American Quotations by William J. Federer 2024

Proclamation of Amnesty (December 8, 1863) was issued by President Abraham Lincoln, and again on May 29, 1865 by President Andrew Johnson, to pardon and restore the rights of citizenship to those who participated in the Confederate rebellion. This plan for Southern Reconstruction included a statement to be sworn to by those receiving pardon for activities during the Civil War: <I,          , do solemnly swear, in the presence of Almighty God, that I will henceforth faithfully support, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Union of the States thereunder, and that I will...

Edward William Bok (October 9, 1863-January 9, 1930) was a Dutch-born American journalist. He was the editor of The Ladies' Home Journal, 1889-1919, and won the Pulitzer Prize for his autobiography, The Americanization of Edward Bok, 1921. In the September 1894 issue of The Ladies' Home Journal, Edward Bok wrote: <There are myriads of people on this earth who believe in the divinity of Christ; people of the finest minds and the greatest learning. It is not a mark of intelligence to question divine things. The divinity of Christ is a question of the heart. No one who studies the Life...

United States Congress (October 3, 1863) passed an Act of Congress designating an annual National Day of Thanksgiving and Praise, proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln: <The year that is drawing to its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever- watchful Providence of Almighty God. In...

West Virginia (June 20, 1863) was separated from the State of Virginia and was admitted as the 35th State to the Union. The Constitution of the State of West Virginia, adopted 1872, stated: <Preamble. Since through Divine Providence we enjoy the blessings of civil, political and religious liberty, we, the people of West Virginia, in and through the provisions of this Constitution, reaffirm our faith in and constant reliance upon God.> 1863WV001 -- American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement. Endnotes: 1863WV001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). West Virginia, 1872, Constitution,...

United States Congress (March 3, 1863) passed a resolution in the U.S. Senate calling upon the President to proclaim a National Day of Prayer and Humiliation: <Resolved, That devoutly recognizing the supreme authority and just government of Almighty God in all the affairs of men and nations, and sincerely believing that no people, however great in numbers and resources, or however strong in the justness of their cause, can prosper without His favor, and at the same time deploring the national offenses which have provoked His righteous judgment, yet encouraged in this day of trouble by the assurance of His Word,...