Fisher Ames (1758-1808), was a Congressman from Massachusetts in the First Session of the Congress

of the United States when the Bill of Rights were formulated. It was Fisher Ames who had suggested

the wording of the First Amendment, which was adopted by the House:

Congress shall make no law establishing religion,

or to prevent the free exercise thereof,

or to infringe the rights of conscience.

Fisher Ames shared his beliefs concerning education:

Should not the Bible regain the place it once held as a schoolbook?

Its morals are pure, its examples are captivating and noble....

In no Book is there so good English, so pure and so elegant,

and by teaching all the same they will speak alike,

and the Bible will justly remain the standard of language as well as of faith.

Reference: America's God & Country Encyclopedia of Quotations, by William J. Federer. Page 26.

http://books.google.com/books?id=BtGzlMatpUUC&pg=PA26&lpg=PA26&dq=Fisher+Ames+shared+his+beliefs+concerning+education:&source=bl&ots=-d6QJPjES3&sig=pGVdKm_OEuidq9O2dddbSdmtV7o&hl=en&ei=ZkAXS42EL5HdlAf7gIHtAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Fisher%20Ames%20shared%20his%20beliefs%20concerning%20education%3A&f=false

Dr. Benjamin Rush, (December 24, 1745 – April 19, 1813), was a signatory of the Declaration of Independence,

he was a devout Christian who firmly believed in the Bible as a primary text in America's schools. He once wrote:

It is now several months since I promised to give you my reasons for preferring the Bible as a schoolbook

to all other compositions. Before I state my arguments, I shall assume the five following propositions:

I . That Christianity is the only true and perfect religion; and that in proportion as mankind adopt its principles and obey its precepts they will be wise and happy.

2. That a better knowledge of this religion is to be acquired by reading the Bible than in any other way.

3. That the Bible contains more knowledge necessary to man in his present state than any other book in the world.

4. That knowledge is most durable, and religious instruction most useful, when imparted in early life.

5. That the Bible, when not read in schools, is seldom read in any subsequent period of life.

My arguments in favor of the use of the Bible as a schoolbook are founded.

Reference: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.biblebelievers.com/B_Rush_Tract.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.biblebelievers.com/Bible_in_schools.html&usg=__dx-pZEqJrY7oPmeuDu4A_41x7g0=&h=277&w=200&sz=12&hl=en&start=10&itbs=1&tbnid=ixqcFynN_hPB0M:&tbnh=114&tbnw=82&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%2522The%2BBible%2BIn%2BSchools%2522%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

Noah Webster (October 16, 1758 – May 28, 1843). Noah Webster wrote the first American dictionary.

He was called the “Father of American Scholarship and Education.” Noah Webster considered

"education useless without the Bible."

And as a result he utilized God's written word as a key to the meaning of words.

This is the reason, Webster's 1828 edition is one of the most important reprint of the twentieth century,

the essential tool of education for Christians.

Noah's Webster's 1828 edition of the American Dictionary contains a profuse amount of Holy Scripture,

in that he would use verses from the Old and New Testaments to clarify the context in which a word was to be used.

In Webster's Dictionary, the definition of the word Faith includes the following sentences:


Being justified by faith. Rom. 5.

Without faith it is impossible to please God. Heb. 11.

For we walk by faith, and not by sight. 2Cor. 5.

With the heart man believeth to righteousness. Rom. 10.

Your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. Rom. 1.

Hast thou faith? Have it to thyself before God. Rom 14.

Reference: http://1828.mshaffer.com/d/search/word,faith

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah_Webster

Noah Webster believed that the Bible and Christianity played important roles in the lives of a free people and its government.

"In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government ought to be instructed...No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people."- Preface

Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), was the 26th President of the United States (1901-1909) and a Harvard graduate (Class of 1880).

Roosevelt expressed high value in Scripture. He said:

"A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education."

Reference: America's God & Country Encyclopedia of Quotations, by William J. Federer,PP.539-540.

http://books.google.com/books?id=BtGzlMatpUUC&pg=PA540&lpg=PA540&dq=Roosevelt+expressed+high+value+in+Scripture,+He+once+said:+%22A+tho...

William Holmes McGuffey (September 23, 1800 – May 4, 1873) was an American professor and college president.

He is the author of the McGuffey Reader , a category with the Bible & Webster's Dictionary.

The McGuffey Reader was used in public schools until 1963.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Holmes_McGuffey

On June 17, 1963, the United States Supreme Court decided the case of Abington Township School District v. Schempp (consolidated with Murray v. Curlett), 374 U.S. 203 (1963), In the case, the Court decided 8-1 in favor of the respondent,

Edward Schempp, and declared school sponsored Bible reading in public schools in the United States to be unconstitutional.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abington_School_District_v._Schempp

MESSAGE TO THE NATION (Public Law 97-280)

YEAR OF THE BIBLE: 1983, was declared on October 4, 1982, by a Joint Resolution of both the Senate

and House of Representatives in the second session of the 97th Congress of the United States of America,

held at the City of Washington:

Public Law 97-280

WHEREAS the Bible, the Word of God, has made a unique contribution in shaping the United States

as a distinctive and blessed nation and people;

WHEREAS deeply held religious convictions springing from the Holy Scriptures led to the early settlement

of our Nation;

WHEREAS Biblical teachings inspired concepts of civil government that are contained in our

Declaration of Independence and Constitution of the United States;

WHEREAS many of our great national leaders-among them President Washington, Jackson, Lincoln,

and Wilson-paid tribute to the surpassing influence of the Bible in our country's development,

as in the words of President Jackson that the Bible is "the Rock on which our Republic rests";

WHEREAS the history of our Nation clearly illustrates the value of voluntarily applying the teachings of the Scriptures

in the lives of individuals, families, and societies;

WHEREAS this Nation now faces great challenges that will test the Nation as it has never been tested before; and

WHEREAS that renewing our knowledge of and faith in God through Holy Scripture can strengthen us as a nation

and a people:

NOW, THEREFORE, be it

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representative of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

That the President is authorized and requested to designate 1983 as a national "Year of the Bible"....

Reference: http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Public_Law_97-280