George Washington dying
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George Washington Firsts and Farewells

On this day in 1799, George Washington, the first president and “father of our country” dies at Mount Vernon. He was sixty-seven years old.

Famously, Henry Lee eulogized Washington:

“To the memory of the Man, first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.”

He had just retired two years earlier, after forty-five years of service to his country.

Some of his last words were were: “Doctor, I die hard; but I am not afraid to go[.]”

Tokens

He said this in his heartfelt Farewell Address in 1796:

“[T]he deep acknowledgment of that debt of gratitude which I owe to my beloved country for the many honors it has conferred upon me… I shall carry it with me to my grave, as a strong incitement to unceasing vows that heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence; that your union and brotherly affection may be perpetual; that the free Constitution, which is the work of your hands, may be sacredly maintained; that its administration in every department may be stamped with wisdom and virtue; that, in fine, the happiness of the people of these States, under the auspices of liberty, may be made complete by so careful a preservation and so prudent a use of this blessing as will acquire to them the glory of recommending it to the applause, the affection, and adoption of every nation which is yet a stranger to it.

The following quote from his Inaugural Address in 1789 George Washington inspired Our George Washington “Invisible Hand” shirt:

“No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the People of the United States.”

He went on, “Every step, by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency.”

George Washington dying

 

George Washington “Invisible Hand”

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The Great Seal of the State of Mississippi
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Mississippi : In God We Trust

On this day in 1817, Mississippi becomes the 20th state in the Union.

The Great Seal of the State of Mississippi features the motto, “In God We Trust,” which is the same as the National Motto of the United States.

Here is the Preamble of the Constitution of the State of Mississippi:

“We, the people of Mississippi in convention assembled, grateful to Almighty God, and invoking his blessing on our work, do ordain and establish this constitution.”

Seal of Mississippi
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Great Seal of the State of Delaware
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Delaware : Liberty and The First State

On this day in 1787, Delaware becomes the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution, thereby becoming the first state of the United States.

Delaware was the first state to “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity” with its unanimous ratification of the Constitution. So, it’s fitting that the state motto is “Liberty and Independence,” as seen in the state seal depticted below.

Here is the Preamble of The Delaware Constitution:

Through Divine goodness, all people have by nature the rights of worshiping and serving their Creator according to the dictates of their consciences, of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of acquiring and protecting reputation and property, and in general of obtaining objects suitable to their condition, without injury by one to another; and as these rights are essential to their welfare, for due exercise thereof, power is inherent in them; and therefore all just authority in the institutions of political society is derived from the people, and established with their consent, to advance their happiness; and they may for this end, as circumstances require, from time to time, alter their Constitution of government.

Seal of Delaware

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Remember December 7th Pearl Harbor
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Pearl Harbor : So Help us God

On this day in 1941, at 7:55 a.m. Hawaii time, a swarm of over 360 Japanese warplanes unleash a devastating surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor.

This war crime pulled our country in to World War II.

Mercifully, it was Sunday morning, so many personnel had passes to attend church off base.

Still, over 2,400 Americans were killed and nearly 1,200 were wounded. Most of the Pacific fleet was damaged or destroyed.

So Help us God

The next day, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed the nation about the attack at Pearl Harbor.

Of course, most of us are familiar with his opening statement:
“Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”

He went on:
“No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.
…
With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph — so help us God.”

‘Laus Deo’, we did.

Finally, some may take issue with this phrase as sworn in Our public oaths, despite the greater degree of intent and obligation it imparts, especially in contrast to a personal affirmation.

After all, let us echo the sentiment of George Washington from his farewell address:
Let it simply be asked: Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths…? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion.”


Remember December 7th Pearl Harbor

 

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Washington Monument Aluminum Apex Laus Deo
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George Washington Monument Apex

On this day in 1884, the 3,300-pound marble capstone and nine-inch pyramid of cast aluminum is placed atop the Washington Monument. This completed construction of the world’s tallest stone structure and the world’s tallest obelisk, at 555′ 5 1/8″.

Similarly, the aluminum pyramid was the largest piece of aluminum in the world at the time it was cast. Surprisingly, aluminum was a rare metal as valuable as silver. All four faces of the aluminum apex bear inscriptions in the Snell Roundhand font.

