion in tender mercy to me. Yea, though He slay me, I will trust in Him, said holy Job [Job 13:15]. What though His corrective hand hath been stretched against me; I will not murmur. Though earthly comforts are taken away, I will not repine [1 Corinthians 10:10]. He who gave them has surely a right to limit their duration, and He has continued them to me much longer than I deserve. I might have been stripped of my children, as many others have been. I might – oh, forbid it Heaven – I might have been left a solitary widow! ⁶

By the close of the year, Abigail told John her personal conviction that:

[H]e who neglects his duty to his Maker may well be expected to be deficient and insincere in his duty towards the public. ⁷

Around that time, she also wrote her close friend, Mercy Otis Warren, America’s first female historian who is called “The Conscience of the American Revolution,” and similarly told her:

A patriot without religion in my estimation is as great a paradox as an honest man without the fear of God. ⁸

Her strong faith was just as apparent in her writings to her young son, John Quincy Adams. In 1778, John was dispatched to France and took with him their ten year old son. ⁹ After they arrived in Europe, Abigail told her young son:

It is almost four months since you left your native land and embarked upon the mighty waters, in quest of a foreign country. . . . [Y]ou have constantly been upon my heart and mind. . . . Great learning and superior abilities, should you ever possess them, will be of little value and small estimation, unless virtue, honor, truth, and integrity are added to them. Adhere to those religious sentiments and principles which were early instilled into your mind and remember that you are accountable to your Maker for all your words and actions. . . . I would much rather you should have found your grave in the ocean you have crossed, or that any untimely death crop you in your infant years, than see you an immoral, profligate, or graceless child. ¹⁰

In 1780 when her son John Quincy Adams was in Paris, she reminded him:

You have seen how inadequate the aid of man would have been if the winds and the seas had not been under the particular government of that Being Who “stretched out the heavens as a span” [Isaiah 40:12], Who “holdeth the ocean in the hollow of His hand” [Isaiah 40:12], and “rideth upon the wings of the wind” [Psalm 104:3]. . . . The only sure and permanent foundation of virtue is religion. Let this important truth be engraven upon your heart. And also that the foundation of religion is the belief of the only one God, and a just sense of His attributes as a Being infinitely wise, just, and good, to Whom you owe the highest reverence, gratitude, and adoration; Who superintends and governs all nature, even to clothing the lilies of the field [Matthew 6:28] and hearing the young ravens when they cry [Psalm 147:9]; but more particularly regards man, Whom he created after His own image [Genesis 1:26], and breathed into him an immortal spirit [Genesis 2:7], capable of a happiness beyond the grave. ¹¹

What Abigail taught the young John Quincy Adams never departed him. In fact, when he was quite elderly, he reminisced of her impact upon him, recalling:

[In the] spring and summer of 1775, she taught me to repeat daily, after the Lord’s Prayer, before rising from bed, the Ode of Collins [a patriotic poem] on the patriot warriors who fell in the war. . . . Of the impression made upon my heart by the sentiments inculcated in these beautiful effusions of patriotism and poetry, you may form an estimate by the fact that now, seventy-one years after they were thus taught me, I repeat them from memory. ¹²

From his mother, this great Christian patriot early learned a love of God and a love of his country. But such was the Christian influence of Abigail Adams, a Godly heroine of the American Revolution.

WallBulders’ Collection includes an original Abigail letter which references her faith. For more about Abigail, get the book Wives of the Signers.

Endnotes

¹ “John Adams and the Massachusetts Constitution,” Mass.gov, accessed May 8, 2025; Elizabeth Ellet, Women of the Revolution (New York; Baker and Scribner, 1849), II:31.
² Abigail Adams to John Adams, May 7, 1775, Familiar Letters of John Adams and His Wife Abigail Adams, During the Revolution, ed. Charles Francis Adams (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1875), 54.
³ Abigail to John Adams, June 18, 1775, Letters of Mrs. Adams, the Wife of John Adams. With an Introductory Memoir by Her Grandson Charles Francis Adams (Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1840), I:40.
⁴ Abigail to John Adams, June 25, 1775, Letters of Mrs. Adams (1840), I:45.
⁵ Abigail Adams to John Adams, September 16, 1775, Familiar Letters, ed. Adams (1875), 98.
⁶ Abigail to John Adams, October 9, 1775, Familiar Letters, ed. Adams (1875), 106.
⁷ Abigail to John Adams on November 5, 1775, Familiar Letters, ed. Adams (1875), 122.
⁸ Abigail Adams to Mercy Warren in November, 1775, Warren-Adams Letters: Being Chiefly a Correspondence Among John Adams, Samuel Adams, and John Warren (The Massachusetts Historical Society, 1917), I:180.
⁹ William H. Seward, The Life and Public Services of John Quincy Adams, Sixth President of the United States, with the Eulogy Delivered Before the Legislature of New York (Auburn: Derby, Miller and Company, 1849), 30-32.
¹⁰ Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, June 1778, Letters of Mrs. Adams (1840), I:122-125.
¹¹ Abigail to John Quincy Adams, March 20, 1780, Letters of Mrs. Adams (1840), I:146- 147.
¹² John Quincy Adams to Mr. Sturge in 1846, Memoirs of John Quincy Adams, ed. Charles Francis Adams (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott and Company, 1874), 1:5-6.

