Fisher Ames (April 9, 1758-July 4, 1808) was an American founder and politician. He was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts, 1789-97, who help formulate the Bill of Rights in the First Session of the U.S. Congress. He graduated from Harvard, 1774, and became of member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1788, where he participated in the state's ratification of the U.S. Constitution. He was chosen a member of the Governor's Council, 1798, and served until 1800, the year he was honored by the Massachusetts Legislature to deliver the message upon the occasion of George Washington's death. In 1804, he was offered the presidency of Harvard University, but declined due to ill health.
On August 20, 1789, Fisher Ames' suggested wording of the First Amendment was adopted by the House:
<Congress shall make no law establishing religion, or to prevent the free exercise thereof, or to infringe the rights of conscience.> 1758FA001
Fisher Ames stated:
<Should not the Bible regain the place it once held as a schoolbook? Its morals are pure, its examples are captivating and noble....
The reverence for the sacred book that is thus early impressed lasts long; and, probably, if not impressed in infancy, never takes firm hold of the mind....
In no Book is there so good English, so pure and so elegant, and by teaching all the same they will speak alike, and the Bible will justly remain the standard of language as well as of faith.> 1758FA002
On September 20, 1789, in an article published in the Palladium magazine, Fisher Ames stated:
<We have a dangerous trend beginning to take place in our education.
We're starting to put more and more textbooks into our schools....
We've become accustomed of late of putting little books into the hands of children containing fables and moral lessons....
We are spending less time in the classroom on the Bible, which should be the principal text in our schools....The Bible states these great moral lessons better than any other manmade book.> 1758FA003
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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
Endnotes:
1758FA001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Fisher Ames, August 20, 1789, wording for the First Amendment to the Constitution, suggested in and adopted by the U.S. House during the First Session of the U.S. Congress. Annals of the Congress of the United States-First Congress (Washington, D.C.: Gales & Seaton, 1834), Vol. I, p. 766.
1758FA002. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Fisher Ames, Statement concerning education. Stephen Abbott Northrop, D.D., A Cloud of Witnesses (Portland, Oregon: American Heritage Ministries, 1987; Mantle Ministries, 228 Still Ridge, Bulverde, Texas), p. 12. Peter Marshall and David Manuel, The Glory of America (Bloomington, MN: Garborg's Heart'N Home, Inc., 1991), 12.27. D.P. Diffine, Ph.D., One Nation Under God-How Close a Separation? (Searcy, Arkansas: Harding University, Belden Center for Private Enterprise Education, 6th edition, 1992), p. 13.
1758FA003. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Fisher Ames, September 20, 1789, in an article published in the Palladium magazine. D. James Kennedy, "The Great Deception" (Fort Lauderdale, Florida: Coral Ridge Ministries, 1989; 1993), p. 3.