Alexander's Column
Getting Gettysburg Right
Lincoln v Obama -- Words Matter
By Mark Alexander ·
November 21, 2013
"Our unalterable resolution would be to be free. They have
attempted to subdue us by force, but God be praised! in vain. Their arts
may be more dangerous than their arms. Let us then ... under God trust
our cause to our swords." --Samuel Adams (1776)
This week, we marked the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address,
a three-minute speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln on November 19,
1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. That battlefield was the site of the bloodiest
conflict in the War Between the States, a three-day battle in July of
1863 that resulted in 23,000 Union casualties and 28,000 Confederate
casualties.
Lincoln was a self-taught man whose formal schooling added up to less
than one year. But he penned this remarkable, concise and eloquent
address, which not only captured a pivotal moment in a war-torn nation,
but also paid tribute with words that honored all Americans. And he managed to say it without teleprompters.
One notable catalyst, which sparked this horrific war, was the
abolition of slavery. Lincoln's party was Republican, but in a
tragically ironic twist of fate, the Democrat Party
has now mastered the cowing of 95% of black Americans as its most loyal
constituency. They accomplished this transition by instituting social
policies that have enslaved generations of poor people on urban poverty plantations, and then ensuring their fealty with massive redistributive handouts and victimization indoctrination promoting dependency on the state.
Barack Obama, who used Lincoln's Bible for his inaugurations and who
envisions himself the finest legacy example of Lincoln's Emancipation
Proclamation -- though he has no slave ancestry on this continent -- was
narcissistically compelled to chime in on the anniversary recognition.
Notably, Obama offered up his videotaped recitation of the Gettysburg Address for historian Ken Burns' 150th anniversary Web dedication to Lincoln's timeless words.
In his recitation of the address, however, Obama predictably omitted two key words. Lincoln said, "that the nation shall, under God,
have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by
the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." But Obama
altered his recitation, leaving "under God" out.
For the record, Ken Burns recited it correctly. George W. Bush was also among the handful of participants for Burns' project, and he recited it correctly. Even Democrat National Chairwoman, ultra-leftist Debbie Wasserman Schultz, recited it correctly.
For a little historical perspective, Lincoln's use of "under God" is
sometimes disputed -- mostly by those who object to those words today.
The words do not appear in two historic drafts (Nicolay and Hay) but do
appear in three drafts (Everett, Bancroft, and Bliss). However, the best
evidence of what Lincoln said is the verbatim text of his speech, which
was telegraphed by numerous journalists to their newspapers on the very
day he delivered his address.
Among the journalists in witness were Joseph Gilbert with the
Associated Press, John Young with the Philadelphia Press (who would
later become Librarian of Congress), Charles Hale with the Boston
Advertiser, and other reporters from the New York Tribune and The New
York Times. Each of their telegraphs included the words "under God," and
as noted by historian William E. Barton:
"Every stenographic report, good, bad and indifferent, says 'that the
nation shall, under God, have a new birth of freedom.' There was no
common source from which all the reporters could have obtained those
words but from Lincoln's own lips at the time of delivery."
Indeed, as reported by The New York Times the day after Lincoln's
delivery, he included the words, "under God." (That original text is posted here). Historians may debate Lincoln's legacy as president, but there is no disputing his religious devotion and his very deliberate use of "under God" at Gettysburg.
So why did Obama choose to omit these essential words?
Barack Obama has a long history of omitting references to God, such as his repeated omission of "endowed by our Creator" when referencing the Declaration of Independence.
So what is Obama's overarching objective?
Under the pretense of "religious tolerance," Barack Obama's
administration has been quietly advancing his mandate to remove all
expressions or manifestations of faith from government forums --
excepting Islam. This eradication serves the Left's strategic objective
of replacing God-given Rule of Law with the rule of men -- because the former is predicated on the principle of Liberty "endowed by our Creator," while the latter asserts that Liberty is the gift of potentates and presidents.
Obama's administrators are constantly endeavoring to drive wedges between Liberty and its inherent foundational endowment.
Most notably, he has done this in those spheres where he can exercise
power and influence without legislative and judicial precedents -- such
as our military.
As commander in chief, Obama has certainly succeeded in suppressing
religious expression by uniformed Patriots in our military service
branches. However, his subversion of faith expression in the military is
not going without objection.
