American Quotations by William J. Federer 2024

Georgia (January 2, 1788) was the 4th State admitted to the Union. The Constitution of the State of Georgia, adopted 1777, stated: <Preamble. We, the people of Georgia, relying upon protection and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish this Constitution.> 1788GA001 <Article VI. All members of the Legislature shall be of the Protestant religion....The representatives shall be chosen out of the residents in each county...and they shall be of the Protestant religion.> 1788GA002 <Article LVI. All persons whatever shall have the free exercise of their religion; provided it not be repugnant to the peace and safety of the State;...

New Jersey (December 18, 1787) was the 3rd State admitted to the Union. The Constitution of the State of New Jersey, adopted 1776, stated: <Article XVIII. That no person shall ever, within this Colony, be deprived of the inestimable privilege of worshipping Almighty God in a manner agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience; That there shall be no establishment of any one religious sect in this Province, in preference to another; and that no Protestant inhabitant of this Colony shall be denied the enjoyment of any civil right, merely on account of his religious principles; That all persons,...

Pennsylvania (December 12, 1787) was the 2nd State admitted to the Union. The Constitution of the State of Pennsylvania, adopted 1776, stated: <Preamble. We, the people of Pennsylvania, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, and humbly invoking His guidance, do ordain and establish this Constitution.> 1787PA001 <Frame of Government, Chapter 2, Section 10. And each member [of the legislature], before he takes his seat, shall make and subscribe the following declaration, viz: "I do believe in one God, the Creator and Governour of the Universe, the Rewarder of the good and Punisher of the wicked, and...

Delaware (December 7, 1787) was the 1st State admitted to the Union. The Constitution of the State of Delaware, adopted 1776, stated: <Article XXII. Every person who shall be chosen a member of either house, or appointed to any office or place of trust...shall...make and subscribe the following declaration, to wit: "I,      , do profess faith in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ His only Son, and in the Holy Ghost, one God, blessed for evermore; I do acknowledge the holy scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be given by divine inspiration."(until 1792)> 1787DE001 The...

United States Constitution (1787) contained religious references: <Article I, Section 7, Paragraph 2. If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted)...> 1787US002 <Done in Convention, by the unanimous consent of the States present, the seventeenth day of September, in the year of our LORD one thousand seven hundred and eighty seven.> 1787US003 The Oath of Office for both the U.S. Senators, usually administered by the Vice-President, and the U.S. Representatives, administered by the Speaker of the House, states: <I,    , do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution...