“And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.” With these words, penned by the eminent political scientist Thomas Jefferson, the struggling colonies known as the United States proclaimed their independence from Great Britain and began an adventure that would develop this small nation into a world superpower. With this “firm reliance”, her …showed first 75 words of 1927 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1927 total…be quite different. Therefore, let no one diminish the indispensability of doctrines, allow no man to question the importance of beliefs, and permit no individual to lessen the essentiality of creeds. Instead, all must be reminded of the basic influence of religion in all aspects of American life; without it, without this “Divine Providence”, this nation would be left seeking much, and still be in search of “our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor”.