Topics: Founding Fathers

First Prayer in Congress

On September 5, 1774, the First Continental Congress met at Carpenters’ Hall in Philadelphia. Among the delegates who attended were George Washington, Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, John Adams, John Jay, and many other notables.1 This meeting was important since it was the first time the colonies united on a large scale (though one colony was not represented), thus the tone it set would be crucial for America’s future. The congress had been called to address increasing British tyranny,2 including the Intolerable Acts, which had ended self-government in Massachusetts and shut down the port of Boston to commercial shipments.3

On the second day of the gathering, Congress got down to business. There was a call to open the meeting with prayer, but some delegates doubted they could pray together since there were different denominations present.4

Samuel Adams ended the debate when he announced that he was not a bigot and could “hear a prayer” from anyone “who was at the same time a friend to his country.” He then nominated Rev. Jacob Duché to conduct the prayers.5 It was amidst all these circumstances that on the third day, September 7th, the Rev. Duché led the first prayer in Congress.6

Delegate Silas Deane reported Duché prayed for a full ten minutes and then read the Scripture for the day.7

John Adams related to his wife how much this time of prayer meant for the attendees:

[Rev. Duché] read several prayers in the established form, and then read the collect for the seventh day of September, which was the thirty-fifth Psalm. You must remember, this was the next morning after we heard the horrible rumor of the cannonade of Boston. I never saw a greater effect upon an audience. It seemed as if Heaven had ordained that Psalm to be read on that morning.8

That time of prayer united the delegates despite their differences. In fact, Daniel Webster, “Defender of the Constitution,”9 later reminded the US Supreme Court of the unifying power of prayer:

Mr. Duché read the Episcopal service of the Church of England and then, as if moved by the occasion, he broke out into extemporaneous prayer. And those men who were then about to resort to force to obtain their rights, were moved to tears; and flood of tears, Mr. Adams says, ran down the cheeks of the pacific Quakers who formed part of the most interesting assembly. Depend upon it, where there is a spirit of Christianity, there is a spirit which rises above form, above forms, independent of sect or creed, and the controversies of clashing doctrines.10

It was prayer and the Scriptures that united the Founding Fathers, and they can still unite us today.

Endnotes

1 “First Continental Congress,” ushistory.org, accessed September 4, 2024, https://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/congress.html?R6wF9AvbqY=C2A7B9B226BE11CE692F46F316C45D8F.

2 “10d. First Continental Congress,” ushistory.org, accessed September 4, 2024, https://www.ushistory.org/US/10d.asp?R6wF9AvbqY=C2A7B9B226BE11CE692F46F316C45D8F.

3 “American Revolution: The Intolerable Acts,” July 10, 2017, ThoughtCo., https://www.thoughtco.com/the-intolerable-acts-2361386.

4 John Adams to Abigail Adams, September 16, 1774, Letters of John Adams, Addressed to His Wife, ed. Charles Francis Adams (Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1841), 23.

5 Ibid.

6 “Wednesday, September 7, 1774, A.M.,” Journals of The American Congress: From 1774 to 1788 (Washington: Way and Gideon, 1823), I:8.

7 Silas Deane to Elizabeth Deane, The Deane Papers (NY: New York Historical Society, 1887), I:20.

8 John Adams to Abigail, September 16, 1774, Letters of John Adams (1841), 23-24.

9 See, for example, Daniel Webster For Young Americans: Comprising the Greatest Speeches of “The Defender of the Constitution” (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1903).

10 Speech delivered in the Supreme Court on February 20, 1844, The Works of Daniel Webster (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1860), VI:162.

Signers of the Declaration: Panel 1

Number Signer Name Number Signer Name
1 William Floyd 6 Francis Lewis
2 Thomas Stone 7 Lewis Morris
3 Samuel Chase 8 Philip Livingston
4 Charles Carroll of Carrollton 9 Button Gwinnett
5 George Walton 10 William Paca

1. Floyd, William – (NY) Born 12/17/1734 in Brookhaven, NY. Was 41 when he signed. Occupation: land speculator. Died 8/4/1821 at age 86. Like many other signers, he had to flee his home to avoid capture. He was a member of the First Congress (1789).

Floyd’s document, dated May 1, 1797, is a bond that was signed by him as a witness for 970 given to John Willets by Nicoll Floyd.

2. Stone, Thomas – (MD) Born c. 1743 in Charles Co., MD. Was 33 when he signed. Occupation: lawyer. Died 10/5/1787 at age 44.

Stone’s document, undated, concerns a legal dispute over the sale of slaves and signed by him as an attorney.

