Who said this and when?
”…it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes…No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States.”
It was George Washington during the course of the first inaugural address. Having led the army of the Revolution from June 15, 1775 to December 23, 1783, eight long years, Washington had returned to Mount Vernon to live out his life as a private citizen, but he was called back to public service as the nation’s first President from 1789 to 1797.
In so many ways, Washington set the tone for the presidency and the nation as someone guided by his faith garnered from the Old and New Testaments. This is in sharp contrast to our present President who invariably refers to “the holy Koran.”
America has always worn its belief in the Creator as a badge of honor and was established, as the Puritan leader John Winthrop said, to be “a shining city on a hill.”