Words from Our Founders: Fasting and Humiliation

Today we celebrate our independence as a nation. To mark this day, we have for the past two weeks posted words from our nation’s founders and early representatives highlighting the importance they placed on religion, religious liberty, and virtue. We have posted many thanksgiving proclamations and many calls to prayer and fasting.

Below is an extraction from the minutes of Congress dated December 11, 1776–just five months after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It refers to the American Revolution as a “just war,” and resolves to recommend to all the states to proclaim a day of fasting and humiliation to seek God’s forgiveness and favor as a nation.

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Words from Our Founders: Josiah Bartlett

The Fourth of July is just around the corner. In honor of our upcoming Independence Day, we are publishing daily quotes from our nation’s founders highlighting the high esteem they had for religion, religious liberty, and virtue.

The following is a proclamation issued on October 5, 1793 by Josiah Bartlett, signer of the Declaration of Independence and then-Governor of New Hampshire. He calls on the people of his state to give their “most humble and hearty thanks to Almighty God for the unmerited favors He has been graciously pleased to confer upon us.”

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