Celebrating Black History Month: The Rev. Francis J. Grimke

“Washington is a hard training ground for preachers.”

This quote probably remains as accurate today as it was 100 years ago when it was made by famous black pastor Francis James Grimké. ¹

Grimké was born to a slave mother in South Carolina in 1850. When his guardian tried to sell him into slavery, he escaped and served as a valet in the Confederate Army. He was taken hostage and almost died, but was nursed back to health by his mother only to be sold into slavery to a Confederate officer, spending the rest of the Civil War as a slave. ²

When emancipation was finally achieved, Francis first attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, and then graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary as an ordained Presbyterian minister, ³ becoming pastor of Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church in Washington, D. C. ⁴ As famous black historian Carter Woodson reported, his ministry had a definite impact:

During the first years of the ministry of Mr. Grimké, which began in the spring of 1878, there was a great spiritual awakening as the result of his forceful preaching. ⁵

Grimké pastored this church for almost 50 years,⁶ and during one of his sermons, he reminded his congregation:

It is now no longer a question as to whether we are a nation, or a confederation of sovereign and independent states. That question is settled, and settled once for all by the issue [outcome] of the [Civil] War. …The Stars and Stripes, the old flag, will float, as long as it floats, over all these states, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from the Lakes to the Gulf. If the time ever comes when we shall go to pieces, it will not be form any desire or disposition on the part of the states to pull apart, but from inward corruption — from the disregard of right principles, from the spirit of greed, from the narrowing lust of gold, from losing sight of the fact that “righteousness exalteth a nation, but that sin is a reproach to any people” [Proverbs 14:34]. It is here where our real danger lies – not in the secession of the States from the Union, but in the secession of the Union itself from the great and immutable principles of right, of justice, of fair play for all regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.⁷

This same principle applies to America today. Let us remember to seriously regard the warning issued by Rev. Grimké and to continue to walk in those “immutable principles of right” that are found in the Holy Scriptures.

Endnotes

¹ William H. Ferris, The African Abroad (New Haven: Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, 1913), 2:889.
² William J. Simmons, Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive, and Rising (Cleveland: Geo. M. Rewell & Co., 1887), 608-609.
³ “Grimke, Francis J.,” Who’s who of the Colored Race: A General Biographical Dictionary of Men and Women of African Descent, ed. Frank Lincoln Mather (Chicago, 1915), 1:125.
⁴ Simmons, Men of Mark (1887), 610.
⁵ The Journal of Negro History, ed. Carter G. Woodson (Lancaster, PA: The Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, Inc., 1922), 7:81.
⁶ Dictionary of American Negro Biography, s.v. “Grimke, Francis James.”
⁷ Rev. Francis J. Grimke, from “Equality of Right for All Citizens, Black and White, Alike,” March 7, 1909, Masterpieces of Negro Eloquence, ed. Alice Moore Dunbar (New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 2000), 246.

The Founders on the Second Amendment

The Second Amendment to the Constitution has become a target for Progressives and Liberals, who are determined to dismantle it. The Founders recognized the “right to keep and bear arms” as an inalienable right of self-defense to be protected by government rather than infringed or abridged by it. As Constitution signer John Dickinson affirmed, inalienable rights such as self-defense were rights “which God gave to you and which no inferior power has a right to take away.” [1]

Significantly, the Second Amendment did not grant or bestow any right on the people; instead, it simply recognized and provided what Constitution signer James Wilson called “a new security” for the right of self-defense that God had already bestowed on every individual. [2]

Numerous Founders affirmed the God-given right to self-defense and personal safety:

[T]he said Constitution [should] be never construed . . . to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms. Samuel Adams, Signer of the Declaration, “Father of the American Revolution” [3]

The right . . . of bearing arms . . . is declared to be inherent in the people. Fisher Ames, A Framer of the Second Amendment in the First Congress [4]

[T]he advantage of being armed [is an advantage which] the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation. . . . [I]n the several kingdoms of Europe . . . the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms. James Madison, U.S. President, Signer of the Constitution, a Framer of the Second Amendment in the first congress [5]

[T]o preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them. Richard Henry Lee, Signer of the Declaration, A Framer of the Second Amendment in the First Congress [6]

To learn the history of this historic Amendment and the Founders’ clear views on it, see our short book The Second Amendment. Also, The Founders’ Bible shows not only the Founders’ position on self-defense and the Second Amendment but it also gives the Biblical basis for that right — as in Exodus 22, which helps explain the “Castle Doctrine.”