3. Chase, Samuel – (MD) Born 4/17/1741 in Somerset County, MD. Was 35 when he signed. Occupation: lawyer. Died 6/19/1811 at age 70. He served in Congress from 1774-1778. He served as the Chief Justice of the state of Maryland where one of his duties was to swear oaths like the one displayed. He was appointed an Associate Justice in the United States Supreme Court where he served from 1796 until his death. Even though he owned slaves, he was a member of the Maryland Abolition Society to work towards an end of that institution.

Chase’s document, dated February 1, 1794 as Chief Judge of Maryland, is a Naturalization Document.

4. Carroll, Charles of Carrollton – (MD) Born 9/19/1737 in Annapolis. Was 38 when he signed. Occupation: merchant & plantation farmer. Died 11/14/1832 at age 95. He helped draft the Maryland Constitution (1776); member of the Continental Congress (1776-78); a delegate to the Constitutional Convention (1787) but did not attend; and helped frame the Bill of Rights as a US Senator. At his death, he was the longest lived and last surviving signer of the Declaration and was likely the wealthiest citizen in America; he was the only Roman Catholic signer of the Declaration. Although he owned slaves, he served as the president of the Auxiliary Colonization Society of Maryland and advocated for the gradual abolition of slavery in that state. See Carroll’s personal testimony.

Carroll’s document, dated January 20th, 1831, is a check for $12,953.92 to the state of Maryland.

5. Walton, George – (GA) Born c. 1741 in Cumberland Co., VA. Was 35 when he signed. Occupation: lawyer. Died 2/2/1804 at age 63. He was wounded and taken prisoner when the British took Savannah during the war.

Walton’s document, January 17, 1785, concerns a land dispute.

6. Lewis, Francis – (NY) Born 3/21/1713 in Wales. Was 63 when he signed. Occupation: merchant. Died 12/30/1802 at age 89. During the war, his home on Long Island was ransacked and ruined, and his wife was taken prisoner by the British. Her harsh treatment broke her health so that she died soon afterward.

Lewis’ document, undated, is a letter to William Carpenter concerning purchase and shipment of 250 bushels of wheat.

7. Morris, Lewis – (NY) Born 4/8/1726 in West Chester Co. Was 50 when he signed. Occupation: plantation farmer. Died 1/22/1798 at age 71.

Morris’ document, dated December 7, 1790, is a letter to his son, Lewis, with general news about family and acquaintances.

8. Livingston, Philip – (NY) Born 1/15/1716 in Albany. Was 60 when he signed. Occupation: merchant. Died 6/12/1778 at age 62.

Livingston’s document, dated August 29, 1769, confirms receipt for a payment to Philip.

9. Gwinnett, Button – (GA) Born c. 1735 in England. Was 41 when he signed. Occupation: merchant & plantation farmer. Died 5/15/1777 at age 42.

Gwinnett’s document, undated, is a clipped signature.

10. Paca, William – (MD) Born 10/31/1740 in Abington, MD. Was 35 when he signed. Occupation: lawyer & plantation farmer. Died 10/13/1799 at age 58.

Paca’s document, dated October 31, 1792, is a letter to a Mr. Brown in which Paca mentions paying Jacob Adams.

Court Orders D.C. Transit Authority to Accept and Run Unconstitutionally Rejected Ads

In December 2023, First Liberty, ACLU, and Steptoe filed a lawsuit on behalf of WallBuilders relating to ads that were rejected by the DC Transit Authority. (See more about the history of this issue here.) We now have great news!

“Judge Beryl A. Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (“WMATA”) to accept and run four advertisements that it had unconstitutionally rejected. The court ruled that WMATA’s ban on issue ads violates the First Amendment’s requirement that restrictions on speech be reasonable.”

Read the full Press Release from First Liberty here.

These ads have already started to appear in Washington DC! You can follow WallBuilders’ social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, and X) to stay updated.

The ads link to a collection of quotes by numerous Founding Fathers via our article “The Founding Fathers on Jesus, Christianity and the Bible”: https://wallbuilders.com/resource/the-founding-fathers-on-jesus-christianity-and-the-bible/.

Support WallBuilders’ Mission! Donate here!

Protecting Private Property Through the Uniform Commercial Code

Protecting Private Property Through the Uniform Commercial Code

Questions are now being raised about important laws that have been added to state codes in all 50 states over the past 25 years. These laws were deliberately designed to abrogate private property rights and could in the future be used to harm all Americans who hold investment securities, including those held in IRA and 401(k) accounts. At the state level, the concerning statutes in question are contained within the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), primarily in Article 8, which deals with securities.

WallBuilders’ Pro-Family Legislative Network (PFLN), and other organizations and leaders, urge state legislators to carefully consider this alarming infringement on private property.

This letter explains our concerns, summarizes the legal aspects of UCC Article 8, and outlines near-term options for state policymakers who want to take action to protect their constituents and their states. Read the full letter for additional information.

