Congress Approves Bible Publishing

Here is something that most people don't know. The Continental Congress approved of the printing of a Bible.

September 12, 1782
The committee, consisting of Mr. [James] Duane, Mr. [Thomas] McKean and Mr. [John] Witherspoon, to whom was referred a petition memorial of Robert Aitken, printer, dated 21 January, 1781, respecting an edition of the holy scriptures, report, That Mr. Aitken has at a great expence now finished an American edition of the holy scriptures in English; that the committee have, from time to time, conferred with him attended to his progress in the work: that they also recommended it to the two chaplains of Congress to examine and give their opinion of the execution, who have accordingly reported thereon:

The recommendation and report being as follows:

Philadelphia, 1 September, 1782.

Rev. Gentlemen, Our knowledge of your piety and public spirit leads us without apology to recommend to your particular attention the edition of the holy scriptures publishing by Mr. Aitken. He undertook this expensive work at a time, when from the circumstances of the war, an English edition of the Bible could not be imported, nor any opinion formed how long the obstruction might continue. On this account particularly he deserves applause and encouragement. We therefore wish you, reverend gentlemen, to examine the execution of the work, and if approved, to give it the sanction of your judgment and the weight of your recommendation. We are with very great respect, your most obedient humble servants,

(Signed) James Duane, Chairman,

In behalf of a committee of Congress on Mr. Aitken's memorial.

Rev. Dr. White and Rev. Mr. Duffield, chaplains of the United States in Congress assembled.

REPORT.

Gentlemen, Agreeably to your desire, we have paid attention to Mr. Robert Aitken's impression of the holy scriptures, of the old and new testament. Having selected and examined a variety of passages throughout the work, we are of opinion, that it is executed with great accuracy as to the sense, and with as few grammatical and typographical errors as could be expected in an undertaking of such magnitude. Being ourselves witnesses of the demand for this invaluable book, we rejoice in the present prospect of a supply, hoping that it will prove as advantageous as it is honorable to the gentleman, who has exerted himself to furnish it at the evident risk of private fortune. We are, gentlemen, your very respectful and humble servants,

(Signed) William White,George Duffield.

Philadelphia, September 10, 1782.

Hon. James Duane, esq. chairman, and the other hon. gentlemen of the committee of Congress on Mr. Aitken's memorial.

Whereupon, Resolved, That the United States in Congress assembled, highly approve the pious and laudable undertaking of Mr. Aitken, as subservient to the interest of religion as well as an instance of the progress of arts in this country, and being satisfied from the above report, of his care and accuracy in the execution of the work, they recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United States, and hereby authorise him to publish this recommendation in the manner he shall think proper.

First Continental Congress Prayer

First Prayer in Congress
Rev. Jacob Duche
September 7, 1774

O - Lord our Heavenly Father, high and mighty King of kings, and Lord of lords, who dost from thy throne behold all the dwellers on earth and reignest with power supreme and uncontolled over all the Kingdoms, Empires and Governments; look down in mercy, we beseech thee, on these our American States, who have fled to thee from the rod of the oppressor and thrown themselves on Thy gracious protection, desiring to be henceforth dependent only on Thee, to Thee have they appealed for the righteousness of their cause; to Thee do they now look up for that countenance and support, which Thou alone canst give; take them, therefore, Heavenly Father, under Thy nurturing care; give them wisdom in Council and valor in the field; defeat the malicious designs of our cruel adversaries; convince them of the unrighteousness of their Cause and if they persist in their sanguinary purposes, of own unerring justice, sounding in their hearts, constrain them to drop the weapons of war from their unnerved bands in the day of battle!

Be Thou present, O God of wisdom, and direct the councils of this honroable assembly; enable them to settle things on the best and surest foundation. That the scene of blood may be speedily closed; that order, harmony and peace may be effectually restored, and truth and justice, religion and piety, prevail and flourish amongst The people. Preserve the health of their bodies and vigor of their minds; shower down on them and the millions they here represent, such temporal blessings as Thou seest expedient for them in this world and crown them with everlasting glory in the world to come. All this we ask In the name and through the merits of Jesus Christ, Thy Son and our Savior.

Amen

The founding fathers had the following to say about the prayer:

After this Mr. Duche, unexpected to every Body struck out into an extemporary Prayer, which filled the Bosom of every Man present. I must confess I never heard a better Prayer or one, so well pronounced. Episcopalian as he is, Dr. Cooper himself never prayed with such fervour, such Ardor, such Earnestness and Pathos, and in Language so elegant and sublime-for America, for the Congress, for The Province of Massachusetts Bay, and especially the Town of Boston. It has had an excellent Effect upon every Body here. - John Adams to Abagail Adams - September 16, 1774

A day of public humiliation, fasting and prayer.. X 15

Did you know that between June 1775 and October 1783 that the Continental Congress declared 15 days of Fasting and Prayer. That is a large number of days considering that the constitution was not penned by a religious membership. These have been taken directly from the "Journals of the Contenental Congress". Please read some of these. After reading them, you cannot say that they do not believe in the influence and help of an Almighty God. Some of them are asking for protection and guidence, while some of them are days of Thanksgiving.


June 12th, 1775

This Congress, therefore, considering the present critical, alarming and calamitous state of these colonies, do earnestly recommend that Thursday, the 20th day of July next, be observed, by the inhabitants of all the English colonies on this continent, as a day of public humiliation, fasting and prayer; that we may, with united hearts and voices, unfeignedly confess and deplore our many sins; and offer up our joint supplications to the all-wise, omnipotent, and merciful Disposer of all events; humbly beseeching him to forgive our iniquities, to remove our present calamities, to avert those desolating judgments, with which we are threatned, and to bless our rightful sovereign, King George the third, and [to] inspire him with wisdom to discern and pursue the true interest of all his subjects, that a speedy end may be put to the civil discord between Great Britain and the American colonies, without farther effusion of blood: And that the British nation may be influenced to regard the things that belong to her peace, before they are hid from her eyes: That these colonies may be ever under the care and protection of a kind Providence, and be prospered in all their interests; That the divine blessing may descend and rest upon all our civil rulers, and upon the representatives of the people, in their several assemblies and conventions, that they may be directed to wise and effectual measures for preserving the union, and securing the just rights and priviledges of the colonies; That virtue and true religion may revive and flourish throughout our land; And that all America may soon behold a gracious interposition of Heaven, for the redress of her many grievances, the restoration of her invaded rights, a reconcilation with the parent state, on terms constitutional and honorable to both; And that her civil and religious priviledges may be secured to the latest posterity. [SOURCE]

March 16th, 1776

The Congress, therefore, considering the warlike preparations of the British Ministry to subvert our invaluable rights and priviledges, and to reduce us by fire and sword, by the savages of the wilderness, and our own domestics, to the most abject and ignominious bondage: 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; and by inclining their hearts to justice and benevolence, prevent the further effusion of kindred blood. But if, continuing deaf to the voice of reason and humanity, and inflexibly bent, on desolation and war, they constrain us to repel their hostile invasions by open resistance, 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]

December 11,1776

The committee appointed to prepare a resolution for appointing a day of fasting and humiliation, brought in a report, which was read and agreed to, as follows:

Whereas, the war in which the United States are engaged with Great Britain, has not only been prolonged, but is likely to be carried to the greatest extremity; and whereas, it becomes all public bodies, as well as private persons, to reverence the Providence of God, and look up to him as the supreme disposer of all events, and the arbiter of the fate of nations; therefore,

Resolved, That it be recommended to all the United States, as soon as possible, to appoint a day of solemn fasting and humiliation; to implore of Almighty God the forgiveness of the many sins prevailing among all ranks, and to beg the countenance and assistance of his Providence in the prosecution of the present just and necessary war.

