David Barton

The Small House Rotunda connects the main Rotunda with the Old House Chamber. In the Small House Rotunda there are three statues, including one of the Reverend John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg.

In the 1770s, Reverend Muhlenberg pastored two churches in the tiny town of Woodstock, Virginia, on the west side of the Blue Ridgemountains. One of those churches was an English-speaking Episcopal church; the other was a German-speaking Lutheran church. In addition to pastoring those two churches, Reverend Muhlenberg was also a member of the Virginia legislature.

By January 1776, even though it would still be months before the Declaration was signed, armed conflict was fully underway in America. In fact, British troops were already at work in Virginia; they had marched on Williamsburg and seized the patriots’ gunpowder and munitions. Patrick Henry rallied 5,000 Virginians to retake those munitions or demand full payment from the British for what had been seized.

In mid-January, Pastor Muhlenberg returned from the State legislature

in Williamsburg to his churches in Woodstock, and on January 21, 1776, he stood in his pulpit and delivered what was to become his Farewell Sermon. He preached that day from the passage in Ecclesiastes 3, that to everything there is a time and a season – a time to be born, a time to die, etc. When he arrived at verse 8 (that there is a time for peace and a time for war), he confirmed to his congregation that this indeed was not a time of peace but was instead a time of war – that Virginia had already been forced into the conflict. He then bowed his head and offered a dismissal prayer.

However, instead of following his usual custom after his sermon of going off to the vestry room to disrobe after his sermon, on this occasion he began to disrobe in front of the congregation. When he finally shed his clerical robes, he stood before them in the full uniform of a military officer!

I now make it my earnest prayer that God would have you and the State over which you preside in His holy protection, – that He would incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government, – to entertain a brotherly affection and a love for one another, for their fellow citizens of the United States at large, and particularly for their brethren who have served in the field, – and finally, that He would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and [peaceful] temper of the mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, without an humble imitation of whose example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy nation.

The final thing George Washington reminds the governors and States is that if they don’t imitate Jesus, America won’t be a happy nation.

One of the statues in the Rotunda is of our 20th President, James A. Garfield. Garfield, according to his own account, experienced a miraculous intervention of God in his life which saved him from certain drowning in the Ohio-Pennsylvania canal. His is a wonderful story, told in his biography, From Log-Cabin to the White House. Following the Providential intervention that literally saved his life, Garfield gave his heart to the Lord, committed his life to Christ, and became a minister of the Gospel.

In fact, in one of his letters, he describes a revival in which he personally preached the Gospel 19 times, with 34 individuals coming to Christ and 31 of them being baptized. Although such activities are not typically associated with our Presidents today, this was part of the life of James A. Garfield, the 20th President of the United States and a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Samuel Adams was a strong and outspoken Christian – a fact confirmed both in his private writings and in the official public records. He was such an important leader that he, too, has been honored with an individual statute, located in East Central Hall.

Religious proclamations acknowledging God and calling on His aid (like those already seen from Jonathan Trumbull, John Hancock, and Samuel Adams) were frequent from our Founders, not only in their individual state leadership roles as governors but also in their collective national leadership roles in Congress. For example, during the Revolution, Congress issued no less than fifteen national prayer proclamations. 25 Those proclamations, each written by different committees composed of different Founding Fathers, were all characterized by strong Biblical language. This should come as no surprise, however; after all, in the Declaration of Independence, our Founders announced to the world that they were proceeding “with a firm reliance on Divine Providence”; and the numerous prayer proclamations issued throughout the Revolution prove that they meant what they said.

There are many other Founding Fathers in the Rotunda painting of the signers of the Declaration who are worthy of examination, but it is sufficiently established that numerous Christians were among the signers and that much spiritual depth was represented by the individuals in that one painting.

The Rotunda painting of the surrender of the British at Yorktown depicts the conclusion of the last military battle of the American Revolution. Even though two more years would pass before a final peace treaty was signed, for all practical purposes, after Yorktown, America was free from British laws and policies and was now able to establish her own.

If one accepts the current ridiculous charges that our Founders were not religious, then this is the account of an alleged deist Founding Father giving a very Christ-centered altar call in a courtroom. Hardly! Signer of the Declaration Thomas McKean was another of our many Founding Fathers who was a strong Christian.

Consider next signer John Hancock. After serving as a President of Congress during the Revolution, he was elected Governor of Massachusetts, where he issued several proclamations calling the citizens to prayer, fasting, and thanksgiving. Hancock’s proclamation from October 15, 1791, is typical of his others: it contains strongly evangelical language. For example, notice the request with which he closes that proclamation: And pray especially “that universal happiness may be established in the world; [and] that all may bow to the scepter of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the whole earth be filled with His glory.” John Hancock also issued other religious proclamations, each equally evangelical in nature, and all fully reflective of his own Christian beliefs.

John Hancock is another of our Founders who was open about his faith and who has been honored with a statue at the Capitol, located in the east corridor of the Senate wing.Consider signer Samuel Adams. Because of his leadership in events like the Boston Tea Party and organizations such as the Sons of Liberty, he has been titled “The Father of the American Revolution.” After the Revolution, Samuel Adams remained very active in political affairs. For example, he was one of the individuals responsible for the movement that led to the drafting and adoption of the Bill of Rights, and he later became the Lieutenant Governor and then Governor of Massachusetts.

As governor, he, like John Hancock, issued several proclamations for prayer, fasting, and thanksgiving which used strong evangelical language. For example, in his 1795 proclamation, Adams closed by asking citizens to pray “that the peaceful and glorious reign of our Divine Redeemer may be known and enjoyed throughout the whole family of mankind.” 23 This prayer request was often repeated by Adams, as, for example, in his 1797 proclamation, in which he asked that the people pray for “speedily bringing on that holy and happy