PRESIDENT GIVES ADDRESS AT SESQUICENTENNIAL EXPO
Philadelphia (JFK+50) On July 5, 1926, President Calvin Coolidge spoke here in Philadelphia at the Sesquicentennial Exposition* "commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence."
Mr. Coolidge, according to the Evening Star, referred to the Declaration "as a great spiritual document" and told his audience "we must follow the spiritual and moral leadership" which the Founding Fathers demonstrated.
The President said...
"If there is any one thing among us that is developed beyond question, it is self-government--the right of the people to rule."
JFK+50 NOTE
According to AI, the Declaration does NOT establish a specific religion but DOES refer to a "Creator" and "Nature's God" as the source of human rights and the basis of a moral argument for revolution.
Thomas Tweed reminds us the Declaration does NOT cite the Bible as a source of government policy nor does it say that America is a Christian nation.
He argues that the Declaration actually "provides evidence for less polarizing and more nuanced views" for today's generation.
*Sesqui-Centennial Exposition, Philadelphia 1926, was a world's fair in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence & the 50th anniversary of the 1876 Centennial Expo.
SOURCES
"Coolidge Invokes Spirit of Fathers in Sesqui Address," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., July 5, 1926, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
"What the Declaration of Independence does--and doesn't--say about God," by Thomas Tweed, The Conversation, April 24, 2026, www.theconversation.com/