The Congress do also, in the most earnest manner, recommend to all the members of the United States, and particularly the officers civil and military under them, the exercise of repentance and reformation; and further, require of them the strict observation of the articles of war, and particularly, that part of the said articles, which forbids profane swearing, and all immorality, of which all such officers are desired to take notice.

It is left to each state to issue out proclamations fixing the days that appear most proper within their several bounds.

Ordered, That the above be published by the committee who brought in the report. [SOURCE]

November 1st, 1777

The committee appointed to prepare a recommendation to these states, to set apart a day of thanksgiving, brought in a report; which was agreed to as follows:

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 heart1 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. [SOURCE]

March, 7th, 1778

The committee appointed to prepare a recommendation to the several states, for setting apart a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer, brought in the same; which was read and agreed to as follows:

Whereas, Almighty God, in the righteous dispensation of his providence, hath permitted the continuation of a cruel and desolating war in our land; and it being at all times the duty of a people to acknowledge God in all his ways, and more especially to humble themselves before him when evident tokens of his displeasure are manifested; to acknowledge his righteous government; confess, and forsake their evil ways; and implore his mercy:

Resolved, That it be recommended to the United States of America to set apart Wednesday, the 22d day of April next, to be observed as a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer; that at one time, and with one voice, the inhabitants may acknowledge the righteous dispensations of Divine Providence, and confess their iniquities and transgressions, for which the land mourneth; that they may implore the mercy and forgiveness of God; and beseech him that vice, prophaneness, extortion, and every evil, may be done away; and that we may be a reformed and happy people; that they may unite in humble and earnest supplication, that it may please Almighty God, to guard and defend us against our enemies, and give vigour and success to our military operations by sea and land; that it may please him to bless the civil rulers and people, strengthen and perpetuate our union, and, in his own good time, establish us in the peaceable enjoyment of our rights and liberties; that it may please him to bless our schools and seminaries of learning, and make them nurseries of true piety, virtue and useful knowledge; that it may please him to cause the earth to yield its increase, and to crown the year with his goodness.

And it is recommended to the inhabitants of the United States to abstain, on that day, from labour and recreations. [SOURCE]

November 11th, 1778

Congress resumed the consideration of the recommendation to the states for setting apart a day of thanksgiving, which being amended, is as follows:

It having pleased Almighty God, through the course of the present year, to bestow great and manifold mercies on the people of these United States; and it being the indispensable duty of all men gratefully to acknowledge their obligations to Him for benefits received:

Resolved, That it be, and hereby is recommended to the legislative or executive authority of each of the said states, to appoint Wednesday, the 30th day of December next, to be observed as a day of public thanksgiving and praise, that all the people may, with united hearts, on that day, express a just sense of his unmerited favours; particularly in that it hath pleased him, by his overruling providence, to support us in a just and necessary war, for the defence of our rights and liberties, by affording us seasonable supplies for our armies, by disposing the heart of a powerful monarch to enter into alliance with us, and aid our cause; by defeating the councils and evil designs of our enemies, and giving us victory over their troops; and, by the continuance of that union among these states, which, by his blessing, will be their future strength and glory.

And it is further recommended, that, together with devout thanksgiving, may be joined a penitent confession of our sins, and humble supplication for pardon, through the merits of our Saviour; so that, under the smiles of Heaven, our public councils may be directed, our arms by land and sea prospered, our liberty and independence secured, our schools and seminaries of learning flourish, our trade be revived, our husbandry and manufactures encreased, and the hearts of all impressed with undissembled piety, with benevolence and zeal for the public good.
And it is also recommended, that recreations unsuitable to the purpose of such a solemnity may be omitted on that day. [SOURCE]

March 20th, 1779

The committee appointed to prepare a recommendation to the several states to set apart a day of fasting humiliation and prayer, brought in a draught, which was taken into consideration, and agreed to as follows:

Whereas, in just punishment of our manifold transgressions, it hath pleased the Supreme Disposer of all events to visit these United States with a destructive calamitous war, through which His divine Providence hath, hitherto, in a wonderful manner, conducted us, so that we might acknowledge that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong: and whereas, there is but too much Reason to fear that notwithstanding the chastisements received and benefits bestowed, too few have been sufficiently awakened to a sense of their guilt, or warmed our Bosoms with gratitude, or taught to amend their lives and turn from their sins, that so He might turn from His wrath. And whereas, from a consciousness of what we have merited at His hands, and an apprehension that the malevolence of our disappointed enemies, like the incredulity of Pharaoh, may be used as the scourge of Omnipotence to vindicate his slighted Majesty, there is reason to fear that he may permit much of our land to become the prey of the spoiler, and the Blood of the innocent be poured out that our borders to be ravaged, and our habitations destroyed:

Resolved, That it be recommended to the several states to appoint the first Thursday in May next, to be a day of fasting, Thanksgiving humiliation and prayer to Almighty God, that he will be pleased to avert those impending calamities which we have but too well deserved: that he will grant us his grace to repent of our sins, and amend our lives, according to his holy word: that he will continue that wonderful protection which hath led us through the paths of danger and distress: that he will be a husband to the widow and a father to the fatherless children, who weep over the barbarities of a savage enemy: that he will grant us patience in suffering, and fortitude in adversity: that he will inspire us with humility and moderation, and gratitude in prosperous circumstances: that he will give wisdom to our councils, firmness to our resolutions, and victory to our arms That he will have Mercy on our Foes, and graciously forgive them, and turn their Hearts from Enmity to Love.

That he will bless the labours of the husbandman, and pour forth abundance, so that we may enjoy the fruits of the earth in due season.

