Topics: Founding Fathers

American Revolution – Letter by Governor Jonathan Trumbull

Jonathan Trumbull (1710-1785) was a Governor of the Colony of Connecticut for many years, serving before, during, and after the American War for Independence. (The Trumbull family was very influential in Connecticut, and one of his sons also became governor of the state.)

This letter, dated February 16, 1782 requests payment for Chaplain Horn, who served in Brigadier General David Waterbury’s Brigade.

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State of Connecticut

By the Governor

To the Committee of Pay-Tables at Hartford

Please to draw bonds on the Treasury in favors of the Rev. John Horn, Chaplain to B. General Waterbury’s Brigade, for his pay – via one month and twenty days pay, on the pay table, payable 1st March cash and another of three months pay, on the half crown. Tax payable 1st December last and charge the some to him – By Requst of the Governor and Council of Safety – Given at Hartford 16th Feby 1782

Jon Trumbull

 

William Williams and Oliver Wolcott Treasury Note

Both William Williams and Oliver Wolcott were signers of the Declaration of Independence from Connecticut. This treasury note from 1780 deals with the House of Representatives of Connecticut hiring and paying a chaplain.

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In the House of Representatives

This House grants to the Rev. Mr. Nathan Strong the sum of six pounds for his services as Chaplain to s’d (said) House in their of Oct 1780. The treasurer is ordered to pay the same accordingly.

Signed Wm Williams
(Superimposed) Oliver Wolcott

Celebrating the Constitution

The Convention of 1787 was the capstone in a chain of events that led to the creation of the U.S. Constitution.

celebrating-the-constitution-1America’s first attempt at a national governing document was in 1777 with the Articles of Confederation.1 It went into effect in 1781, but its deficiencies were quickly apparent,2 so in 1786, the Annapolis Convention called for a body to assemble to address its many weaknesses.3 What is known as the Constitutional Convention then gathered in Philadelphia in 1787.4

The debates on the Constitution did not go smoothly at first. In fact, Benjamin Franklin recommended they begin daily prayers to help the process along.5 Eventually they came together to produce the Constitution — the most successful governing document in world history. It was signed on September 17, 1787,6 a day we now celebrate as “Constitution Day.” Many delegates expressed their belief that writing the Constitution would not have been possible without the Divine aid they personally witnessed and openly acknowledged. Alexander Hamilton said:

For my own part, I sincerely esteem it a system which without the finger of God never could have been suggested and agreed upon by such a diversity of interests.7

celebrating-the-constitution-2James Madison agreed:

It is impossible for the man of pious reflection not to perceive in it the finger of the Almighty Hand which has been so frequently and signally extended to our relief in the critical stages of the Revolution.8

Benjamin Franklin and George Washington also expressed similar convictions.9

celebrating-the-constitution-3Many delegates involved with writing the Constitution were trained in theology or ministry,10 including Abraham Baldwin, James Wilson, Hugh Williamson, Oliver Ellsworth and others. The Constitution was then sent to the states to be ratified,11 and about four dozen clergymen were elected from among the various states as delegates to ratify the Constitution.12 The influence of Biblical faith on that document was apparent, and under it, Americans have been blessed!

As President Calvin Coolidge affirmed:

[T]he more I study [the Constitution], the more I have come to admire it, realizing that no other document devised by the hand of man ever brought so much progress and happiness to humanity.13 To live under the American Constitution is the greatest political privilege that has ever occurred to the human race.14

Because the Constitution is such a unique and remarkable document, federal law requires that every year on Constitution Day, all public schools must hold a special program on the Constitution.15 Sadly, few schools follow this law. But that should not keep every citizen from celebrating that document. Each of us should read and know that document, and teach it to others. So read the Constitution for yourself, and check out these resources that can be used in public schools to teach the Constitution on Constitution Day.16 Share this information with schools, educators, and students around you!

