Farewell Address and Vision by George Washington
Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address

George Washington’s
Farewell Address
To the People of the United States
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FRIENDS AND FELLOWS-CITIZENS:

   The period for a new election of a citizen, to administer the executive government of the United States, being not far distant, and the time actually arrived, when your thoughts must be employed designating the person, who is to be clothed with that important trust, it appears to me proper, especially as it may conduce to a more distinct expression of the public voice, that I should now apprize you of the resolution I have formed, to decline being considered among the number of those out of whom a choice is to be made.

  I beg you at the same time to do me the justice to be assured that this resolution has not been taken without a strict regard to all the considerations appertaining to the relation which binds a dutiful citizen to his country; and that in withdrawing the tender of service, which silence in my situation might imply, I am influenced by no diminution of zeal for your future interest, no deficiency of grateful respect for your past kindness, but am supported by a full conviction that the step is compatible with both.

  The acceptance of, and continuance hitherto in, the office to which your suffrages have twice called me, have been a uniform sacrifice of inclination to the opinion of duty, and to a deference for what appeared to be your desire. I constantly hoped, that it would have been much earlier in my power, consistently with motives, which I was not at liberty to disregard, to return to that retirement, from which I had been reluctantly drawn. The strength of my inclination to do this, previous to the last election, had even led to the preparation of an address to declare it to you; but mature reflection on the then perplexed and critical posture of our affairs with foreign nations, and the unanimous advice of persons entitled to my confidence impelled me to abandon the idea.

  I rejoice, that the state of your concerns, external as well as internal, no longer renders the pursuit of inclination incompatible with the sentiment of duty, or propriety; and am persuaded, whatever partiality may be retained for my services, that, in the present circumstances of our country, you will not disapprove my determination to retire.

  The impressions, with which I first undertook the arduous trust, were explained on the proper occasion. In the discharge of this trust, I will only say, that I have, with good intentions, contributed towards the organization and administration of the government the best exertions of which a very fallible judgment was capable. Not unconscious, in the outset, of the inferiority of my qualifications, experience in my own eyes, perhaps still more in the eyes of others, has strengthened the motives to diffidence of myself; and every day the increasing weight of years admonishes me more and more, that the shade of retirement is as necessary to me as it will be welcome. Satisfied, that, if any circumstances have given peculiar value to my services, they were temporary, I have the consolation to believe, that, while choice and prudence invite me to quit the political scene, patriotism does not forbid it.

  In looking forward to the moment, which is intended to terminate the career of my public life, my feelings do not permit me to suspend the deep acknowledgment of that debt of gratitude, which I owe to my beloved country for the many honors it has conferred upon me; still more for the steadfast confidence with which it has supported me; and for the opportunities I have thence enjoyed of manifesting my inviolable attachment, by services faithful and persevering, though in usefulness unequal to my zeal. If benefits have resulted to our country from these services, let it always be remembered to your praise, and as an instructive example in our annals, that under circumstances in which the passions, agitated in every direction, were liable to mislead, amidst appearances sometimes dubious, vicissitudes of fortune often discouraging, in situations in which not unfrequently want of success has countenanced the spirit of criticism, the constancy of your support was the essential prop of the efforts, and a guarantee of the plans by which they were effected. Profoundly penetrated with this idea, I shall carry it with me to my grave, as a strong incitement to unceasing vows that Heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence; that your union and brotherly affection may be perpetual; that the free constitution, which is the work of your hands, may be sacredly maintained; that its administration in every department may be stamped with wisdom and virtue; than, in fine, the happiness of the people of these States, under the auspices of liberty, may be made complete, by so careful a preservation and so prudent a use of this blessing, as will acquire to them the glory of recommending it to the applause, the affection, and adoption of every nation, which is yet a stranger to it.

  Here, perhaps I ought to stop. But a solicitude for your welfare which cannot end but with my life, and the apprehension of danger, natural to that solicitude, urge me, on an occasion like the present, to offer to your solemn contemplation, and to recommend to your frequent review, some sentiments which are the result of much reflection, of no inconsiderable observation, and which appear to me all-important to the permanency of your felicity as a people. These will be offered to you with the more freedom, as you can only see in them the disinterested warnings of a parting friend, who can possibly have no personal motive to bias his counsel. Nor can I forget, as an encouragement to it, your indulgent reception of my sentiments on a former and not dissimilar occasion.

  Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament of your hearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirm the attachment.

  The unity of Government, which constitutes you one people, is also now dear to you. It is justly so; for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very Liberty, which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee, that, from different causes and from different quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employed, to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth; as this is the point in your political fortress against which the batteries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and actively (though often covertly and insidiously) directed, it is of infinite moment, that you should properly estimate the immense value of your national Union to your collective and individual happiness; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it; accustoming yourselves to think and speak of it as of the Palladium of your political safety and prosperity; watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion, that it can in any event be abandoned; and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts.

  For this you have every inducement of sympathy and interest. Citizens, by birth or choice, of a common country, that country has a right to concentrate your affections. The name of American, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discriminations. With slight shades of difference, you have the same religion, manners, habits, and political principles. You have in a common cause fought and triumphed together; the Independence and Liberty you possess are the work of joint counsels, and joint efforts, of common dangers, sufferings, and successes.

  But these considerations, however powerfully they address themselves to your sensibility, are greatly outweighed by those, which apply more immediately to your interest. Here every portion of our country finds the most commanding motives for carefully guarding and preserving the Union of the whole.

  The North, in an unrestrained intercourse with the South, protected by the equal laws of a common government, finds, in the productions of the latter, great additional resources of maritime and commercial enterprise and precious materials of manufacturing industry. The South, in the same intercourse, benefiting by the agency of the North, sees its agriculture grow and its commerce expand. Turning partly into its own channels the seamen of the North, it finds its particular navigation invigorated; and, while it contributes, in different ways, to nourish and increase the general mass of the national navigation, it looks forward to the protection of a maritime strength, to which itself is unequally adapted. The East, in a like intercourse with the West, already finds, and in the progressive improvement of interior communications by land and water, will more and more find, a valuable vent for the commodities which it brings from abroad, or manufactures at home. The West derives from the East supplies requisite to its growth and comfort, and, what is perhaps of still greater consequence, it must of necessity owe the secure enjoyment of indispensable outlets for its own productions to the weight, influence, and the future maritime strength of the Atlantic side of the Union, directed by an indissoluble community of interest as one nation. Any other tenure by which the West can hold this essential advantage, whether derived from its own separate strength, or from an apostate and unnatural connexion with any foreign power, must be intrinsically precarious.