[That he will cause union, harmony, and mutual confidence to prevail throughout these states: that he will bestow on our great ally all those blessings which may enable him to be gloriously instrumental in protecting the rights of mankind, and promoting the happiness of his subjects and advancing the Peace and Liberty of Nations. That he will give to both Parties to this Alliance, Grace to perform with Honor and Fidelity their National Engagements]. That he will bountifully continue his paternal care to the commander in chief, and the officers and soldiers of the United States: that he will grant the blessings of peace to all contending nations, freedom to those who are in bondage, and comfort to the afflicted: that he will diffuse useful knowledge, extend the influence of true religion, and give us that peace of mind, which the world cannot give: that he will be our shield in the day of battle, our comforter in the hour of death, and our kind parent and merciful judge through time and through eternity. [SOURCE]

October 20th, 1779

The committee appointed to prepare a recommendation to the several states, for setting apart the second Thursday in December next, as a day of general thanksgiving, brought in a draught, which was agreed to as follows:

Whereas it becomes us humbly 50 approach the throne of Almighty God, with gratitude and praise for the wonders which his goodness has wrought in conducting our fore-fathers to this western world; for his protection to them and to their posterity 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 husbandmen, and spreading plenty through 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 sought 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 9th 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 labours 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 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. as long as the sun and moon shall endure, until time shall be no more. [SOURCE]

March 11th, 1780

The committee, appointed to prepare a recommendation to the several states to set apart the last Wednesday in April next as a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer, brought in a draught, which was read and agreed to, as follows:

It having pleased the righteous Governor of the World, for the punishment of our manifold offences, to permit the sword of war still to harrass our country, it becomes us to endeavour, by humbling ourselves before him, and turning from every evil way, to avert his anger and obtain his favour and blessing: it is therefore hereby recommended to the several states,

That Wednesday, the twenty sixth day of April next, be set apart and observed as a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer, that we may, with one heart and one voice, implore the sovereign Lord of Heaven and Earth to remember mercy in his judgments; to make us sincerely penitent for our transgressions; to prepare us for deliverance, and to remove the evils with which he hath been pleased to visit us; to banish vice and irreligion from among us, and establish virtue and piety by his divine grace to revive and spread the influence of patriotism, and eradicate, that love of pleasure and of gain which renders us forgetful of our country and our God; to bless all public councils throughout the United States, giving them wisdom, firmness and unanimity, and directing them to the best measures for the public good; to bless the magistrates and people of every rank, and animate and unite the hearts of all to promote the interests of their country; to bless the public defence, inspiring all commanders and soldiers with magnanimity and perseverance, and giving vigor and success to the military operations by sea and land; to bless the illustrious Sovereign and the nation in alliance with these states, and all who interest themselves in the support of our rights and liberties; to make that alliance of perpetual and extensive usefulness to those immediately concerned, and mankind in general; to grant fruitful seasons, and to bless our industry, trade and manufactures; to bless all schools and seminaries of learning, and every means of instruction and education; to cause wars to cease, to the ends of the earth and to establish peace among the nations.

And it is further recommended, that servile labour and recreations be forbidden on the said day [SOURCE]


October 18th, 1780

Congress took into consideration the resolution reported for setting apart a day of thanksgiving and prayer, and agreed to the following draught:

Whereas it hath pleased Almighty God, the Father of all mercies, amidst the vicissitudes and calamities of war, to bestow blessings 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 labours 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;

It is therefore recommended to the several states to set apart Thursday, the seventh day [of December next, 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 favours, 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 that it may please him still to afford us the blessing of health; to comfort and relieve our brethren who are any wise afflicted or distressed; to smile upon our husbandry and trade and establish the work of our hands; to direct our publick 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, build up his churches in their most holy faith and to cause the knowledge of Christianity to spread over all the earth. [SOURCE]

March 20th, 1781

The United States in Congress assembled, agreed to the following proclamation:

In times of calamity and impending danger when a vindictive enemy pursues with unrelenting fury a war of rapine and devastation to reduce us by fire and sword, by the savages of the wilderness and our own domestics to the most abject and ignominious bondage; it becomes the indespensible duty of the citizens of these United States with true penitence of heart publicly to acknowledge the over ruling Providence of God, to confess our offences against him, and to supplicate his gracious interposition for averting the threatened danger and preparing our efforts in the defence and preservation of our injured country.

At all times it is our duty to acknowledge the over-ruling providence of the great Governor of the universe, and devoutly to implore his divine favour and protection. But in the hour of calamity and impending danger, when by fire and the sword, by the savages of the wilderness, and by our own domestics, a vindictive enemy pursues a war of rapine and devastation, with unrelenting fury, we are peculiarly excited, with true penitence of heart, to prostrate ourselves before our great Creator, and fervently to supplicate his gracious interposition for our deliverance.

The United States in Congress assembled, therefore do earnestly recommend, that Thursday the third day of May next, may be observed as a day of humiliation, fasting and prayer, that we may, with united hearts, confess and bewail our manifold sins and transgressions, and by sincere repentance and amendment of life, appease his righteous displeasure, and through the merits of our blessed Saviour, obtain pardon and forgiveness: that it may please him to inspire our rulers with wisdom and uncorruptible integrity, and to direct and prosper their councils: to inspire all our citizens with a fervent and disinterested love of their country, and to preserve and strengthen their union: to turn the hearts of the disaffected, or to frustrate their devices: to regard with divine compassion our friends in captivity, affliction and distress, to comfort and relieve them under their sufferings, and to change their mourning into grateful songs of triumph: that it may please him to bless our ally, and to render the connection formed between these United States and his kingdoms a mutual and lasting benefit to both nations: to animate our officers and forces by sea and land with invincible fortitude, and to guard and protect them in the day of battle, and to crown our joint endeavours for terminating the calamities of war with victory and success: that the blessings of peace and liberty may be established on an honourable and permanent basis, and transmitted inviolate to the latest posterity: that it may please him to prosper our husbandry and commerce, and to bless us with health and plenty: that it may please him to bless all schools and seminaries of learning, and to grant that truth, justice and benevolence, and pure and undefiled religion, may universally prevail.

And it is recommended to all the people of these states, to assemble for public worship, and abstain from labour on the said day. [SOURCE]


October 26th, 1781

The committee, consisting of Mr. Witherspoon, Mr. Montgomery, Mr. Varnum, Mr. Sherman, appointed to prepare a recommendation for setting apart a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, reported the draught of a proclamation, which was agreed to as follows:

PROCLAMATION

Whereas, it hath pleased Almighty God, the supreme Disposer of all Events 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 councils 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 and attachment of the friends of Liberty; in granting remarkable deliverances, and blessing us with the most signal success, when affairs seemed to have the most discouraging appearance; in raising up for us a powerful and generous ally, in one of the first of the European powers; in confounding the councils of our enemies, and suffering them to pursue such measures as have most directly contributed to frustrate their own desires and expectations; above all, in making their extreme cruelty of their officers and soldiers to the inhabitants of these 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 beg recommend in a particular manner that they may observe and acknowledge to their observation, the goodness of God in the year now drawing to a conclusion: in which

A mutiny in the American Army was not only happily appeased but became in its issue a pleasing and undeniable proof of the unalterable attachment of the people in general to the cause of liberty since great and real grievances only made them tumultuously seek redress while the abhorred the thoughts of going over to the enemy, in which the Confederation of the United States has been completed by the accession of all without exception 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 upon on or near the sea: in which we have been so powerfully and effectually assisted by our allies, while in all the conjunct operations the most perfect union and 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 kind, as not only enables us easily to supply the wants of the 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 illustrious Commander in Chief.

It is therefore recommended to the several states to set apart the 13th 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 gracious 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 offences, 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 success to all engaged in lawful commerce; to impart wisdom and integrity to our counsellors, 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 all seminaries of learning; and cause the knowledge of God to cover the earth, as the waters cover the seas. [SOURCE]


March 19th, 1782

On a report of a committee, consisting of Mr. [Joseph] Montgomery, Mr. [Oliver] Wolcott, and Mr. [John Morin] Scott, appointed to prepare a recommendation to the several states, to set apart a day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer Congress agreed to the following

Proclamation:


The goodness of the Supreme Being to all his rational creatures, demands their acknowledgments of gratitude and love; his absolute government of this world dictates, that it is the interest of every nation and people ardently to supplicate his mercy favor and implore his protection.