Laus Deo

Unfortunately, a gold-plated copper band that held eight lightning rods covered most of these inscriptions from 1885 until its removal in 2013. The inscriptions it covered were damaged to the point of illegibility. Although the inscriptions are no longer covered, they were not repaired during restoration in 2013.

Among those inscriptions is Laus Deo, which is Latin for Praise be to God. Symbolically, perhaps,  although that the inscription is no longer visible due to the elements, its intention and truth cannot be eroded.

This condition captures the essence and purpose of Our Lost Founding.

Washington Monument Aluminum Apex Laus Deo

A similar sentiment from Washington’s Inaugural Address on April 30, 1789 inspired our “Invisible Hand” t-shirt:

“No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the People of the United States.”

If you look closely, you’ll also find “Laus Deo” in Our design.

George Washington “Invisible Hand”

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Benjamin Franklin Our Lost Founding t-shirt
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Just for Fun: Prohibition ends and Proof God loves us

On this day in 1933, the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified, repealing the 18th Amendment. Thus, it was the end of national prohibition of alcohol in America.

Proof

On that note, in 1779, while in France, Benjamin Franklin wrote this to his friend André Morellet (translated from French):

“We hear of the conversion of water into wine at the marriage in Cana, as of a miracle. But this conversion is, through the goodness of God, made every day before our eyes. Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards, and which incorporates itself with the grapes to be changed into wine; a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy!“

Similarly, see a “convincing proof” on Our Benjamin Franklin “See… God Governs” olive green t-shirt in the Shop:

Benjamin Franklin “See… God Governs”

benjamin-franklin-bifocals

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Seal of Illinois
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Illinois : State Sovereignty, National Union

On this day in 1818, Illinois, commonly called the “Land of Lincoln,” becomes the twenty-first state in the Union.

Here is the Preamble of the Constitution of the State of Illinois:

We, the People of the State of Illinois – grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberty which He has permitted us to enjoy and seeking His blessing upon our endeavors – in order to provide for the health, safety and welfare of the people; maintain a representative and orderly government; eliminate poverty and inequality; assure legal, social and economic justice; provide opportunity for the fullest development of the individual; insure domestic tranquility; provide for the common defense; and secure the blessings of freedom and liberty to ourselves and our posterity – do ordain and establish this Constitution for the State of Illinois.

Seal of Illinois

As seen in the state seal above, “Aug. 26, 1818” is the date the first Illinois Constitution was signed.
Also prevalent in the seal is the state motto of “State Sovereignty, National Union,” and for good reason.

All one thing; All the good

In fact, Illinois and Abraham Lincoln were central to the debate of state sovereignty and national union, as demonstrated by the famous Lincoln–Douglas Debates. Stephen A. Douglas, a Democrat and U.S. Senator from Illinois, believed the nation must remain united but could only do so half-slave, half-free. Conversely, Lincoln invoked Scripture to assert the opposite:

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.
I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.
I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided.
It will become all one thing or all the other.”

After all, this should come as no surprise, given Lincoln’s lofty opinion of the Bible:
“In regard to this Great book, I have but to say, it is the best gift God has given to man. All the good the Savior gave to the world was communicated through this book. But for it we could not know right from wrong. All things most desirable for man’s welfare, here and hereafter, are to be found portrayed in it.”

Lincoln Bible t-shirt collage

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Rosa Parks fingerprints
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Rosa Parks and Overcoming Obstacles

On this day in 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks is arrested and jailed for refusing to give up her seat on a public bus. She was in the first row of the ‘black section’ when the driver demanded that she give up her seat to a white male passenger.

As a result, she is known as “The mother of the civil rights movement.”

Her act of civil disobedience led to a 381-day Montgomery Bus Boycott, organized by Baptist minister Martin Luther King, Jr.

During the boycott, Dr. King said:
“This is not a war between the white and the Negro but a conflict between justice and injustice. If we are arrested every day, if we are exploited every day, if we are trampled over every day, don’t ever let anyone pull you so low as to hate them. We must use the weapon of love.”