  While, then, every part of our country thus feels an immediate and particular interest in Union, all the parts combined cannot fail to find in the united mass of means and efforts greater strength, greater resource, proportionably greater security from external danger, a less frequent interruption of their peace by foreign nations; and, what is of inestimable value, they must derive from Union an exemption from those broils and wars between themselves, which so frequently afflict neighboring countries not tied together by the same governments, which their own rivalships alone would be sufficient to produce, but which opposite foreign alliances, attachments, and intrigues would stimulate and embitter. Hence, likewise, they will avoid the necessity of those overgrown military establishments, which, under any form of government, are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to Republican Liberty. In this sense it is, that your Union ought to be considered as a main prop of your liberty, and that the love of the one ought to endear to you the preservation of the other.

  These considerations speak a persuasive language to every reflecting and virtuous mind, and exhibit the continuance of the union as a primary object of Patriotic desire. Is there a doubt, whether a common government can embrace so large a sphere? Let experience solve it. To listen to mere speculation in such a case were criminal. We are authorized to hope, that a proper organization of the whole, with the auxiliary agency of governments for the respective subdivisions, will afford a happy issue to the experiment. It is well worth a fair and full experiment. With such powerful and obvious motives to Union, affecting all parts of our country, while experience shall not have demonstrated its impracticability, there will always be reason to distrust the patriotism of those, who in any quarter may endeavor to weaken its bands.

  In contemplating the causes, which may disturb our Union, it occurs as matter of serious concern, that any ground should have been furnished for characterizing parties by Geographical discriminations, Northern and Southern, Atlantic and Western; whence designing men may endeavor to excite a belief, that there is a real difference of local interests and views. One of the expedients of party to acquire influence, within particular districts, is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts. You cannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies and heart-burnings, which spring from these misrepresentations; they tend to render alien to each other those, who ought to be bound together by fraternal affection. The inhabitants of our western country have lately had a useful lesson on this head; they have seen, in the negotiation by the Executive, and in the unanimous ratification by the Senate, of the treaty with Spain, and in the universal satisfaction at that event, throughout the United States, a decisive proof how unfounded were the suspicions propagated among them of a policy in the General Government and in the Atlantic States unfriendly to their interests in regard to the Mississippi; they have been witnesses to the formation of two treaties, that with Great Britain, and that with Spain, which secure to them every thing they could desire, in respect to our foreign relations, towards confirming their prosperity. Will it not be their wisdom to rely for the preservation of these advantages on the union by which they were procured? Will they not henceforth be deaf to those advisers, if such there are, who would sever them from their brethren, and connect them with aliens?

  To the efficacy and permanency of your Union, a Government for the whole is indispensable. No alliances, however strict, between the parts can be an adequate substitute; they must inevitably experience the infractions and interruptions, which all alliances in all times have experienced. Sensible of this momentous truth, you have improved upon your first essay, by the adoption of a Constitution of Government better calculated than your former for an intimate Union, and for the efficacious management of your common concerns. This Government, the offspring of our own choice, uninfluenced and unawed, adopted upon full investigation and mature deliberation, completely free in its principles, in the distribution of its powers, uniting security with energy, and containing within itself a provision for its own amendment, has a just claim to your confidence and your support. Respect for its authority, compliance with its laws, acquiescence in its measures, are duties enjoined by the fundamental maxims of true Liberty. The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their Constitutions of Government. But the Constitution which at any time exists, till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all. The very idea of the power and the right of the people to establish Government presupposes the duty of every individual to obey the established Government.

  All obstructions to the execution of the Laws, all combinations and associations, under whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of the constituted authorities, are destructive of this fundamental principle, and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put, in the place of the delegated will of the nation, the will of a party, often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common counsels, and modified by mutual interests.

  However combinations or associations of the above description may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people, and to usurp for themselves the reins of government; destroying afterwards the very engines, which have lifted them to unjust dominion.

  Towards the preservation of your government, and the permanency of your present happy state, it is requisite, not only that you steadily discountenance irregular oppositions to its acknowledged authority, but also that you resist with care the spirit of innovation upon its principles, however specious the pretexts. One method of assault may be to effect, in the forms of the constitution, alterations, which will impair the energy of the system, and thus to undermine what cannot be directly overthrown. In all the changes to which you may be invited, remember that time and habit are at least as necessary to fix the true character of governments, as of other human institutions; that experience is the surest standard, by which to test the real tendency of the existing constitution of a country; that facility in changes, upon the credit of mere hypothesis and opinion, exposes to perpetual change, from the endless variety of hypothesis and opinion; and remember, especially, that, for the efficient management of our common interests, in a country so extensive as ours, a government of as much vigor as is consistent with the perfect security of liberty is indispensable. Liberty itself will find in such a government, with powers properly distributed and adjusted, its surest guardian. It is, indeed, little else than a name, where the government is too feeble to withstand the enterprises of faction, to confine each member of the society within the limits prescribed by the laws, and to maintain all in the secure and tranquil enjoyment of the rights of person and property.

  I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the state, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party, generally.

  This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but, in those of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy.

  The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries, which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of Public Liberty.

  Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind, (which nevertheless ought not to be entirely out of sight,) the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it.

  It serves always to distract the Public Councils, and enfeeble the Public Administration. It agitates the Community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which find a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions. Thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another.

  There is an opinion, that parties in free countries are useful checks upon the administration of the Government, and serve to keep alive the spirit of Liberty. This within certain limits is probably true; and in Governments of a Monarchical cast, Patriotism may look with indulgence, if not with favor, upon the spirit of party. But in those of the popular character, in Governments purely elective, it is a spirit not to be encouraged. From their natural tendency, it is certain there will always be enough of that spirit for every salutary purpose. And, there being constant danger of excess, the effort ought to be, by force of public opinion, to mitigate and assuage it. A fire not to be quenched, it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest, instead of warming, it should consume.

