American Minute - Mar. 4 - Old Inauguration Day

American Minute
with
Bill Federer

Until 1937, MARCH 4th was Inauguration Day.

Each President acknowledged faith upon assuming office, for example, President John Adams in 1797 gave:

"Veneration for the religion of a people who profess and call themselves Christians...to consider a decent respect for Christianity among the best recommendations for the public service."

In 1809, President James Madison referred to the:

"Guidance of that Almighty Being."

President John Quincy Adams stated in 1825:

"'Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh in vain.'"

In 1841, President William Harrison said:

"I deem the present occasion sufficiently important...in expressing to my fellow citizens a profound reverence for the Christian religion."

President Franklin Pierce, in 1853, stated:

"There is no national security but in the nation's humble,
acknowledged dependence upon God."

President James Buchanan, 1857, said:

"Cultivate peace...with all nations...in a spirit of Christian benevolence."

In 1861, Abraham Lincoln wrote:

"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."

President Calvin Coolidge said in 1925:

"America...cherishes no purpose save to merit the favor of Almighty God."