American Minute with Bill Federer
Early Inaugural Addresses acknowledge God, Bible & Christianity, with some Warning against Socialism!
|
|
Presidential Elections
were held in
November,
as that was
AFTER
harvests
were taken in and
BEFORE winter storms.
Beginning with
Washington's Second inauguration
in
1793,
the date for
Presidents to be sworn into office
was
March 4th.
This left a
5 month "lame-duck" period,
where
politicians
who may have
lost elections
were
still in office.
|
|
In
1933,
the
20th Amendment
changed
Presidential Inaugurations
to
January 20th
to shorten the length of the
"lame-duck" period.
|
|
Below are excerpts from
Presidential Inaugural Address
prior to the 20th Amendment, highlighting
acknowledgements of faith.
|
|
1ST President
GEORGE WASHINGTON
stated in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, April 30, 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."
|
|
2ND President
JOHN ADAMS
stated in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1797:
"Veneration for the
religion
of
a people who profess and call themselves Christians,
and a fixed resolution to consider
a decent respect for Christianity
among the best recommendations for the public service."
|
|
3RD President
THOMAS JEFFERSON
stated in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1805:
"I shall need, too, the
favor of that Being
in whose hands we are, who led our forefathers,
as Israel of old
from their native land and planted them in a country."
|
|
4TH President
JAMES MADISON stated in his INAUGURAL
ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1809:
"We have all been encouraged to feel in the guardianship and guidance of that
Almighty Being whose power regulates the destiny of nations."
|
|
5TH President
JAMES MONROE
stated in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1817:
"With my fervent prayers to the
Almighty
that
He
will be graciously pleased to continue to us that protection which
He
has already so conspicuously displayed."
|
|
6TH President
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS
stated in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1825:
"Knowing that
'Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh in vain,'
with fervent supplications for His favor, to
His overruling providence
I commit with humble but fearless confidence my own fate and the future destinies of my country."
|
|
7TH President
ANDREW JACKSON
stated in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1833:
"It is
my fervent prayer
to that
Almighty Being
before whom I now stand, and who has kept us in
His hands
from the infancy of our Republic to the present day."
|
|
8TH President
MARTIN VAN BUREN
stated in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1837:
"I only look to the
gracious protection of that Divine Being
whose strengthening support I humbly solicit, and whom I fervently pray to look down upon us all. May it be among the
dispensations of His Providence
to bless our beloved country with honors and length of days; may her ways be pleasantness, and all her paths peace!"
|
|
9TH President
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON
stated in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1841:
"I deem the present occasion sufficiently important and solemn to justify me in expressing to my fellow citizens
a profound reverence for the Christian religion,
and a thorough conviction that
sound morals, religious liberty,
and a just sense of
religious responsibility
are essentially connected with all true and lasting happiness."
|
|
10TH President
JOHN TYLER
did not give an Inaugural Address, but stated in a proclamation APRIL 13, 1841, after William Henry Harrison's death:
"When
a Christian people
feel themselves to be overtaken by a great public calamity, it becomes them to humble themselves under
the dispensation of Divine Providence."
|
|
11TH President
JAMES K. POLK
stated in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1845:
"I fervently invoke the aid of that
Almighty Ruler of the Universe
in whose hands are the destinies of nations and of men to guard this
Heaven-favored land ...
I enter upon the discharge of the high duties which have been assigned to me by the people, again
humbly supplicating that Divine Being,
who has watched over and protected our beloved country from its infancy to the present hour."
|
|
12TH President
ZACHARY TAYLOR
stated in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 5, 1849, delivered a day later than usual as he refused to be sworn in on Sunday in honor of the Sabbath:
"The dictates of religion
direct us to the cultivation of peaceful and friendly relations with all other powers ...
In conclusion I congratulate you, my fellow-citizens, upon the high state of prosperity to which
the goodness of Divine Providence
has conducted our common country.
Let us invoke a continuance of the same protecting care
which has led us from small beginnings to the eminence we this day occupy."
|
|
13TH President
MILLARD FILLMORE
did not give an Inaugural Address, but stated in his first message, JULY 10, 1850, after the death of Zachary Taylor:
"A great man has fallen among us, and a whole country is called to an occasion of unexpected, deep, and general mourning ...
I appeal to you to aid me, under the trying circumstances which surround me, in the discharge of the duties from which, however much I may be oppressed by them, I dare not shrink;
and
I rely upon Him who holds in His hands the destinies of nations
to endow me with the requisite strength for the task and to avert from our country the evils apprehended from the heavy calamity which has befallen us."
|
|
14TH President
FRANKLIN PIERCE
stated in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1853:
"It must be felt that there is no national security but in the nation's humble, acknowledged
dependence upon God and His overruling providence."
|
|
15TH President
JAMES BUCHANAN
stated in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1857:
"We ought to cultivate peace, commerce, and friendship with all nations ...
in a spirit of Christian benevolence toward our fellowmen,
wherever their lot may be cast."
|
|
16TH President
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
stated in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1861:
"Intelligence, patriotism,
Christianity,
and
a firm reliance on Him who has never yet forsaken this favored land,
are still competent to adjust in the best way all our present difficulty."
|
|
17TH President
ANDREW JOHNSON
did not give an Inaugural address, but stated in a proclamation APRIL 29, 1865, after Abraham Lincoln's assassination:
"The 25th day of next month, was recommended as a day for special
humiliation and prayer
in consequence of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln ...