  It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking in a free country should inspire caution, in those intrusted with its administration, to confine themselves within their respective constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exercise of the powers of one department to encroach upon another. The spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments in one, and thus to create, whatever the form of government, a real despotism. A just estimate of that love of power, and proneness to abuse it, which predominates in the human heart, is sufficient to satisfy us of the truth of this position. The necessity of reciprocal checks in the exercise of political power, by dividing and distributing it into different depositories, and constituting each the Guardian of the Public Weal against invasions by the others, has been evinced by experiments ancient and modern; some of them in our country and under our own eyes. To preserve them must be as necessary as to institute them. If, in the opinion of the people, the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way, which the constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpation; for, though this, in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed. The precedent must always greatly overbalance in permanent evil any partial or transient benefit, which the use can at any time yield.

  Of all the dispositions and habits, which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of Men and Citizens. The mere Politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connexions with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked, Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.

  It is substantially true, that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule, indeed, extends with more or less force to every species of free government. Who, that is a sincere friend to it, can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric ?

  Promote, then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened.

  As a very important source of strength and security, cherish public credit. One method of preserving it is, to use it as sparingly as possible; avoiding occasions of expense by cultivating peace, but remembering also that timely disbursements to prepare for danger frequently prevent much greater disbursements to repel it; avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of expense, but by vigorous exertions in time of peace to discharge the debts, which unavoidable wars may have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burthen, which we ourselves ought to bear. The execution of these maxims belongs to your representatives, but it is necessary that public opinion should cooperate. To facilitate to them the performance of their duty, it is essential that you should practically bear in mind, that towards the payment of debts there must be Revenue; that to have Revenue there must be taxes; that no taxes can be devised, which are not more or less inconvenient and unpleasant; that the intrinsic embarrassment, inseparable from the selection of the proper objects (which is always a choice of difficulties), ought to be a decisive motive for a candid construction of the conduct of the government in making it, and for a spirit of acquiescence in the measures for obtaining revenue, which the public exigencies may at any time dictate.

  Observe good faith and justice towards all Nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all. Religion and Morality enjoin this conduct; and can it be, that good policy does not equally enjoin it? It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and, at no distant period, a great Nation, to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a people always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence. Who can doubt, that, in the course of time and things, the fruits of such a plan would richly repay any temporary advantages, which might be lost by a steady adherence to it ? Can it be, that Providence has not connected the permanent felicity of a Nation with its Virtue? The experiment, at least, is recommended by every sentiment which ennobles human nature. Alas! is it rendered impossible by its vices ?

  In the execution of such a plan, nothing is more essential, than that permanent, inveterate antipathies against particular Nations, and passionate attachments for others, should be excluded; and that, in place of them, just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated. The Nation, which indulges towards another an habitual hatred, or an habitual fondness, is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest. Antipathy in one nation against another disposes each more readily to offer insult and injury, to lay hold of slight causes of umbrage, and to be haughty and intractable, when accidental or trifling occasions of dispute occur. Hence frequent collisions, obstinate, envenomed, and bloody contests. The Nation, prompted by ill-will and resentment, sometimes impels to war the Government, contrary to the best calculations of policy. The Government sometimes participates in the national propensity, and adopts through passion what reason would reject; at other times, it makes the animosity of the nation subservient to projects of hostility instigated by pride, ambition, and other sinister and pernicious motives. The peace often, sometimes perhaps the liberty, of Nations has been the victim.

  So likewise, a passionate attachment of one Nation for another produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite Nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest, in cases where no real common interest exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and wars of the latter, without adequate inducement or justification. It leads also to concessions to the favorite Nation of privileges denied to others, which is apt doubly to injure the Nation making the concessions; by unnecessarily parting with what ought to have been retained; and by exciting jealousy, ill-will, and a disposition to retaliate, in the parties from whom equal privileges are withheld. And it gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens, (who devote themselves to the favorite nation,) facility to betray or sacrifice the interests of their own country, without odium, sometimes even with popularity; gilding, with the appearances of a virtuous sense of obligation, a commendable deference for public opinion, or a laudable zeal for public good, the base or foolish compliances of ambition, corruption, or infatuation.

  As avenues to foreign influence in innumerable ways, such attachments are particularly alarming to the truly enlightened and independent Patriot. How many opportunities do they afford to tamper with domestic factions, to practice the arts of seduction, to mislead public opinion, to influence or awe the Public Councils! Such an attachment of a small or weak, towards a great and powerful nation, dooms the former to be the satellite of the latter.

  Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens,) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake; since history and experience prove, that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of Republican Government. But that jealousy, to be useful, must be impartial; else it becomes the instrument of the very influence to be avoided, instead of a defence against it. Excessive partiality for one foreign nation, and excessive dislike of another, cause those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side, and serve to veil and even second the arts of influence on the other. Real patriots, who may resist the intrigues of the favorite, are liable to become suspected and odious; while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the people, to surrender their interests.

  The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is, in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connexion as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop.

  Europe has a set of primary interests, which to us have none, or a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, it must be unwise in us to implicate ourselves, by artificial ties, in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics, or the ordinary combinations and collisions of her friendships or enmities.

  Our detached and distant situation invites and enables us to pursue a different course. If we remain one people, under an efficient government, the period is not far off, when we may defy material injury from external annoyance; when we may take such an attitude as will cause the neutrality, we may at any time resolve upon, to be scrupulously respected; when belligerent nations, under the impossibility of making acquisitions upon us, will not lightly hazard the giving us provocation; when we may choose peace or war, as our interest, guided by justice, shall counsel.

  Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation? Why quit our own to stand upon foreign ground? Why, by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest, humor, or caprice?

  It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world; so far, I mean, as we are now at liberty to do it; for let me not be understood as capable of patronizing infidelity to existing engagements. I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy. I repeat it, therefore, let those engagements be observed in their genuine sense. But, in my opinion, it is unnecessary and would be unwise to extend them.

  Taking care always to keep ourselves, by suitable establishments, on a respectable defensive posture, we may safely trust to temporary alliances for extraordinary emergencies.