When the lust of dominion or lawless ambition excites arbitrary power to invade the rights, or endeavor to wrench wrest from a people their sacred and unalienable invaluable privileges, and compels them, in defence of the same, to encounter all the horrors and calamities of a bloody and vindictive war; then is that people loudly called upon to fly unto that God for protection, who hears the eries of the distressed, and will not turn a deaf ear to the supplication of the oppressed.
Great Britain, hitherto left to infatuated councils, and to pursue measures repugnant to their her own interest, and distressing to this country, still persists in the chimerical idea design of subjugating these United States; which will compel us into another active and perhaps bloody campaign.

The United States in Congress assembled, therefore, taking into consideration our present situation, our multiplied transgressions of the holy laws of our God, and his past acts of kindness and goodness exercised towards us, which we would ought to record with the liveliest gratitude, think it their indispensable duty to call upon the different several states, to set apart the last Thursday in April next, as a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer, that our joint supplications may then ascend to the throne of the Ruler of the Universe, beseeching Him that he would to diffuse a spirit of universal reformation among all ranks and degrees of our citizens; and make us a holy, that so we may be an happy people; that it would please Him to impart wisdom, integrity and unanimity to our counsellors; to bless and prosper the reign of our illustrious ally, and give success to his arms employed in the defence of the rights of human nature; that He would smile upon our military arrangements by land and sea; administer comfort and consolation to our prisoners in a cruel captivity; that he would protect the health and life of our Commander in Chief; give grant us victory over our enemies; establish peace in all our borders, and give happiness to all our inhabitants; that he would prosper the labor of the husbandman, making the earth yield its increase in abundance, and give a proper season for the in gathering of the fruits thereof; that He would grant success to all engaged in lawful trade and commerce, and take under his guardianship all schools and seminaries of learning, and make them nurseries of virtue and piety; that He would incline the hearts of all men to peace, and fill them with universal charity and benevolence, and that the religion of our Divine Redeemer, with all its benign influences, may cover the earth as the waters cover the seas. [SOURCE]

October 11th, 1782

On the report of a committee, consisting of Mr. [John] Witherspoon, Mr. [Joseph] Montgomery and Mr. [Hugh] Williamson, appointed to prepare a recommendation to thestates, setting apart a day of thanksgiving and prayer, Congress agreed to the following act:

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 the a time of public 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 United 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; and the present happy and promising state of public affairs; and the events of the war in the course of the last 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 sow dissension between them 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; and the success of their arms and those of their allies in different parts do hereby recommend it to the inhabitants of these states in general, to observe, and recommend it to the executives of request the several states to interpose their authority in appointing and requiring commanding the observation of the last Thursday, in the 28 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. Given, &c. [SOURCE]

October 18th, 1783

The committee, consisting of Mr. [James] Duane, Mr. S[amuel] Huntington and Mr. [Samuel] Holten, appointed to prepare a proclamation for a day of thanksgiving, reported a draft, which was agreed to as follows:

By the United States in Congress assembled.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas it hath pleased the Supreme Ruler of all human events, to dispose the hearts of the late belligerent powers to put a period to the effusion of human blood, by proclaiming a cessation of all hostilities by sea and land, and these United States are not only happily rescued from the dangers distresses and calamities which they have so long and so magnanimously sustained to which they have been so long exposed, but their freedom, sovereignty and independence ultimately acknowledged by the king of Great Britain. And whereas in the progress of a contest on which the most essential rights of human nature depended, the interposition of Divine Providence in our favour hath been most abundantly and most graciously manifested, and the citizens of these United States have every possible reason for praise and gratitude to the God of their salvation. Impressed, therefore, with an exalted sense of the magnitude of the blessings by which we are surrounded, and of our entire dependence on that Almighty Being, from whose goodness and bounty they are derived, the United States in Congress assembled do recommend it to the several States, to set apart the second Thursday in December next, as a day of public thanksgiving, that all the people may then assemble to celebrate with one voice grateful hearts and united voices, the praises of their Supreme and all bountiful Benefactor, for his numberless favors and mercies. That he hath been pleased to conduct us in safety through all the perils and vicissitudes of the war; that he hath given us unanimity and resolution to adhere to our just rights; that he hath raised up a powerful ally to assist us in supporting them, and hath so far crowned our united efforts with success, that in the course of the present year, hostilities have ceased, and we are left in the undisputed possession of our liberties and independence, and of the fruits of our own land, and in the free participation of the treasures of the sea; that he hath prospered the labour of our husbandmen with plentiful harvests; and above all, that he hath been pleased to continue to us the light of the blessed gospel, and secured to us in the fullest extent the rights of conscience in faith and worship. And while our hearts overflow with gratitude, and our lips set forth the praises of our great Creator, that we also offer up fervent supplications, that it may please him to pardon all our offences, to give wisdom and unanimity to our public councils, to cement all our citizens in the bonds of affection, and to inspire them with an earnest regard for the national honor and interest, to enable them to improve the days of prosperity by every good work, and to be lovers of peace and tranquillity; that he may be pleased to bless us in our husbandry, our commerce and navigation; to smile upon our seminaries and means of education, to cause pure religion and virtue to flourish, to give peace to all nations, and to fill the world with his glory.

Done by the United States in Congress assembled, witness his Excellency Elias Boudinot, our President, this 18th day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-three, and of the sovereignty and independence of the United States of America the eighth.

NOTE: This list was referenced in the book "America's Godly Heritage" by David Barton.

Interesting Study

I have been reading up on the Constitution and Founding Fathers, for the last year or so, and found reference to a study. (Since I get accused of not going to the source, I found the source and purchased the book the study is in.) The study was done by Donald S. Lutz, and can be found in the book called "The Origins of American Constitutionalism".

Here is the jest of the study. Lutz took all the documents he could find that were authored by the Founding Fathers. He then looked for all the instances they quoted someone. He found a total of 3,154 quotes. Anyone want to guess what was quoted the most?

During the time frame of 1760-1805, the Bible was quoted 34% of the time by the Founding Fathers. St. Paul is quoted more than any of the most-cited secular authors Montesquieu 8.3% and Blackstone 7.9%. The next frequently cited secular author was Locke with 2.9% of the citations. (Both Montesquieu, Blackstone and Locke were also religious people.)

Know Your Constitution - Bruce R. McConkie

From an series of articles posted in The Deseret News, 19 March 1945 - 10 April 1945 by Bruce R. McConkie. During the previous 20 days, I have posted each of these articles. This is a list of the articles, with a link to their text on this blog.