Endnotes

[1] John Dickinson, Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, R. T. H. Halsey, editor (New York: The Outlook Company, 1903), p. xlii, letter to the Society of Fort St. David’s, 1768; see also John Quincy Adams, An Oration Delivered Before the Cincinnati Astronomical Society on the Occasion of Laying the Cornerstone of an Astronomical Observatory on the 10th of November, 1843 (Cincinnati: Shepard & Co., 1843), pp. 13-14.

[2] James Wilson, The Works of the Honorable James Wilson, Bird Wilson, editor (Philadelphia: Bronson and Chauncey, 1804), Vol. II, p. 454.

[3] Debates and Proceedings in the Convention of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Held in the Year 1788 (Boston: William White, 1856), pp. 86, 266, February 6, 1788; see also William V. Wells, The Life and Public Service of Samuel Adams (Boston: Little, Brown, & Co., 1865), Vol. III, p. 267.

[4] Fisher Ames, Works of Fisher Ames, Seth Ames, editor (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1854), Vol. I, p. 54, to George Richards Minot on June 12, 1789.

[5] Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison, The Federalist on the New Constitution (Philadelphia: Benjamin Warner, 1818), p. 259, Federalist No. 46 by James Madison.

[6] Richard Henry Lee, An Additional Number Of Letters From The Federal Farmer To The Republican (New York: 1788), p.170, Letter XVIII, January, 25, 1788.

Addressing Mass Murder and Violent Crime

In the wake of the heart-rending massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, a cry has arisen for gun control. But such calls are misdirected. The lessons of Scriptures and history are clear that the key is controlling what is in one’s heart, not what is in one’s hand. As the great Daniel Webster reminded a crowd at the U. S. Capitol:

[T]he cultivation of the religious sentiment represses licentiousness . . . inspires respect for law and order, and gives strength to the whole social fabric. ¹ Whatever makes men good Christians, makes them good citizens. ²

The Founders understood that the inside was the most important focus, not the outside. This is why Thomas Jefferson believed the teachings of Jesus were so effective, explaining:

The precepts of philosophy, and of the Hebrew code, laid hold of actions only. He [Jesus] pushed his scrutinies into the heart of man, erected his tribunal in the region of his thoughts, and purified the waters at the fountain head.³

While civil law prohibits murder, the Bible addresses it before it occurs—while it is still only a thought in the heart (see Matthew 5:22-28). As John Quincy Adams explained:

Human legislators can undertake only to prescribe the actions of men: they acknowledge their inability to govern and direct the sentiments of the heart. . . . It is one of the greatest marks of Divine favor . . . that the Legislator gave them rules not only of action but for the government of the heart.⁴

The Founders were clear that only the Scriptures provide effective “rules for the government of the heart” and thus help prevent the crimes which originate internally:

Love to God and love to man is the substance of religion; when these prevail, civil laws will have little to do.⁵ John Witherspoon, Signer of the Declaration

Without the restraints of religion and social worship, men become savages. ⁶ Benjamin Rush, Signer of the Declaration

I have always said, and always will say, that the studious perusal of the Sacred Volume will make better citizens, better fathers, and better husbands. ⁷ Thomas Jefferson, President, Signer of the Declaration

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. ⁸ James McHenry, Signer of the Constitution

Men, in a word, must necessarily be controlled either by a power within them or by a power without them; either by the Word of God or by the strong arm of man; either by the Bible or by the bayonet.⁹ Robert Winthrop, Early Speaker of the U.S. House

So . . . if Congress and the media want to have a debate, let it be over what is put into the heart, not the hand – over returning instruction in moral and religious principles to schools and the public arena. In the meantime, there are already some measures that are completely legal and which you can help expand across the country:

Get a Bible course in public schools around you
Start a Good News Club in a nearby public school
Get your legislature to pass a law authorizing an elective course on the Bible, such as those already passed in Texas, Tennessee, Arizona, and other states.

¹ Daniel Webster, Address Delivered at the Laying of the Cornerstone of the Addition to the Capitol, July 4, 1851 The Works of Daniel Webster (Boston: Little, Brown, & Co., 1853), II:615.
² Webster, “Discourse Delivered at Plymouth,” December 22, 1820, Works of Webster (Boston: Little, Brown, & Co., 1853), I:44.
³ Thomas Jefferson to Benjamin Rush, April 21, 1803, Jefferson’s “Syllabus of an Estimate of the Merit of the Doctrines of Jesus, Compared with Those of Others,” Memoir, Correspondence, and Miscellanies, From the Papers of Thomas Jefferson, ed. Thomas Jefferson Randolph (Boston: Gray and Bowen, 1830), III:509. See also William Linn, The Life of Thomas Jefferson (Ithaca, New York: Mack & Andrus, 1834), 265.
⁴ John Quincy Adams, Letters of John Quincy Adams to His Son, on the Bible and Its Teachings (Auburn, New York: Derby, Miller, and Co., 1848), 62.
⁵ John Witherspoon, The Works of John Witherspoon (Edinburgh: 1805), VII:119.
⁶ Benjamin Rush, “To American Farmers About to Settle in New Parts of the United States,” March 1789, Letters of Benjamin Rush, ed. L. H. Butterfield (Princeton: The American Philosophical Society, 1951), I:505.
⁷ Daniel Webster to Professor Pease on June 15, 1852, The Writings and Speeches of Daniel Webster Hitherto Uncollected (Boston: Little, Brown, & Company, 1903), IV:656-657, originally appearing in The National Magazine: Devoted to Literature, Art, and Religion. July to December, 1858, ed. James Floy (New York: Carolton & Porter, 1858), XIII:178-179
⁸ Bernard C. Steiner, One Hundred and Ten Years of Bible Society Work in Maryland, 1810-1920 (Baltimore: The Maryland Bible Society, 1921), 14.
⁹ Robert Winthrop, Address Delivered at the Annual Meeting of the Massachusetts Bible Society in Boston, May 28, 1849 Addresses and Speeches on Various Occasions (Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1852), 172.

