Founders of the USA
and other Authorities Quotes
Noah Webster, 1832
History of the United States
"[I]t is the sincere desire of the writer [Noah Webster] that
our citizens should early understand that the genuine source of
correct republican principles is the Bible, particularly the New
Testament or the Christian religion.
The religion which has introduced civil liberty is the religion
of Christ and his apostles, which enjoins humility, piety and benevolence;
which acknowledges in every person a brother, or a sister, and a
citizen with equal rights. This is genuine Christianity, and to
this we owe our free Constitutions of Government.
The moral principles and precepts contained in the Scriptures ought
to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws.... All
the miseries and evils which men suffer from, vice, crime, ambition,
injustice, oppression, slavery, and war, proceed from their despising
or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible.
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Daniel Webster
"If religious books are not widely circulated among the masses
in this country, I do not know what is going to become of us as
a nation. If truth be not diffused, error will be;
If God and His Word are not known and received, the devil and his
works will gain the ascendancy; If the evangelical volume does not
reach every hamlet, the pages of a corrupt and licentious literature
will;
If the power of the Gospel is not felt throughout the length and
breadth of this land, anarchy and misrule, degradation and misery,
corruption and darkness will reign without mitigation or end."
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Patrick Henry
From his Last Will and Testament:
"I wish I could leave you my most cherished possession--my
faith in Jesus Christ. For with Him you have everything; without
Him you have nothing at all."
"Whether this [new government] will prove a blessing or a
curse will depend upon the use our people make of the blessings
which a gracious God hath bestowed on us. If they are wise, they
will be great and happy. If they are of a contrary character, they
will be miserable. Righteousness alone can exalt them as a nation
[Proverbs 14:34]. Reader! Whoever thou art, remember this, and in
thy sphere practice virtue thyself and encourage it in others."
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Samuel Adams
in a letter to James Warren dated February 12, 1779
"A general dissolution of Principles and Manners will more
surely overthrow the Liberties of America than the whole Force of
the common enemy. While the people are virtuous they cannot be subdued;
but when once they lose their virtue they will be ready to surrender
their liberties to the first external or internal invader . . .
If virtue and knowledge are diffused among the people, they will
never be enslaved. This will be their great security."
"The rights of the colonists as Christians...may be best understood
by reading and carefully studying the institutes of the Great Law
Giver and Head of the Christian Church, which are to be found clearly
written and promulgated in the New Testament."
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Benjamin Franklin
Address at the Constitutional Convention Thursday June 28, 1787
"I have lived, a long time, and the longer I live, the more
convincing proofs I see of this truth -- that God Governs in the
affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without
His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?
We have been assured, in the Sacred Writings, that "except
the Lord build the House, they labor in vain that build it."
I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without His concurring
aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the
builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our partial local interests;
our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a
reproach and bye word down to future ages.
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Alexander Hamilton
"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."
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Elias Boudinot
President of the First Continental Congress in 1783 and the founder
of the American Bible Society.
"If the Moral character of a people degenerate, their political
character must follow. These considerations should lead to an attentive
solicitude to be religiously careful in our choice of all public
officers...and judge of the tree by its fruits."
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Fisher Ames
First Session Congressman from Massachusetts
Should not the Bible regain the place it once held as a schoolbook?
Its morals are pure, its examples are captivating and noble... The
reverence for the sacred book that is thus early impressed lasts
long; and, probably, if not impressed in infancy, never takes firm
hold of the mind... In no Book is there so good English, so pure
and so elegant, and by teaching all the same they will speak alike,
and the Bible will justly remain the standard of language as well
as of faith.
Sept. 20, 1789, Palladium magazine
We have a dangerous trend beginning to take place in our education.
We're starting to put more and more textbooks into our schools...
We've become accustomed of late of putting little books into the
hands of children containing fables and moral lessons... We are
spending less time in the classroom on the Bible, which should be
the principle text in our schools... The Bible states these great
moral lessons better than any other manmade book.
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George Washington
Inaugural Address, 1789
"The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a
nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which
Heaven itself has ordained."
"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political
prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports...
