America’s First Congressional Thanksgiving Proclamation

Congressman “Elias Boudinot said he could not think of letting the session pass over without offering an opportunity to all the citizens of the United States of joining with one voice in returning to the Almighty God their sincere thanks for the many blessings He had poured down upon them. With this view, therefore, he would move the following resolution:

“Resolved, that a joint committee of both Houses be directed to wait upon the President of the United States to request that he would recommend to the people of the United States, a day of public Thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts, the many signal favors of Almighty God…

“Mr. Sherman justified the practice… as warranted by a number of precedents in Holy Writ… Mr. Boudinot quoted further precedents from the practice of the late Congress…

“That proclamation declared:

“Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor… Now, therefore, I do recommend… that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country… And also that we may then unite in most humbly, offering our prayers and supplication to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions… to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue.”(1)

Father, we pray for You to bless America again with this humble desire for “all the citizens of the United States of joining with one voice in returning to the Almighty God” our “sincere thanks for the many blessings” You have “poured down upon” us. It IS our duty to acknowledge this and we do implore Your protection and favor. Have mercy on us, O God, “pardon our national and other transgressions.” Cause us to obey You and “to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue.” In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

(1) David Barton, Founders Bible, (Newbury Park, Shiloh Road, 2012), p. 627-628.

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I have learned many of these quotes from The Making of America by Cleon Skousen.    You may purchase it here.

2026: Virtue & Rest

Samuel Adams explained how important Virtue is:  “He therefore is the truest friend to the liberty of his country who tries most to promote its virtue, and who, so far as his power and influence extend, will not suffer a man to be chosen into any office of power and trust who is not a wise and virtuous man. We must not conclude merely upon a man’s haranguing upon liberty, and using the charming sound, that he is fit to be trusted with the liberties of his country… The sum of all is, if we would most truly enjoy this gift of Heaven, let us become a virtuous people…” (1)

I have been delighted to read Charlie Kirk’s last published book, Stop, in the name of God, Why honoring the Sabbath will transform your life. In the forward, Erika Kirk shares, “he was well acquainted with the lure of busyness and the subtle tyranny of distraction, as we all are, and he understood the quiet devastation they bring to families, to communities, and even to a nation. Honoring the Sabbath became his defiance against that lie. It was his declaration that a man’s value is not measured by his output and productivity level, but by his surrender…  His desire was for every generation, young and old alike, to rediscover the Sabbath as he did: Not as a burden to bear, but as a gift to receive… he shows us that the truest freedom is never won by endless striving, but by surrendering our will to the One who holds every plan in His hands.”(2)

Charlie believed that “the Sabbath is the key that unlocks a civil society and a free people, and it could be the secret answer to restore self government in America… Indeed, it is the Bible that has built the West, and it is the Bible that will ultimately guide and restore it… Concepts, such as individual rights, justice, mercy, and the inherent dignity of all people find their foundation in biblical principles.”(3)

This is why in The Rights of the Colonists as Christians, Samuel Adams explained, “These may be best understood by reading and carefully studying the institutes of the great Law Giver and Head of the Christian Church, which are to be found clearly written and promulgated in the New Testament.”(4)

In Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, virtue is defined as, “Bravery valor; Moral goodness; the practice of moral duties and the abstaining from vice, or a conformity of life and conversation to the moral law… The practice of moral duties… The practice of moral duties from sincere love to God and his laws, is virtue…”

May 2026 be the Year that America returns to our Faith in Almighty God and His Word, “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good.”  ~ Titus 2: 11-14 NIV

1. William V. Wells*, The Life and Public Service of Samuel Adams*, Boston, MA: Little, Brown, and Company, 1865, 1:19, 20, 22–23.
2. Charlie Kirk, Stop in the Name of God, (Canada, Winning Team Publishing, 2026) p. x-xi.
3. Charlie Kirk, Stop in the Name of God, (Canada, Winning Team Publishing, 2026) p. xvii-xix.
4. Verna M. Hall, The Christian History of the Constitution of the United States of America. Christian Self-Government, Founders Edition, vol. 1 (San Francisco: Foundation for American Christian Education, 2006), 367.

2026 Upcoming Events:

January 8th: Renewing the Mind

January 12: Biblical Citizenship

January 13: The Gospel Purpose of English

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