* This article concerns a historical issue and may not have updated information.

Fall 1998

Thanksgiving in America

This month, America will continue a tradition begun centuries ago: the celebration of a Day of Thanksgiving. The origin of this tradition is commonly attributed to the Pilgrims in 1621, even though some Thanksgiving services did occur elsewhere in America as early as 1607. While Thanksgiving celebrations became common in New England, they did not begin to spread southward until the American Revolution, when Congress issued eight separate national Thanksgiving Proclamations.

Then in 1789, following a proclamation issued by President George Washington, America celebrated its first Day of Thanksgiving to God under its new Constitution. That same year, the Protestant Episcopal Church, of which President Washington was a member, announced that the first Thursday in November would become its regular day for giving thanks, “unless another day be appointed by the civil authorities.” Yet, despite these early national proclamations, official Thanksgiving observances usually occurred only at the State level.

Much of the credit for the adoption of an annual national Thanksgiving Day may be attributed to Mrs. Sarah Joseph Hale, the editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book. For thirty years, she promoted the idea of a national Thanksgiving Day, contacting President after President until President Abraham Lincoln responded in 1863 by setting aside the last Thursday of November as a national Day of Thanksgiving. Over the next seventy-five years, Presidents followed Lincoln’s precedent, annually declaring a national Thanksgiving Day. Then, in 1941, Congress permanently established the
fourth Thursday of each November as a national holiday.

Lincoln’s original 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation came–spiritually speaking–at a pivotal point in his life. During the first week of July of that year, the Battle of Gettysburg occurred, resulting in the loss of some 60,000 American lives. Four months later in November, Lincoln delivered his famous “Gettysburg Address.” It was while Lincoln was walking among the thousands of graves there at Gettysburg that he committed his life to Christ. As he explained to a friend:

When I left Springfield [to assume the Presidency] I asked the people to pray for me. I was not a Christian. When I buried my son, the severest trial of my life, I was not a Christian. But when I went to Gettysburg and saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ.

Following is the 1863 Lincoln Thanksgiving Proclamation–celebrated shortly after Lincoln committed his life to Christ and celebrated while America was still in the midst of its Civil War. It was this proclamation which eventually led to the establishment of our national Thanksgiving holiday.

Proclamation of Thanksgiving by the President of the United States of America

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful years and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the Source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of almighty God

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict, while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than theretofore.

Population has steadily increased notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, 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. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity, and union.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Abraham Lincoln

A Biblical and Historical Perspective on the Clinton Scandal

The President, by his own admission, has violated several of the most basic laws undergirding both society and religion: the Ten Commandments. Specifically, the President willfully broke the 7th command (to maintain the sanctity of sex within marriage), the 10th command (forbidding coveting another person), and the 9th command (prohibiting perjury).

Such blatant violations of the Ten Commandments are no small matter. To reject the Ten Commandments is to disdain those laws which were described by John Quincy Adams as the “laws essential to the existence of men in society,” by John Adams as the “inviolable precepts in every society” that make it “civilized and free,” and by John Witherspoon as “the sum of the moral law.”

There can be nothing said in defense of the President. What he has done is wrong. Nevertheless, in an attempt to evade the consequences, the strategy pursued by the supporters and counselors of the President has been twofold: (1) to ask forgiveness and show public contrition, and (2) to degrade the culture by claiming that others also do what the President did–that it’s only sex–a private matter.

While seeking forgiveness is commendable, particularly if it is sincere, it never has, and never should, excuse someone from the consequences of his behavior. In fact, 1 Samuel 15:9-31 presents a striking parallel to the current situation. In that account, Saul, the national leader, committed a transgression. When Samuel uncovered and exposed the unrighteous act, Saul offered an apology, declaring, “I have sinned. . . . Now, I beg you, please forgive my sin.” Nevertheless, God had Samuel inform Saul that because of his behavior, “The Lord has rejected you as leader.” (See the account of a similar but separate incident in 1 Samuel 13:8-14.) Similar lessons may be learned through the stories of Esau, David, Hezekiah, Uzziah, Gehazi, and others. While each committed a wrong and later regretted his behavior, each still had to face the consequences of his own wrong behavior. In short, “I’m sorry” is insufficient to prevent the consequences of a leader’s willful, serious, and immoral misbehavior.