Endnotes

1 “Articles of Confederation: Primary Documents in American History,” Library of Congress, accessed December 13, 2023.
2 See, for example, “Policies and Problems of the Confederation Government,” Library of Congress, accessed December 13, 2023; “Defencies of the Confederation,” The Founders Constitution.
3 “Appendix A: The Annapolis Convention,” Soldier-Statesmen of the Constitution (Washington, DC: Center of Military History, 1987), 265.
4 “The Constitution: How Did it Happen?” National Archives, accessed December 13, 2023.
5 James Madison’s Notes on the Convention, June 28, 1787, Max Farrand, The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1911), I:450-452.
6 “Constitution of the United States: Primary Documents in American History,” Library of Congress, accessed December 13, 2023.
7 Alexander Hamilton to Mr. Childs, Wednesday, October 17, 1787, The Federalist and Other Contemporary Papers on the Constitution of the United States, ed. E.H. Scott (New York: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1894), 646.
8 James Madison, Federalist #37, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, & James Madison, The Federalist (Philadelphia: Benjamin Warner, 1818), 194.
9 Benjamin Franklin, “A Comparison of the Conduct of the Ancient Jews and of the Anti-Federalists in the United States of America,” The Works of Benjamin Franklin, ed. Jared Sparks (Boston: Tappan, Whittemore, and Mason, 1837), V:162; George Washington to Marquis de Lafayette, February 7, 1788, The Writings of George Washington, ed. Jared Sparks (Boston: Russell, Odiorne, and Metcalf, 1835), IX:317.
10 See WallBuilders article, “No Professor Fea, the Founders Did Not Want Ministers to Stay out of Politics.”
11 “Observing Constitution Day,” National Archives, accessed December 13, 2023.
12 See WallBuilders article, “No Professor Fea, the Founders Did Not Want Ministers to Stay out of Politics.”
13 Calvin Coolidge, “Autobiography of College Days,” Hearst’s International Combined with Cosmopolitan (NY: International Magazine Company, August 1929), LXXXVII:2:37.
14 James M. Beck, “What is the Constitution?” Our World Weekly (March 16, 1925), II:7:102.
15 “Constitution Day and Citizenship Day,” US Code.
16 “Constitution Day Teacher Resources,” Library of Congress; “Teachers Guide: Commemorating Constitution Day,” National Endowment for the Humanities; “Commemorating Constitution Day and Citizenship Day,” US Department of Education.

America’s Founders at College

Too many indisputable facts from American history are ignored today because they impede the direction many progressives want to move culture. For example, while they claim that the Founders were largely secularists, few today know that most of them were graduates of colleges or universities that specialized in training ministers of the Gospel.
americas-founders-at-college-1Princeton was founded in 1746, and John Witherspoon, a Gospel minister and signer of the Declaration of Independence, was the college’s president from 1768-1794. He trained scores of individuals who became national and state leaders. Princeton required that “every student shall attend worship in the college hall morning and evening.”

Yale University, founded in 1701, had Thomas Clap as its president from 1740-1766, when many of the Founders attended school there. Clap affirmed:

The original end and design of colleges was to instruct, educate, and train up persons for the work of the ministry.

americas-founders-at-college-2Harvard University was founded in 1636. (Pictured on the right is the original 1650 Harvard incorporation charter from the WallBuilders library.) Josiah Quincy, Harvard’s president from 1829 to 1845, noted:

[T]he College was conducted as a theological institution. . . having religion for its basis and chief object.

Altogether, 29 signers of the Declaration graduated from religiously-founded universities. But to acknowledge this today would certainly contradict the common educational assertion that our Founders were largely atheists, agnostics, and deists who wanted a secular country. But those assertions are not true.

americas-founders-at-college-3Gouverneur Morris, a signer of the Constitution and the most active member of the Constitutional Convention, openly asserted:

Religion is the only solid basis of good morals; therefore, education should teach the precepts of religion and the duties of man towards God.

In fact, he warned:

There must be religion. What that ligament is torn, society is disjointed and its members perish. . . . The most important of all lessons is the denunciation of ruin to every state that rejects the precepts of religion.

Take note, America! This is a good warning to remember today.

In Four Centuries of American Education you can find out more about the deeply religious nature of education in early America and how Bible-based public education continued literally for centuries, ending only in recently years.

Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day – 1789

This is the text of George Washington’s October 3, 1789 national Thanksgiving Proclamation; as printed in The Providence Gazette and Country Journal, on October 17, 1789. (See another national Thanksgiving proclamation issued by George Washington in 1795.)

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By the President of the United States of America.
A Proclamation.

proclamation-thanksgiving-day-1789-2Whereas 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; and whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally, to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.

G. Washington.

Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day – 1784, Massachusetts

John Hancock (1737-1793) was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, the president of the Continental Congress, and governor of Massachusetts. It was during his time as governor that he issued the following October 28, 1784 proclamation declaring a day of Thanksgiving for November 25, 1784. The proclamation text and image is taken from Thomas’s Massachusetts Spy dated November 11, 1784.