1. The Unknown Constitution
2. The Convention Which Framed It
3. The Men Who Made It
4. The People Who Adopted It
5. The People Rule
6. Democracy Attempts Suicide
7. These Inalienable Rights Belong To All Mankind
8. Americans Have Their Rights
9. You Have The Right To Work
10. Shall It Be Jehovah Or Baal
11. "Privilege Of Speech Is Granted"
12. The People Create A Government of Laws
13. America Chooses A Successor To George III
14. 'When The Wicked Rule The People Mourn'
15. Thus Saith The Supreme Court: It Shall Not Stand
16. The Congress Shall Have Power
17. Bureaucracy Comes of Age
18. Has Congress Failed Us?
19. The People Change Their Government
20. It Is A Rising Sun

It Is A Rising Sun (20 of 20)

"The chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania, the Honorable Benjamin Franklin."

It is the 17th of September in 1787, and the venerable Franklin at the age of 81 years has arisen to give his final benediction to that document which the delegates are about to sign, the Constitution of the United States of America.

"Sir," began Franklin, addressing himself to George Washington, "for four months I have been observing that picture painted on the high arch of your chair. More than anyone in this chamber I have gazed at carvings and paintings of artists of all lands. In the galleries and salons of England and France I have seen innumerable attempts of artists to depict that greatest of planets, the sun. Artists have always found it difficult to distinguish a rising from a setting sun. I have often in the course of these sessions, and vicissitudes of my hopes and fears as to its issue, looked at that sun behind the president of this convention without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting. But now at length I have the happiness to know that it is a rising sun and not a setting sun."

It was the great English Prime Minister Gladstone who said that "the American constitution is the most powerful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man." In the sense that this great document was all written by one convention, Gladstone is correct. But the principles established and the freedoms guaranteed int he Constitution were the outgrowth of over 700 years of struggle by English freemen. Every phrase, word and letter was sanctified by the shedding of the blood of those who loved freedom and right more than life. The constitution was the crowning capstone of all the common law.

But the struggle to assure freedom in this land did not cease with the framing and adoption of the Constitution. It has been amended 21 times since. And there are today many grave problems facing the people who must preserve the Constitution, if freedom is to remain with us.

1--The people must insist that all of their rights and privileges which are curtailed by the prosecution of a total war be returned to them in their entirety as soon as peace is established.

2--The people must determine whether they want the federal government to continue to regulate their whole social and economic existence from Washington under the guise of regulating interstate commerce, or whether they want the control of their domestic and internal affairs returned to their local state governments. Federal regulation will be by impersonal bureaus. Local control will be by the people themselves, with their own interest at heart, and with a knowledge of the personal problems confronting them.

3--The people must determine whether they want their three departments of government to act independently in their proper spheres, or whether the congress shall continue to delegate law making powers to the president, and judicial powers to boards and bureaus.

4--The people must choose whether they want the power of the executive department restricted, so that he will be on a par with the Congress and the courts instead of superior to them. The chief means on doing this would be to restrict the president to one term only.

5--The people must choose between continuing to elect a president by the archaic Electoral College, the reason for the adoption of which has ceased, or whether he shall be elected by the popular vote of the people themselves.

6--The people must require their Congress to take its rightful place in national government, exercise a just control over the executive, and shake itself free from control by pressure groups.

7--The people must choose wise men who are imbued with the cause of liberty and not overcome by the spirit of party to represent them in all governmental positions.

8--The people must require their government to get out of debt. In 1796 George Washington told his countrymen in his farewell address that the government should avoid "the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of expense, but by vigorous exertions in time of peace to discharge the debts which unavoidable wars may have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burden which we ourselves ought to bear."

9--The people must learn their rights and resolve above all else to preserve them inviolate.

10--If the people will do all these things, and the kindred things that are related to them, they will preserve for themselves those freedoms that their progenitors have given them and they will perpetuate that kind of society in which social and economic betterment will prevail.

11--The constitutional sun is rising, and it has not reached its zenith, nor will it, so long as the love of freedom is sufficiently dear that men will sacrifice their all for it. The people must love freedom more than they love money. The cause is just. The god of freedom has approved. the even is in the hands of the people.

Bruce R. McConkie

This Article was serialized in 20 segments
which appeared on the editorial page (page 4) of
The Deseret News, 19 March 1945 through 10 April 1945.

Read the full article at: http://www.ldsinfobase.net/liberty/BRM_knowyourconst.html

Show your support for the constitution, sign the Constitution Pledge.

The People Change Their Government (19 of 20)

Is it too hard or too easy to amend the Constitution?

There have been over 3000 joint resolutions introduced in the Congress calling for amendments but less than 30 of these have been adopted by the necessary two-thirds vote of both houses, and only 21 have been ratified by the states.

The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were all adopted within two years of the original acceptance of the Constitution. Eight of the original states adopted the Constitution only after receiving positive assurances that a Bill of Rights would be proposed immediately.

The 11th amendment concerning the judicial power, and the 12th governing the mode of electing the President were adopted to correct deficiencies in the original document. Then for 61 years no amendments were ratified. The 13th 14th and 15th grew out of the political turmoil and insecurity of the Civil War and were all passed within about 5 years. Then from 1870 until 1913, a period of 43 years, there were no additional amendments.

The 16th which allows a Federal income tax, and the 17th which provides for the direct election of senators both were declared in force in 1913. The 18th or National Prohibition Amendment went into effect in 1920 and was repealed by the 21st in 1933. the 19th amendment giving women the right to vote was ratified in 1919 and the 20th or "lame-duck" amendment gained the force of law in 1933. Amendments have been born in periods of strife and crisis.

Proposals to amend the Constitution must be passed by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress and then be ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states or by conventions called for that purpose in three-fourths of the states. The 21st amendment is the only one that has ever been submitted to conventions in the states, and the Utah convention was the 36th to ratify it. All other amendments have been submitted by the Congress to legislatures of the several states.

Congress is required to call a national convention for the purpose of proposing amendments, if two-thirds of the state legislatures request such a convention. Amendments so proposed would have to be submitted to the legislatures or conventions in the states for their ratification on the same basis as though they had been proposed by the Congress. this procedure has never been used as yet. All amendments have been proposed by the Congress.

A situation might arise in which all of the states would have to ratify a proposed amendment before it could go into effect. This is because no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.

The only proposal now before the states is the child-labor amendment. This was submitted in 1924 and provides that the Congress shall have power "to limit, regulate and prohibit the labor of persons under 18 years of age."

Recent liberal Supreme court rulings have done away with much of the argument that could be used in favor of this amendment.

The fact that 150 amendments have been presented to the Congress for every one that has been finally accepted by the states has led some people to the conclusion that the procedure governing amendments is too difficult. On the other hand it can be said with equal logic that the procedure is too easy, otherwise either the 18th or the 21st amendments would never have been adopted, for one repeals the other.

The Constitution is the supreme law of the land; it is the permanent will of the people. It is above the enactments of the Congress. They express only the will of the majority of the people for the time being. Because of the nature of constitutions, it follows that the great fundamental rights of the people are preserved by them. These rights cannot be whittled away by laws passed by a temporary majority. It is in the interest of the people to make it difficult to override these rights and freedoms. the easier it is to amend a constitution the easier it will be for the rights of the people to be lost in times of war or of other emergencies.

On the other hand, if the basic law of the land cannot be altered to provide for changing social, economic and industrial conditions, it does not meet the needs of the people. One of the grave defects of the Articles of Confederation was that they could be changed only with the unanimous consent of the 13 colonies. From a practical standpoint this was impossible of achievement.