What can you do to help?

Share this Information: We encourage you to forward this to your friends, family and state legislators to help make them aware of this critical issue in your state’s uniform commercial code.

Stay Apprised of the Issue: If this issue is important to you, sign up for our Concerned Citizens legislative update email and we will keep you apprised of this issue.

Stay informed!

Sign the Letter: If you represent an organization, or are an elected official who would like to sign this letter, please email us for consideration.

Contribute: If you would like to support this effort to help us brief more lawmakers across the country on this matter, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to WallBuilders Pro-Family Legislative Network Fund.

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Lawsuit Challenges D.C. Transit Authority for Violating the First Amendment

In December 2023, First Liberty, ACLU, and Steptoe filed a lawsuit on behalf of WallBuilders.

First Liberty Press Release

Lawsuit Challenges D.C. Transit Authorit – First Liberty

First Liberty Article

https://firstliberty.org/news/ads-about-americas-religious-history-not-allowed/ 

WallBuilders Rejected Ads




WallBuilders Article

These ads would have linked to a collection of quotes by numerous Founding Fathers via our article “The Founding Fathers on Jesus, Christianity and the Bible”: https://wallbuilders.com/resource/the-founding-fathers-on-jesus-christianity-and-the-bible/

Additional Information & Questions

We have asked our attorneys to handle all media inquiries. Please contact Jeremy Dys at 304-881-5196 or [email protected]. Thank you.

The American Story: Building the Republic Endnotes

Most Americans recognize the names George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, but few can tell you their stories—much less that of James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, or Andrew Jackson. These seven men from the Founding Ear were America’s first presidents. They established our republic on the foundation of the Constitution and its liberties.

But who were they? Were they good or bad leaders? How did they become presidents? Did they follow the Constitution or abandon its principles?

Their lives reflect the opportunities America offers. Farmers, attorneys, military veterans, and philosophers, they each rose to the highest ranks of political leadership. From very different backgrounds, all loved their nation. Each had shortcomings (some far more than others) as well as stellar shining moments. Some preserved our strong foundations and some abandoned core constitutional principles.

The stories of each of these presidents are fascinating, instructive, and compelling. And why not? After all, these are the men who built the republic.

In this document, you will see the complete endnotes for this work. Thank you!

The American Story Building the Republic_Endnotes

Enumerated Powers

“The powers not delegated [i.e., enumerated] to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.” Tenth Amendment of the Constitution

Enumerated powers are the particular powers granted to Congress (those which are specifically listed) in the US Constitution. There are seventeen such enumerated powers.

Article I, Section 8 lists the first fifteen powers enumerated to, or permissible for the federal government. Articles II-VII add no additional powers but define how to apply the powers enumerated in Article I.

For example, Article II identifies the president as Commander-in-Chief over the military, but this is not a new power since the Preamble already authorized the federal government “to provide for the common defense.” Likewise, the president’s Article II authority to “make treaties” and “appoint ambassadors” is part of the Article I provision “to regulate commerce with foreign nations.”

The Thirteenth and the Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution added two additional federal powers. (But the other twenty-five Amendments to the Constitution added no federal powers.) With these two additional federal powers, the total number of constitutionally-authorized federal jurisdictions, or enumerated powers, is seventeen.

The Enumerated Powers Listed in the Constitution

The enumerated powers permissible to the federal government are:

  1. To raise revenue to pay off debt, protect the nation, and fulfill the specific obligations established in the enumerated powers. (“To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States”)
  2. “Borrow money on the credit of the United States.”
  3. Protect the free-enterprise system and ensure free flow of commerce. (“To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes”)
  4. Establish immigration laws and processes. (“To establish an uniform rule of naturalization”)
  5. Establish the bankruptcy laws and processes. (“and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States”)
  6. Establish national currency, monitor its supply and value, and punish counterfeiters of that currency. (“To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures” and “provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States”)
  7. “Establish post offices and post roads.”
  8. Protect the private property (including the ideas, and the product of those ideas) of inventors, authors, and artists. (“To promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries”)
  9. If Congress so wishes, create and regulate federal courts. (“To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court”)
  10. To enforce international laws and prosecute offenses against it: “Define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offences against the law of nations.”
  11. “Declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water.”
  12. To provide funding for and establish the size and operation of a national military. (“To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years; to provide and maintain a navy; to make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces”)
  13. To call forth and train state militias for national needs. (“To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions; to provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively the appointment of the officers and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress”)
  14. Oversee and manage all federal property, including Washington, DC, as well as bases, federal buildings, and so forth. (“To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever over such District (not exceeding ten miles square) as may by cession of particular States and the acceptance of Congress become the seat of the government of the United States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the State in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards, and other needful buildings”)
  15. “To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other owners vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.”
  16. To prevent slavery. (a power added by the Thirteenth Amendment)
  17. To prevent states from violating individual constitutional freedoms and inalienable rights secured to every individual in the federal Constitution. (a power added by the Fourteenth Amendment)

