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A Prayer Changed the U.S. Capitol
COMMENTARY By David W. New
Copyright by David W. News, Esq.
The Constitution says the president
"shall from time to time give Congress information of the State of
the Union." The Constitution does not require a particular format,
but modern presidents have fulfilled this obligation by delivering a
speech from the well of the House of Representatives.
Just above where the president speaks
are four large words written in gold: "In God We Trust." Very few
Americans are aware how those words got there. The phrase "In God We
Trust" has been on our money since the Civil War. In 1956, Congress
made it our national motto. However, the display of "In God We
Trust" in the House of Representatives is a fairly recent addition.
A short 22-word prayer caused
installation of the national motto in the House of Representatives.
The prayer was as follows: "Almighty God, we acknowledge our
dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents,
our teachers and our Country."
This prayer is known as the Regents'
Prayer. The Board of Regents, which had administrative authority
over the public schools in the state of New York, wrote the prayer.
In June 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court said the Regents' Prayer was
unconstitutional and violated the separation of church and state.
The court said it was not the "business of government" to write
prayers.
However, in the following year we
found out it did not matter if the government wrote the prayer. In a
subsequent decision, the court ruled against the Lord's Prayer as
well. Apparently, the Supreme Court decided it would no longer
tolerate vocal prayer of any kind during class time.
The public reaction to the school
prayer decision was very negative. The American people did not feel
such a short prayer violated the separation of church and state.
Most people believed that as long as student participation was
voluntary, the traditional practice of school prayer should be
allowed. Indeed, the Board of Regents did not require the local
public schools to include a prayer in their school day. It was
voluntary. Public opinion polls since 1962 have suggested that
support for school prayer in some form is popular with most
Americans.
The reaction of Congress was equally
negative. Congress felt the court?s decision was out of step with
American traditions and values.
This is when our national motto
enters the picture. Rep. John Williams, Mississippi Democrat,
sponsored House Resolution 740, which authorized installing "In God
We Trust" in gold letters in the well of the House of
Representatives. It is clear from the debates concerning the
resolution that a major reason Congress installed the national motto
was to protest the school prayer decision by the Supreme Court.
The House approved the resolution in
September 1962 and the motto was installed that December. The
following January, President John F. Kennedy became the first
president to give his State of the Union address with the golden
words above him. It was the last time he did so, due to his tragic
assassination in November 1963.
Thus, one short prayer not only
changed the U.S. Capitol building but began a long battle over
religion in public schools. This was the beginning of the culture
wars in America.
David W. New is a lawyer in the
Washington, D.C. area. He is the author of "Religious Freedom in
America for Beginners," which is available on Amazon.com.
Originally Published June 25, 2006 in
The Washington Times
Reprinted with permission from David W. New, Esq.
Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;
or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of
the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for
a redress of grievances.
--
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution --
Other
Articles by David W. New, Esq.
For questions
or comments regarding David New’s articles, please contact him
directly at:
david_new@msn.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An Historic Example
Of Judicial Activism: The Cantwell Case
(November 2006)
Should America Be One Nation Under God? Part 2: The Treaty of
Tripoli
(June and July 2005)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Should America Be One Nation Under God? Part 1
(April
and May 2005)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Federal Abortion Amendment of 1868
(February and
March 2005)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How the Supreme Court Will Decide the Ten Commandment Cases
in 2005
(December and January 2005)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Where is God in the Constitution?
(October and
November 2004) (Revised 3/30/05)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Federal Marriage Amendment of 1868
(September
2004)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How We Lost the Power to Govern Ourselves
(July and
August 2004)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Does the ACLU Really Believe in the Separation of Church and
State?
(June 2004)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Most Unpopular Word in the First Amendment
(May
2004)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Pro-Life History of US Treaties (April 2004)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Would Thomas Jefferson Display the Ten Commandments? Part 2
(March 2004)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Would Thomas Jefferson Display the Ten Commandments? Part 1
(February 2004) |
