The Founding Fathers Said, No Bible—No America: 100 Bible Verses That Made America

On this episode of Our American Stories, if you want to know about the history of America, it is imperative that you know the role that the Bible played in shaping our country. Our Founding Fathers—both Christian and non-Christian—were heavily influenced by the Bible. Here to share another story is Robert Morgan, author of 100 Bible Verses That Made America.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is Lee Habib and this is Our American Stories,
the show where America is the star and the American people.
Search for the Our American Stories podcast go to the
iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. If you
want to know about the history of America, it's imperative

(00:30):
that you know the role that the Bible played in
shaping our nation. Here to share another story is Robert Morgan,
who is the author of one hundred Bible verses that
made America, defining moments that shaped our enduring foundation of faith.
Let's take a listen.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
The weather in New York City was gray and overcast
during the morning, but clouds gave way to clear skies
just as the ceremony was starting. Precisely at one p m.
On April thirtieth, seventeen eighty nine, tall and stately George
Washington stepped onto the crowded balcony of the Old Federal

(01:11):
Building in Lower Manhattan and took his place beside a
large decorative Bible. A thunderous roar erupted from the sea
of people on Wall Street, followed by tense silence as
everyone strained to hear the man's voice. He would not
say much, but each syllable would shape the ages. This

(01:34):
man was about to change history. He was about to
take the oath of office as the first President of
the United States of America. George Washington was dressed in
a modest double breasted brown suit with buttons embossed with eagles.
A sword dangled at his side. His face was careworn.

(01:54):
The Bible before him, bound in rich brown leather, had
been hastily borrowed from the altar of the nearby Saint
John's Lodge. It rested on a red cushion hell by
the Secretary of the Senate, and it was open to
Genesis forty nine, the passage containing the blessings of Jacob
to his twelve sons, who were destined to become a

(02:16):
great nation. After placing his hand on the Bible, the
General took the oath of office. Then Washington did something extraordinary.
To the thrill of the crowd and in full view
of posterity, the first action of the first President, in
his first minute in office, was to reverently bend over

(02:38):
and kiss the Bible. It is done. Someone shouted, long
Live George Washington, President of the United States. The multitude
burst into cheers, shouting, yelling, weeping, and rejoicing as the
father of their nation quietly turned and disappeared into the

(02:59):
building to give his inaugural address inside to members of Congress.
In his speech that day, Washington said, no people can
be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which
conducts the affairs of men, more than the people of
the United States. By the invisible hand, he was referring

(03:22):
to God's guidance. He continued, every step by which we
have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems
to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency.
The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on
a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and

(03:43):
right which Heaven itself has ordained. This was the ornate
language of the day, the kind of language the preachers used.
Washington was referring to the Bible itself when he talked
about the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven
itself had ordained. The founders of the United States of

(04:05):
America reverenced the Bible because it reflected their awareness of
God's authority over the nations. Washington did not place his
hand on the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution of
the United States, as hallowed as those documents are, nor
did he kiss the pages of any other religious or

(04:25):
secular tome. It was the Bible that sanctified the moment.
The Bible he knew had ushered American history to this point.
It was the Bible that made America. Not every Founding
father was a Christian, a Bible believer, or a paragon
of virtue. Not every president has honored the Bible. Not

(04:46):
every leader has appreciated its influence. Some of the founding fathers,
like Thomas Jefferson, Ethan Allen, Thomas Paine, were disciples of
Enlightenment rationalism, but even they were intimately a acquainted with
the contents of the Bible. They vigorously studied scripture and
respected its ethical teachings. Trying to explain American history without

(05:11):
the Bible is like trying to understand the human body
without its bloodstream. Had there been no Bible, there would
be no America as we know it. The nation would
not have been born as it was, Perhaps it would
not have been born at all. John Adams wrote, the
Bible contains the most profound philosophy, the most perfect morality

(05:34):
and the most refined policy that was ever conceived on earth.
I believe it to be the only system that ever did,
or ever will preserve a republic in the world. John Jay,
the Chief Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court, said,
the Bible is the best of all books, for it
is the word of God and teaches us the way

(05:56):
to be happy in this world and the next. Continue therefore,
or to read it, and to regulate your life by
its precepts. In regard to this great book, wrote Abraham
Lincoln in a letter dated September seventh, eighteen sixty four,
I have but to say it is the best gift

(06:16):
God has given to man. All the good the Savior
gave to the world was communicated through this book. You
cannot tell the American story with accuracy unless you acknowledge
the enormous influence of the Bible upon the men and
women who forged our nation and fan the flames of

(06:37):
freedom for all the world. Just ask George Washington.

Speaker 1 (06:43):
And a terrific job on the production, editing, and storytelling
by our own Greg Hangler, and a special thanks to
Robert Morgan who's the author of one hundred Bible verses
that made America, defining moments that shaped our enduring foundation
of faith. Time sure of Washington, DC sometime and you'll
see it everywhere as well, around all of our monuments,

(07:05):
around the Supreme Court. It's everywhere. And of course there's
always that space for the other faiths, and there's always
that space for no faith at all. But the story
of America is unimaginable without the Bible, simply untellable. The
story of the Bible and the story of its place
in American history. Here on our American Stories lie Hibib here,

(07:33):
the host of our American Stories. Every day on this show,
we're bringing inspiring stories from across this great country, stories
from our big cities and small towns. But we truly
can't do the show without you. Our stories are free
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(07:55):
a lot. Go to Ouramerican Stories dot com and give