Moses Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ====Founding Fathers of the United States==== [[File:FirstCommitteeGreatSealReverseLossingDrawing.jpg|thumb|First proposed seal of the United States, 1776]] On July 4, 1776, immediately after the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] was officially passed, the [[Continental Congress]] asked [[John Adams]], [[Thomas Jefferson]], and [[Benjamin Franklin]] to design a seal that would clearly represent a symbol for the new United States. They chose the symbol of Moses leading the Israelites to freedom.{{Sfn | Feiler | 2009 | p = 35}} After the death of [[George Washington]] in 1799, two thirds of his eulogies referred to him as "America's Moses", with one orator saying that "Washington has been the same to us as Moses was to the Children of Israel."{{Sfn | Feiler | 2009 | p = 102}} Benjamin Franklin, in 1788, saw the difficulties that some of the newly independent [[U.S. state|American states]] were having in forming a government, and proposed that until a new code of laws could be agreed to, they should be governed by "the laws of Moses", as contained in the Old Testament.{{Sfn | Franklin | 1834 |p = 504}} He justified his proposal by explaining that the laws had worked in biblical times: "The [[God|Supreme Being]] ... having rescued them from bondage by many miracles, performed by his servant Moses, he personally delivered to that chosen servant, in the presence of the whole nation, a constitution and code of laws for their observance."{{Sfn | Franklin | 1834 | p = 211}} [[John Adams]], 2nd [[List of Presidents of the United States|President of the United States]], stated why he relied on the laws of Moses over [[Ancient Greek philosophy|Greek philosophy]] for establishing the [[United States Constitution]]: "As much as I love, esteem, and admire the Greeks, I believe the Hebrews have done more to enlighten and civilize the world. Moses did more than all their legislators and philosophers."{{Sfn | Meacham | 2006 | p = 40}} Swedish historian [[Hugo Valentin]] credited Moses as the "first to proclaim the [[Human rights|rights of man]]".<ref name= Shuldiner>{{cite book | last = Shuldiner | first = David Philip | title = Of Moses and Marx | publisher = Greenwood | year = 1999 | page = 35}}.</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page