  Harmony, liberal intercourse with all nations, are recommended by policy, humanity, and interest. But even our commercial policy should hold an equal and impartial hand; neither seeking nor granting exclusive favors or preferences; consulting the natural course of things; diffusing and diversifying by gentle means the streams of commerce, but forcing nothing; establishing, with powers so disposed, in order to give trade a stable course, to define the rights of our merchants, and to enable the government to support them, conventional rules of intercourse, the best that present circumstances and mutual opinion will permit, but temporary, and liable to be from time to time abandoned or varied, as experience and circumstances shall dictate; constantly keeping in view, that it is folly in one nation to look for disinterested favors from another; that it must pay with a portion of its independence for whatever it may accept under that character; that, by such acceptance, it may place itself in the condition of having given equivalents for nominal favors, and yet of being reproached with ingratitude for not giving more. There can be no greater error than to expect or calculate upon real favors from nation to nation. It is an illusion, which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard.

  In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an old and affectionate friend, I dare not hope they will make the strong and lasting impression I could wish; that they will control the usual current of the passions, or prevent our nation from running the course, which has hitherto marked the destiny of nations. But, if I may even flatter myself, that they may be productive of some partial benefit, some occasional good; that they may now and then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs of foreign intrigue, to guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism; this hope will be a full recompense for the solicitude for your welfare, by which they have been dictated.

  How far in the discharge of my official duties, I have been guided by the principles which have been delineated, the public records and other evidences of my conduct must witness to you and to the world. To myself, the assurance of my own conscience is, that I have at least believed myself to be guided by them.

  In relation to the still subsisting war in Europe, my Proclamation of the 22d of April 1793, is the index to my Plan. Sanctioned by your approving voice, and by that of your Representatives in both Houses of Congress, the spirit of that measure has continually governed me, uninfluenced by any attempts to deter or divert me from it.

  After deliberate examination, with the aid of the best lights I could obtain, I was well satisfied that our country, under all the circumstances of the case, had a right to take, and was bound in duty and interest to take, a neutral position. Having taken it, I determined, as far as should depend upon me, to maintain it, with moderation, perseverance, and firmness.

  The considerations, which respect the right to hold this conduct, it is not necessary on this occasion to detail. I will only observe, that, according to my understanding of the matter, that right, so far from being denied by any of the Belligerent Powers, has been virtually admitted by all.

  The duty of holding a neutral conduct may be inferred, without any thing more, from the obligation which justice and humanity impose on every nation, in cases in which it is free to act, to maintain inviolate the relations of peace and amity towards other nations.

  The inducements of interest for observing that conduct will best be referred to your own reflections and experience. With me, a predominant motive has been to endeavour to gain time to our country to settle and mature its yet recent institutions, and to progress without interruption to that degree of strength and consistency, which is necessary to give it, humanly speaking, the command of its own fortunes.

  Though, in reviewing the incidents of my administration, I am unconscious of intentional error, I am nevertheless too sensible of my defects not to think it probable that I may have committed many errors. Whatever they may be, I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which they may tend. I shall also carry with me the hope, that my Country will never cease to view them with indulgence; and that, after forty-five years of my life dedicated to its service with an upright zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will be consigned to oblivion, as myself must soon be to the mansions of rest.

  Relying on its kindness in this as in other things, and actuated by that fervent love towards it, which is so natural to a man, who views it in the native soil of himself and his progenitors for several generations; I anticipate with pleasing expectation that retreat, in which I promise myself to realize, without alloy, the sweet enjoyment of partaking, in the midst of my fellow-citizens, the benign influence of good laws under a free government, the ever favorite object of my heart, and the happy reward, as I trust, of our mutual cares, labors, and dangers.

George Washington
United States - September 17, 1796
Source: The Independent Chronicle, September 26, 1796.

 George Washington’s Vision  

There has only been one method that has been successful in helping to minimize the devastation that you are about to read in President Washington’s vision, it has been used in the past and will be posted at the ending of these articles.
 

  The story of the occurrence and the content of this vision was first published in the American war veterans’ paper The National Tribune in December, 1880. That paper is now known as The Stars and Stripes. The vision account was reprinted again in the Stars and Stripes dated December 21, 1950. The occasion of the vision, as told to the publisher Wesley Bradshaw, is as follows:

  The last time I ever saw Anthony Sherman was on the fourth of July, 1859, in Independence Square he was then 99 years old, and becoming very feeble. But though so old, his dimming eyes rekindled as he gazed upon Independence Hall, which he had come to visit once more.

  “Let's go into the hall,” he said. “I want to tell you of incident of Washington's life-one which no one alive knows of except myself; and if you live, you will before long see it verified. Mark a prediction, you will see it verified.

  “From the opening of the revolution we experienced all phases of fortune, now good and now ill, one time victorious and another conquered. The darkest period  we had, I think, was when Washington after several reverses, retreated to Valley Forge, where he resolved to pass the winter of 1777. Ah! I have often seen the tears coursing down our dear commander’s care-worn cheeks, as he would be conversing with a confidential officer about the condition of his poor soldiers. You have doubtless heard the story of Washington's going to the thicket to pray. Well, it was not only true, but he used often to pray in secret for aid and comfort. And God brought us safely through the darkest days of tribulation.

  “One day, I remember it well, the chilly winds whistled through the leafless trees, though the sky was cloudless and the sun shone brightly. He remained in his quarters nearly all the afternoon, alone. When he came out I noticed that his face was a shade paler than usual, and there seemed to be something on his mind of more than ordinary importance. Returning just after dusk, he dispatched an orderly to the quarters of an officer, who was presently in attendance. After a preliminary conversation of about half an hour, Washington, gazing upon his companion with that strange look of dignity which he alone could command, said to the latter:

 “ ‘I do not know whether it is owning to the anxiety of my mind, or what, but this afternoon, as I was sitting at this table engaged in preparing a dispatch, something in the apartment seem to disturb me. Looking up, I beheld standing opposite me a singularly beautiful being. So astonished was I, for I had given strict orders not to be disturbed, that it was some moments before I found language to inquire the cause of the visit. A second, a third, and even a fourth time did I repeat the question, but received no answer from my mysterious visitor except a slight raising of the eyes.

