Contributed by: Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the Congressional Record of the United States of America, Anson Phelps Stokes
This prayer for the United States of America was offered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as part of his Radio Campaign Address at Hyde Park, New York on 4 November 1940. The prayer was adapted by Roosevelt from one he referred to it in his speech as “an old prayer.” That prayer was originally offered by Rev. Anson Phelps Stoke, canon of the Washington Cathedral (Washington DC), a guest chaplain before the Senate on 25 April 1932. Roosevelt, or a speech write, adapted the text of the prayer by removing the final line, thereby making the prayer a more inclusive and ecumenical civic prayer. . . .