Preserving America's Historical Significance

The Secret of Her Genius and Power

The Secret of Her Genius and Power

“I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers, and it was not there; in her fertile fields and boundless prairies, and it was not there; in her rich mines and her vast world commerce, and it was not there.  Not until I went to the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power.  America is great because she is good and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”

– Alexis de Tocqueville, noted French historian from the 1800s and author of The Republic of the United States of America and Its Political Institutions (1838)