Topics: Founding Fathers

Proclamation – America Seeks God in a Time of War – 1777

In light of America’s war in Iraq and war against terrorism, the actions of our Founding Fathers in times of war are instructive. This is the text of the first national day of thanksgiving in America (set for December 18, 1777), declared by the Continental Congress on November 1, 1777.

IN CONGRESS

November 1, 1777

FORASMUCH as it is the indispensable Duty of all Men to adore the superintending Providence of Almighty God; to acknowledge with Gratitude their Obligation to him for benefits received, and to implore such farther Blessings as they stand in Need of; And it having pleased him in his abundant Mercy not only to continue to us the innumerable Bounties of his common Providence, but also to smile upon us in the Prosecution of a just and necessary War, for the Defence and Establishment of our unalienable Rights and Liberties; particularly in that he hath been pleased in so great a Measure to prosper the Means used for the Support of our Troops and to crown our Arms with most signal success:

It is therefore recommended to the legislative or executive powers of these United States, to set apart THURSDAY, the eighteenth Day of December next, for Solemn Thanksgiving and Praise; That with one Heart and one Voice the good People may express the grateful Feelings of their Hearts, and consecrate themselves to the Service of their Divine Benefactor; and that together with their sincere Acknowledgments and Offerings, they may join the penitent Confession of their manifold Sins, whereby they had forfeited every Favour, and their humble and earnest Supplication that it may please GOD, through the Merits of Jesus Christ, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of Remembrance; That it may please him graciously to afford his Blessing on the Governments of these States respectively, and prosper the public Council of the whole; to inspire our Commanders both by Land and Sea, and all under them, with that Wisdom and Fortitude which may render them fit Instruments, under the Providence of Almighty GOD, to secure for these United States the greatest of all human blessings, INDEPENDENCE and PEACE; That it may please him to prosper the Trade and Manufactures of the People and the Labour of the Husbandman, that our Land may yet yield its Increase; To take Schools and Seminaries of Education, so necessary for cultivating the Principles of true Liberty, Virtue and Piety, under his nurturing Hand, and to prosper the Means of Religion for the promotion and enlargement of that Kingdom which consisteth “in Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost.”

And it is further recommended, that servile Labour, and such Recreation as, though at other Times innocent, may be unbecoming the Purpose of this Appointment, be omitted on so solemn an Occasion.

Extract from the Minutes,

Charles Thomson, Secr.

[This proclamation can be found in: Journals of the American Congress From 1774 to 1788 (Washington: Way and Gideon, 1823), II:309-310]

 

This is text excerpted from a national fast declared by the Continental Congress on March 16, 1776:

IN CONGRESS

In times of impending calamity and distress; when the liberties of America are imminently endangered by the secret machinations and open assaults of an insidious and vindictive administration, it becomes the indispensable duty of these hitherto free and happy colonies, with true penitence of heart, and the most reverent devotion, publickly to acknowledge the over ruling providence of God; to confess and deplore our offences against him; and to supplicate his interposition for averting the threatened danger, and prospering our strenuous efforts in the cause of freedom, virtue, and posterity.

. . . Desirous, at the same time, to have people of all ranks and degrees duly impressed with a solemn sense of God’s superintending providence, and of their duty, devoutly to rely, in all their lawful enterprizes, on his aid and direction, Do earnestly recommend, that Friday, the Seventeenth day of May next, be observed by the said colonies as a day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer; that we may, with united hearts, confess and bewail our manifold sins and transgressions, and, by a sincere repentance and amendment of life, appease his righteous displeasure, and, through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, obtain his pardon and forgiveness; humbly imploring his assistance to frustrate the cruel purposes of our unnatural enemies; . . . that it may please the Lord of Hosts, the God of Armies, to animate our officers and soldiers with invincible fortitude, to guard and protect them in the day of battle, and to crown the continental arms, by sea and land, with victory and success: Earnestly beseeching him to bless our civil rulers, and the representatives of the people, in their several assemblies and conventions; to preserve and strengthen their union, to inspire them with an ardent, disinterested love of their country; to give wisdom and stability to their counsels; and direct them to the most efficacious measures for establishing the rights of America on the most honourable and permanent basis—That he would be graciously pleased to bless all his people in these colonies with health and plenty, and grant that a spirit of incorruptible patriotism, and of pure undefiled religion, may universally prevail; and this continent be speedily restored to the blessings of peace and liberty, and enabled to transmit them inviolate to the latest posterity.

And it is recommended to Christians of all denominations, to assemble for public worship, and abstain from servile labour on the said day.

[Source: Journals of the American Congress From 1774 to 1788 (Washington: Way and Gideon, 1823), I:286-287]

Samuel Adams

Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day – 1796, Massachusetts

Samuel Adams (1722-1803) issued this October 6, 1796 proclamation for a day of Thanksgiving for December 15, 1796 as governor of Massachusetts. The text and image of the proclamations are taken from Thomas’s Massachusetts Spy published on October 26, 1796.