The will of two-thirds or the Congress and three-fourths of the states seems a reasonable restraint on majority rule. It is a safe guarantee of the rights of the people. Social and industrial changes can be provided for when the people really desire it. the
civil War amendments clearly illustrate that in times of need and crisis, the will of the people can be incorporated into the Constitution with speed and order.

The Constitution is neither too hard nor too easy to amend. It is just right.

Bruce R. McConkie

This Article was serialized in 20 segments
which appeared on the editorial page (page 4) of
The Deseret News, 19 March 1945 through 10 April 1945.

Read the full article at: http://www.ldsinfobase.net/liberty/BRM_knowyourconst.html

Show your support for the constitution, sign the Constitution Pledge.

Has Congress Failed Us? (18 of 20)

The rights and privileges of the people are restricted. The fault lies with Congress. The supreme Court holds that the federal government has power to regulate insurance on the basis that it is interstate commerce. The Congress is guilty. The president issues executive decrees having the force of law and these decrees deprive men of their right to civil trial by jury. It is Congress that has betrayed the American people.

Congress ought to be the strongest branch of the government, and the guarantor of the rights of the people. congress represents the people. All legislative powers of the federal government have been delegated to it. The people expect their rights to be preserved. It is their right to have them upheld inviolate.

The Constitution lists the delegations of authority that the sovereign people have given to their legislative department. It may collect taxes, duties and imposts, borrow money and pay the debts of the government. It is authorized to regulate commerce with foreign nations and between states. It can make rules governing naturalization and pass uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies. The power to coin money and regulate its value, and to fix the standards of weights and measures have been delegated to it. Copyrights and patents, the punishment of counterfeiting, and the establishing of post offices and post roads are among its functions.

The Congress can declare war and make rules governing captures on land an water. It can raise and support armies and navies and make rules to govern them; however, no money can be appropriated for the use of the army for a longer term than two years. It can provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws, suppress insurrections and repel invasions.

The Congress can define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, as well as other offenses against the laws of nations. It can create federal courts. It has jurisdiction over the District of Columbia, and over all forts, magazines, arsenals, dock yards, and such that may be acquired in the several states.

The Congress has power to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper to carry into execution any of the functions delegated to it in the Constitution. But that is all the power it has. No act can be done which cannot be justified under a specific clause or phrase in the supreme law of the land.

The fault with Congress has not been that it has not enough power to perform the functions that need to be performed by a national government. The trouble has been that the delegations of authority have been so construed by the lawmakers as to permit the passage of laws which will dictate the domestic and internal affairs of the states.

The single phrase in the Constitution that has given rise to more litigation than any other is the one authorizing Congress to regulate commerce among the states. That seems plain enough when taken at its face value, and it was probably plain enough to the men who wrote the document and to the people who originally adopted it.

To regulate commerce among the states is simply to establish rules which shall govern the transportation of items of commerce from one state to another. But, as it has developed, it is not quite that simple. The congress has chosen to regulate all things incident to the manufacture of goods which after their manufacture may be transported into another state. This type of regulation includes wages and hours, social security, labor conditions, price control, and nearly all matters pertaining to social and economic conditions.

The Supreme Court which interprets and sustains or rejects the enactments of Congress has over along period of time, and by repeatedly broadening the definition of interstate commerce, finally come tot he point where it upholds such legislation as being within the delegation of authority of Congress to act. One constitutional authority concludes that, "the commerce power, as interpreted in case after case, now seems sufficiently broad to provide grounds for control of almost all aspects of the economic life of the nation."

The fault is not with the courts. They are bound to sustain the legislation if they can. The fault is not with the president, at least not ultimately. He can act in the legislative field only under delegations of authority from Congress. The fault lies with the Congress, or perhaps ultimately with the people, for sending to Congress men who will vote for social and economic measures which usurp the powers of states over their internal and domestic matters.

Unless America wants a strong central government controlled from Washington and that necessarily by bureaus, her Congress must be required to confine regulations governing commerce to goods in transit, and return the control of manufacturing back to the states. It is a question as to whether the people prefer local self-government or centralized bureaucracy. The can have either. The Congress can give them either. It is their Congress.

Bruce R. McConkie

This Article was serialized in 20 segments
which appeared on the editorial page (page 4) of
The Deseret News, 19 March 1945 through 10 April 1945.

Read the full article at: http://www.ldsinfobase.net/liberty/BRM_knowyourconst.html

Show your support for the constitution, sign the Constitution Pledge.

Bureaucracy Comes of Age (17 of 20)

"The influence of the crown has increased, is increasing and ought to be diminished.

This was a resolution directed by the House of Commons in 1780 against the tremendously popular George II. Translated into a modern objection in this nation it would read. "The influence of the federal government and therefore of bureaucracy, has increased, is increasing, and ought to be diminished."

The centralizing of the powers of government is equally bad in any age. The development of the common law has been the process of de-centralizing the government from a sovereign to the people. One of the basic principles of the common law is that free men have the absolute right to local self-government, and also the right to be free from interference and coercion from a central and non-personal government. Our forefathers fought a revolution because that right was infringed by a despot.

No man or group of men has ever lived upon this earth with sufficient wisdom, ability and talent to operate a large civil government from a central seat of authority, and have that operation result in justice and equity. The burden is too great, the conditions too unalike. Woodrow Wilson expressed his view on this by saying that, "Uniform regulation of the economic conditions of a vast territory and a various people like the United States, would be mischievous, if not impossible."

Economic and social conditions vary throughout the Union. The climate and the prejudices of the people are nowhere the same. This condition prevailed when the Union was born, and it prevails even more so today. It was freely recognized by the framers of the Constitution, and it cannot now be denied.

The people who ordained and established the Constitution took great care to see that they delegated to a central government only those powers of a national concern and which were manifestly outside the province of a state government. The 13 states existed and had their own constitutions and delegations of sovereignty, and were actively administering the local affairs of the people years before the national government was created.

The federal government was empowered to coin money, declare war, regulate customs and interstate commerce, handle the mail, govern foreign affairs, and such similar things as should be done by the colonies as a unit. The states retained the police power, the control of marriages, wages and hours, labor, manufacturing, crimes, and all matters of domestic and international government.

It is only in a limited way that the federal government ever should come in contact with these matters. The only constitutional provision that ever permitted the national government to exercise control over the internal affairs of the states was the 18th amendment. Since the repeal of that amendment, the federal government has no authority to enter into the internal and domestic affairs of a state unless the state forsakes the republican form of government, in which event the president must take steps to restore it.

Statesmen and politicians seldom directly challenge the doctrine of state sovereignty. But under the guise of the commerce clause the Congress has circumvented many sovereign state rights. To some extent a planned economy has been imposed upon the states by the federal government.

This has been a process of doing by indirection what cannot be accomplished by open process. One of the common procedures is to appropriate funds for a certain purpose, say the care of the aged, and then allot those funds to the states only on condition that certain regulations and standards set up by the Congress are put into effect in the state.