And the “everybody else is doing it” defense is wrong for at least two reasons. First, the Bible forcefully declares, on numerous occasions, that each person must face the consequences of and be responsible for his own actions—regardless of what “everybody” else does. (See, for example, Jeremiah 31:27-30). Second, to claim that such behavior is widespread and common undermines the mores of our society. In fact, the proper response should be to condemn the act rather than attempt excuse or justify the act. As explained by John Witherspoon, signer of the Declaration of Independence:

[H]e is the best friend to American liberty who . . . sets himself with the greatest firmness to bear down profanity and immorality of every kind.

Under this standard, if the President’s supporters truly cared about America, rather than excusing immoral behavior, even if done “privately,” they would be condemning it. Unfortunately, the President’s defenders have done just the opposite, conveying to the public a perception that those who practice marital fidelity are the minority. That Americans actually perceive this to be the moral condition of America is illustrated by a poll earlier released by Family Circle magazine. The results of that survey, questioning respondents on the Ten Commandments, confirmed an interesting image of misperceptions.

For example, while only fourteen percent of the respondents had actually engaged in extramarital relations, amazingly, forty-five percent reported their belief that extramarital relations were common. Why would respondents believe that extramarital relations among that group occurred at a rate nearly three times higher than it actually did? Because they have been consistently pummeled–as a defense by those who engage in extramarital affairs–with the charge that such affairs are commonplace.

Not only do the efforts of the President’s supporters weaken the moral standards, they actually perpetuate historical revisionism. That is, in an attempt to excuse the President’s immoral behavior, his defenders are asserting that President George Washington also engaged in immoral and illicit sexual relations–a charge that is historically false. (To see a full rebuttal of the accusation, refer to chapter 16 in my book, Original Intent.)

A further point of defense raised by the President’s supporters is that this was a private matter and would an average citizen want an investigator looking into his life as the President’s has been? The fact of the matter is that the President is not an average citizen, and both the Bible and American history set a more rigorous standard for a leader. For example, James 3:1 warns:

Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

Similarly high standards for leaders are set forth in passages like Titus 1:6-9, 1 Timothy 3:1-12, Exodus 18:21-22, etc. Those standards specifically address moral and private conduct and also direct that a leader’s life should be held forth as a positive example for others to follow (see, for example, 1 Cor. 11:1). It is understandable that a leader is held to a higher standard than others because he possesses more power and has more opportunity to influence–for good or for bad–many more millions of lives than does the average citizen.

Our Founding Fathers understood this need for a higher moral standard in our leaders, and they specifically advocated investigating the private moral life of a leader. The Biblical reason underlying their logic is found in Luke 6:43-44 and Matthew 7:16-20, in which Jesus reminds us:

Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. . . . Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. Very simply, if a tree has bad roots, it will produce bad fruits. Consequently, the “roots” of a public officer are important, for one who produces bad fruit in private life cannot keep from eventually producing it in public life.

Understanding this, Founding Father Elias Boudinot, a President of the Continental Congress, reminded us to “be religiously careful in our choice of all public officers . . . and judge of the tree by its fruits.” Other American statesmen made equally succinct declarations. For example:

He who is void of attachments in private life is, or very soon will be, void of all regard of his country. There is seldom an instance of a man guilty of betraying his country who had not before lost the feeling of moral obligations in his private connections. . . . [P]rivate and public vices are in reality . . . connected. . . . Nothing is more essential to the establishment of manners in a State than that all persons employed in places of power and trust be men of unexceptionable characters. The public cannot be too curious concerning the characters of public men. Samuel Adams

Righteousness alone can exalt [America] as a nation. . . . [R]emember this! And in thy sphere practice virtue thyself, and encourage it in others. . . . [T]he great pillars of all government . . . [are] virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor, my friend, and this alone, that renders us invincible. Patrick Henry

As governments are made and moved by men, so by them they are ruined too. . . . Let men be good and the governplainfs22 ment cannot be bad. . . . But if men be bad, the government be never good. William Penn

[I]f we . . . trifle with the injunctions of morality . . . no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us. . . . [No] government [can] be secure which is not supported by moral habits. Daniel Webster

In selecting men for office . . . look to his character. . . . [I]f the citizens neglect their duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made not for the public good so much as for selfish or local purposes; corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the laws; the public revenues will be squandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizens will be violated or disregarded. . . . When a citizen gives his [vote] to a man of known immorality . . . he betrays the interest of his country. Noah Webster

Those who wish well to the State ought to choose to places of trust men of inward principle, justified by exemplary [lifestyle]. Is it reasonable to expect wisdom from the ignorant? fidelity from the profligate? assiduity and application to public business from men of a dissipated life? . . . Those, therefore, who pay no regard to religion and sobriety in the persons whom they [elect] are guilty of the greatest absurdity and will soon pay dear for their folly. John Witherspoon

While it is too late for us as voters to apply these lessons to our current President, it is not too late for us to apply these lessons to the present election. Remember to vote–and to vote for God-fearing and moral individuals. As the Bible reminds us in Proverbs 29:2: “When the righteous rule, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan.”

