11 Benjamin Hart, “The Wall That Protestantism Built: The Religious Reasons for the Separation of Church and State,” Policy Review (Washington, D.C.: Heritage Foundation, Fall 1988), 44.
12 WGW, vol. 31, 3-15-1790, and Eidsmoe, Christianity and the Constitution p. 121.
13 William Barclay Allen, ed., George Washington - A Collection (Indianapolis: Liberty Classics, Liberty Fund, Inc., 1988), 547-548.
14 Sparks, The Writings of George Washington, vol. IX, p. 262.
15 For a discussion of Christianity’s role in the establishment of religious liberty in America see, Peter A. Lillback, Proclaim Liberty.
16 WGW, vol. 31, 3-1-1790. and. Boller, , George Washington & Religion p. 182.
17 Sparks, The Writings of George Washington, vol. XII, p. 154.
18 WGW, vol. 30, 4-30-1789.
19 Ibid., vol.24, 6-28-1782.
20 Ibid., vol. 26, 4-18-1783. General Orders.
Ibid., vol. 28, 3-30-1785. To Lucretia Wilhemina Van Winter, “At best I have only been an instrument in the hands of Providence, to effect, with the aid of France and many virtuous fellow Citizens of America, a revolution which is interesting to the general liberties of mankind, and to the emancipation of a country which may afford an Asylum, if we are wise enough to pursue the paths wch. lead to virtue and happiness, to the oppressed and needy of the Earth. Our region is extensive, our plains are productive, and if they are cultivated with liberallity and good sense, we may be happy ourselves, and diffuse happiness to all who wish to participate.”
Ibid., vol. 29, 4-25-1788. To Marquis De Chastellux, “Hitherto there has been much greater unanimity in favour of the proposed government than could have reasonably been expected. Should it be adopted (and I think it will be) America will lift up her head again and in a few years become respectable among the nations. It is a flattering and consolatory reflection, that our rising Republics have the good wishes of all the Philosophers, Patriots, and virtuous men in all nations: and that they look upon them as a kind of Asylum for mankind. God grant that we may not disappoint their honest expectations, by our folly or perverseness.”
Ibid., vol. 29, 5-28-1788. To Reverend Francis Adrian Vanderkemp. “...I take the speediest occasion to well-come your arrival on the American shore. I had always hoped that this land might become a safe and agreeable Asylum to the virtuous and persecuted part of mankind, to whatever nation they might belong; but I shall be the more particularly happy, if this Country can be, by any means, useful to the Patriots of Holland, with whose situation I am peculiarly touched, and of whose public virtue I entertain a great opinion.”
Ibid., vol. 30, 8-29-1788. To Joseph Mandrillon. “We flatter ourselves your patriotic wishes and sanguine hopes respecting the political felicity of this Country, will not prove abortive. We hope, from the general acquiescence of the States so far, with small exceptions, in the proposed Constitution, that the foundation is laid for the enjoyment of much purer civil liberty and greater public happiness than have hitherto been the portion of Mankind. And we trust the western World will yet verify the predictions of its friends and prove an Asylum for the persecuted of all Nations.”
Ibid., vol. 30, 8-31-1788. To Thomas Jefferson. “...this will become the great avenue into the Western Country; a country which is now settling in an extraordinarily rapid manner, under uncommonly favorable circumstances, and which promises to afford a capacious asylum for the poor and persecuted of the Earth.”
Ibid., vol. 30, 9-27-1788. To Reverend Francis Adrian Vanderkepm. “Sir. The letter with which you was pleased to favor me dated the 29th. of Augt. came duly to hand, and afforded me the pleasure of hearing that you had made a purchase agreeable to your wishes in the vicinity of Esopus. I sincerely hope that it may prove an agreeable retreat, and a happy Asylum from your late troubles in Holland.”
Ibid., vol. 32, 6-7-1793. To the Mechanical Society of Baltimore. “If the Citizens of the United States have obtained the character of an enlightened and liberal people, they will prove that they deserve it, by shewing themselves the true friends of mankind and making their Country not only an Asylum for the oppressed of every Nation, but a desirable residence for the virtuous and industrious of every Country.”
21 Liberty is defined as follows by Noah Webster in his First American Dictionary of the English Language published in 1828: “Freedom from restraint, in a general sense, and applicable to the body, or to the will or mind. The body is at liberty, when not confined; the will or mind is at liberty, when not checked or controlled. A man enjoys liberty, when no physical force operates to restrain his actions or volitions.” Natural liberty “consists in the power of acting as one thinks fit, without any restraint or control, except from the laws of nature. It is a state of exemption from the control of others, and from positive laws and the institutions of social life. This liberty is abridged by the establishment of government.” Civil liberty is “ the liberty of men in a state of society, or natural liberty, so far only abridged and restrained, as is necessary and expedient for the safety and interest of the society, state or nation. A restraint of natural liberty, not necessary or expedient for the public, is tyranny or oppression. Civil liberty is an exemption from the arbitrary will of others, which exemption is secured by established laws, which restrain every man from injuring or controlling another. Hence the restraints of law are essential to civil liberty.” He further defines political liberty, “ Political liberty, is sometimes used as synonymous with civil liberty. But it more properly designates the liberty of a nation, the freedom of a nation or state from all unjust abridgment of its rights and independence by another nation. Hence we often speak of the political liberties of Europe, or the nations of Europe.” Religious liberty, “is the free right of adopting and enjoying opinions on religious subjects, and worshiping the Supreme Being according to the dictates of conscience, without external control.” Clearly liberty was a critical concept in early America.