For example, last year The Patriot uncovered what appears to
be a legal setup by Obama's DoD civilian administrators and their
surrogates, which has the potential to force the removal of "so help me
God" from all military oaths.
That strategic ploy starts with the 2011 removal of those words from
officer, enlisted and cadet oaths at the Air Force Academy. Three weeks
ago, we published a detailed account of that strategy. This week, in response to that column, 28 members of Congress issued an official letter of inquiry to the Superintendent
of the Air Force Academy asking for "a detailed explanation as to why
[they omitted] 'so help me God' from these oaths, despite the fact that
the phrase is used in the very statutory language of the United States
Code, and was part of the military oath drafted by the Founders
themselves."
(A Fox News report notes the AFA's Public Affairs Office claimed yesterday, "It was an editorial oversight,"
however, a Freedom of Information Act request will be filed tomorrow in
an effort to determine if anyone outside the AFA had a hand in the
alteration of oaths.)
Typical of the "expert opinion" syndicated across the nation about
our nation's Godly heritage, is that of Pulitzer Prize-winning writer
Mark Thompson, who posted an op/ed in Time magazine on the "So help me
God" issue. Thompson's Pulitzer was earned for a series he wrote that
led to enhanced military helicopter safety. Clearly it was not earned
for his limited knowledge of civilian and military oaths.
Thompson asserted, "The formal American embrace of religion in civic
government is a fairly recent phenomenon: 'Under God' was added to the
Pledge of Allegiance in 1954. 'In God We Trust' became the nation's
official motto in 1956. In 1957, 'In God We Trust' was added to U.S.
paper currency."
He got the recent dates right, but his assertion that references to
"God" are a "recent phenomenon" is patently, stupefyingly, incorrect.
Thompson should recall that the words "under God" were in the
Gettysburg Address, as noted, but it is undeniable that the roots of
that attribution date to our nation's inception and were inspired by the
enlightened manifestos of natural law long before that.
The most formative words in our nation's seminal foundational
document, the Declaration of Independence, assert that Liberty is "endowed by their Creator," not the gift of man, as Barack Obama and his Leftist cadres assert today.
The Continental Congress established its first military oath in 1776
and revised it in 1778 -- both ending with "So help me God."
The words "So help me God" were prescribed in oaths by the Judiciary
Act of September 24, 1789. But five months earlier, George Washington
elected to use those same words in conclusion to the first oath of
office as president.
Invoking faith was a common theme for Washington and most other
Founders, as in these words from his farewell address in 1796: "Of all
the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion
and morality are indispensible supports. In vain would that man claim
the tribute of Patriotism who should labor to subvert these great
Pillars of human happiness -- these firmest props of the duties of men
and citizens. ... Let it simply be asked where is the security for
property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation
desert the oaths..."
The words "In God we trust" first appeared on U.S. coins in 1864,
long before it was added to currency in 1957. And one of the earliest
references to "In God We Trust" was in the last verse of our National
Anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner." During the War of 1812, Francis
Scott Key penned the words, "And this be our motto: 'In God is our
trust,'" after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry in 1814.
But Obama and his like-minded Pulitzer-wielding pontificators are busy redacting references to our Creator.
Next week, we observe with reverence our timeless Thanksgiving holiday, which has been celebrated appropriately throughout our history.
We do so as a nation, because a month before his Gettysburg Address,
Abraham Lincoln officially designated a national day of "Thanksgiving
and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens," on the
fourth Thursday of November.
In his proclamation, Lincoln referenced the "ever watchful providence
of Almighty God." He noted of our innumerable blessings, "No human
counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great
things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God," and
recommended "offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him," that we all
may "fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal
the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent
with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace."
Of course, the first Thanksgiving proclamation
was issued by George Washington in 1789. He declared, "Whereas it is
the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God,"
that all Americans should "unite in most humbly offering our prayers and
supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to
pardon our national and other transgressions..."
That history notwithstanding, last year, as with all his previous
Thanksgiving addresses, Barack Obama refused to credit our Creator in
acknowledgment of Thanksgiving, just as he has omitted God from other
historic references.
At the conclusion of his Gettysburg Address, Lincoln affirmed, "that
government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not
perish from the earth." That reference was to our constitutional
republic, not Obama's vision for the People's Socialist Democratic Republic.
Pro Deo et Constitutione — Libertas aut Mors
Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus et Fidelis
Mark Alexander
Publisher, The Patriot Post
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