This article first appeared in the September 4, 2025 edition of the Devils Lake Journal.

In 1798, President John Adams issued a proclamation that May 9th be “a day of solemn humiliation, fasting, and prayer” due to the danger the United States was facing.

France threatened. Commerce halted. The fledgling nation had barely enough to subsist, much less wage war. Adams knew the need was dire. (You can read his whole proclamation HERE.)

He called all citizens to “acknowledge before God th...