In many respects, July Fourth may have appeared to be like any other day in that summer of 1776.

But on this morning, when the first glimpse of light broke across the surface of the waters that had carried them to this new land, one imagines that the handful who were in the midst of making history had long since given up any attempt to rest.

This was not like any other day.

This was Independence Day. The responsibility for giving voice to the principles upon which a new union would be formed weighed heavily in the hearts of the fathers of this land.

These Were Men of Faith
Their words and writings reveal that what was to take place this early morning of July Fourth was the manifestation of a long season of prayer, for these were men of faith.

The words of George Washington, historically named the "Father of Our Country," offered up a prayer for God's blessing on the new nation:

"We make our earnest prayer that Thou will keep the United States in Thy holy protection and that Thou will be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to [humble] ourselves with that...."

John Quincy Adams later said of this new society, America: "Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is fundamentally linked with the birthday of the Savior? That it forms a leading event in the progress of the Gospel dispensation?

"Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer's mission upon earth? That it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity?"

According to Adams, Christmas and the Fourth of July were fundamentally connected. On July Fourth, the founders simply took the precepts of Christ, which came into the world through His birth (Christmas), and incorporated those principles into civil government.

James Madison said that this new nation had staked its future on the capacity of each citizen to sustain himself according to God's Ten Commandments. Patrick Henry spoke of the foundation of this new government this way:

"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians. Not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ."

A holy faith burned in the spirits and guided the actions of all those who set in motion the establishment of these United States of America. Their own words bear testimony to this truth.

And it is no accident that in the few words chosen to declare independence on that summer morning, the Name of an Almighty God appears as testimony to the faith of our fathers:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. —The Declaration of Independence