But whereas my attention has since been called to the fact that the day aforesaid is sacred to large numbers of
Christians
as one of rejoicing for
the ascension of the Savior ...
I ... do hereby suggest that the
religious services
recommended as aforesaid should be postponed until Thursday, the 1st day of June."
|
|
18TH President
ULYSSES S. GRANT
stated in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4:
"I ask ... a determined effort on the part of every citizen to do his share toward cementing a happy union; and I ask the
prayers
of the nation to
Almighty God
in behalf of this consummation."
|
|
19TH President
RUTHERFORD B. HAYES
stated in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 5, 1877, delivered a day later than usual as he refused to be sworn in on Sunday in honor of the Sabbath:
"Looking for the guidance of that
Divine Hand
by which
the destinies of nations and individuals are shaped,
I call upon you, Senators, Representatives, judges, fellow-citizens, here and everywhere, to unite with me in an earnest effort to secure to our country the blessings, not only of material property, but of justice, peace, and union."
|
|
20TH President
JAMES GARFIELD
stated in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1881:
"Above all, upon our efforts to promote the welfare of this great people and their Government
I reverently invoke the support and blessings of Almighty God."
|
|
21ST President
CHESTER ARTHUR
did not give an Inaugural Address, but stated in a proclamation SEPTEMBER 22, 1881, after James Garfield's death:
"It is fitting that the deep grief which fills all hearts should manifest itself with one accord toward
the Throne of Infinite Grace,
and that
we should bow before the
Almighty
and
seek from Him
that consolation in our affliction and that sanctification of our loss which
He
is able and willing to vouchsafe."
|
|
22ND President
GROVER CLEVELAND
stated in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1885:
"And let us not trust to human effort alone, but
humbly acknowledge the power and goodness of Almighty God who presides over the destiny of nations,
and who has at all times been revealed in our country's history,
let us invoke His aid and His blessings
upon our labors."
|
|
23RD President
BENJAMIN HARRISON
stated in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1889:
"Entering thus solemnly into covenant with each other, we may
reverently invoke and confidently extend the favor and help of Almighty God
-- that
He
will give to me wisdom, strength, and fidelity, and to our people a spirit of fraternity and a love of righteousness and peace."
|
|
24TH President
GROVER CLEVELAND
stated in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1893:
"Above all, I know there is
a Supreme Being who rules the affairs of men
and whose goodness and mercy have always followed the American people, and
I know He will not turn from us now if we humbly and reverently seek His powerful aid."
|
|
25TH President
WILLIAM MCKINLEY
stated in his Inaugural, MARCH 4, 1897:
"Invoking the guidance of Almighty God.
Our
faith
teaches that there is
no safer reliance than upon the God of our fathers,
who has so singularly favored the American people in every national trial, and who will not forsake us so long as we
obey His commandments and walk humbly in His footsteps."
|
|
26TH President
THEODORE ROOSEVELT
stated in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1905:
"No people on earth have more cause to be thankful than ours, and this is said reverently ...
with gratitude to the Giver of Good who has blessed us."
|
|
27TH President
WILLIAM TAFT
stated in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1909:
"I invoke the considerate sympathy and support of my fellow-citizens and
the aid of the Almighty God
in the discharge of my responsible duties."
|
|
28TH President
WOODROW WILSON
stated in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1913:
"The feelings with which we face this new age of right and opportunity sweep across our heartstrings like some air out of
God's own presence,
where
justice and mercy
are reconciled and the judge and the brother are one ...
God helping me,
I will not fail."
|
|
29TH President
WARREN G. HARDING
stated in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1921:
"I must utter
my belief in the Divine Inspiration of the founding fathers.
Surely there must have been
God's intent
in the making of this new world Republic ...
America is ready to encourage ... that
brotherhood of mankind which must be God's highest conception of human relationship.
I ... implore the favor and guidance of God in His Heaven
... I have taken the solemn oath of office on that
passage of Holy Writ
wherein it is asked:
'What doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.'"
|
|
30TH President
CALVIN COOLIDGE
stated in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1925:
"America seeks no earthly empires built on blood and force ...
The legions which she sends forth are armed,
not with the sword, but
with the Cross.
The higher state to which she seeks the allegiance of all mankind is not of human, but
Divine origin.