 “ ‘By this time I felt a strange sensation spreading over me. I would have risen but the riveted gaze of the being before me rendered violation impossible. I assayed once more to speak, but my tongue had become useless, as is paralyzed. A new influence, mysterious, potent, irresistible, took possession of me. All I could do was gaze steadily, vacantly at my unknown visitor.

 “ ‘Gradually the surrounding atmosphere seemed to fill with sensations, and grew luminous. Everything about me seem too rarefy, the mysterious visitor also becoming more airy and yet more distinct to my eyes then before. I began to feel as one dying, or rather to experience the sensations which I have sometimes imagine accompany death. I did not think, I did not reason, I did not move. All were like impossible. I was only conscience of gazing fixedly, vacantly at my companion. 

The Revolutionary War as Seen in the Vision

 “ ‘Presently I heard a voice saying, “Son of the Republic, look and learn,” while at the same time my visitor extended in arm eastward. I now beheld a heavy white vapor at some distance rising fold upon fold. This gradually dissipated, and I looked upon a strange scene. Before me lay, spread out in one vast plain, all the countries of the world-Europe, Asia, Africa and America. I saw rolling and tossing between Europe and America the billows of the Atlantic, and between Asia and America lay the Pacific. “Son of the Republic,” said the same mysterious voice as before, “look and learn.”

 “ ‘At that moment I beheld a dark, shadowy being, like an angel, standing, a rather floating in mid-air, between Europe and America. Dipping water out of the ocean in the hollow of each hand, he sprinkled some upon America with his right hand, while with his left he cast some over Europe. Immediately a cloud arose from these countries, and joined in mid-ocean. For a while it seemed stationary, and then it moved slowly westward, until it enveloped America and its murky folds. Sharp flashes of lightning gleamed through it at intervals, I heard the smothered groans and cries of the American people.[This may be interpreted to have been the Revolutionary war than in progress].

 “ ‘A second time the angel dipped water from the ocean and sprinkled it out as before. The dark cloud was then drawn back to the ocean, in whose heaving billows it sank from view.

 “ ‘A third time I heard the mysterious visitor saying, “Son of the Republic, look and learn.” I cast my eyes upon America and beheld villages and towns and cities springing up one after another until a whole land from the Atlantic to the Pacific was dotted with them. Again, I heard the mysterious voice say, “Son of the Republic, the end of the century cometh, look and learn.”

 “ ‘And this time the dark shadowy angel turned his face southward. From Africa I saw an ill-omened spectre approach our land. It flitted slowly and heavily over every town and city of the latter. The inhabitants presently set themselves in battle array against each other. As I continued looking I saw a bright angel on whose brow rested a crown of light, on which was traced the word “Union.”  He was bearing the American flag.  He placed the flag between the divided nation and said, “Remember, ye are brethren.”

The Republic Develops as “A Nation”

 “ ‘Instantly, the inhabitants, casting down their weapons, became friends once more and united around the National Standard.

Forceful-Incredible-World War III

 “ ‘Again I heard the mysterious voice saying, “Son of the Republic, look and learn.”  At this the dark, shadowy angel placed a trumpet to his mouth, and blew three distinct blasts; and taking water from the ocean, he sprinkled upon Europe, Asia and Africa.

 “ ‘Then my eyes beheld a fearful scene. From each of these continents arose thick black clouds that were soon joined into one. And through this mass there gleamed a dark red light by which I saw hordes of armed men. These men, moving with the cloud, marched by land and sailed by sea to America, which country was enveloped in the volume of the cloud. And I dimly saw these vast armies devastate the whole country and burned villages, towns and cities which I had seen springing up.

 “ ‘As my ears listened to the thundering of a cannon, clashing of swords, and the shouts and cries of millions in mortal combat, I again heard the mysterious voice saying, “Son of the Republic, look and learn.” When this voice had ceased, the dark shadowy angel placed his trumpet once more to his mouth, and blew a long and fearful blast.

Heaven Helps the U.S.A.

 “ ‘Instantly a light as of a thousand suns shone down from above me, and pierced and broke into fragments the dark cloud which enveloped America. At the same moment the angel upon whose head still shown the word “Union,” and who bore our national flag in one hand and a sword in the other, descended from the heavens attended by legions of white spirits. These immediately join the inhabitants of America, who I perceived were well-nigh over-come, but who immediately taking courage again, closed up their broken ranks and renewed the battle.

 “ ‘Again, amid the fearful noise of the conflict I heard the mysterious voice saying, “Son of the Republic, look and learn.” As the voice ceased, the shadowy angel for the last time dipped water from the ocean and sprinkled it upon America. Instantly the dark cloud rolled back, together with the armies it had brought, leaving the inhabitants of the land victorious.

 
The Destiny of the United States

 “ ‘Then once more, I beheld the villages, towns and cities springing up where I had seen them before, while the bright angel, planting the azure standard he had brought in the mist of them, cried with a loud voice: “While the stars remain, and the heavens send down dew upon the earth, so long shall the Union last.” And taking from his brow the crown on which blazened the word “Union,” he placed it upon the standard while the people kneeling down said, “Amen.”

 “ ‘The scene instantly began to fade and dissolve, and I at last saw nothing but the rising, curling vapor I at first beheld. This also disappeared, and I found myself once more gazing upon the mysterious visitor, who, in the same voice I had heard before, said, “Son of the Republic, what you seen is thus interpreted. Three great perils will come upon the Republic. The most fearful for her is the third. But the whole world united shall not prevail against her. Let every child of the Republic learn to live for his God, his land and union.”  With these words the vision vanished, and I started from my seat and felt that I had seen a vision wherein had been shown me the birth, the progress, and destiny of the United States.”

  “Such, my friends,” the venerable narrator concluded “were the words I heard from Washington's own lips, and America will do well to profit by them.”



 

Abraham Lincoln’s

Second Inaugural Address

March 4, 1865

Washington, D.C.

  At this second appearing to take the oath of the presidential office, there is less occasion for an extended address than there was at the first. Then a statement, somewhat in detail, of a course to be pursued, seemed fitting and proper. Now, at the expiration of four years, during which public declarations have been constantly called forth on every point and phase of the great contest which still absorbs the attention, and engrosses the energies of the nation, little that is new could be presented. The progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to myself; and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured.

