General Samuel Hopkins Chapter
of
Henderson County, Kentucky

GEORGE WASHINGTON BICENTENNIAL INFOLINE
November 1999
 

 SO HELP ME, GOD

      "So help me, God."   We recognize these as the last four words traditionally spoken by our Presidents as they take the Oath of Office as President of the United States.  These words are not part of the official oath; rather they were added by George Washington as he took the first oath of office.  It is fitting that Washington would have added these words, for he had a deep religious conviction and a great reliance on the hand of Providence.

        Washington was a member of the Anglican Church and served on the vestry of his home church.  He was not, however, a regular attender of church services.  Washington's faith was not confined within the dogma or the walls of the church.  Rather, it was found in his reliance on the Almighty to see him and the struggling nation through the many trials of war and the emergence of a new nation.

        One of the many experiences that helped to mold Washington's faith happened during the French and Indian War at Braddock's defeat.  In this battle, Washington had two horses shot out from under him and he had many close calls with whistling bullets that rent his clothing and knocked off his hat, but that never wounded him.  Washington attributed his survival to "the miraculous care of Providence" which "protected me beyond all human expectation" [Flexner, p 26].

        Following the Battle of Monmouth in 1778, the British retreated to New York.  Washington followed after them at a rather leisurely pace.  During this time frame, news of two important events reached Washington.  The first was that nine of the states had ratified the Articles of Confederation; now the country could be unified as Washington had unified the army.  Secondly, France announced that she would enter the war on the side of the Americans.  How sorely needed this ally was!  Upon viewing the British entrenching themselves on the New York ramparts, Washington commented, "It is not a little pleasing nor less wonderful to contemplate that after two years maneuvering and undergoing the strangest vicissitudes that perhaps ever attended one contest since creation, both armies are brought back to the very point they set out from, and that which was the offending [offensive] party in the beginning is now reduced to the use of the spade and pickax for defense.  The hand of Providence has been so conspicuous in all this that he must be more than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations-but it will be time enough for one to turn preacher when my present appointment ceases, and therefore, I shall add no more on the Doctrine of Providence" [Flexner, pp 124-125].

        Washington kept faith throughout the many hardships and uncertainties of the prolonged conflict that a way would be provided for his men to be fed, clothed and victorious.  In June, 1783, Washington prepared his last "Circular to the States", which usually was a plea for aid for his troops.  This last circular was different; it was a lecture to the states on their responsibilities for upholding and maintaining the new nation.  Washington stated, "According to the system of policy the States shall adopt at this moment, they will stand or fall...By their confirmation or lapse, it is yet to be decided whether the Revolution must ultimately be considered a blessing or a curse: a blessing or a curse not to the present age alone for with our fate will the destiny of unborn millions be involved..." [Randall, pp 395-396].

        Washington closed this communication in this way, "I now make it my earnest prayer, that God would have the United States in his holy protection, that he would incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to Government, to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another, for their fellow citizens of the United States at large, and particularly for their brethren who have served in the fields, and finally, that he would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all, to do Justice, to love mercy and to demean ourselves with that Charity, humility and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of a Divine Author of our blessed Religion and without an humble imitation of whose example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy Nation." Amen.

        On December 23, 1783, Washington resigned his commission as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, an appointment that he said he had accepted with diffidence.  He overcame this diffidence, he asserts, because he had been confident of the "rectitude of the Cause; the support of the Congress and the patronage of Heaven".  "Every recollection of the struggle for independence", Washington said, "increased his gratitude for the times God had rescued or sustained the cause."  His final words written for this occasion stated, "I consider it an indispensable duty to close this last solemn act of my official life, by commending the interests of our dear country to the protection of the Almighty God, and those who have the superintendence of them, to his holy keeping" [Fleming, p 26].

        Washington revealed his deep religious faith in his first inaugural address on April 30, 1789.  Indeed, almost one third of this speech is devoted to religious passages.  His biographer, James Thomas Flexner, tells us: "Speaking not for conventional effect, but from his own heart, he expressed `my fervent supplication to that Almighty Being who rules over the Universe, who presides in the Councils of Nations, whose providential aids can supply every human defect' for assistance in the effort of the American people to find `liberties and happiness' under a `government instituted by themselves '  Every step which the United States had taken towards becoming `an independent nation' so he continued, `seems to have been distinguished by some token of Providential agency'.  The recent creation of a united government through `the tranquil deliberations and voluntary consent of so many distinct communities ...cannot be compared with the means by which most governments have been established without some return of pious gratitude along with an humble anticipation of the future blessing which the past seems to presage'." [Flexner, p216].
 

       "The future blessing".  Two hundred years have passed since the United States of America was founded, founded by men like Washington, who felt the Hand of Providence had guided her into existence.  We continue to receive blessings, but where is our "pious gratitude" ?

Thomas Fleming.  General Washington's Journey to Freedom.  Guideposts;  July, 1997.

James Thomas Flexner. George Washington, 4-vols. (Boston: Little, Brown, 1965-72; 1-vol abridgement, 1974).
Randall, Willard Stern.  George Washington: A Life.  Henry Holt and Company, New York.  1997.