22 The full name for the Statue of Liberty is Liberty Enlightening the World. WGW, vol. 26, 6-8-1783. Washington’s sense of enlightenment is closely related to religious liberty: “The Citizens of America, placed in the most enviable condition, as the sole Lords and Proprietors of a vast Tract of Continent, comprehending all the various soils and climates of the World, and abounding with all the necessaries and conveniencies of life, are now by the late satisfactory pacification, acknowledged to be possessed of absolute freedom and Independency; They are, from this period, to be considered as the Actors on a most conspicuous Theatre, which seems to be peculiarly designated by Providence for the display of human greatness and felicity; Here, they are not only surrounded with every thing which can contribute to the completion of private and domestic enjoyment, but Heaven has crowned all its other blessings, by giving a fairer oppertunity for political happiness, than any other Nation has ever been favored with. Nothing can illustrate these observations more forcibly, than a recollection of the happy conjuncture of times and circumstances, under which our Republic assumed its rank among the Nations; The foundation of our Empire was not laid in the gloomy age of Ignorance and Superstition, but at an Epocha when the rights of mankind were better understood and more clearly defined, than at any former period, the researches of the human mind, after social happiness, have been carried to a great extent, the Treasures of knowledge, acquired by the labours of Philosophers, Sages and Legislatures, through a long succession of years, are laid open for our use, and their collected wisdom may be happily applied in the Establishment of our forms of Government; the free cultivation of Letters, the unbounded extension of Commerce, the progressive refinement of Manners, the growing liberality of sentiment, and above all, the pure and benign light of Revelation, have had ameliorating influence on mankind and increased the blessings of Society. At this auspicious period, the United States came into existence as a Nation, and if their Citizens should not be completely free and happy, the fault will be intirely their own.”
23 The names for our country reflect our discoverers and our history. “America” is an anglicized version of “Amerigo,” which in turn is the first name of the explorer, Amerigo Vespuci, who first recognized that North America was not the Indies, but a hitherto unknown continent. Amerigo is a version of the German name “Emerick” which is a corruption of the German word, Himmelreich, meaning “Kingdom of Heaven.” It has been suggested by some that this is an excellent name for America—“a corrupted version of the Kingdom of Heaven!” 2007 is the five hundredth anniversary of America being named America. The title was given by German monk named Martin Waldsemuller to honor Vespuchi as the first to understand that Columbus’ discovery was not the Indies, but an entirely new continent— a New World. Thus, the monk put America on his map of the “new world.” A second name for America is Columbia. This is a feminine version of Columbus, the great first discoverer of the Western Hemisphere. We have Columbus’ name present in our nation’s capitol, Washington D. C.—or the District of Columbia. Columbia—the feminine version of Christopher Columbus’ last name, is a personification of our nation. Columbia stands at the top of our Capitol building in the District of Columbia, where our Congress meets on Capitol Hill. It is interesting that Columbus is the word for dove—the symbol for hope in a new world in the story of Noah’s flood from Genesis 6-9. Further, his first name is Christopher, meaning, “the bearer of Christ.” In a medieval legend, a man carried Christ over a raging stream, and thus was named “The Christ-Bearer” or “Christopher.” One can see why for many years in the Roman Catholic tradition, St. Christopher was the patron saint of travelers. It is most fascinating that the discoverer of America’s name implies one who carries Christ over the waters coming as a dove of hope for a new world after a flood! This may all be coincidence, or then again, it may be a gift of divine Providence. The third, and official name of our country is The United States of America. This reflects the “miracle of Philadelphia” where thirteen sovereign states or nations chose to become one nation of United States. This had never happened before nor has it happened since. Only in America did such a remarkable union of political entities ever occur. This unparalleled event is captured in our Latin mottoes seen on our Dollar Bill: E Pluribus Unum and Novus Ordo Seculorum. The first means, “one out of many” and the second means, “a new order of the ages.” Perhaps it would also be appropriate to note another Latin motto on the dDollar bill—“Annuit Coeptis.” This means “God has smiled at our undertakings.” A providential perspective on history would suggest that such is indeed the case.
24 This phrase comes from one of the earliest publications on the life of Washington, by the Reverend Dr. Jedidiah Morse, a clergyman-scholar and correspondent of Washington. At the end of his thirty-three long page summary of General Washington’s life, based upon the anonymously written and approved life of Washington by David Humphreys, we find the following poem, which probably came from the pen of Humphreys as well.
GENERAL WASHINGTON
GREAT without pomp, without ambition brave—
Proud, not to conquer fellow men, but save—
Friend to the weak—a foe to none but those,
Who plan their greatness on their brethren’s woes—
Aw’d by no titles—undefil’d by lust—
Free without faction, obstinately just—
Too wise to learn, form Machiavel’s school,
That truth and perfidy by turns should rule.
Warm’d by Religion’s sacred, genuine ray,
Which points to future bliss, th’ unerring way;
Yet ne’er controul’d by Superstition’s laws,
The worst of tyrants in the noblest cause..
Jedidiah Morse (1761-1836), The Life of Gen. Washington (Philadelphia: Jones, Hoff & Derrick, 1794).
25 America, the custodian of Washington’s “sacred fire of liberty,” has learned to sing of the “sacred fire” in terms of “freedom’s holy light.” These words come from the patriotic hymn, “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” written by Samuel Francis Smith (1808-1895). A graduate of Harvard and a Baptist pastor, with interest in the American Baptist Missionary Union, Smith wrote the words in less than a half hour at the age of twenty-three, while in seminary. The occasion was a children’s celebration held in a Boston church on July 4t, 1832, the hundredth anniversary year of the birth of Washington. The melody is identical to the British national anthem, “God Save the King” making the last line “Great God our King” a rekindling of the spirit of ’76 that blazed in Washington’s Patriot Army. The first and last stanzas are:
My country ‘tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing:
Land where my fathers died,
