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On April 30, 1789, George Washington, dressed in a plain brown broadcloth suit, stood on the second balcony of Federal Hall in New York City before approximately 10,000 spectators and swore the oath of office as first president of the new United States of America.
Upon completion of the oath, a thunderous ovation greeted the new president and church bells began ringing in his honor. Washington acknowledged the applause with a humble bow and left to address Congress with the nation's first inaugural address. Washington opened his address with what has been called his "Earnest Prayer."
"It would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official Act, my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the Universe, who presides in the Councils of Nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that his benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the People of the United States, a Government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes."
Washington continued:
"No People can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand, which conducts the Affairs of men more than the People of the United States. Every step, by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency."
Then, speaking on behalf of the newly established Republic, Washington made a covenant with God, stating:
"We ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven, can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained: And since the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the Republican model of Government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people."
With these words, Washington was making it clear that no nation can expect to be blessed by God ("propitious smiles of Heaven") if it turns away from Him. ("disregards the eternal rules of order and right").
Washington, representing the nation, was making a promise that the United States of America would not stray from divine principles, and thus risk losing God's blessing and protection.
After his address, Washington and members of Congress walked a short distance down the street to the Episcopal Trinity Church where they prayed for two hours, seeking the blessings of God on our nation.
We, of course, are not the first people to believe that it had forged a special relationship with God. God also made an eternal and everlasting covenant with His chosen people, Israel.
"The Lord had said to Abraham, 'Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you, I will curse.'"
However, God's covenant did not mean that Israel was free to disobey God and His command. While disobedience would not result in the annulment of the covenant; it would bring judgment and God's chastisement. For example, for continued disobedience of God's commandments, the Babylonians were permitted to conquer the Jewish Kingdom, destroying its Temple and taking its people as captives. But this did not negate God's compact with His people and after 70 years of captivity, his people were forgiven and permitted to return to their land.
Few would argue that the United States has been blessed, given abundant prosperity and a way of life and standard of living unmatched in human history. Our founders in their wisdom created a Constitution which has guided us and protected our individual freedoms for 240 years. It has allowed us to engage in that "pursuit of happiness" set out in the Declaration of Independence.
Of course, we have had our share of failures and departures from this principled path we pledged to follow, but we have eventually found our way back to a moral equilibrium. For instance, it took 80 years and the loss of 600,000 Americans in a Civil War to rid the nation of the scourge of slavery.
But now our nation appears seriously adrift and most of us seem to instinctively feel it. Morality is under siege. Under the rubric of "separation of church and state," faith and religion have been exiled from our schools and marginalized in the marketplace. Our economy is staggering with anemic growth, our politicians are venal, and our families in crisis. Americans have become so non-judgmental that a large number of us, especially our children, can no longer distinguish between right and wrong, good and evil.
This moral confusion has had serious consequences, including the collapse of marriage, increase in violent and senseless crime, corruption in our government leaders and a failure of basic good taste and manners resulting in a coarse culture, toxic to the fabric of our society.
Sam Adams, one of our nation's founders, once said, "A general dissolution of principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America, than the whole force of the common enemy."
His cousin, John Adams, further advised, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
Donald J. Trump tells us that he wants to "Make America Great Again."
I submit that this goal will be hopeless unless we heed George Washington's Prayer and its moral imperative.
Guest columnist Bonenberger is an attorney who lives and practices in Wheeling.