The headline on the history.com website for June 3, 1800, says, “President John Adams Moves Into A Tavern In Washington, D.C.” That doesn’t sound like the best of headlines to post, especially for POTUS! You would think that the leader of our nation wouldn’t want to be known for moving into a bar! But things were different back then.
Have you ever wondered why Washington, D.C. was chosen as our nation’s capital? Why not a central location like Topeka, Kansas or Lincoln, Nebraska or even Kansas City, Missouri? Looking at a map, those are more central locations. However, that’s not what the map looked like when our nation was founded.
“The city of Washington was created to serve as the nation’s capital because of its geographical position in the center of the existing new republic. The states of Maryland and Virginia ceded land around the Potomac River to form the District of Columbia, and work began on Washington in 1791. French architect Pierre Charles L’Enfant designed the city’s radical layout, full of dozens of circles, crisscross avenues, and plentiful parks. In 1792, work began on the neoclassical White House building at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue under the guidance of Irish-American architect James Hoban, whose White House design was influenced by Leinster House in Dublin and by a building sketch in James Gibbs’ Book of Architecture. In the next year, Benjamin Latrobe began construction on the other principal government building, the U.S. Capitol.”1
Adams became the first president to live in D.C., taking up residence at the Union Tavern. The headline is misleading. Historical pictures show something different than what we imagine. The full name was the Union HOTEL and Tavern. This large, four-story building had a dozen large windows in a row on one side and at least 10 on the other. The “tavern” part of the building was like what we might call a lounge today. Think of the Ramada at the turnpike in Holiday City and you have a better picture of the place.
On November 1, 1800, John Adams moved into the White House and he wrote a letter to his wife who would arrive a few days later. In his letter, he wrote this statement: “I pray heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house, and on all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but wise men ever rule under this roof!”
While we applaud Adams’ desire and the expression of his prayer, I wonder what he would say if he were alive today and could look at the 44 presidents that followed him and lived in the White House.
Proverbs reflects the heart of Adams’ statement. Consider these passages:
Proverbs 11:10-11 When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth: and when the wicked perish, there is shouting. (11) By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted: but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.
Proverbs 28:12, 28 When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden… (28) When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase.
Proverbs 29:2 When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.
There is no doubt that God wants righteous people to rule a nation. That means righteous people must elect righteous people! A nation is better off when it is guided morally. While nobody can say that all of our nation’s forefathers were Christians, they still held to Christian values and morality. Where are we at today, though?
“Six in 10 U.S. adults said the founders originally intended America to be a Christian nation, according to a 2022 Pew Research Center survey. Forty-five percent said the U.S. should be a Christian nation, but only a third thought it was one currently.”2
Is a post-Christian America better than a Christian America? Well, I guess it is if you enjoy immorality paraded in front of you without shame, if the lack of values has made families and marriages stronger, and if you believe perverse lifestyles forced down our throats as normal is acceptable. I, however, do NOT believe things are better. They are far worse and that is backed up with Scripture.
2 Timothy 3:13 says, “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.” Things are not getting better. They are getting worse.
I don’t want to end this devotion on a negative note. I believe God can change things. But something is required. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
If we are willing to put in the work, God will make the changes.
1https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/president-adams-settles-in-new-capital
2https://apnews.com/article/america-christian-united-states-conservative-beliefs-9286431a0ddde91c928e5d411795c1fe
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