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.
By His Excellency, JOHN HANCOCK, Esquire,
Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,
A PROCLAMATION,
For a Day of THANKSGIVING.
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It being our indispensable duty as a people, in a public and religious manner, to acknowledge the preserving and Governing providence of Almighty God, and more especially to celebrate the Divine Goodness in the various blessings conferred upon us in the course of the year past.

I have therefore thought fit, with the advice and consent of the Council, to appoint, and do hereby appoint THURSDAY the Twenty-Fifth Day of NOVEMBER next, to be religiously observed as a Day of THANKSGIVING throughout this Commonwealth; hereby calling upon Ministers and people of all denominations, in their several assemblies, to unite with grateful hearts in celebrating the Praises of Almighty GOD, of His great goodness and bounty vouchsafed [given] to a sinful and unworthy people; particularly for the great and signal interpositions of His Providence in behalf of the United States in the course of the late contest, and that after being rescued from the dangers and calamities of war; peace has been restored to us, and that our public affairs are in so promising and happy a situation; for granting to us a plentiful harvest in the great abundance of the fruits of the earth; for the general health enjoyed throughout this State during the course of the year, and preventing epidemical and mortal distempers from spreading among us; reviving our trade, navigation and fishery and protecting the same from the insults of Pirates and other disasters; for directing and succeeding our public Councils, and above all for continuing to us the light of the blessed Gospel, and securing to us our religious and civil liberties and privileges. And to join with their praises their earnest and humble supplications to Almighty GOD, for the pardon of our past ingratitude and other transgressions; and that He would grant that all instances of the Divine goodness may have an effectual influence for working a general reformation in all orders of persons among us; that so we may be that happy people, whose GOD is the LORD, and that ALL nations may bow to the scepter of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST, and that the whole Earth may be filled with His Glory.

GIVEN at the Council-Chamber in Boston, the 28th day of October, in the Year of our Lord, one Thousand seven hundred and eighty-four, and in the ninth year of the Independence of the United Sates of America.

JOHN HANCOCK.

By his Excellency’s Command,
JOHN AVERY, Jun. Secretary
GOD save the Commonwealth of MASSACHUSETTS.

Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day – 1782

Here is the text of a Proclamation for a Day of Thanksgiving issued by John Hanson, while serving as President of the Continental Congress, on October 11, 1782. The Day of Thanksgiving took place on November 28, 1782. This proclamation was published in The Independent Gazetteer; or, the Chronicle of Freedom on November 5, 1782.

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By the United States in Congress assembled,
PROCLAMATION.
 

It being the indispensable duty of all nations, not only to offer up their supplications to Almighty God, the giver of all good, for His gracious assistance in a time of distress, but also in a solemn and public manner, to give Him praise for His goodness in general, and especially for great and signal interpositions of His Providence in their behalf; therefore, the Unites States in Congress assembled, taking into their consideration the many instances of Divine goodness to these States in the course of the important conflict, in which they have been so long engaged, – the present happy and promising state of public affairs, and the events of the war in the course of the year now drawing to a close; particularly the harmony of the public Councils which is so necessary to the success of the public cause, – the perfect union and good understanding which has hitherto subsisted between them and their allies, notwithstanding the artful and unwearied attempts of the common enemy to divide them, – the success of the arms of the United States and those of their allies, – and the acknowledgment of their Independence by another European power, whose friendship and commerce must be of great and lasting advantage to these States; Do hereby recommend it to the inhabitants of these States in general, to observe and request the several states to interpose their authority, in appointing and commanding the observation of THURSDAY the TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY OF NOVEMBER next as a day of SOLEMN THANKSGIVING to GOD for all His mercies; and they do further recommend to all ranks to testify their gratitude to God for His goodness by a cheerful obedience to His laws and by promoting, each in his station, and by his influence, the practice of true and undefiled religion, which is the great foundation of public prosperity and national happiness.

Done in Congress at Philadelphia, the eleventh day of October, in the year of our LORD, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-two, and of our Sovereignty and Independence, the seventh.

JOHN HANSON, President.

CHARLES THOMSON, Secretary.

Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day – 1781

The following is the text of a Proclamation for a Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer issued by Thomas McKean, a Signer of the Declaration of Independence, while he was serving as President of Congress. This proclamation was issued on October 26, 1781 and the Day of Thanksgiving was to be December 18, 1781. This proclamation was published in The Independent Ledger and the American Advertiser on November 19, 1781.

 

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By the United States, in Congress
Assembled.

