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The Weight of Testimony
genuine Christianity, and to this we owe our free
constitutions ofgovernment
-- Noah Webster, 1828
Our fathers' God, to thee, Author ofliberty,
to Thee we sing; Long may our land be bright
with
freedom~
holy light: Protect us by Thy
might, Great God, our King.
-- Samuel Francis Smith, 1832,
My Country 'Tis Of Thee
I know not how long a republican
government can flourish among a great people
who have not the Bible.... But this I do know:
that the existing government of this country
never couldhave hadexistence but for the Bible.
And, further, I do in my conscience believe that
if at every decade of years a copy of the Bible
could be found in every family in the land, its
republican institutions would be perpetuated.
-- William Henry Seward,
Secretary of State, 1836
You have the highest of human trusts
committed to your care.
Providence has
showered on this favored land blessings without
number, andhas chosen you as the guardians of
freedom, to preserve it for the benefit of the
human race. MayHe who holds in His hands the
destinies of nations, make you worthy of the
favors He has bestowed, and enable you, with
pure hearts and hands and sleepless vigilance,
to guard and defend to the end of time, the
great charge He has committed to your keeping.
-- Andrew Jackson, 1837
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