BY AUTHORITY.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
By the Governor
A PROCLAMATION
FOR A DAY OF PUBLIC THANKSGIVING
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WHEREAS it has pleased God, the Father of all Mercies, to bestow upon us innumerable unmerited favors in the course of the year past; it highly becomes us duly to recollect his goodness, and, in a public and solemn manner, to express the grateful feelings of our hearts:

I have, therefore, thought fit, with the advice and consent of the Council, to appoint Thursday, the 15th day of December next, to be observed as a day of PUBLIC THANKSGIVING and PRAISE, to our Divine BENEFACTOR, thro[ugh]out this Commonwealth – Calling upon Ministers of the Gospel, with their respective Congregations, and the whole body of the people, religiously to observe said day by celebrating the praises of that all gracious Being of whose bounties we have experienced so large a share.

He hath prevented epidemical diseases from spreading, and afforded us a general state of health.

He hath regarded our pastures and fields with the eye of the most indulgent parent and rewarded the industry of our Husbandmen with a plentiful harvest.

Notwithstanding unreasonable obstructions to our trade on the seas, it has generally been prosperous and our fisheries successful.

Our civil constitutions of government, formed by ourselves and administered by men of our own free election, are by His Grace continued to us. And we still enjoy the inestimable blessings of the Gospel, and right of worshipping God according to His own institutions and the honest dictates of our consciences.

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And, together with our thanksgiving, earnest supplication to God is hereby recommended, for the forgiveness of our sins which have rendered us unworthy of the least of His mercies; and that by the sanctifying influence of His Spirit, our hearts and manners may be corrected, and we become a reformed and happy people – That He would direct and prosper the administration of the Government of the United States, and of this and other States in the Union – That He would still afford his blessings on our Trade, Agriculture, Fisheries and all the labors of our hands – That he would smile upon our University, and all seminaries of learning – That tyranny and usurpation may everywhere come to an end – That the nations who are contending for true liberty may still be succeeded by His Almighty aid – That every nation and society of men may be inspired with the knowledge and feeling of their natural and just rights, and enabled to form such systems of Civil Government as shall be fully adapted to promote and establish their social security and happiness – And, finally, that in the course of God’s Holy Providence, the great family of mankind may bow to the Scepter of the Prince of Peace, so that mutual friendship and harmony may universally prevail.

And I do recommend to the people of this Commonwealth to abstain from all such labors and recreations as may not be consistent with the solemnity of the said day.

Given at the Council Chamber, in Boston, this sixth day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety six, and in the twenty-first year of the Independence of the United States of America.

SAMUEL ADAMS.

Attest. John Avery, Secretary.

GOD SAVE THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.

Samuel Adams

Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day – 1795, Massachusetts

This is the text of a Proclamation for a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise issued by Samuel Adams (Signer of the Declaration of Independence), while he was serving as governor of Massachusetts. The proclamation was issued on October 14, 1795 declaring November 19, 1795 the day of Thanksgiving.

 

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Published by Authority.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

By the GOVERNOR:
A PROCLAMATION
For a DAY of PUBLIC THANKSGIVING and
PRAISE.
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Forasmuch as the occasional meeting of a People for the exercise of Piety and Devotion towards God, more especially of those who enjoy the Light of Divine Revelation, has a strong tendency to impress their minds with a sense of their Dependence upon Him and their Obligations to HIM.

I have thought fit, according to the ancient and laudable Practice of our renowned Ancestors, to appoint a day of Public Thanksgiving to God, for the great benefits which He has been pleased to bestow upon us, in the Year past. And I do by the advice and consent of the Council, appoint THURSDAY, the Nineteenth day of November next, to be observed as a DAY of PUBLIC THANKSGIVING and PRAISE throughout this Commonwealth: Calling upon the Ministers of the Gospel of all Denominations, with their respective Congregations to assemble on that Day, to offer to God, their unfeigned [sic] Gratitude, for his great Goodness to the People of the United States in general, and of this Commonwealth in particular.

More especially in that he hath in his Good Providence united the several States under a National Compact, formed by themselves, whereby they may defend themselves against external Enemies, and maintain Peace and Harmony with each other.

That internal Tranquility hath been continued within this Commonwealth; and that the voice of Health is so generally heard in the habitations of the People.

That the Earth has yielded her increase, so that the Labors of our industrious Husbandmen have been abundantly crowned with Plenty.

That our Fisheries have been so far prospered.—Our Trade notwithstanding obstructions it has met with, has yet been profitable to us, and the works of our Hands have been established.