Some Founding Fathers on Enumerated Powers

“The powers delegated [that is, enumerated] by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the state governments are numerous and indefinite. The former [i.e., federal powers] will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce; with which last the power of taxation will, for the most part, be connected. The powers reserved to the several states will extend to all the objects which in the ordinary course of affairs concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the state. The operations of the federal government will be most extensive and important in times of war and danger; those of the state governments in times of peace and security.” James Madison1

“The state governments may be regarded as constituent and essential parts of the federal government; whilst the latter [i.e., the federal] is no wise essential to the operation or organization of the former [i.e., the states].” James Madison2

(Warning what would eventually occur if Congress used the General Welfare Clause of the Constitution to become involved in more than its specifically enumerated powers):

“If Congress can apply money indefinitely to the ‘general welfare,’ and are the sole and supreme judges of the ‘general welfare,’ they may take the care of religion into their own hands; they may establish teachers in every state, county, and parish, and pay them out of the public treasury; they may take into their own hands the education of children, establishing in like manner schools throughout the Union; they may undertake the regulation of all roads other than post roads. In short, everything, from the highest object of state legislation down to the most minute object of police would be thrown under the power of Congress, for every object I have mentioned would admit the application of money, and might be called, if Congress pleased, provisions for the ‘general welfare’.” James Madison3

“I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground that ‘all powers not delegated to the United States, by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states or to the people’ [quoting the Tenth Amendment]. To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specially drawn around the powers of Congress is to take possession of a boundless field of power, no longer susceptible of any definition.” Thomas Jefferson4

“I am not a friend to a very energetic [activist] government. It is always oppressive.” Thomas Jefferson5

“What an augmentation [growth] of the field for jobbing, speculating, plundering, office-building, and office-hunting would be produced by an assumption of all the state powers into the hands of the [federal] government. The true theory of our Constitution is surely the wisest and best: that the States are independent as to everything within themselves, and united as to everything respecting foreign nations. Let the [federal] government be reduced to foreign concerns only.” Thomas Jefferson6

(The Founders did not list all the powers the state possessed, but rather listed the few that the federal government was allowed to perform; all other powers belonged to the states.)

“In forming a federal constitution, which ex vi termine, supposes state governments existing, and which is only to manage a few great national concerns, we often find it easier to enumerate particularly the powers to be delegated to the federal head than to enumerate particularly the individual rights to be reserved.” Richard Henry Lee7

“[The Tenth A]mendment is a mere affirmation of what, upon any just reasoning, is a necessary rule of interpreting the Constitution. Being an instrument of limited and enumerated powers, it follows irresistibly that what is not conferred, is withheld, and belongs to the state authorities.” Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story8

“What is to become of constitutions of government if they are to rest not upon the plain [meaning] of their words but upon conjectural enlargements and restrictions to suit the temporary passions and interests of the day? Let us never forget that our constitutions of government are solemn instruments, addressed to the common sense of the people and designed to fix and perpetuate their rights and their liberties. They are not to be frittered away to please the demagogues of the day. They are not to be violated to gratify the ambition of political leaders. They are to speak in the same voice now and forever. They are of no man’s private interpretation. They are ordained by the will of the people and can be changed only by the sovereign command of the people.” Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story9

Endnotes

1 James Madison, No. XLV, The Federalist on the New Constitution Written in the Year 1788 (Washington, DC: Jacob Gideon, 1818), 292.

2 Madison, No. XLV, The Federalist (1818), 290.

3 Madison, February 6, 1792, The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States (Washington, DC: Gales and Seaton, 1849), 2nd Cong., 1st Sess., 388.

4 Thomas Jefferson, “Opinion against the constitutionality of a National Bank,” February 15, 1791, The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, ed. H. A. Washington (Washington, DC: Taylor & Maury, 1854), VII:556.

5 Jefferson to Madison, December 20, 1787, Memoir, Correspondence, and Miscellanies from the Papers of Thomas Jefferson, ed. Thomas Jefferson Randolph (Charlottesville: F. Carr & Co., 1829), II:276.

6 Jefferson to Gideon Granger, August 13, 1800, Memoir, Correspondence, and Miscellanies, ed. Randolph (1829) III:437.

7 [Richard Henry Lee], “Letter XVI,” January 20, 1788, An Additional Number of Letters from the Federal Farmer to the Republican (1788), 143.

8 Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States (Boston: Hilliard, Gray, and Company, 1833), III:752.