The effect of this is to withdraw the rights of local self-government from the states and to make them inferior to a central government whose uniform regulations cannot be made to apply fairly to all peoples and conditions. Social security, wage control, child labor, the control of manufacturing and industry are matters that should come under the sole supervision of the states. The interstate commerce clause should apply only to goods in actual transit between states.

The recent trends have been toward centralization. But the remedy is simple. It consists in sending to Congress men who will strictly construe the powers of the federal government; men who will desert the pork barrel and champion state rights.

Congress is in a position to preserve local self-government by rejecting laws which pertain to the domestic and internal affairs of the states. The loss of local self-government provides an easy approach by which the rights and freedoms of the people may be attacked and infringed. If the people were fully aware of this danger they would require their Congress to preserve the integrity of the states and diminish the influences of the federal government.

Bruce R. McConkie

This Article was serialized in 20 segments
which appeared on the editorial page (page 4) of
The Deseret News, 19 March 1945 through 10 April 1945.

Read the full article at: http://www.ldsinfobase.net/liberty/BRM_knowyourconst.html

Show your support for the constitution, sign the Constitution Pledge.

The Congress Shall Have Power (16 of 20)

"Be it enacted by the Congress of the United States that the Mohammedan religion shall be the only lawful one in this nation. All persons whomsoever shall pray 3 times a day kneeling toward Mecca, and one billion dollars is hereby appropriated for the support of this religion and the enforcement of this law."

Improbable and facetious, you say; and you are right. But if there were no constitutional prohibition, the Congress could legally enact such a law. The Constitution which is the supreme law of the land and therefore a higher law than the statutes passed by Congress provides that, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

The acts of parliament are the supreme law of the land in England. Parliament could constitutionally enact and enforce such a statute, and in fact has enacted laws creating the Church of England, and providing for its support from the taxes of the people. The sovereign power in England resides in parliament, and all powers whether legislative, executive, or judicial may legally be exercised by that body. In fact the highest court in England is the House of Lords, and the kings's powers are nominal and used only by consent of parliament.

In the United States the sovereignty has been retained by the people, and they have delegated to the Congress that portion which it may legally exercise. Freedom of worship remains with the people.

But suppose that the Congress in clear disregard of the limitations imposed upon it by the Constitution, did in fact enact such a law. Then who is to judge between the law of the Congress and the Constitution of the land? And which shall apply?

Parliament has on occasions passed laws extending its own life and putting off general elections. The present parliament has been in power for something like 10 years without an election. The Constitution provides that senators shall be elected for terms of 6 years and representatives for terms of 2 years. Suppose that Congress considered that because of war or other serious emergency a national election was not in the best interests of the nation and therefore enacted legislation extending its sessions to 10 years of 20, or 50 or for the life of its members. Then what? Or suppose that the Congress enacted legislation extending the length of the presidential term longer than 4 years. Who is to look out for the sovereign rights of the people and prevent their unauthorized usurpation?

It is the function of courts to determine what the law is and, when conflicts arise, to uphold that which is the supreme law in preference to any lesser law. This our courts do. It is their natural function, and so all of them, and the Supreme Court in particular, become guardians of the Constitution, because the Constitution is the supreme law of the land.

If our religious rights were infringed or our representatives extended their terms of office and such acts were then declared void by the courts, we would acclaim these judicial bodies as the saviors of our liberties.

But when the Congress steps outside of its delegation of authority and attempts social and economic reforms and experiments and these same courts determine that such laws conflict with the Constitution then the courts are condemned and maligned and people say that they are a hindrance to economic progress and industrial development. Or they say that the Constitution is outmoded and should be discarded. The multitudes seek the loaves and the fishes at the expense of their rights as free men.

Perhaps there are problems of an industrial life which should be regulated by congress and which Congress is now prevented from governing. But if there are and the sovereign people determine such to be the case, it is a simple matter for them to delegate more of their sovereignty to Congress so that such regulations may be put into effect.

Senator Ashurst once proposed an amendment to the Constitution providing that "The Congress shall have power to make laws to regulate agriculture, commerce, industry and labor."

All of the New Deal measures would have been held constitutional under such a delegation of authority. This amendment would put the federal government in the position of being capable of regulating every detail of the economic life of every person in the nation. State and local governments would be reduced to mere nothingness. Centralization and its offspring bureaucracy would reign supreme.

The sovereign American citizens have so far not seen fit to delegate such omnipotence to their representatives. Until they do the Supreme Court will continue to protect and guarantee and uphold them in their constitutional rights.

Bruce R. McConkie

This Article was serialized in 20 segments
which appeared on the editorial page (page 4) of
The Deseret News, 19 March 1945 through 10 April 1945.

Read the full article at: http://www.ldsinfobase.net/liberty/BRM_knowyourconst.html

Show your support for the constitution, sign the Constitution Pledge.

Thus Saith The Supreme Court: It Shall Not Stand (15 of 20)

Congress enacts legislation. The president approves it. The people apparently want it. The Supreme court determines that it is unconstitutional and void. Thus the will of the people is defeated--or is it.

A great deal of important emergency legislation has been voided by the Supreme court, not infrequently by a vote of 5 to 4. Much of this has involved social and economic reform and experimentation. The majorities in congress favoring the controversial measures have been imposing. the hue and cry has gone forth that 5 of 9 old men are subverting the will of the people, hindering economic recovery and social betterment, and exercising more influence than the whole legislative and executive branches of the government. But what are the fundamental principles involved?

The government of the United States is one in which the sovereign power rests with the people. It does not rest with the government or with any department of it. The people are the rulers.

The federal Constitution is the document by which the sovereign people delegate to the national government the right and power to perform certain functions for and on behalf of the people. The national government is thus one of limited powers. It can act only in those matters on which prior authorization has been received from the people by means of a written constitution.

Not only did the people exercise extreme care in choosing the limited powers they delegated to the government, but they went further and expressly reserved to themselves all other powers, and plainly said to their government, "Thou shalt not exercise these." This then is the nature of government under a written constitution.

In England the Parliament holds the sovereignty and is supreme. There is no written constitution by which the people limit parliamentary powers. It has been said that the Parliament can do anything but turn a man into a woman and a woman into a men. Our Congress is not so; it is limited in the powers it can exercise, and the limitation is imposed by the people by means of the Constitution. Thus anything that parliament does is right, constitutionally speaking, but anything that the Congress does is right constitutionally speaking, only if it falls within its delegation of authority to act.

It is the function of all courts to adjudicate the rights of individuals when those rights are brought before them in proper cases. If, in the course of determining what those rights are, it is found that there are two different legislative enactments involved, and these are in conflict with each other, it then becomes the duty of the court to determine which law shall apply and which shall be discarded.

For instance, if one law was enacted on one day and another on a subsequent day, and these two laws contradict each other, then the courts have generally determined that the law last passed will be the one to govern. This is simply a matter of choosing what law will govern in a particular case, and the fact that one of them is thus incidentally determined to be void is immaterial. It was the legislature that declared it void by passing a subsequent law in conflict with it. The courts are by such acts upholding the laws and honoring them. They are preserving the supreme law in preference to a lesser law.