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That while other Nations have been involved in War, attended with an uncommon profusion of Human Blood, we in the course of Divine Providence, have been preserved from so grievous a Calamity, and have enjoyed so great a measure of the Blessing of Peace.

And I do recommend that together with our Thanksgiving, humble Prayer may be offered to God, that we may be enabled, by the subsequent obedience of our Hearts and Manners, to testify the sincerity of our professions of Gratitude, in the sight of God and Man; and thus be prepared for the Reception of future Divine Blessings.

That God would be pleased to Guide and Direct the Administration of the Federal Government, and those of the several States, in Union, so that the whole People may continue to be safe and happy in the Constitutional enjoyment of their Rights, Liberties and Privileges and our Governments be greatly respected at Home and Abroad.

And while we rejoice in the Blessing of Health bestowed upon us, we would sympathize with those of our Sister States, who are visited with a Contagious and Mortal Disease; and fervently supplicate the Father of Mercies, that they may speedily be restored to a state of Health and Prosperity.

That He would in His abundant Mercy regard our Fellow Citizen and others, who are groaning under abject Slavery, in Algiers, and direct the most effectual measure for their speedy Relief.

That He would graciously be pleased to put an end to all Tyranny and Usurpation, that the People who are under the Yoke of Oppression, may be made free; and that the Nations who are contending for Freedom may still be secured by His Almighty Aid, and enabled under His influence, to complete wise Systems of Civil Government, founded in the equal Rights of Man, and calculated to establish their permanent Security and Welfare.

And Finally, that the Peaceful and Glorious Reign of our Divine Redeemer, may be known and enjoyed throughout the whole Family of Mankind.

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And I do recommend to the People of this Commonwealth, to abstain from all such Labor and Recreation, as may not be consistent with the Solemnity of the said Day.

GIVEN at the Council-Chamber, in Boston, the fourteenth Day of October, in the Year of our LORD, One Thousand seven Hundred and Ninety-five, and in the Twentieth Year of the Independence of the United States of America.

SAMUEL ADAMS.

True Copy—Attest,

JOHN AVERY, jun. Sec’ry.

GOD save the Commonwealth of Massachusetts!

Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day – 1795

This is the text of a proclamation for a day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer, issued by George Washington when he served as President. It was published in the Columbian Centinel on January 1, 1795. (See another national Thanksgiving proclamation issued by George Washington in 1789.)

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Published
BY AUTHORITY,

A PROCLAMATION:
By the PRESIDENT of the UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA.
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When we review the calamities, which afflict so many other nations, the present condition of the United States affords much matter of consolation and satisfaction. Our exemption hitherto from foreign war – an increasing prospect of the continuance of that exemption – the great degree of internal tranquility we have enjoyed – the recent confirmation of that tranquility by the suppression of an insurrection which so wantonly threatened it – the happy course of public affairs in general – the unexampled prosperity of all classes of our citizens; are circumstances which peculiarly mark our situation with indications of the Divine beneficence towards us. In such a state of things it is, in an especial manner, our duty as people, with devout reverence and affectionate gratitude, to acknowledge our many and great obligations to Almighty God and to implore Him to continue and confirm the blessings we experience.

Deeply penetrated with this sentiment, I, George Washington, President of the United States, do recommend to all religious societies and denominations, and to all persons whomsoever, within the United States, to set apart and observe Thursday, the nineteenth day of February next, as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer: and on that day to meet together and render their sincere and hearty thanks to the great Ruler of nations for the manifold and signal mercies which distinguish our lot as a nation. particularly for the possession of constitutions of government which unite and, by their union, establish liberty with order; for the preservation of peace, foreign and domestic; and for the seasonable control, which has been given to a spirit of disorder, in the suppression of the late insurrection; and generally for the prosperous course of our affairs, public and private; and, at the same time, humbly and fervently to beseech the kind Author of these blessings. graciously to prolong them to us – to imprint on our hearts a deep and solemn sense of our obligations to Him for them – to teach us rightly to estimate their immense value – to preserve us from the arrogance of prosperity and from hazarding the advantages we enjoy by delusive pursuits – to dispose us to merit the continuance of His favors by not abusing them, by our gratitude for them, and by a correspondent conduct as citizens and as men – to render this country, more and more, a propitious asylum for the unfortunate of other countries – to extend among us true and useful knowledge – to diffuse and establish habits of sobriety, order, morality, and piety – and, finally, to impart all blessings we possess or ask for ourselves, to the whole family of mankind.

In testimony whereof, I have caused the seal of the United States of America, to be affixed to these presents, and signed the same with my hand. Done, at the city of Philadelphia, the first day of January, 1795, and of the independence of the United States of America, the nineteenth.

Go Washington,
President of the United States

EDMUND RANDOLPH, Secretary of State.

