tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31636482.post9005534313611005989..comments2024-03-23T01:33:00.319-04:00Comments on American Revolution and Founding Era: Washington Invokes God at First InauguralBrian Tubbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15412421076480479001noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31636482.post-76942450957694200252012-10-27T20:06:01.296-04:002012-10-27T20:06:01.296-04:00JMS - I don't understand your criticism. I quo...JMS - I don't understand your criticism. I quoted an excerpt from President Washington's First Inaugural and, in this post, did so without commentary. Brian Tubbshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15412421076480479001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31636482.post-69685061578954305932012-08-15T16:38:38.894-04:002012-08-15T16:38:38.894-04:00What is the purpose of a posting that is "the...What is the purpose of a posting that is "the exception that proves the rule," other than to distort George Washington’s (GW) views about religion? As your quote indicates, GW’s First Inaugural Address contained many references to a deity, such as one to "that Almighty Being who rules over the universe," and another about how "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." But it is worth noting that he never used the word "God," although he clearly believed in “divine providence” on a personal and a national level.<br /><br />To be honest, you should acknowledge that GW made no references to any deity directly or indirectly in his Second Inaugural Address, and in his most emotional public speech at Newburgh, NY to disgruntled officers of the Continental Army threatening to desert for lack of pay, also made no references to God except an exasperated, "My God!"<br /> <br />While outwardly appearing as an Anglican (vestryman, like just about every other high-ranking Virginia gentleman of his era), Washington was not a devout, observant or orthodox Christian. Historians like Peter Henriques and Gregg Frazer, who have combed through his private letters, note no references to Jesus Christ. Frazer aptly labels GW, influenced by Enlightenment rationalism and Freemasonry, as a “theistic rationalist.”<br /><br />Washington favored a type of generalized, non-sectarian “civil” religion, as indicated in his farewell address to the nation in 1796 that, "Religion and Morality are indispensable supports" to republican governance. As commander-in-chief during the War of Independence, and as President of the United States, he abhorred and feared religious sectarianism.<br /><br />He was very self-conscious about being a symbol of national unity. He noted how "inveterate and distressing" religious disputes "endanger[ed] the peace of society," and how he hoped that the Constitution had established "effectual barriers against the horrors of spiritual tyranny." <br />JMSnoreply@blogger.com