A Reminder of Who We Are--and Our Duties

It all began with a simple essay contest. The goal of the winner would be to write a simple, straightforward, 100-word essay enunciating what a true-blue American citizen believed and wholeheartedly supported. The winning entry would be "the best summary of the political faith of America" with special emphasis on "the duties and obligations of citizenship."

The idea for the contest was the brainchild of judge, mayor, and state legislator Henry S. Chapin. The city of Baltimore put up a prize of $1000 for the winning entry.

The judging was not left to a single person. It was to be the combined consensus of many people on three committees, each of which would judge the entries on various criteria.

There was a committee on manuscripts that comprised editors of several respected national magazines. Another was a committee on award, and its members included acclaimed author Hamlin Garland. A third, an advisory committee, consisted of the U.S. Commissioner of Education, several state governors, and other state and national officials.

William Tyler Page

William Tyler Page decided to enter the contest. He was a descendant of not only former president John Tyler but also the great-great grandson of Carter Braxton, who had been a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He loved his country. He was a true-blue and proud American patriot.

Page, born in 1868, had begun working in a printshop and a paper bag maker when he was only 10 years old, working 12-hour days. In 1881, he became a page in the U.S. House of Representatives. By 1891, he was a clerk there. And he ultimately became the chief clerk of the House.

William Tyler Page, patriot and exemplar of love for his country

At the age of 49, Page entered the essay contest. He began thinking about what his entry should say as he was walking home from church one Sunday. During the service, he had joined the other congregants in reciting the Apostles' Creed, a statement of what true Christians believe. Inspired by that affirmation, he decided to title his essay "Americans' Creed," and it would be a declaration of what all true Americans believe.

In composing his essay, he drew from the principles of various historic documents, a speech by Daniel Webster, and Edward Everett Hale's story "The Man without a Country." The result was a "brief and simple but remarkably comprehensive [statement] of the best in American ideals, history, and tradition, as expressed by the founders of the Republic and its greatest statesmen and writers."

His essay won over more than 3,000 other entries. He used the $1000 prize money to buy War Bonds (it was at the start of World War I, and he wanted to support the cause). He then donated the bonds to his church. He wasn't in the contest for his own profit.

Handwritten draft of Page's "AHmericans' Creed"

Here's his winning essay:

I believe in the United States of America as a government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; a democracy in a republic; a sovereign nation of many sovereign states; a perfect union, one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes.

I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to love it; to support its Constitution; to obey its laws; to respect its flag; and to defend it against all enemies.

The sentiments and principles declared so succinctly in Page's essay are no less important today than they were in his day. In fact, they are even more important today. In our day, when even our leaders harshly criticize our nation even abroad and express divided loyalties for foreign countries, even favoring other countries over our own and their citizens over Americans, they need to be reminded of who we are as Americans and what duties are incumbent upon us. They need to be reminded that they are to set the example for all other citizens in loving and supporting our nation and the principles of our way of life.

We can't have divided loyalties. We must love only our country, despite its flaws, and work to mend its every flaw.

We must defend our Constitution as it was originally written, following the original meaning and intent of the Founders.

We must obey its laws, and no one, regardless of their power or position or pedigree, must be allowed to be treated as above the law.

We must respect our flag, refusing to desecrate or denigrate it.

We must defend our nation against all enemies, some of whom will attack it from the outside, but increasingly others are also attacking it from within. And today it's increasingly hard to discern between elected officials who are trying sincerely to mend the nation's flaws, those who simply want power, and Quislings who are intent on destroying our very civilization and its values.

If Americans, especially our elected officials, can't ascribe wholeheartedly to the "Americans' Creed," they don't deserve even to call themselves Americans, let alone pretend to be leaders of the nation.