A NATION UNDER GOD
The Declaration of Independence, as originally presented to Congress, contained three references to God” the first in the opening paragraph where “the laws of nature and of nature’s God: are invoked; the second in the next paragraph where “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men . . . are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights;” and the third when the signers appeal to “the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of (their) intentions.” The draft presented to Congress closed with this sentence: “And, for the support of this declaration, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.” Congress amended this sentence by inserting after the word “declaration” the clause “with firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence.” During the Constitutional Convention, when that document was finally adopted, there were many times when it appeared that the Convention was doomed to failure. Then Benjamin Franklin made one…
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