Samuel Adams

Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day – 1794, Massachusetts

Samuel Adams (1722-1803) helped organize the Boston Tea party (1773), was a state legislator in Massachusetts (1765-1774), and served in the Continental Congress (1774-1781) where he signed the Declaration of Independence. Adams served as governor of Massachusetts from 1794-1797.

During Samuel Adams’ time as governor he issued many proclamations, including the following October 15, 1794 proclamation for a day of Thanksgiving on November 20, 1794. The text and image of the proclamation came from the Columbian Centinel published on October 29, 1794.

By Authority,
Commonwealth of Massachusetts.By the GOVERNOR. A Proclamation, for a Day of THANKSGIVING.

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.

I have therefore thought fit, by and with the advice and consent of the Council, to appoint, and I do accordingly appoint, Thursday, the twentieth day of November next, to be observed throughout this Commonwealth as a Day of Public Thanksgiving And I do hereby call upon the Ministers of religion of every denomination, with their respective Congregations, to assemble on said day; that we may with one accord express the grateful feelings of our hearts; and jointly offer the reasonable sacrifice of praise, to our Divine Benefactor, for His manifold mercies: — He has been pleased to favor us with a good measure of health, while others, whom we ought to pity and pray for, have been visited with contagious and mortal distempers: He has smiled on our agriculture labors, and caused the earth to yield its increase: — He hath prospered our fishery, and in a great measure our merchandise, notwithstanding the depredations of unreasonable despoilers: — He hath continued to us the inestimable blessings of the Gospel, and our religious, as well as civil rights and liberties.

I do also recommend, that on the aforesaid day, humble supplications may be made, that we may enjoy the blessings of the liberty, peace and prosperity and by the grace of God, be enabled to live under a constant impression of our obligations to Him, and by ordering our future conversation aright, prepared for such further needful blessings as it may please Him in His own due time to bestow upon us.

And I do earnestly recommend that all such labor and recreations as are not consistent with the solemnity of the occasion may be carefully suspended on the said day.

Given at the Council-Chamber, in Boston, the fifteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety-four, and in the nineteenth year of the independence of the United States of America.

SAMUEL ADAMS.

Attest. JOHN AVERY, jun. Secretary.

God save the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day – 1793, Pennsylvania

Thomas Mifflin (1744-1800) was born in Philadelphia. He graduated from the College of Philadelphia (the University of Pennsylvania today) and began a career in a counting house. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1774-1775 and again in 1782-1784; he enlisted in the American army during the Revolution and was promoted up the ranks to Major General. Thomas Mifflin was serving as President under the Articles of Confederation when George Washington resigned his commission in December 1783. Mifflin was a signer of the United States Constitution in 1787. He served as governor of Pennsylvania from 1790-1799 and died early in 1800.

The following proclamation was issued by Thomas Mifflin on November 14, 1793 as governor of Pennsylvania for a day of Thanksgiving on December 12, 1793. The text and picture of this proclamation is taken from Dunlap’s American Daily Advertiser published on December 6, 1793.

Pennsylvania,
By THOMAS MIFFLIN,
Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
A PROCLAMATION,
Appointing a day of General Humiliation,
Thanksgiving and Prayer.

WHEREAS it hath pleased ALMIGHTY GOD to put an end to the grievous calamity, that recently afflicted the city of Philadelphia, and it is the duty of all, who are truly sensible of the Divine Justice and Mercy, to employ the earliest moments of returning health in devout expressions of penitence submission, and gratitude: THEREFORE I have deemed it proper to issue this Proclamation, hereby appointing THURSDAY, the Twelfth day of December next, to be holden, throughout the Commonwealth, as a DAY OF GENERAL HUMILIATION, THANKSGIVING AND PRAYER AND I earnestly exhort and entreat my Fellow-Citizens to abstain, on that day, from all their worldly avocations [hobbies], and to unite in confessing with contrite hearts, our manifold sins and transgressions; – in acknowledging, with thankful adoration, the mercy and goodness of the Supreme Ruler and Preserver of the universe, – more especially manifested in our late deliverance; – and in praying, with solemn zeal, that the same mighty power would be graciously pleased to instill into our minds just principles of our duty to Him, and to our fellow creatures; – to regulate and guide all our actions by his Holy Spirit; – to avert from all mankind the evils of War, Pestilence, and Famine; – and to bless and protect us in the enjoyment of Civil and Religious Liberty. AND all Officers of the Commonwealth, as well as all Pastors and Teachers are, also, particularly requested to make known the Proclamation, and, by their and advice, to recommend a punctual observance thereof within their respective jurisdictions and congregations; – so that the voice of the people, strengthened by it unanimity, and sanctified by sincerity, ascending to the throne of grace, may there find favour and acceptance.

GIVEN under my Hand and the great Seal of the State, at Philadelphia, this Fourteenth day of November, in the Year of our LORD, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety-Three, and of the Independence of America the Eighteenth.