9 Story, Commentaries on the Constitution (1833), III:754.

FAQ: Inalienable Rights

Claimed in the Declaration of Independence as “unalienable rights,” inalienable rights are those that are not under the purview of the government – those rights that are inherent to each person.1 They are also sometimes referred to as natural rights, because they could only be granted by God. America’s Founding Fathers emphasized inalienable rights throughout their writings since they were considered most valuable and to be closely guarded.

Liberties dearer to you than your lives, “which God gave to you and which no inferior power has a right to take away.” JOHN DICKINSON “Penman of the Revolution”2

The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature by the hand of the Divinity itself; and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power. ALEXANDER HAMILTON3

That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety. VIRGINIA DECLARATION OF RIGHTS (1776)4

Some of the inalienable rights the Founders specifically mentioned included:5

  • Life
  • Liberty
  • Private Property
  • Conscience (specifically relating to worshipping God)
  • Self-Preservation or “Personal Security”
  • Happiness
  • Private Judgment or “Self-Direction”
  • Association
  • Right to Necessary Things (air, water, earth)

Additional Resources

Biblical Christianity: The Origin of the Right of Conscience

A God-Given Inalienable Right

The Founders on the Second Amendment

The Founders Bible

The Second Amendment

Endnotes

1 Noah Webster, “inalienable,” An American Dictionary of the English Language (New York: S. Converse, 1828). Today there is a question of whether the correct term is “inalienable” (as now used in contemporary English) or “unalienable” (as it originally appeared in the Declaration). As seen in this definition by Noah Webster (a soldier in the American War for Independence, and a judge and legislator afterwards), “unalienable” is a synonym for “inalienable.”

2 John Dickinson, letter to the Society of Fort St. David’s, 1768, Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, ed. R. T. H. Halsey (New York: The Outlook Company, 1903), xlii.

3Alexander Hamilton, “The Farmer Refuted,” February 5, 1775,” The Works of Alexander Hamilton, ed. John C. Hamilton (New York: John F. Trow, 1850), II:80.

4 The Virginia Declaration of Rights, adopted unanimously June 12, 1776, Virginia Convention of Delegates, drafted by George Mason, The Avalon Project, Yale Law School, accessed December 4, 2023, https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/virginia.asp.

5. See, for example: Samuel Adams, “The Rights of The Colonists, A List of Violations of Rights and a Letter of Correspondence, Adopted by the Town of Boston, November 20, 1772,” The Life and Public Service of Samuel Adams, ed. William V. Wells (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1865), I:502. Samuel Adams, An Oration Delivered at the State House, in Philadelphia, to a Very Numerous Audience; on Thursday the 1st of August, 1776 (London: J. Johnson, 1776), 4. The Massachusetts Constitution 1780, drafted by John Adams, “A Declaration of the Rights of the Inhabitants of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.” James Madison, “Property,” from the National Gazette, March 29, 1792, The Writings of James Madison, ed. Gaillard Hunt (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1906), VI:101-102. James Wilson, “Of Crimes Against the Right of Individuals to Personal Safety,” The Works of the Honourable James Wilson, ed. Bird Wilson (Philadelphia: Lorenzo Press, 1804), III:84-85. John Witherspoon, Lectures on Moral Philosophy; Lecture X, “Of Politics,” The Works of John Witherspoon (Edinburgh: Ogle & Aikman, 1805), VII:77-78.

America: God Shed His Grace on Thee Tract

This tract contains a variety of quotes that exemplify the Founders’ regard for a Biblically based system of government. See the complete text below and download it for your personal use!

America God Shed His Grace on Thee

By David Barton

America is not only one of the greatest nations in the history of the world, it has also become its longest ongoing constitutional republic. Its original government has now endured well over two centuries. However, America’s longevity is only as stable and secure as its foundation, so what is the foundation of American government?

Political scientists now know that the greatest source of political inspiration for our founding fathers was the Bible, which was cited in 34% of the quotations from the founding era (1760-1805).1

This discovery, while it might surprise many today, would have come as no surprise to the founders. It was John Adams who explained:

The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were….the general principles of Christianity.2

Founding father Noah Webster echoed the same message:

The religion which has introduced civil liberty is the religion of Christ and His Apostles….This is genuine Christianity and to this we owe our free constitutions of government.3

Founder after founder declared the same belief:

Whether this [new government] will prove a blessing or a curse will depend upon the use our people make of the blessings which a gracious God hath bestowed on us. If they are wise, they will be great and happy. If they are wise, they will be great and happy. If they are of a contrary character, they will be miserable. Righteousness alone can exalt them as a nation [Proverbs 14:34]. Reader! Whoever thou art, remember this, and in they sphere practice virtue thyself and encourage it in others.4 Patrick Henry

Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever.5 Thomas Jefferson

Contrary to what is often asserted today, the founders never intended that God’s Word or His principles be separated from public life. They knew these principles were vital to the success of our new government. James Madison explained:

Before any man can be considered as a member of civil society, he must be considered as a subject of the Governor of the Universe.6

And to the same Divine Author of every good and perfect gift [James 1:17] we are indebted for all those privileges and advantages, religious as well as civil, which are so richly enjoyed in this favored land.7

Furthermore, the founders saw the Bible as inseparable from public education. Benjamin Rush, the first founder to call for free national public schools, explained:

Let the children…be carefully instructed in the principles and obligations of the Christian religion. This is the most essential part of education.8

The great enemy of the salvation of man, in my opinion, never invented a more effectual means of extirpating [removing] Christianity from the world than by persuading mankind that it was improper to read the Bible at schools.9

The founders even viewed the principles of the Bible as inseparable from civil law. James Wilson, a signer of the Constitution and an original Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, explained:

Human law must rest its authority ultimately upon the authority of that law which is diving….Far from being rivals or enemies, religion and law are twin sisters, friends, and mutual assistants. Indeed, these two sciences run into each other.10

These statements, despite the prominence of those who made them, are virtually unknown today. Instead, for the last four decades we have been taught that our founders were irreligious, desiring a complete separation between religious principles and public policy. However, the facts dispute the contention.

First, consider the actions of the founding fathers. The overwhelming majority of these men were so firmly committed to the principles of God’s Word that they went to great lengths to propagate those principles. For example, do you realize that many founders helped organize and lead several of the Christian societies which today are still spreading the gospel? Those men helped found the American Tract Society; the American Sunday School Union; over one hundred city, county, and state Bible societies, including the American Bible Society; the American Board of Foreign Missions; the Christian Constitutional Society; the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge; the American Society for Educating Pious Youth for the Gospel Ministry; and many other similar groups. Are such organizations likely to be started by supposedly irreligious men who wanted God’s principles separate from society?

Second, consider their words––or their lack thereof. Today’s well-known phrase “separation of church and state” appears in no part of the Constitution. Furthermore, the discussions of the ninety founding fathers who framed the First Amendment (which the Courts now tell us means “separation of church and state”) are recorded in the Congressional Journal from June 7 to September 25, 1789. Interestingly, not once in those months of discussions did one of the founders ever mention that phrase. Doesn’t it seem logical that if they had intended today’s doctrine of “separation of church and state” that at least one of those ninety would have mentioned it? Ironically, today we no longer learn about what our founders did say in the Constitution; instead, we learn about something that they didn’t say!

The Bible reminds us that the most important part of any structure is its foundation: “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3). It is time to remember our foundations, and to listen again to the words of those who were instrumental in making this country one of the world’s most powerful and respected nations. As George Washington reminded us:

No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United State….We ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious [favorable] smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation which disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself ordained.11

For America’s continuing survival and world leadership, we must recapture the founders’ vision of the importance of God’s Word and His gospel for this nation. America must again embrace the wisdom articulated so well by President John Adams:

We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion….Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.12

Download the complete tract here!

Endnotes

1 Origins of American Constitutionalism, 1987
2 Letter to Thomas Jefferson, June 28, 1813
3 History of the United States, 1832
4 From Henry’s handwritten notes on the back of his copy of the Stamp Act resolutions, made public after his death
5 Notes on the State of Virginia, 1781
6 A Memorial and Remonstrance, 1785
7 Presidential Proclamation, 1815
8 A Plan for Free Schools, 1787
9 “A Defense of the Use of the Bible in Schools,” 1791
10 “Lectures on Law, Delivered in the College of Philadelphia,” 1790-1791
11 “Inaugural Address,” April 30, 1789
12 Letter of October 13, 1789.

The Founders Thanksgivings

Some of America’s Founding Fathers were direct descendants of the hearty Pilgrim settlers from which the tradition of our modern Thanksgiving originates. Included in this group are John Adams, John Trumbull, and Noah Webster.1 These descendants openly maintained the faith of their forefathers and expressed continued thankfulness to God.