She cherishes
no purpose save to merit the favor of Almighty God."
|
|
31ST President
HERBERT HOOVER
stated in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1929:
"This occasion is ...
a dedication and consecration under God
to the highest office in service of our people. I assume this trust in the humility of knowledge that
only through the guidance of Almighty Providence
can I hope to discharge its ever-increasing burdens ...
I ask the help of Almighty God
in this service to my country to which you have called me."
|
|
32ND President
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
stated in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1933:
"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself ... On my part and on yours we face our common difficulties. They concern,
thank God,
only material things ...
Where there is no vision the people perish. (Pr. 29:18) ...
In this dedication of a nation
we humbly ask the blessing of God. May He protect each and every one of us! May He guide me in the days to come."
|
|
The term
"socialism"
was coined by French political philosopher
Henri de Saint-Simon
(1760-1825) as
the opposite of "individualism."
"Socialism"
was popularized by mid-to-late 1800s by European theorists, such as
Karl Marx
,
Friedrich Engels,
Leon Trotsky,
and
Antonio Gramsci,
where
power is concentrated into the hands of the state.
Denying a Creator who endows individuals with inalienable rights, t
he
state grants rights
and the
state can take away rights.
During the
Bolshevik Revolution
of 1917,
"socialism"
became identified as
a distinct transition phase between capitalism and communism.
|
|
Though not using the word
"socialism,"
many
Presidents
effectively spoke against it, warning in their Inaugural Addresses of the
dangers of power concentrated into the hands of the state.
In his "draft notes" for his FIRST INAUGURAL ADDRESS, April 1789,
GEORGE WASHINGTON
warned:
"The best institution may be abused by human depravity; and that they may even, in some instances be made subservient to the vilest purposes.
Should, hereafter, those incited by the lust of power and prompted by the supineness (laziness) or venality (open to bribes) of their constituents, overleap the known barriers of this Constitution and violate the unalienable rights of humanity:
it will only serve to shew, that no compact among men, however provident in its construction and sacred in its ratification, can be pronounced everlasting and inviolable (secure) ...
that no wall of words, that no mound of parchment can be so formed as to stand against the sweeping torrent of boundless ambition on the one side, aided by the sapping current of corrupted morals on the other."
|
|
JAMES MONROE
warned in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1817:
"It is only when the people become ignorant and corrupt, when they degenerate into a populace, that they are incapable of exercising the sovereignty.
Usurpation is then an easy attainment, and an usurper soon found. The people themselves become the willing instruments of their own debasement and ruin."
|
|
FRANKLIN PIERCE
warned in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1853:
"The dangers of a concentration of all power in the General government of a confederacy so vast as ours are too obvious to be disregarded.
You have a right ... to expect your agents in every department to regard strictly the limits imposed upon them by the Constitution ...
Liberty rests upon a proper distribution of power between the State and Federal authorities."
|
|
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON
warned in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1841:
"I too well understand the dangerous temptations ...
Limited as are the powers which have been granted, still enough have been granted to constitute a despotism if concentrated ... The tendency of power to increase itself ... would terminate in virtual monarchy ...
As long as the love of power is a dominant passion of the human bosom, and as long as the understanding of men can be warped and their affections changed by operations upon their passions and prejudices, so long will the liberties of a people depend on their constant attention to its preservation ...
The tendencies of all such governments in their decline is to monarchy, and the antagonist principle to liberty there is the spirit of faction --
a spirit which assumes the character and in times of great excitement imposes itself upon the people as the genuine spirit of freedom, and, like the false christs whose coming was foretold by the Savior, seeks to, and were it possible would, impose upon the true and most faithful disciples of liberty.
It is in periods like this that it behooves the people to be most watchful of those to whom they have intrusted power."
|
|
ANDREW JACKSON
warned in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1829:
"As long as our Government ... secures to us the rights of person and of property, liberty of conscience and of the press, it will be worth defending."
|
|
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
warned in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1861:
"The candid citizen must confess that if the policy of the Government upon vital questions affecting the whole people is to be irrevocably fixed by decisions of the Supreme Court, the instant they are made ... the people will have ceased to be their own rulers,
having to that extent practically resigned their Government into the hands of the eminent tribunal."
|
|
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
warned in his Second INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1865:
"As was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said 'the Judgments of the Lord are true and righteous.'"
|
|
THEODORE ROOSEVELT
warned in his INAUGURAL ADDRESS, MARCH 4, 1905:
"If we fail, the cause of free self-government throughout the world will rock to its foundations, and therefore our responsibility is heavy, to ourselves, to the world as it is today, and to the generations yet unborn."
|
|
Schedule Bill Federer for informative interviews & captivating PowerPoint presentations: 314-502-8924
wjfederer@gmail.com
American Minute is a registered trademark of William J. Federer. Permission is granted to forward, reprint, or duplicate, with acknowledgment.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|