Then, in November 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down bus segregation laws as being in violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.

Rosa later wrote, “I felt the presence of God on the bus and heard His quiet voice as I sat there waiting for the police to take me to the station.”

Rosa Parks died on October 24, 2005 and was the first woman to lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.

Proud to be an American

In 1996, she wrote this in response to a letter from a 13 year-old named Michael, who asked her about the changes she has seen during he 83 years:

“I am grateful to God for this long life. I am thankful that He has used me to fulfill some of His plans.

I am proud to be an American. America is a wonderful country. In just over 200 years, since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, we have come a long way. Slavery has been abolished. Child labor laws have been established as the law of the land. Women have the right to vote and have taken their places in politics, the arts, sciences, and business. I am proud to see that history and her story are coming together as one as we move ahead.

Our country is the model for every other developing country in the world for achieving justice and equality for its citizens. Our Constitution has lasted longer than any other constitution in modern history.

We cannot take these blessings for granted. We must share these gifts from God. Whether we are 13 or 83, we must show the world that we are able to correct our mistakes–including homelessness, poor race relations, and violence–and move forward to a better society. I know that we can. This nation has always overcome the obstacles it has faced.”

Certainly, then, we can all be proud to be American, like Rosa Parks.

Rosa Parks fingerprints

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Abraham Lincoln Gettysburg address
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Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address

On this day in 1863 (that is, 7 score and 17 years ago), President Abraham Lincoln boards a train for Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to deliver a short speech the following day. That speech became known as the Gettysburg Address, and is one of the most famous speeches in American history.

The brief, 272 word speech was delivered at the close of ceremonies dedicating that Civil War battlefield cemetery where so many soldiers, from both sides, had fallen.

Speaking to a crowd of over five thousand people, Lincoln hearkened to Our founding for Our American spirit and purpose.

Today, the words of the Gettysburg Address are engraved into a wall of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

This nation, under God

A full transcript follows:

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives, that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate – we can not hallow – this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.

It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here, have, thus far, so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Abraham Lincoln Gettysburg address

 

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Great Seal of the State of Oklahoma
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Oklahoma enters the Union as the 46th State

On this day in 1907, Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory collectively enter the United States as Oklahoma, the 46th state. This made all Indians in the state U.S. citizens.

First, the name comes from the Choctaw Indian words “okla,” meaning people, and “humma,” meaning red.

Next, the five rays of the large star in the Great Seal of the State display the seals of the “Five Civilized Tribes.” The Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole all have a major presence due to the forced relocation of the early 1800s.

So, on September 17, 1907, representatives of both territories drafted a constitution, which was approved by voters from both territories.

Preamble

As is often the case with state constitutions, the Preamble of the Constitution of the State of Oklahoma reads:

“Invoking the guidance of Almighty God, in order to secure and perpetuate the blessing of liberty; to secure just and rightful government; to promote our mutual welfare and happiness, we, the people of the State of Oklahoma, do ordain and establish this Constitution.”

 

Great Seal of the State of Oklahoma

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Articles of Confederation
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Articles of Confederation Adopted

On this day in 1777, the Second Continental Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union Between the States. The Articles functioned as a first constitution for the original thirteen states.

Perpetual Union

The conclusion of Articles begins with these words:

“And the Articles of this Confederation shall be inviolably observed by every State, and the Union shall be perpetual…”

Then, the successful ratification, was entrusted to the will of God:
“And Whereas it hath pleased the Great Governor of the World to incline the hearts of the legislatures we respectively represent in Congress, to approve of, and to authorize us to ratify the said Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union.”

Although customary, it is no less significant that the Articles are dated in this (old) fashion:
“Done at Philadelphia in the State of Pennsylvania the ninth day of July in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy-Eight, and in the Third Year of the independence of America.”

Lastly, a couple especially noteworthy “undersigned delegates” are John Hancock and Samuel Adams, both from Massachusetts Bay. Check out the shop for Our Samuel Adams shirt.

Of course, in the summer 1787, the Constitutional Convention commenced in Philadelphia, and the Articles of Confederation was formally replaced by the U.S. Constitution on March 4, 1789.

Articles of Confederation

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