Experience the American dream with today’s Patriot of the Past interview. I’m your host, John Gillespie.
It’s March 4, 1805. I’m in Washington, D. C., at the second inaugural address of President Thomas Jefferson.
JG: “Mr. President, to whom will you go for assistance to guide you as chief executive?”
TJ: “I shall need the wisdom, counsel, and protection of the God who led our fathers as Israel of old, and I ask Americans to join me in prayer to guide our nation in these trying times.”
Many Presidential Inaugural addresses reflect the deep religious heritage of our founding. Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist recently declared, “The wall of separation between church and state is a metaphor based on bad history.”
Read more about Thomas Jefferson and the wall of separation between church and state.
John and Jan Gillespie are the founders of the Rawhide Boys’ Ranch; they have fostered 351 teenagers and wrote the book Our 351 Sons; they have also assisted numerous churches in developing youth programs and expanding their total church ministries. After running for U.S. Senate, John founded 1776 American Dream, which exists to demonstrate the vision of our founding fathers and help our generation of youth passionately embrace those values.