  On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago, all thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war. All dreaded it--all sought to avert it. While the inaugeral [sic] address was being delivered from this place, devoted altogether to saving the Union without war, insurgent agents were in the city seeking to destroy it without war--seeking to dissole [sic] the Union, and divide effects, by negotiation. Both parties deprecated war; but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive; and the other would accept war rather than let it perish. And the war came.

  One eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed generally over the Union, but localized in the Southern part of it. These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was, somehow, the cause of the war. To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this interest was the object for which the insurgents would rend the Union, even by war; while the government claimed no right to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement of it. Neither party expected for the war, the magnitude, or the duration, which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with, or even before, the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces; but let us judge not that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered; that of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has his own purposes. "Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!" If we shall suppose that American Slavery is one of those offences which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South, this terrible war, as the woe due to those by whom the offence came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a Living God always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we hope--fervently do we pray--that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether"

  With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan--to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.

  Journalist Noah Brooks, an eyewitness to the speech, said that as Lincoln advanced from his seat, "a roar of applause shook the air, and, again and again repeated, finally died away on the outer fringe of the throng, like a sweeping wave upon the shore. Just at that moment the sun, which had been obscured all day, burst forth in its unclouded meridian splendor, and flooded the spectacle with glory and with light." Brooks said Lincoln told him the next day, "Did you notice that sunburst? It made my heart jump."

  According to Brooks, the audience received the speech in "profound silence," although some passages provoked cheers and applause. "Looking down into the faces of the people, illuminated by the bright rays of the sun, one could see moist eyes and even tearful faces."

  Brooks also observed, "But chiefly memorable in the mind of those who saw that second inauguration must still remain the tall, pathetic, melancholy figure of the man who, then inducted into office in the midst of the glad acclaim of thousands of people, and illumined by the deceptive brilliance of a March sunburst, was already standing in the shadow of death."

  An American evangelist recorded the following supernatural vision in the year 1954. Research reveals that not only are the prophecies of this vision true to the Scriptures quoted therein, but scientific and military leaders today are aware that these things are coming to pass or are very plausible in light of modern technological advances. The evangelist remains anonymous.

The Background

  “As I stepped inside the elevator at the Empire State Building, I never dreamed of the experience which awaited me just 86 stories up.

  “My ears began to close, due to the sudden increase of altitude, as the elevator shot upward to the first observatory 86 floors above the ground. This was the first time I had gone atop the Empire State Building, and it was a trip I had been eager to take, since no visit to New York City can be considered complete without a trip to the observatories at that 1472 foot tall building…

  “As I stepped off the elevator and went onto the outside terrace, I was expecting to see all of New York City, New Jersey, Manhattan, the Bronx, and on across the Hudson River to Winchester and a great panoramic view. But little did I realize that God had an even greater view awaiting me there; as, through a supernatural vision, He would let me see that which is soon to take place on the whole North American continent. 

The View

  “As I stood there…, just to the south of me, on Bedloe’s Island, I could see the Statue of Liberty illuminating the gateway to the New World. To people everywhere, this 300 foot statue has become the symbol of liberty. It was presented to the people of the United States by the freedom-loving people of France in 1883…

  “I looked to the east. There I could see the United Nations building, which has been called the last sacred temple for the rediscovery of human brotherhood. The great statesman of the world have declared we must remain at peace with one another or die….

  “The Empire State Building, located at the intersection of 34th St and Fifth Avenue, covers only about two acres of ground, yet it is so high that people in the observatories can see the sun rise a half hour sooner and set a half hour later than people on the street… from the 86th floor observatory, if you look at up, you will see the huge television tower rising 222 feet above the previous height of the building. This tower sends the signals of all of Manhattan's important TV broadcasters, who have their transmitters in the building.

  “The 102nd floor observatory, 1250 feet above the street, is glass enclosed so that one may see in all directions the surrounding areas of the city.

  “The 86th floor observatory has both indoor and outdoor terraces.  When you step out on the 86th floor terrace, you are standing where famous people from every country of the world have been before you… as I stood there, I was aware that I was only one of 10 million people representing every nation on earth who had visited the Empire State Observatories. But I still do not realize that I was to be the only one of that 10 million to whom God had chosen to give such a revelation as I was to receive a top that great building. 

A Giant Telescope-And The Spirit of the Lord

  “There, on the east side of the terrace, I noticed a giant telescope, of the kind into which you can drop a dime in see for approximately 15 miles. I knew that a dime slipped into that telescope would enable me to see much further than the natural eye could reach.  I got a dime from my pocket and held in my hand, ready to drop into the telescope when the man in front of me was through viewing the scene… As I stood with my dime between my fingers, waiting my turn, suddenly the Spirit of the Lord came upon me. I noticed the two giant eyes of the telescope as the man who was manipulating it turned in my direction. I was amazed that the Spirit of the Lord should so move upon me, there, atop the Empire State Building. Why should I feel such a surge of His Spirit and power there? 

Thou Shalt Have Wars

  “Then suddenly I heard the voice of the Lord. It was as clear and as distinct as a voice could be. It seemed to come from the very midst of the giant telescope. But when I looked at the telescope, I knew it hadn't come from there, but directly from heaven. The voice said,

  ‘The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them these heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.’[This was a direct quote from the 2 Chronicles 16.9.]

  “Immediately, when I heard the voice of God, I knew this was a quotation of Scripture. But never before had I had a thing come to me so forcefully by the power of the Spirit. The ticking of the telescope stopped. The man before me had used up his dime's worth. As he stepped away I knew that I was next. As I stepped to the telescope and dropped in my dime, immediately the ticking started again.  This ticking was an automatic clock which would allow me to use the telescope for a definitely limited time only.

  “As I swung the telescope to the north, suddenly the Spirit of God came upon me in a way that I had never thought of before. Seemingly in the spirit I was entirely caught away. I knew that the telescope itself had nothing to do with the distance which I was suddenly enabled to see, for I seemed to see things far beyond the range of the telescope, even on a bright, clear day. It was simply that God had chosen this time to reveal these things to me, for as I look through the telescope, it was not Manhattan Island that I saw, but a far greater scene… 

An Amazing Vision

  [Note: The next portion of this vision-revelation is in the form of an allegory wherein the evangelist sees a struggle and the fall of the Statue of Liberty.  His vision of the action of World War III comes at and after the fall of the statue.]

