Many posts have discussed the fake Tocqueville quotation, "America is great, because America is good. If America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great." Tocqueville never wrote any such thing. The bogus line has been circulating for many years. There has been a good deal of work on its origin, but, certainly, it did not originate with Tocqueville.
As I leave Congress, I urge all of us to look for ways to cultivate more grace, love, and forgiveness in this world and serve others. We hope for a time of healing.
Alexis de Tocqueville said it so well. He said: “America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”
I have served with so many good people and had the honor of representing the good people of eastern Washington. For that, I am grateful. I say thank you, may God bless you, and may God continue to bless the United States of America.
Speaker Mike Johnson started the 119th Congress by quoting a prayer that he attributed to Thomas Jefferson. The quotation is fake. Jefferson never wrote or uttered such a prayer.
In 2010, Frank Miele wrote:In speaker acceptance remarks, Johnson reads what he called a prayer by Thomas Jefferson. However, Monticello calls it "spurious" & unlikely it's from Jefferson: https://t.co/RNbBInod5P
— Brian Kaylor (@BrianKaylor) January 3, 2025
Johnson has history of using fake quotes: https://t.co/w0iyOz9qf3 pic.twitter.com/0YfEVkPOpw
On May 17, 1886, the prayer was printed in the Fitchburg (Mass.) Sentinel as a “Prayer for the Country set forth by Bishop HC Potter for use in the Diocese of New York.”
Sure enough, Potter was another Episcopalian bishop, full name Henry Codman Potter, who had a reputation as a writer and an interest in both social justice and politics. It is entirely likely that with Potter, we have found the true source of the “Jefferson Prayer,” some 81 years after its purported origin.
Here, finally, it is:
“Almighty God, who in the former times leddest our fathers forth into a wealthy place, and didst set their feet in a large room, give Thy grace, we humbly beseech Thee, to us their children, that we may always approve ourselves a people mindful of Thy favor and glad to do Thy will. Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning and pure manners. Defend our liberties, preserve our unity. Save us from violence, discord and confusion, from pride and arrogancy, and from every evil way. Fashion into one happy people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue with the spirit of wisdom those whom we intrust in Thy name with the authority of governance, to the end that there be peace at home, and that we keep our place among the nations of the earth. In the time of our prosperity, temper our self-confidence with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble suffer not our trust in Thee to fail. All which we ask for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.”