In fact, Noah Webster, “The Schoolmaster to America” and a descendant of Pilgrim Governor William Bradford, defined Thanksgiving as:

A public celebration of Divine goodness; also, a day set apart for religious services, specially to acknowledge the goodness of God, either in any remarkable deliverance from calamities or danger, or in the ordinary dispensation of His bounties. The practice of appointing an annual thanksgiving originated in New England.2

War for Independence

Following the Pilgrim’s example, Thanksgiving celebrations were common throughout New England. After the April 1775 battles of Lexington and Concord, a city in Massachusetts issued a Thanksgiving proclamation that November. It urged the people, even as war continued, to give thanks for all their blessings, including…

devoutly to offer up their unfeigned Praises to Almighty God…that the lives of our officers and soldiers have been so remarkably preserved, while our enemies have fell before them…that our unnatural enemies, instead of ravaging the country with uncontrolled sway, are confined within such narrow limits, to their own mortification and distress, environed by an American Army, brave and determined.3

Throughout the War for Independence, the Continental Congress called for official days of thanksgiving and prayer4 through eight separate Proclamations. (Congress also issued seven proclamations for times of fasting and prayer. Thus, the national governing body of which many Founders were a part, called for a total of 15 official times of prayer.5)

New Hampshire Speaker of the House John Langdon (later signer of the US Constitution and governor of New Hampshire) wrote a Thanksgiving proclamation in 1778 which is available in WallBuilders’ collection. Clearly acknowledged in this proclamation is a strong reliance on God:

The mercies which, notwithstanding our great unworthiness, we are constantly receiving at the hands of Almighty God, ought ever to remind us of our obligations to Him; and it becomes our especial duty at the close of a year, to unite together in rendering thanks to the Divine Disposer of all good for the bounties of His providence conferred on us in the course thereof.6

Early Federal Proclamations

America’s first national Thanksgiving occurred in 1789, after having won independence and adopting the US Constitution. According to the Congressional Record for September 25th of that year, the first act after the framing of the Bill of Rights was that:

Mr. [Elias] Boudinot said he could not think of letting the session pass without offering an opportunity to all the citizens of the United States of joining with one voice in returning to Almighty God their sincere thanks for the many blessings He had poured down upon them. With this view, therefore, he would move the following resolution:

Resolved, That a joint committee of both Houses be directed to wait upon the President of the United States to request that he would recommend to the people of the United States a Day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer. . . .

Mr. Roger Sherman justified the practice of thanksgiving on any single event not only as a laudable one in itself but also as warranted by a number of precedents in Holy Writ. . . . This example he thought worthy of a Christian imitation on the present occasion.7

That congressional resolution was delivered to President George Washington who subsequently issued the first federal Thanksgiving proclamation, declaring in part:

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor. . . . Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November [1789] . . . that we may all unite to render unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection.8

Following this 1789 initial proclamation, national Thanksgiving Proclamations occurred only sporadically. For example, another was issued by President Washington in 1795, John Adams issued proclamations in 1798 and 1799, and James Madison issued them in 1814 and 1815.9 Most official Thanksgiving observances during this time occurred at the state level.

Proclamation Examples

In fact, by 1815, the various state governments had issued at least 1,400 official prayer proclamations, almost half for times of thanksgiving and prayer and the other half for times of fasting and prayer.10

Below are representative examples of the scores of Thanksgiving proclamations penned by various Founding Fathers.

[Congress] recommended [a day of] . . . thanksgiving and praise [so] that . . . the good people may express the grateful feelings of their hearts and . . . join . . . their humble and earnest supplication that it may please God, through the merits of Jesus Christ, mercifully to forgive [our sins] and . . . [to] enlarge [His] kingdom which consisteth in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.11 Continental Congress, 1777 – written by SIGNERS OF THE DECLARATION SAMUEL ADAMS AND RICHARD HENRY LEE

[I] appoint . . . a day of public Thanksgiving to Almighty God . . . to [ask] Him that He would . . . pour out His Holy Spirit on all ministers of the Gospel; that He would . . . spread the light of Christian knowledge through the remotest corners of the earth; . . . and that He would establish these United States upon the basis of religion and virtue.12 GOVERNOR THOMAS JEFFERSON, 1779

[I] appoint . . . a day of public thanksgiving and praise . . . to render to God the tribute of praise for His unmerited goodness towards us . . . [by giving to] us . . . the Holy Scriptures which are able to enlighten and make us wise to eternal salvation. And [to] present our supplications…that He would forgive our manifold sins and . . . cause the benign religion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to be known, understood, and practiced among all the inhabitants of the earth.13 GOVERNOR JOHN HANCOCK, 1790

As it hath pleased Almighty God to continue to the people of this Commonwealth great and unmerited Favors in the course of the year past; it is highly becoming, that after the example of our pious and renowned ancestors, a day should be set apart, at this season of the year, for the special purpose of rendering to the Father of all mercies the just tribute of gratitude and praise.14 GOVERNOR SAMUEL ADAMS, 1794

See additional Thanksgiving Proclamations and Sermons on our Resources page. Below are a few specific items of interest:

  • See Thanksgiving Proclamations issued by the Continental Congress in 1777,15 1781,16 1782,17 and many other historic proclamations.
  • Read the 1795 Thanksgiving Sermon by the Rev. Thomas Baldwin18 in response to George Washington’s call for a Day of Thanksgiving.