THOMAS MIFFLIN.

By the Governor,
A.J. DALLAS, Secretary of the Commonwealth

Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day – 1793, New Hampshire

This is the text of a proclamation by Josiah Bartlett (Signer of the Declaration of Independence), governor of New Hampshire, given on October 5, 1793. It declares November 21, 1793 to be a day of Public Thanksgiving. This proclamation was published in The Oracle of the Day on October 26, 1793.

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By His Excellency
Josiah Bartlett, Esquire,
Governor and Commander in Chief of the
State of New Hampshire.

A PROCLAMATION,
For A Public
THANKSGIVING.

 

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The many favors the inhabitants of this State have been made the subjects of in the court of the current year, call for a public return of sincerer gratitude and praise to that Being from whom all our mercies flow; – And the Legislature having appointed Thursday the Twenty First day of November next, to be observed as a day of public Thanksgiving throughout this State:

I have thought fit, by and with the advice of Council, to issue this Proclamation, exhorting the people of every denomination to dedicate said day to the duties of thanksgiving and praise, and to devote a reasonable part thereof in their respective places of public worship in a social manner, with grateful hearts and united voices in returning our most humble and hearty thanks to Almighty God for the unmerited favors He has been graciously pleased to confer upon us in the course of the present year now drawing to a close.

In a particular manner, that He was graciously pleased to appear for us in the course of the summer past when, by reason of a severe and early drought, the hope of the husbandman seemed likely to be cut off and we were threatened with a great and general scarcity of the necessary fruits and of the field, that in the midst of judgment He remembered mercy and by sending plentiful showers of rain, the decaying and almost dying fruits of the earth were greatly revived; and that He has been pleased so to order the latter part of the season, that we are still blessed with a competent supply of the most of the necessary fruits of the field.

That He had been pleased to continue to us the inestimable blessings of civil and religious liberty.

That notwithstanding the tumults and confusions of the contending nations, we still enjoy the blessing of peace and good government.

That we have been favored with a general measure of health, and that no waiting and pestilential disease has been suffered to prevail among us.

And together with our thanksgiving, let us entreat the Father of Mercies, to continue us the blessings we now enjoy, and bestow upon us all further needed favors.

That it would please Him still to have these United States under His Holy protection and guidance – that He would inspire those who have the management of all our public affairs with all that wisdom, prudence and integrity that is necessary to the faithful discharge of their important trusts, that all their determinations may tend to promote the real happiness and prosperity of this great and rising Republic, and that all people may be disposed to afflict in carrying such determinations into effect.

That it would please God to over-rule the tumults and confusions among the nations, in such a manner as shall subserve to His own Glory and the best good and happiness of mankind, and that in His own due time, He would calm the angry passions of the contending nations and say to them, peace, be still.

That God would be pleased to look down with an eye of compassion upon the whole human race, and dispel those clouds of ignorance, superstition and bigotry that overspread so great a part of the world, and that the knowledge of and reverential love and regard to the One God and Father, of all, and a true benevolence and good will to their fellow men, may pervade the hearts, and influence the lives of all mankind, and all Nations, Languages and Tongues be brought to join in singing, Glory to God in the highest, on Earth Peace and good will to men.

 

It is recommended and expected, that all persons abstain from all servile labor and such recreations as are unbecoming the solemnity of said day.

Given at the Council Chamber in Exeter, the Fifth day of October, in the year of our Lord, one thousand, seven hundred and ninety three and of the Sovereignty and Independence of the United states of America the Eighteenth.

 

 

Josiah Bartlett.

By His Excellency’s command,
with the advice of Council,
JOSEPH PEARSON, Sec’ry.

Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day – 1792, Massachusetts

This proclamation was issued by Massachusetts Governor, John Hancock on October 25, 1792. It was proclaiming a day of Thanksgiving and Praise for November 29, 1792 as printed in the Columbian Centinel.

Commonwealth of MASSACHUSETTS.
By His Excellency
John Hancock, Esq.
GOVERNOR of the Commonwealth of MASSACHUSETTS.

A PROCLAMATION for a Day of PUBLIC THANKSGIVING.
proclamation-thanksgiving-day-1792-massachusetts-1WHEREAS it is the indispensable duty of all Men to acknowledge Almighty GOD as the fountain of mercies, and the giver of every good gift; and it becomes us at the close of the year, to unite in rendering thanks to Him for the bounties of his Providence conferred upon us as a people.