And let us indulge with caution the supposition that morality can
be maintained without religion... Reason and experience both forbid
us to expect that national morality can prevail to the exclusion
of religious principle."
His Prayer At Valley Forge
"Almighty and eternal Lord God, the great Creator of heaven
and earth, and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; look
down from heaven in pity and compassion upon me Thy servant, who
humbly prorate myself before Thee."
"To the distinguished character of a Patriot, it should be
our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of a Christian."
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John Adams, 1798
Signing of the Constitution
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious
people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other."
Entered into his diary February 22, 1756
"Suppose a nation in some distant region should take the Bible
for their only law book, and every member should regulate his conduct
by the precepts there contained ! Every member would be obliged
in conscience to temperance, frugality and industry: to justice,
kindness and charity towards his fellow men: and to piety, love
and reverence toward Almighty God....What a Eutopia, what a Paradise
would this region be."
The only foundation of a free Constitution is pure Virtue, and
if this cannot be inspired into our People in a greater Measure,
than they have it now, they may change their Rulers and the forms
of Government, but they will not obtain a lasting liberty."
President John Adams
"The highest story of the American Revolution is this: it connected
in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with
the principles of Christianity."
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Abigail Adams, 1775
A letter to her husband John.
"The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong;
but the God of Israel is He that giveth strength and power unto
His people. Trust in Him at all times, ye people, pour out your
hearts before Him; God is a refuge for us."
"...a true American Patriot must be a religious man...He
who neglects his duty to his maker, may well be expected to be deficient
and insincere in his duty towards the public."
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President Thomas Jefferson, 1781
Notes on the State of Virginia
"God who gave us Life gave us Liberty. And 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 a 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."
"I hold the precepts of Jesus as delivered by Himself, to
be the most pure, benevolent and sublime which have ever been preached
to man..."
To William Canby, 1813
"Of all systems of morality, ancient or modern, which have
come under my observation, none appear to be so pure as that of
Jesus."
From his will:
"I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines
of Jesus Christ."
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President James Madison
"The future and success of America is not in this Constitution,
but in the laws of God upon which this Constitution is founded."
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President John Quincy Adams
"It is no slight testimonial, both to the merit and worth of
Christianity, that in all ages since its promulgation the great
mass of those who have risen to eminence by their profound wisdom
and integrity have recognized and reverenced Jesus of Nazareth as
the Son of the living God."
"The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence
were.... the general principles of Christianity."
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President Andrew Jackson
"The Bible is the Rock on which this Republic rests."
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Abraham Lincoln, 1863
Proclamation Appointing a National Fast Day
"It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their
dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins
and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that
genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon."
"I know that the Lord is always on the side of right. But
it is my constant anxiety and prayer that I--and this nation--should
be on the Lord's side."
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Grover Cleveland
"All must admit that the reception of the teachings of Christ
results in the purest patriotism, in the most scrupulous fidelity
to public trust, and in the best type of citizenship. Those who
manage the affairs of government are by this means reminded that
the law of God demands that they should be courageously true to
the interest of the people, and that the Ruler of the Universe will
require of them a strict account of their stewardship. The teachings
of both human and Divine law thus merging into one word, duty, form
the only union of Church and state that a civil and religious government
can recognize."
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Woodrow Wilson, 1911
Pre-Presidential campaign speech
"America was born a Christian nation. America was born to
exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are
derived from the revelations of Holy Scriptures. Ladies and gentlemen,
I have a very simple thing to ask of you. I ask of every man and
woman in this audience that from this night on they will realize
that part of the destiny of America lies in their daily perusal
of this great book of revelations. That if they would see America
free and pure they will make their own spirits free and pure by
this baptism of the Holy Scripture."
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President Harry S. Truman
"The fundamental basis of this nation's law was given to Moses
on the Mount. The fundamental basis of our Bill of Rights comes
from the teaching we get from Exodus and St. Matthew, from Isaiah
and St. Paul. I don't think we emphasize that enough these days.
If we don't have the proper fundamental moral background, we will
finally end up with a totalitarian government which does not believe
in the right for anybody except the state."
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