Continue reading about the history of Thanksgiving: https://wallbuilders.com/resource/modern-thanksgiving-celebrations/

Endnotes

1 (Additionally, numerous Presidents can trace their lineage to the Mayflower Pilgrims, including John Quincy Adams, Zachary Taylor, Ulysses S. Grant, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, George Bush, and George W. Bush. See for example “The Pilgrims of the Mayflower,” June 2015, Pilgrim Monument: Provincetown Museum, https://www.pilgrim-monument.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Pilgrims-Bio-Information-rev-6-20151.pdf; Gary Boyd Roberts, “#42 Royal Descents, Notable Kin, and Printed Sources: Yankee Ancestors, Mayflower Lines, and Royal Descents and Connections of Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr.,” American Ancestors, December 1, 1999.)
2 “Thanksgiving,” Noah Webster, American Dictionary of the English Language (New York: S. Converse, 1828).
3 Watertown City Council, “Thanksgiving Proclamation,” issued November 4, 1775, WallBuilders, https://wallbuilders.com/proclamation-thanksgiving-day-1775-massachusetts/.
4 Religion and the Founding of the American Republic, “Religion and the Congress of the Confederation,” Library of Congress, accessed August 30, 2023, https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel04.html.
5 See the Journals of the Continental Congress (1905) for June 12, 1775; March 16, 1776; December 11, 1776; November 1, 1777; March 7, 1778; November 17, 1778; March 20, 1779; October 20, 1779; March 11, 1780; October 18, 1780; March 20, 1781; October 26, 1781; March 19, 1782; October 11, 1782; October 18, 1783.
6 Meshech Ware & John Langdon, “Thanksgiving Proclamation,” issued November 19, 1778, WallBuilders, https://wallbuilders.com/proclamation-thanksgiving-day-1778-new-hampshire/.
7 The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States (Washington: Gales & Seaton, 1834), I:949-950.
8 George Washington, Proclamation for a National Thanksgiving on October 3, 1789, Writings of George Washington, ed. Jared Sparks (Boston: Russell, Odiorne and Metcalf, 1838), XII:119; George Washington, “Thanksgiving Proclamation,” issued on October 3, 1789, WallBuilders, https://wallbuilders.com/proclamation-thanksgiving-day-1789/.
9 See, for example, H. S. J. Sickel, Thanksgiving: Its Source, Philosophy and History With All National Proclamations (Philadelphia: International Printing Co, 1940), 154-155, “Thanksgiving Day- 1795” by George Washington; 156-157, “Thanksgiving Day – 1798” by John Adams; 158-159, “Thanksgiving Day – 1799” by John Adams; 160, “Thanksgiving Day – 1814” by James Madison; 161, “Thanksgiving Day – 1815” by James Madison; etc.
10 Deloss Love, in his work The Fast and Thanksgiving Days of New England, lists some 1,735 proclamations issued between 1620 and 1820, in a non-exclusive list. Of those, 284 were issued by churches and 1,451 by civil authorities. 1,028 of the civil proclamations were issued prior to July 4, 1776, and 413 from July 4, 1776 to 1820. 278 of the church proclamations were issued before July 4, 1776, and six afterwards. These, however, are only a portion of what were issued; for example, the author personally owns hundreds of additional proclamations not listed in Love’s work. While the exact number of government-issued prayer proclamations is unknown, it is certain that they certainly number in the thousands.
11 Journals of the Continental Congress (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1907), IX:855, November 1, 1777.
12 Thomas Jefferson, Proclamation Appointing a Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer, November 11, 1779, The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, ed. Julian P. Boyd (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1951), 3:178.
13 John Hancock, Proclamation for a Day of Public Thanksgiving (Boston, 1790), from an original broadside in possession of the author.
14 Samuel Adams, “Thanksgiving Proclamation,” issued October 15, 1794, WallBuilders, https://wallbuilders.com/proclamation-thanksgiving-day-1794-massachusetts/.
15 Continental Congress, “Thanksgiving Proclamation,” issued November 1, 1777, WallBuilders, https://wallbuilders.com/proclamation-thanksgiving-day-1777/.
16 Thomas McKean & Continental Congress, “Thanksgiving Proclamation,” issued October 26, 1781, WallBuilders, https://wallbuilders.com/proclamation-thanksgiving-day-1781/.
17 John Hanson & Continental Congress, “Thanksgiving Proclamation,” issued October 11, 1782, WallBuilders, https://wallbuilders.com/proclamation-thanksgiving-day-1782/.
18 Thomas Baldwin, “Thanksgiving Sermon,” February 19, 1795, WallBuilders, https://wallbuilders.com/sermon-thanksgiving-1795-massachusetts/.