I HAVE therefore thought fit, by the advice and consent of the Council, to appoint THURSDAY, the Twenty-Ninth day of November next, to be observed as a Day of Public THANKSGIVING and PRAISE throughout this Commonwealth:—Calling upon Ministers and people of every religious denomination, to assemble on the same day, and solemnly commemorate the many undeserved mercies and favors, which it hath pleased our divine and gracious benefactor to bestow upon us;—Particularly that He hath favored us with so great a measure of health; and notwithstanding in His righteous providence, He hath permitted an infectious and malignant distemper to prevail in the capital, and other towns, yet in judgment He hath remembered mercy for us, beyond what our sins have deserved; the lives of by far the greater number of those who have been visited with the distemper, having been spared and their health restored:—That He hath caused the earth to yield its increase, sufficient for the supply of the necessaries and conveniences of life: To prosper our merchandise and fishery; and to continue to us our invaluable civil and religious rights and liberties.
proclamation-thanksgiving-day-1792-massachusetts-2And, together with our sincere and pious acknowledgments, I do earnestly recommend, the penitent confession of our sins; amendment of our hearts and lives, and humble supplication to GOD, for His further aid, protection and blessing:—That He would especially be pleased to endue the administrators of the federal constitution, and of this, and the other States in the Union, with sound wisdom and understanding; the fear of GOD, and love of their country, and a single aim to preserve and promote the liberty, prosperity and happiness of the people: And that He would grant to all, a spirit of truth, and discernment; a due regard to every wise administration, and to the importance of internal peace and Union:—To afford His further smiles on our agriculture, fisheries, commerce, and all the labor of our hands;—To guide and direct the University, and all schools and seminaries of learning, so that our children and youth, by a wholesome education, may be deeply impressed with the principles of true religion, and solid virtue.—That He would be pleased to afford His almighty aid to all people, and more especially the French Nation, who are virtuously struggling for their just and equal rights. And finally, that He would be pleased to overrule the commotions and confusions that are in the earth, to the speedy downfall of tyranny and oppression, so that the kingdom of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST may be established in Peace and Righteousness, among all the Nations of the Earth.

And I do also earnestly recommend to the good people of this commonwealth, to abstain from all servile labor and recreation, inconsistent with the solemnity of the said Day.

GIVEN at the Council-Chamber, in Boston, the Twenty-Fifth Day of October, in the Year of our Lord, One Thousand seven Hundred and Ninety-Two, and in the seventeenth Year of the Independence of the United States of AMERICA.

JOHN HANCOCK.

By His Excellency’s Command,
JOHN AVERY, jun. Secretary.

Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day – 1791, Massachusetts

The following is the text of a Proclamation for a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise, issued by John Hancock (Signer of the Declaration of Independence), while he was serving as governor of Massachusetts. The proclamation was issued October 5, 1791 and was declaring November 17, 1791 the day of Thanksgiving.

 

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Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

By His EXCELLENCY
John Hancock, Esq.
GOVERNOR of the COMMONWEALTH
of Massachusetts.
A PROCLAMATION,
For a Day of Public Thanksgiving.
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In consideration of the many undeserved Blessings conferred upon us by GOD, the Father of all Mercies; it becomes us no only in our private and usual devotion, to express our obligations to Him, as well as our dependence upon Him; but also specially to set a part a Day to be employed for this great and important Purpose:

I HAVE therefore thought fit to appoint, and by the advice and consent of the Council, do hereby accordingly appoint, THURSDAY, the seventeenth of November next, to be observed as a Day of Public THANKSGIVING and PRAISE, throughout this Commonwealth:—Hereby calling upon Ministers and People of every denomination, to assemble on the said Day—and in the name of the Great Mediator, devoutly and sincerely offer to Almighty God, the gratitude of our Hearts, for all his goodness towards us; more especially in that HE has been pleased to continue to us so a great a measure of Health—to cause the Earth plentifully to yield her increase, so that we are supplied with the Necessaries, and the Comforts of Life—to prosper our Merchandise and Fishery—And above all, not only to continue to us the enjoyment of our civil Rights and Liberties; but the great and most important Blessing, the Gospel of Jesus Christ: And together with our cordial acknowledgments, I do earnestly recommend, that we may join the penitent confession of our Sins, and implore the further continuance of the Divine Protection, and Blessings of Heaven upon this People; especially that He would be graciously pleased to direct, and prosper the Administration of the Federal Government, and of this, and the other States in the Union—to afford Him further Smiles on our Agriculture and Fisheries, Commerce and Manufactures—To prosper our University and all Seminaries of Learning—To bless the virtuously struggling for the Rights of Men—so that universal Happiness may be Allies of the United States, and to afford his Almighty Aid to all People, who are established in the World; that all may bow to the Scepter of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, and the whole Earth be filled with his Glory.

And I do also earnestly recommend to the good People of this Commonwealth, to abstain from all servile Labor and Recreation, inconsistent with the solemnity of the said day.

proclamation-thanksgiving-day-1791-massachusetts-3

Given at the Council-Chamber, in Boston, the fifth Day of October, in the Year of our Lord, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety-One, and in the sixteenth Year of the Independence of the United States of America.