PROCLAMATION.
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Whereas it hath pleased Almighty God, the Father of Mercies, remarkably to assist and support the United States of America in their important struggle for liberty against the long-continued efforts of a powerful nation, it is the duty of all ranks to observe and thankfully acknowledge the interpositions of his Providence in their behalf; – Through the whole of the contest from its first rise to this time the influence of Divine Providence may be clearly perceived in many signal instances, of which we mention but a few: –

In revealing the counsels of our enemies, when the discoveries were seasonable and important, and the means seemingly inadequate or fortuitous.

In preserving and even improving the union of the several states on the breach of which our enemies placed their greatest dependence,

In increasing the number and adding to the zeal ad attachment of friends of liberty,

In granting remarkable deliverances and blessings with the most signal success, when affairs seemed to have the most discouraging appearance,

In raising up for us a most powerful and generous ally in one of the first of European Powers,

In confounding the counsels of our enemies and suffering them to pursue such measures a shave most directly contributed to frustrate their own desires and expectations: above all

In making their extreme cruelty to the inhabitants of those states when in their power and their savage devastation of property the very means of cementing our Union and adding vigor to every effort in opposition to them; and as we cannot help leading the good people of these states to a retrospect on the events which have taken place since the beginning of the war so we may recommend in a particular manner to their observation the goodness of God in the year now drawing to a conclusion in which the Confederation of the United States has been completed,

In which there have been so many instances of prowess and success in our armies, particularly in the southern states, where, notwithstanding the difficulties with which they had to struggle, they have recovered the whole country which the enemy had overrun, leaving them only a post or two on or near the sea,

In which we have been so powerfully and effectually assisted by our allies, while in all the unjust operations, the most perfect harmony has subsisted in the allied army: In which there has been so plentiful a harvest, and so great abundance of the fruits of the earth of every kin, as not only enable us easily to supply the wants of our army, but gives comfort and happiness to the whole people,

And in which, after the success of our allies by sea, a general of the first rank with his whole army has been captured by the allied forces under the direction of our commander-in-chief.

It is therefore recommended to the several states to set apart the THIRTEENTH day of DECEMBER next, to be religiously observed as a day of THANKSGIVING and PRAYER; that all the people may assemble on that day with grateful hearts to celebrate the praises of our glorious Benefactor, to confess our manifold sins, to offer up our most fervent supplications to the God of all grace that it may please Him to pardon our offense, and incline our hearts for the future, to keep all His laws, to comfort and relieve all our brethren who are in distress or captivity, to prosper our husbandmen, and give strength to all engaged in lawful commerce; to impart wisdom and integrity to our counselors, judgment and fortitude to our officers and soldiers; to protect and prosper our illustrious ally and favor our united exertions for the speedy establishment of a safe, honorable, and lasting peace, to bless our seminaries of learning, and cause the knowledge of God to cover the earth as the waters cover the seas.

Done in Congress the 26th day of October, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-one, and in the sixth year of the Independence of America.

 

Thomas McKean, President.

Attest, Charles Thomson, Secretary.

Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day – 1780, Massachusetts

John Hancock (1737-1793) was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, the president of the Continental Congress, and governor of Massachusetts. It was during his time as governor that he issued the following November 8, 1780 proclamation declaring a day of Thanksgiving for December 7, 1780.

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By His Excellency
John Hancock, Esq.;

Governor and Commander in Chief in and over the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

A PROCLAMATION,
For a Day of THANKSGIVING

 

Whereas it hath pleased Almighty God, the Father of all Mercies, amidst the Vicissitudes and Calamities of War, to bestow Blessing on the People of these States, which call for their devout and thankful Acknowledgments; more especially in the late remarkable Interposition of His watchful Providence, in rescuing the Person of our Commander in Chief, and the Army, from imminent Dangers, at the Moment when Treason was ripened for Execution; in prospering the labors of the Husbandmen, and causing the earth to yield its Increase in plentiful Harvests; and above all, in continuing to us the Enjoyment of the Gospel of Peace:

I do therefore, by and with the Advice of the Council, recommend to the good People of this Commonwealth, to set apart THURSDAY the Seventh Day of December next, (the Day recommended by the Congress of the States) to be observed as a Day of public THANKSGIVING and PRAYER:— That all the People may assemble on that Day, to celebrate the Praises of our Divine Benefactor,—to confess our Unworthiness of the least of his Favors,—and to offer our fervent Supplications to the GOD of all Grace, that it may please Him to pardon our heinous Transgressions, and incline our Hearts for the future to keep all his Laws,—to comfort and relieve our Brethren who are in any wise afflicted or distressed,—to smile upon our Husbandry and Trade,—to direct our public Councils,—and lead our Forces by Land and Sea to Victory,—to take our illustrious Ally under His special Protection, and favor our joint Councils and Exertions for the Establishment of speedy and permanent Peace,—to cherish all Schools and Seminaries of Education,—and to cause the Knowledge of Christianity to spread over all the Earth.