High Crimes and Misdemeanors

In the midst of the debate surrounding a potential presidential impeachment, the phrase “high crimes and misdemeanors” has become a focal point. This phrase is found in Article II, Section 4, Par. 1, of the Constitution, and sets forth the reasons for the removal of a President:

The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.

Supporters of the President argue that what has been uncovered–thus far–does not amount to “high crimes and misdemeanors” like “treason [and] bribery.” While they admit the President’s actions to be disgusting and reprehensible, they claim that nevertheless they are not sufficiently serious felonies so as to constitute impeachable offenses.

Those who offer this argument are guilty of two errors: (1) they are ignorant of (or ignore) the clear declarations both of our Founding Fathers who authored this clause and of those who for a century-and-a-half afterwards enforced this clause, and (2) they group words together in the clause which should be kept separate that is, they talk of “high crimes and misdemeanors” as if they are they same thing; they are not.

The clause should be read “high crimes” and “misdemeanors”–two separate categories. No one can logically argue that a “high crime” is the same as a “misdemeanor.” What the Founding Fathers did in this clause was to offer a broad scope of impeachable offenses ranging from serious felonies (high crimes) to much lesser categories of misbehavior (misdemeanors).

This is further confirmed by the two specific examples the Founders included in the Constitution: treason and bribery. Treason was a serious capital offense, resulting in execution, while bribery–even though it was considered a moral wrong–was not yet a statutory crime when the Constitution was adopted! Clearly, then, what the Constitution specifies is a wide range of impeachable offenses, from high crimes (such as treason) to misdemeanors (such as bribery–not then illegal).

The definitions of “misdemeanor” confirmed this. For example, Alexander Hamilton and Justice Joseph Story (placed on the Supreme Court by President James Madison) defined a “misdemeanor” as political “malconduct,” and Noah Webster (responsible for the copyright and patent protection clause of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution) defined “misdemeanor” as “ill behavior, evil conduct, fault, or mismanagement.” Professor John Randolph Tucker (a U.S. Congressman, constitutional law professor, and early president of the American Bar Association) explained in his 1891 Commentaries on the Constitution that “misdemeanor” was “a synonym for misbehavior” and that “[t]he words ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’ cannot be confined to crimes created and defined by a statute of the United States.”

Realizing, then, that the constitutional scope of impeachable offenses ranged from serious felonies down to misbehavior and evil conduct, Joseph Story, in his classic 1833 Commentaries on the Constitution, declared:

The offences to which the power of impeachment has been and is ordinarily applied as a remedy are. . . . what are aptly termed political offences, growing out of personal misconduct, or gross neglect, or usurpation, or habitual disregard of the public interest.

And Professor John Randolph Tucker, in the 1891 Commentaries mentioned earlier, declared:

The process of impeachment is a political proceeding, against the accused as an officer of the government, to protect the government from the present or future incumbency of a man whose conduct has proved him unworthy to fill it. . . . The impeachment power was intended to cleanse the government from the presence of worthless and faithless individuals.

That this had been the intent of the Founding Fathers was irrefutable. For example, James Iredell (an original Supreme Court Justice appointed by President George Washington) succinctly declared:

Every government requires [impeachment]. Every man ought to be amenable for his conduct. . . . It will be not only the means of punishing misconduct but it will prevent misconduct. A man in public office who knows that there is no tribunal to punish him may be ready to deviate from his duty; but if he knows there is a tribunal for that purpose, although he may be a man of no principle, the very terror of punishment will perhaps deter him.

Therefore, in the current raging debate over what constitutes an impeachable offense, do not be misled by those who would define “high crimes” and “misdemeanors” as being the same, and then who raise the bar for impeachment so high that it protects an individual from being accountable for his conduct.

Meet a Friend

Once again, it is a pleasure to highlight an organization that is having a profound impact on our society. The National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools is getting the Bible back into public schools nationwide. Founded in 1994 by Elizabeth Ridenour, this organization helps public schools set up elective Bible courses by first educating them to the fact that the courses are completely constitutional and then by providing the curriculum for the courses, with the Bible itself being the primary textbook.

According to the NCBCPS, the ultimate goals of these courses, in part, are to “equip the student with
a fundamental understanding of the influence of the Bible on history, law, American community life, and culture; give insight into the world views of America’sfounding fathers and to understand the Biblical influences on their views on human rights; . . . [and] familiarize the student with the Bible so that he or she becomes skillful in its use, such as finding references easily.” Currently, fifty-seven districts in twenty-six States have started teaching the Bible as an elective in public schools.

Late Summer 1998

A “Do-Nothing Congress”? Says Who?