The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. It was enacted by the people themselves and can only be changed or amended by them. It is the permanent expressed will of the people of the United States. Any acts of a legislature or of a Congress express merely the opinion of a majority of the representatives of the people at a given time. These representatives are acting with limited and delegated powers. The people acted with all sovereign powers when they ordained and established the Constitution.

Congress may enact a law which is in conflict with the permanent will of the people, with the supreme law of the land as expressed in the Constitution. If this occurs and a proper case comes before the court, a choice must be made between the higher law and the lesser. The effect of this choice is to declare the act of Congress void, or, as is commonly said, unconstitutional.

This is the natural function of courts. If this country is to have a written Constitution, then the courts cannot be denied this power. Otherwise there would be nothing to uphold the supreme law of the land as against any lesser law, and the Congress would become supreme and have all sovereignty.

Our form of government can only be preserved if this power of the courts is upheld. courts are truly the guardians of the Constitution.

Bruce R. McConkie

This Article was serialized in 20 segments
which appeared on the editorial page (page 4) of
The Deseret News, 19 March 1945 through 10 April 1945.

Read the full article at: http://www.ldsinfobase.net/liberty/BRM_knowyourconst.html

Show your support for the constitution, sign the Constitution Pledge.

Religious Freedom - Dallin H. Oaks

In a recent address to BYU-Idaho on October 13th, 2009, Elder Dallin H. Oaks gave a speech entitled "Religious Freedom" he discusses how freedom of religion is under attack. I am not going to post his entire speech here, but if you click on the title of the speech, you can read the entire thing. I am just going to highlight some of the points I feel are important to me.

The greatest infringements of religious freedom occur when the exercise of religion collides with other powerful forces in society. Among the most threatening collisions in the United States today are (1) the rising strength of those who seek to silence religious voices in public debates, and (2) perceived conflicts between religious freedom and the popular appeal of newly alleged civil rights.

Elder Oaks continues to give us "five points of counsel" on how we as Latter-Day Saints should address attacks on our religious freedom.

1. "we must speak with love, always showing patience, understanding and compassion toward our adversaries."


2. "we must not be deterred or coerced into silence..."


3. "we must insist on our freedom to preach the doctrines of our faith."


4. "have the right to express their religious views in public, we must nevertheless be wise in our political participation."


5. "Latter-Day Saints must be careful never to support or act upon the idea that a person must subscribe to some particular set of religious beliefs in order to quality for a public office"

In conclusion Elder Oaks states:

It was the Christian principles of human worth and dignity that made possible the formation of the United States Constitution over 200 years ago, and only those principles in the hearts of a majority of our diverse population can sustain that constitution today...

Religious values and political realities are so interlinked in the origin and perpetuation of this nation that we cannot lose the influence of Christianity in the public square without seriously jeopardizing our freedoms. I maintain that this is a political fact, well qualified for argument in the public square by religious people whose freedom to believe and act must always be protected by what is properly called our “First Freedom,” the free exercise of religion.

Elder Oaks is supported by the Founding Fathers in his assertion that loosing the influence of Religion would seriously jeopardize our freedoms.

"Every step, by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seams to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency."
George Washington - First Inaugural Address

"it is impossible for the man of pious reflection not to perceive in it a finger of the Almighty hand which has been so frequently and signally extend to our relief in the critical stages of the revolution."
James Madison - The Federalist Papers, No. 37

For more quotes, see my post "Remain Virtuous and Morally Strong"

Bottom line, don't let anyone stop you from voicing your religious views. It is your right and your obligation to voice them.

When the Wicked Rule The People Mourn (14 of 20)

Said Benjamin Franklin to George Washington, "By what title shall the president be called?" Said George Washington to Benjamin Franklin, "His High Mightiness, the President of the United States and Protector of Their Liberties."

Washington was not alone in his choice of such a title. A committee appointed by the first senate recommended a similar title. John Adams the first vice-president contended that if Washington were called merely "the president of the United States," that the common people of other nations would "despise him to all eternity." But the House of Representatives insisted upon that title and finally prevailed.

The office of president of the United States is the most powerful held by any single individual in the wold. Despite all the restrictions placed upon him his influence far surpasses that of any dictator. He is Commander-in-Chief of the greatest army and navy now in existence, and he is practically unrestrained in the use he makes of them both in war and in peace.

The power to declare war rests with the Congress, but the president is in a position to provoke a war, and to have it going full blast before the Congress ever learns the facts.

The president negotiates treaties with foreign nations, although two thirds of the senators must approve them before they bind the nation. With the concurrence of the Senate, he appoints ambassadors, ministers, consuls and judges of the Supreme Court. A host of other administrative officials are appointed without such consent. He receives ambassadors form other countries, and has power to grant reprieves and pardons for any crime except that of impeachment. He can veto any law, No bill becomes a law until he has approved it and signed it. It takes two-thirds of the Congress to annul his veto.

Grave duties are imposed upon him. He takes an oath to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." The Constitution says that "he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed." He is required to give to the Congress information of the state of the Union, and to recommend to their consideration such measures as he judges necessary and expedient.

The president cannot enact legislation nor is he the final authority for interpreting the laws that have been enacted. He can be impeached, and an independent Congress can refuse his recommendations and neglect to appropriate funds for his projects. He is subject to the law the same as any man, for it is by the law that he becomes president. He must be a natural born citizen, have attained the age of 35, and have been 14 years a resident of the United States.

The powers delegated to the president in the Constitution are so great that many of the colonist feared to adopt it. It was largely because of this sentiment that George Washington declined to consider a third term as executive. but the power of the presidency in Washington's day was meager in comparison to the influence wielded by that office today. The growth of the nation has added to the stature of the office. The increase in functions preformed by the federal government have multiplied its responsibilities.

The charge of "dictator" was hurled at both Lincoln and Wilson, and surely they were to of our strongest presidents. But their powers pale into oblivion in comparison to those now resident in the hands of the chief executive. The last 25 years has seen the increase of boards, bureaus, and commissions. Regulations in the fields of interstate commerce, social security, wages and hours, and child labor, have heightened the influence of the federal government beyond anything dreamed of even at the beginning of this century. It is said that there are now over 3,000,000 civilian employees of the national government.

The Constitutional powers of the president are almost too great to be entrusted to one man. Even by staying strictly within them, and it is said that none of our dynamic presidents actually have, a power and influence is built up that makes it easy for the president to perpetuate himself in office.

The modern day increase in the powers of the presidency should call forth the placing of additional restrictions on that office. An evil disposed president could virtually destroy the nation and stamp out the rights of the people.

I suggest a constitutional amendment limiting the president to one term of 4, 5, or 6 years. The same amendment should abolish the Electoral College and provide for his direct election. The Electoral College was devised in a day when there were no political parties, and has since become grossly inequitable. The president has almost become what Washington suggested, that is, "His High Mightiness." The limitation of his tenure to one term is the only feasible way to place the executive department back in its true perspective with the legislative and judicial departments.

Bruce R. McConkie

This Article was serialized in 20 segments
which appeared on the editorial page (page 4) of
The Deseret News, 19 March 1945 through 10 April 1945.

Read the full article at: http://www.ldsinfobase.net/liberty/BRM_knowyourconst.html

Show your support for the constitution, sign the Constitution Pledge.