 

JOHN HANCOCK.

By his Excellency’s Command,

JOHN AVERY, jun. Sec’y

GOD save the Commonwealth of MASSACHUSETTS!!

 

Republic v. Democracy

Founders & Democracy

We have grown accustomed to hearing that we are a democracy; such was never the intent. The form of government entrusted to us by our Founders was a republic, not a democracy. 1 Our Founders had an opportunity to establish a democracy in America and chose not to. In fact, the Founders made clear that we were not, and were never to become, a democracy:

[D]emocracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security, or the rights of property; and have, in general, been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths. 2 James Madison

Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide. 3 John Adams

A democracy is a volcano which conceals the fiery materials of its own destruction. These will produce an eruption and carry desolation in their way. 4 The known propensity of a democracy is to licentiousness [excessive license] which the ambitious call, and ignorant believe to be liberty. 5 Fisher Ames, Author of the House Language for the First Amendment

We have seen the tumult of democracy terminate . . . as [it has] everywhere terminated, in despotism. . . . Democracy! savage and wild. Thou who wouldst bring down the virtuous and wise to thy level of folly and guilt. 6 Gouverneur Morris, Signer and Penman of the Constitution

[T]he experience of all former ages had shown that of all human governments, democracy was the most unstable, fluctuating and short-lived. 7 John Quincy Adams

A simple democracy . . . is one of the greatest of evils. 8 Benjamin Rush, Signer of the Declaration

In democracy . . . there are commonly tumults and disorders. . . . Therefore a pure democracy is generally a very bad government. It is often the most tyrannical government on earth. 9 Noah Webster

Pure democracy cannot subsist long nor be carried far into the departments of state, it is very subject to caprice and the madness of popular rage. 10 John Witherspoon, Signer of the Declaration

It may generally be remarked that the more a government resembles a pure democracy the more they abound with disorder and confusion. 11 Zephaniah Swift, Author of America’s First Legal Text

Many Americans today seem to be unable to define the difference between the two, but there is a difference, a big difference. That difference rests in the source of authority.

Democracy & Republic Definitions

A pure democracy operates by direct majority vote of the people. When an issue is to be decided, the entire population votes on it; the majority wins and rules.

A republic differs in that the general population elects representatives who then pass laws to govern the nation.

A democracy is the rule by majority feeling (what the Founders described as a “mobocracy” 12). A republic is rule by law.

If the source of law for a democracy is the popular feeling of the people, then what is the source of law for the American republic? According to Founder Noah Webster:

[O]ur citizens should early understand that the genuine source of correct republican principles is the Bible, particularly the New Testament, or the Christian religion. 13

The American Republic

The transcendent values of Biblical natural law were the foundation of the American republic. Consider the stability this provides: in our republic, murder will always be a crime, for it is always a crime according to the Word of God. however, in a democracy, if majority of the people decide that murder is no longer a crime, murder will no longer be a crime.

America’s immutable principles of right and wrong were not based on the rapidly fluctuating feelings and emotions of the people but rather on what Montesquieu identified as the “principles that do not change.” 14

Benjamin Rush similarly observed:

[W]here there is no law, there is no liberty; and nothing deserves the name of law but that which is certain and universal in its operation upon all the members of the community. 15

In the American republic, the “principles which did not change” and which were “certain and universal in their operation upon all the members of the community” were the principles of Biblical natural law. In fact, so firmly were these principles ensconced in the American republic that early law books taught that government was free to set its own policy only if God had not ruled in an area. For example, Blackstone’s Commentaries explained:

To instance in the case of murder: this is expressly forbidden by the Divine. . . . If any human law should allow or enjoin us to commit it we are bound to transgress that human law. . . . But, with regard to matters that are . . . not commanded or forbidden by those superior laws such, for instance, as exporting of wool into foreign countries; here the . . . legislature has scope and opportunity to interpose. 16

The Founders echoed that theme:

All [laws], however, may be arranged in two different classes. 1) Divine. 2) Human. . . . But it should always be remembered that this law, natural or revealed, made for men or for nations, flows from the same Divine source: it is the law of God. . . . Human law must rest its authority ultimately upon the authority of that law which is Divine. 17 James Wilson, Signer of the Constitution; U. S. Supreme Court Justice

[T]he law . . . dictated by God Himself is, of course, superior in obligation to any other. It is binding over all the globe, in all countries, and at all times. No human laws are of any validity if contrary to this. 18Alexander Hamilton, Signer of the Constitution

[T]he . . . law established by the Creator . . . extends over the whole globe, is everywhere and at all times binding upon mankind. . . . [This] is the law of God by which he makes his way known to man and is paramount to all human control. 19 Rufus King, Signer of the Constitution

Conclusion

The Founders understood that Biblical values formed the basis of the republic and that the republic would be destroyed if the people’s knowledge of those values should ever be lost.