America is unquestionably engaged in a culture war. On one side are Christians and other devout people of faith who embrace traditional and Christian family values, and on the other side are the secularists, humanists, separationists, and others who want a society free from Christian influence or traditions. The battlegrounds for the culture war are the primary power centers of the pulpit, education, government, and media. How are we doing in each?

Generally, the pulpit is still strongly supportive of Christian values in public; while occasionally silent, only rarely is it antagonistic. Despite positive gains in recent years, by and large the education establishment remains generally hostile to Christian values. In government, the Executive and the Judicial branches demonstrate a clear hostility while the Legislative branch is becoming an ally. And although the media is beginning to improve (as evidenced by the explosion of conservative talk-radio), the major outlets continue to be hostile. Yet, despite the fact that three of the four power centers currently reject Christian values, the overwhelming majority of Americans embrace those values, as confirmed by polls on belief in God, church attendance, support for school prayer, opposition to sodomy, support of traditional marriage, etc.

Therefore, since those parties advancing anti-Christian values are actually in the minority, to gain public support, they must do everything they can to portray themselves as the majority, pursuing reasonable and rational goals. Thus, they publicize their own victories (which means highlighting our defeats) while minimizing word of their defeats (by suppressing the reports of our victories).

An excellent example of this tactic is the media’s current characterization that we have a “do-nothing Congress.” This charge means either that (1) Congress actually has done nothing (at least according to the media’s agenda) or (2) Congress has furthered the Christian values agenda, and thus every effort must be made to halt this progress. Both suppositions are correct, especially the second one. As proof, consider the following facts:

Protecting Human Life

Congress expanded the Hyde Amendment ban on taxpayer-financed abortions in federal health programs to also include managed-care arrangements, Medicaid, Title X family planning assistance, Title XX social services Block Grants to States, and the Children’s Health-Insurance Block-Grant Program (Public Law 105-33).
Congress restored the ban–which President Clinton had lifted–on taxpayer-financed abortions in U.S. military facilities (Public Law 104-106), on abortion coverage in the federal employees health benefits program (Public Law 104-52), on taxpayer-financed abortions in the District of Columbia (Public Law 104-134), and on taxpayer-financed abortions in federal prisons (Public Law 104-134).
Congress permanently prohibited the American Council of Graduate Medical Education from forcing medical schools to require the performance of abortions (Public Law 104-134).
Congress also banned abortion litigation by the Legal Services Corporation (a government funded legal service), federal funding for assisted suicide and euthanasia (Public Law 105-12), and taxpayer-funded human embryo research (Public Law 104-134).
Congress has twice banned the gruesome practice of partial-birth abortions, and has fallen short of the two-thirds vote necessary to override President Clinton’s veto by only three votes in the Senate.

Promoting Marriage and the Family

Congress passed the “Defense of Marriage Act” which (1) federally defines “marriage” as “the union of one man and one woman as man and wife” for purposes of all federal benefits, and (2) allows each State (rather than unelected judges) to define marriage according to their traditions and values (Public Law 104-199).
Congress enacted several strong pro-marriage provisions as part of welfare reform, including a bonus system to reward States which reduce out-of-wedlock birth rates without increasing abortions (Public Law 104-193).
Congress enacted a permanent $500 per-child tax credit (Public Law 105-34) and passed homemaker IRAs so that work-at-home spouses could set aside up to $2,000 a year in a tax-deferred retirement savings (Public Law 104-188).
Congress made major reforms in adoption policies, including enacting (1) a $5,000 tax credit for adoption expenses, (2) a $6,000 tax credit for hard-to-place special-needs children, (3) a ban on “race matching” by adoption agencies so minority children can be placed in any loving family (Public Law 104-188), and (4) an accelerated procedure for moving abused and neglected children from foster homes into adoptive homes (Public Law 105-89).

Religious Liberties

Congress has advanced a number of religious liberty bills, including the first ever vote on a School Prayer Amendment by both the Judiciary Committee and the whole House, a bill to penalize those countries who participate in or condone the persecution of Christians and other people of faith (e.g., China, Sudan, Pakistan, Laos, etc.), a bill to protect the public display of the Ten Commandments, and a number of other positive bills. While not all of these bills were signed into law by the President, nevertheless, this is the best session the Congress has had on the issue of religious liberty in recent memory.
Congress passed a bill to allow faith-based charities to participate in delivering welfare benefits (Public Law 104-193).

Education

Of the 260 federal education programs overseen by the House Education Committee, 105 of the programs have been eliminated.
Congress passed a permanent ban on funding for Clinton’s federal testing scheme (the foundation for his plan for a national curriculum).
Congress killed a proposed new tax on education benefits for the children of school faculty members–a tax specifically targeted at teachers in religious schools (this was a big win for private religious schools).
Congress enacted educational IRAs to cover expenses for public, private, and home schools, and passed a school-choice voucher bill for students in Washington, D. C., (both bills were vetoed by the President).

