PrintEmbracing the American's Creed
It's a safe bet that most Americans do not know that year 2018 was the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the American's Creed by the United States Congress (House of Representatives). In April of 1918, the Congress accepted the words composed in 1917 by William Tyler Page during World War I as the official American's Creed.
Referring to the Creed, Page said: "It is the summary of the fundamental principles of the American political faith as set forth in its greatest documents, its worthiest traditions, and its greatest leaders." His wording of the Creed includes passages and phrases from the Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the Constitution, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, and Daniel Webster's reply to Robert Y. Hayne in the Senate in 1830. The Creed reads as follows:
I believe in the United States of America as a Government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; a democracy in a Republic; a sovereign Nation of many sovereign States; a perfect Union, one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes. I therefore believe it is my duty to my Country to love it; to support its Constitution; to obey its laws; to respect its flag; and to defend it against all enemies.
If today's politicians, at all levels of government but especially members of the United States Congress, strongly embraced and let the American's Creed guide their daily actions and decisions, this would certainly be in the best interest of America. Such a lifestyle should help overcome, hopefully in a major way, the terribly bitter and divisive political environment that presently exists in America. Americans of all backgrounds and situations need to unite under the banner of the American's Creed!
Paul S. Gardiner is an avid lover of America living in Hoschton, Ga. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Alabama, and Army War College.