  “That which I was looking upon was not Manhattan Island. It was all of the North American continent spread out before me as a map is spread upon the table.

It was not the East River and the Hudson River that I saw on either side, but the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.  And instead of the Statue of Liberty standing there in the bay on her tiny island, I saw her standing far out in the Gulf of Mexico. She was between me and the United States.

[Note: As though he was looking at North America from the northern coast of South America.] 

The U.S.A., as Viewed from the South

  “There, clear and distinct lay all the North American continent, with all its great cities. To the north lay the Great Lakes. Far to the Northeast was New York City. I could see Seattle and Portland far to the northwest. Down the West Coast, there with San Francisco and Los Angeles.Closer in the foreground there lay New Orleans, at the center of the Gulf Coast area. I could see the great towering ranges of the Rocky Mountains, and trace with my eye the Continental Divide. All this and more, I could see spread out before me as a great map upon a table. 

God's Portrayal of Judgment to Come

  “As I looked, suddenly from the sky I saw a giant hand reach down. That gigantic hand was reaching out toward the Statue of Liberty. In a moment her gleaming torch was torn from her hand, and in it instead was placed a cup. And I saw protruding from that cup a giant sword, shining, as if a great light had been turned upon its glistening edge. Never before had I seen such a sharp, glistening, dangerous sword. It seemed to threaten all the world. As the great cup was placed in the hand of the Statue of Liberty, I heard these words:

  ‘Thus saith the lord of hosts… Drink ye and be drunken, spew, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send….’
  “As I heard these words, I recognize them as a quotation from Jeremiah 25:27.

  “I was amazed to hear the Statue of Liberty speak out in reply, ‘I will not drink.’

  “Then, as the voice of thunder, I heard again the voice of the Lord saying:

  …‘Thus saith the Lord of hosts, you shall certainly drink’ (Jeremiah 25:28).

  “Then suddenly the giant hand forced the cup to the lips of the Statue of Liberty, and she became powerless to defend herself. The mighty hand of God forced her to drink every drop of the cup. As she drank the bitter dregs, these were the words I heard:

  ‘… should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the Lord of hosts(Jeremiah 25:29).

  “When the cup was withdrawn from the lips of the Statue of Liberty, I noticed the sword was missing from the cup, which could mean but one thing. The contents of the cup had been completely consumed! I knew that the sword merely typified war, death, and destruction, which is no doubt on the way.

  [Note: a cross-reference to the above statement is found in Ezekiel 21:28: “And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God… The sword, the sword is drawn, for the slaughter it is furbished to consume because of the glittering.”] 

Liberty Staggers

  “Then, as one drunken on too much wine, I saw the Statue of Liberty become unsteady on her feet and began to stagger and to lose her balance. I saw her splashing in the Gulf, trying to regain her balance. I saw her stagger again and again, and fall to her knees. As I saw her desperate attempts to regain her balance, and rise to her feet again, my heart was filled with compassion for her struggles. But as she struggled there in the Gulf, once again I heard these words:

  ‘Ye shall drink and be drunken, and spew, and fall, and rise no more because of the sword that I shall send among you.’

  “As I watched, I wondered if the Statue of Liberty would ever be able to regain her feet-if she would ever stand again. And as I watched, it seemed that with all her power she struggled to rise, and finally stagger to her feet again, and stood there swaying drunkenly. I felt sure that any moment she would fall again-possibly never to rise again. I seemed overwhelmed with a desire to reach out my hand to keep her head above water, for I knew that if she ever fell again she would drown there in the Gulf. 

The Skeleton-Shaped Cloud

  “Then as I watched, another amazing thing was taking place. Far to the northwest just over Alaska, a huge, black cloud was arising. As it rose, it was as black as night. It seemed to be in the shape of a man's head.  As they continue to rise, I observed to light spots in the black cloud.  It rose further, and a gaping hole appeared. I could see that the black cloud was taking the shape of a skull, for now the huge, gaping mouth was plainly visible. Finally they had was complete.  Then the shoulders began to appear, and on either side, long, black arms.

  “It seemed that what I saw was the entire North American continent, spread out like a map upon a table with this terrible skeleton-formed cloud arising from behind the table. It rose steadily until the form was visible down to the waist. At the waist, the skeleton seemed to bend toward the United States, stretching forth a hand toward the east in one toward the west-one toward New York and went toward Seattle. As the awful form stretched forward, I could see that its entire attention seemed focused upon the United States, overlooking Canada-at least for the time being. As I saw the horrible black cloud in the form of the skeleton bending toward America, bending from the waist over, reaching down toward Chicago and out toward both coasts, I knew it's one interest was to destroy the multitudes. 

Three Puffs of Searing Vapors

  [Note. This part of the vision refers to a MIRV-type distribution unknown in 1954]

  “As I watched in horror, the great black cloud stopped just above the Great Lake region, and turned its face toward New York City.  Then out of the horrible, great gaping mouth began to appear wisps of white vapor which look like smoke, as a cigarette smoker would blow puffs of smoke from his mouth.  These whitish vapors were being blown toward New York City. The smoke began to spread until it covered all the eastern part of the United States.

  “Then the skeleton turn to the west, and out of the horrible mouth and nostrils came another great puff of white smoke. This time it was blown in the direction of the West Coast. In a few minutes, the entire West Coast and Los Angeles area was covered with its vapors.

  “Then toward the center Came a third great puff. As I watched, St. Louis and Kansas City were enveloped in its white vapors. Then it came toward New Orleans. On they swept until they reach the Statue of Liberty where she stood staggering drunkenly in the blue waters of the Gulf. As the white vapors began to spread around the head of the Statue, she took in one gasping breath and then began to cough as though to rid her lungs of the horrible vapors she had inhaled. One could tell readily by the painful coughing that those white vapors had seared her lungs.

  “What were these white vapors? …Could they be the horrible nerve gas recently made known to the American public. 