Morality

Congress banned the funding of obscene art (Public Law 104-134), the distribution of indecent or patently offensive material to minors over the Internet (Public Law 104-104), the sale of pornography at military facilities (Public Law 104-106), and taxpayer-funded needle-exchange programs.
Congress strengthened child pornography laws (Public Law 104-71).
Congress funded $50 million dollars for abstinence-education programs (Public Law 104-193).
Congress moved against the gambling industry, appointing pro-family hero Kay James as the Chairman of the National Gambling Impact Commission to investigate and report on the effects of gambling (Public Law 104-169).

Other Issues

Also, Congress has pursued a number of measures to reverse judicial activism and to limit judicial intrusiveness and micromanagement. Additionally, Congress prohibited the United Nations command of U. S. troops, but that bill–like so many other good bills–was vetoed by the President.

Upcoming Votes

There are still a number of important votes scheduled for the final weeks of this Congress, including:

A ban (for the third time) on partial-birth abortions.
A ban on transporting minors across State lines in order to evade parental-consent or parental-notification abortion restrictions.
A ban on discrimination against homeschoolers and Christian schoolers in college admissions.
A Constitutional Amendment to prohibit the desecration of the flag.

Obviously, Congress has done much to advance Christian and traditional family values, and just as obviously, most citizens have not heard of these victories. Instead, they have been told that we elected a “do-nothing Congress.”

To understand the reason for this fallacious charge, recall how this Congress came to be. Between 1988 and 1994, the numbers of evangelical Christian voters rapidly increased. Those Evangelical voters were largely responsible for the infamous “Voter Revolution” of 1994 followed by the 1996 Senate elections. Those two elections swept scores of conservative Christians into Congress and thus changed not only the composition but also the agenda of the Congress. The secularists understand that they are in serious trouble if Christians return to the polls in 1998. And what better way to keep Christians home in this year’s elections than by telling them that all their hard work of recent years was a complete waste of time–that all it produced was a “do-nothing Congress.”

Unfortunately, many Christians have believed this propaganda. But the truth is that we are making a difference–our efforts are having an effect! Don’t be talked out of your vote in November! Remember the advice of two ministers of the Gospel, James A. Garfield and Charles Finney. Finney–a leader in America’s Second Great Awakening–reminded the Christians of his day that:

The Church must take right ground in regard to politics. . . . The time has come that Christians must vote for honest men and take consistent ground in politics. . . . God cannot sustain this free and blessed country which we love and pray for unless the Church will take right ground. Politics are a part of a religion in such a country as this, and Christians must do their duty to the country as a part of their duty to God. . . . [God] will bless or curse this nation according to the course they [Christians] take [in politics].

Then, fifty years later, James A. Garfield, our 20th President, reminded the Christians in his day:

Now, more than ever before, the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature. . . . If the next centennial does not find us a great nation . . . it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces.

The message of the last two centuries still resounds for us today. We must “take right ground in regard to politics” and “aid in controlling the political forces” by being active in this year’s elections.

One of the tools which can help motivate those around you to be involved is our award-winning video “Keys to Good Government.” I encourage you to get a copy of this video and show it to you family, friends, church, and others within your sphere of influence. Our duty is not only to vote, but to vote for the right type of leaders. As Proverbs 29:2 reminds us, “When the righteous rule, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan.” This video will help motivate citizens to vote–and to vote according to Biblical principles.

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Noah Webster

Endnotes

John Hart – Quiet Farmer. Selfless Patriot.

Endnotes

Founding Fathers on Prayer

Why is it important that we pray for our country and its peoples?

Cite an example that stands out to you of how prayer changed the course of the United States or accomplished a monumental goal.

In your estimation, what happens to a country when it drifts away from God?

If you could lead the entire country in prayer this National Day of Prayer, what would you pray for? What should our collective prayer be for this country?

Endnotes

The Webster Regiment

Endnotes

Celebrating Abigail Adams

Endnotes

Celebrating Black History Month: The Rev. Francis J. Grimke

Endnotes

The Founders on the Second Amendment

Endnotes

Addressing Mass Murder and Violent Crime

Late Summer 1998

A “Do-Nothing Congress”? Says Who?

Protecting Human Life

Promoting Marriage and the Family

Religious Liberties

Education

Morality

Other Issues

Upcoming Votes

QUICK LINKS

OTHER LINKS

Explore

Engage

Initiatives

Explore

Engage

Initiatives

Endnotes

Endnotes

Why is it important that we pray for our country and its peoples?

Cite an example that stands out to you of how prayer changed the course of the United States or accomplished a monumental goal.

In your estimation, what happens to a country when it drifts away from God?

If you could lead the entire country in prayer this National Day of Prayer, what would you pray for? What should our collective prayer be for this country?

Endnotes

Endnotes

Endnotes

Endnotes

Endnotes

A “Do-Nothing Congress”? Says Who?

Protecting Human Life

Promoting Marriage and the Family

Religious Liberties

Education

Morality

Other Issues

Upcoming Votes

QUICK LINKS

OTHER LINKS

SOCIAL LINKS

Explore

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Initiatives