The Spiritual Conviction Behind Democracy

American Minute from William J. Federer

On NOVEMBER 9, 1954, President Eisenhower addressed the National Conference on the Spiritual Foundation of American Democracy at the Sheraton-Carlton Hotel, Washington D.C.: "Now Dr. Lowry said something about my having certain convictions as to a God in Heaven and an Almighty power. Well, I don't think anyone needs a great deal of credit for believing in what seems to me to be obvious...This relationship between a spiritual faith...and our form of government is...so obvious that we should really not need to identify a man as unusual because he recognizes it."

Eisenhower continued: "Our whole theory of government finally expressed in our Declaration...said...Man is endowed by his Creator...When you come back to it, there is just one thing...man is worthwhile because he was born in the image of his God...Democracy is nothing in the world but a spiritual conviction...that each of us is enormously valuable, because of a certain standing before our own God."

Eisenhower concluded: "Any group that...awakens all of us to these simple things...is, in my mind, a dedicated, patriotic group that can well take the Bible in one hand and the flag in the other, and march ahead."

William J. Federer is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and president of Amerisearch, Inc, which is dedicated to researching our American heritage. The American Minute radio feature looks back at events in American history on the dates they occurred, is broadcast daily across the country and read by thousand on the internet.