TOW #16: The American Patriot's Handbook (IRB #2, Part 2)

For the second half of this marking period, I finished The American Patriot’s Handbook, a compilation of important American historical documents by George Grant. After reading the first half, I discussed Grant’s purpose, to inspire American patriotism, and how he achieved that through the book. For the second half, as it covers America’s history from Columbus to September 11, 2001, I will discuss the evolution of American rhetoric as it relates to God.

It is interesting to note the constant presence of “God” in American rhetoric. It would be natural to assume God would be a common topic in early America, where communities were often based around a church, particularly in New England, and in other colonies based on their specific religious tolerations. However, the use of “God” persists throughout all of American history covered in the book, showing America’s largely Christian history, particularly in positions of power. The role of the “God” card, however, has changed greatly from the early days, when He was a symbol of ethos, to the present day, where He serves largely the purpose of pathos. Beginning with Columbus, God was the ultimate source of credibility and justification. The Italian explorer noted in his “Apologia” that “[God] unlocked within me the determination to execute the idea [of navigating to the Indies]” (4). God’s Will is thus the justification for his voyage, and later the subjugation of the native peoples. Backed by this divine destiny, his rhetoric pleads that he can do no wrong. Another such early document in which God is used for credibility is John Winthrop’s “A Model of Charity” sermon. Winthrop, a Puritan preacher, opens with the statement that “God Almighty in His most holy and wide providence hath disposed of the condition of mankind, as in all times some must be rich and some poor, some high and eminent in power and dignity; others mean and in subjection” (9). In other words, the function of God in the statement is to give authority to the claim that some must be socially, politically, and economically in higher positions than others. For his Puritan audience, the use of God served to build the trust of the lowly in their superiors. However, at some point in the book, which is quite difficult to pinpoint not having finished studying US history, God transitioned from a credibility trigger word to an emotional one. The results, however, are clear in George W. Bush’s address of the nation on September 11, 2001: “We cannot know what lies ahead. Yet, we do know that God had placed us together, to serve each other and our country” (394). God, here, is no longer a symbol from which credibility is derived – Bush does not use God to justify himself or any condition of the nation, but rather uses Him to give the people hope stemming from the deity in which most Americans believe.

Though I do not yet know enough to mark this transition on a timeline, I plan to continue to explore it through my study of US history this year.