Given at the Council-Chamber in Boston, the Eighth Day of November, in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty, and in the Fifth Year of the Independence of the United States of America.

JOHN HANCOCK.

By His Excellency’s Command,
John Avery, Sec’y

God save the People of the United States.

Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day – 1779, Pennsylvania

Joseph Reed (1741-1785) was born in New Jersey; graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton) in 1757; and practiced law in New Jersey and Philadelphia. He served in the American army as aide-de-camp and secretary to George Washington (1775) and as Adjutant General (1776-1777). Reed was a member of the Continental Congress in 1778 where he signed the Articles of Confederation. He served as President (Governor) of Pennsylvania from 1778-1781.

Joseph Reed issued the following proclamation on November 29, 1779 as president of Pennsylvania declaring December 9, 1779 a day of Thanksgiving. The text and image of this proclamation is taken from The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser published on November 30, 1779.

By His EXCELLENCY
JOSEPH REED, Esquire,
President, and the Supreme Executive Council of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
A PROCLAMATION.

WHEREAS the Honorable the Congress of the United States of America, by their resolve of the twentieth day of October last, did recommend in the following words, to wit:

“WHEREAS it becomes us humbly to approach the throne of Almighty God, with gratitude and praise, for the wonders which His goodness has wrought in conducting our forefathers to this Western world; for His protection to them and to their prosperity, amid difficulties and dangers; for raising us their children from deep distress, to be numbered among the nations of the earth; and for arming the hands of just and mighty Princes in our deliverance; and especially for that He hath been pleased to grant us the enjoyment of health, and so to order the revolving seasons, that the earth hath produced her increase in abundance, blessing the labors of the husbandman and spreading plenty thro’ the land; that He hath prospered our arms and those of our ally, been a shield to our troops in the hour of danger, pointed their swords to victory and led them in triumph over the bulwarks of the foe that He hath gone with those who went out into the wilderness against the savage tribes; that He hath stayed the hand of the spoiler, and turned back His meditated destruction, that He hath prospered our commerce and given success to those who fought the enemy on the face of the deep; and above all, that He hath diffused the glorious light of the Gospel, whereby, through the merits of our gracious Redeemer, we may become the heirs of His eternal glory. Therefore,

“RESOLVED, That it be recommended to the several States to appoint THURSDAY the ninth of December next, to be a day of public and solemn THANKSGIVING to Almighty God, for His mercies, and of PRAYER, for the continuance of His favor and protection to these United States; to beseech Him that He would be graciously pleased to influence our public councils, and bless them with wisdom from on high, with unanimity, firmness and success, that He would go forth with our hosts and crown our arms with victory; that He would grant to His Church the plentiful effusions of Divine grace, and pour out His Holy Spirit on all Ministers of the Gospel; that He would bless and prosper the means of education, and spread the light of Christian knowledge through the remotest corners of the earth; that He would smile upon the labors of His people and cause the earth to bring forth her fruits in abundance, that we may with gratitude and gladness enjoy them; that He would take into His Holy protection our illustrious Ally, give him victory over his enemies, and render him signally great, as the father of his people, and the protector of the rights of mankind; that He would graciously be pleased to turn the hearts of our enemies, and to dispense the blessings of peace to contending nations; that He would in mercy look down upon us, pardon all our sins, and receive us into His favor; and, finally, that He would establish the Independence of these United States upon the basis of religion and virtue, and support and protect them in the enjoyment of peace, liberty and safety.”

WHEREFORE, as well in respect of the said recommendation of Congress, as the plain dictates of duty, to acknowledge the favor and goodness of Providence, and implore Its further protection: We Do hereby earnestly recommend to the good people of Pennsylvania, to set apart THURSDAY, the ninth day of December next, for the pious purposes expressed in the said resolve; and that they abstain from all labor on that day.

GIVEN under the Hand of His Excellency Joseph Reed, Esq; President, and the Seal of the State, at Philadelphia, this twenty-ninth day of November, in the year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and seventy nine, and in the Fourth year of the Independence of the United States of America.

JOSEPH REED, President.

Attest, T. MATLACK, Secretary.

GOD SAVE THE COMMONWEALTH.