[Note: nerve gas works on humans in the same way insecticides work on bugs. The parallel is more than a coincidence. In the middle thirties Dr. Gerhard Scharder of Germany discovered nerve gas during a search for new insecticides. The Nazis immediately realize the potential of Dr. Schrader's discovery and in 1939 built a plant to produce various nerve gases at Dyhernfurth, near the Polish border. Production got underway in 1942, but the Germans did not use nerve gas during World War II, presumably because the Allies’ air superiority gave them the power to retaliate. After the war, the Russians took over the Dyhernfurth factory and its trained personnel. It has been producing nerve gas for the Soviets ever sense.

  Possession of the plant gave the Russians a head start over the United States in nerve gas research. After years of research, we’re now abreast and may have passed them.

  After three years of research and experiments, Army and Civil Defense scientists, chemists, and technicians have produced the type of gas masks that apparently give adequate protection against nerve gas, but more tests are needed before the masks can be turned over to industry for mass production.

  Authorities want to be sure that the mast will give protection against not only nerve gas, but all forms of gases, biological warfare agents, and radioactive materials from atomic explosions. “We cannot recommend the masks to the American people until they are foolproof,” a spokesman said. What is holding up the tests? Lack of funds for research.] 

The Vision: God Speaks Again

  “As I looked with wonder upon the vision God had given me, I wondered: ‘Could it be that it was the horrible nerve gas which was causing the Statue of Liberty to react so violently as it floated about her head, looking like an innocent cloud?”

  “Then I heard the voice of God as He spoke again:

  ‘Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and make it a waste, and turn it upside down, and scatters abroad the inhabitants thereof.

  ‘And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master;… as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with a giver of usury to him.

  ‘The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word.

  ‘The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languishes and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.

  ‘The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.

  ‘Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left’ (Isaiah 24:1-6). 

The End of Liberty

  “As I watched, the coughing grew worse… the Statue of Liberty was moaning and groaning. She was in mortal agony. The pain must have been terrific, as again and again she tried to clear her lungs of those horrible vapors. I watched her there in the Gulf and she staggered, clutching her lungs in her breast with her hands. Then she fell to her knees. In a moment she gave one final cough, made a last desperate effort to rise to your knees, and then fell face forward into the waters of the Gulf and lay still-still as death. Only the lapping of the waves, splashing over her body, which was partly under the water and partly out of the water, broke the stillness. 

Run For Your Lives

  “Suddenly the silence was shattered by the screaming of sirens, siring does it seem to scream, run for your lives!”

  “Never before have I heard such shrill, screaming sirens. They seem to be everywhere-to the north, the south, the east and the west. There seemed to be multitudes of sirens. And as I looked, I saw people everywhere running; but it seemed none of them ran more than a few paces, and then they fell. And even as I had seen the Statue of Liberty struggling to regain her poise and balance, and finally falling for the last time, to die on her face, now I saw millions of people falling in the streets, on the sidewalks, struggling. I heard their screams for mercy and help. I heard their horrible coughing, as though the lungs had been seared with fire. I heard the moaning and groaning  of the doomed and dying. As I watched, a few finally reach shelters; but only a few ever got to the shelters, and above the groaning and the moaning of the dying multitudes, I heard these words: 

 ‘A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh, he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord. …Behold, evil should go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth, and the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground’ (Jeremiah 25:31-33). 

Destructive Rockets Rise From the Sea

  “And then suddenly I saw from the Atlantic and from the Pacific, and out of the Gulf, rocket-like objects that seemed to come up like fish leaping out of the water. High into the air they leaped, each heading into different direction, but every one toward the United States. On the ground, the sirens screamed louder. Up from the ground I saw similar rockets beginning to ascend. To me, these appeared to be interceptor rockets although they arose from different points all over the United States. However, none of them seemed to be successful in intercepting the rockets that had risen from the ocean on every side. These rockets finally reach their maximum height, slowly turned over, and fell back to the earth in defeat. Then suddenly, the rockets which had leaped out of the oceans like fish all exploded at once. The explosion was ear-splitting. The next thing which I saw was a huge ball of fire. The only thing I have ever seen which resemble that which I saw in my vision was a picture of the explosion of the H-bomb somewhere in the Pacific some months ago. In my vision, it was so real I seemed to feel a searing heat from it.

Devastation by Terrific Explosions

  “As a vision spread before my eyes, and I viewed the widespread desolation brought about by the terrific explosions, I could not help thinking, ‘While the defenders of our nation have quibbled over what measures of defense to use, and neglected the only true defense, faith and dependence upon the true and living God, that which she has greatly feared has come upon her! How true it has been proven that “except the Lord keep the city, the watchmen wake up but in vain. 

A Very Significant, Final, Bible Quotation

  “Then, as the noise of the battle subsided, to my ears came this quotation from Joel, the second chapter:

  ‘Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound the alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand;

  ‘A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.

  ‘A fire devours before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.

  ‘The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.

  ‘Like the noise of chariots on the tops of the mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devours stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. Before their face the people shall be pained: all faces shall gather blackness.

  ‘They shall run like the mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.

  [Note: Observe a change of pace here, for the next verse indicates a very definite change from organized assault to looting, rioting, and acts of anarchy.]

  ‘They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.

  ‘The earth shall quake a for them; to heaven shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw the shining’(Joel 2:1-10).

  Then the voice was still. The earth, too, was silent, with the silence of death. 

Concluding View God's Protection

  “And then to my ears came another sound-a sound of distant singing. It was the sweetest music I had ever heard. There was joyful shouting, and sounds of happy laughter. Immediately I knew it was the rejoicing of the saints of God. I looked, and there high in the heaven, above the smoke and poisonous gases, above the noise of battle, I saw a huge mountain. It seemed to be a solid rock, and I knew at once that it was the mountain of the Lord. The sounds of music and rejoicing were coming from a cleft, high up in the side of the rock mountain.

  “It was the saints of God for doing the rejoicing. It was God's own people who were singing and dancing and shouting with joy, safe from all the harm which had come upon the earth, for they were hidden away in a cleft of the rock. There in the cleft, they were shut in, protected by a great, giant hand which reached out of the heavens, and which was none other than hand of God, shutting them in, until the storm was over-passed.

What follows is a different type of Christian novel
in line with what has been written above
After that a possible solution to the scenario presented in the first 9 Chapters.