A republic is the highest form of government devised by man, but it also requires the greatest amount of human care and maintenance. If neglected, it can deteriorate into a variety of lesser forms, including a democracy (a government conducted by popular feeling); anarchy (a system in which each person determines his own rules and standards); oligarchy (a government run by a small council or a group of elite individuals): or dictatorship (a government run by a single individual). As John Adams explained:

[D]emocracy will soon degenerate into an anarchy; such an anarchy that every man will do what is right in his own eyes and no man’s life or property or reputation or liberty will be secure, and every one of these will soon mould itself into a system of subordination of all the moral virtues and intellectual abilities, all the powers of wealth, beauty, wit, and science, to the wanton pleasures, the capricious will, and the execrable [abominable] cruelty of one or a very few. 20

Understanding the foundation of the American republic is a vital key toward protecting it.

Endnotes

1 An example of this is demonstrated in the anecdote where, having concluded their work on the Constitution, Benjamin Franklin walked outside and seated himself on a public bench. A woman approached him and inquired, “Well, Dr. Franklin, what have you done for us?” Franklin quickly responded, “My dear lady, we have given to you a republic–if you can keep it.” Taken from “America’s Bill of Rights at 200 Years,” by former Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, printed in Presidential
Studies Quarterly (Summer 1991), XXI:3:457. This anecdote appears in numerous other works as well.

2 Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, James Madison, The Federalist on the New Constitution (Philadelphia: Benjamin Warner, 1818), 53, #10, James Madison.

3 John Adams to John Taylor, April 15, 1814, The Works of John Adams, ed. Charles Francis Adams (Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1850), VI:484.

4 Fisher Ames, Speech on Biennial Elections, delivered January, 1788, Works of Fisher Ames (Boston: T. B. Wait & Co., 1809), 24.

5 Ames, “The Dangers of American Liberty,” February 1805, Works (1809), 384.

6 Gouverneur Morris, An Oration Delivered on Wednesday, June 29, 1814, at the Request of a Number of Citizens of New-York, in Celebration of the Recent Deliverance of Europe from the Yoke of Military Despotism (New York: Van Winkle and Wiley, 1814), 10, 22.

7 John Quincy Adams, The Jubilee of the Constitution. A Discourse Delivered at the Request of the New York Historical Society, in the City of New York on Tuesday, the 30th of April 1839; Being the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Inauguration of George Washington as President of the United States, on Thursday, the 30th of April, 1789 (New York: Samuel Colman, 1839), 53.

8 Benjamin Rush to John Adams, July 21, 1789, The Letters of Benjamin Rush, ed. L. H. Butterfield (Princeton: Princeton University Press for the American Philosophical Society, 1951), I:523.

9 Noah Webster, The American Spelling Book: Containing an Easy Standard of Pronunciation: Being the First Part of a Grammatical Institute of the English Language, To Which is Added, an Appendix, Containing a Moral Catechism and a Federal Catechism (Boston: Isaiah Thomas and Ebenezer T. Andrews, 1801), 103-104.

10 John Witherspoon, Lecture 12 on Civil Society, The Works of John Witherspoon (Edinburgh: J. Ogle, 1815), VII:101.

11 Zephaniah Swift, A System of the Laws of the State of Connecticut (Windham: John Byrne, 1795), I:19.

12 See, for example, Benjamin Rush to John Adams, January 22, 1789, Letters, ed. Butterfield (1951), I:498.

13 Noah Webster, History of the United States (New Haven: Durrie & Peck, 1832), 6.

14 George Bancroft, History of the United States from the Discovery of the American Continent (Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1859), V:24; Baron Charles Secondat de Montesquieu, Spirit of the Laws (Philadelphia: Isaiah Thomas, 1802), I:17-23, and ad passim.

15 Rush to David Ramsay, March or April 1788, Letters, ed. Butterfield (1951), I:454.

16 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (Philadelphia: Robert Bell, 1771), I:42-43.

17 James Wilson, “Of the General Principles of Law and Obligation,” The Works of the Honorable James Wilson, ed. Bird Wilson (Philadelphia: Lorenzo Press, 1804), I:103-105.

18 Alexander Hamilton, The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, ed. Harold C. Syrett (New York: Columbia University Press, 1961), I:87, February 23, 1775, quoting Blackstone, Commentaries (1771), I:41.

19 Rufus King to C. Gore, February 17, 1820, The Life and Correspondence of Rufus King, ed. Charles R. King (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1900), VI:276.

20 John Adams, The Papers of John Adams, ed. Robert J. Taylor (Cambridge: Belknap Press, 1977), I:83, from “An Essay on Man’s Lust for Power, with the Author’s Comment in 1807,” written on August 29, 1763, but first published by John Adams in 1807.