Did Congress Approve America’s First English Bible?
September 12, 1782
It’s a compelling question—and the answer is not quite.
The Continental Congress did not publish America’s first English-language Bible, nor did it “approve” the Bible itself.
But what Congress actually did on September 12, 1782, may be even more interesting.
Before the American Revolution, most English-language Bibles used in the colonies came from Britain. War disrupted that supply, creating a shortage serious enough that Congress considered importing thousands of Bibles from Europe.
Then a Philadelphia printer named Robert Aitken attempted something ambitious: producing a complete English-language Bible in America.
Aitken undertook the project privately and at considerable expense. In 1781, he petitioned Congress concerning his work. Congress had the Bible examined, and congressional chaplains William White and George Duffield reported favorably on its accuracy.
What Congress Actually Did
On September 12, 1782, Congress adopted a resolution declaring that it:
“highly approve the pious and laudable undertaking of Mr. Aitken”
and recommended his edition:
“to the inhabitants of the United States.”
That distinction matters.
Congress did not establish an official Bible, commission its publication, or create a national church. Aitken was a private printer who undertook the project himself.
But Congress didn’t treat religion as something government must avoid mentioning either. It publicly praised Aitken’s undertaking, spoke of the “interest of religion,” and recommended his Bible to Americans.
The result became known as the Aitken Bible, sometimes called the Bible of the Revolution—the first complete English-language Bible printed in the newly independent United States.
There is something fitting about the timing. Americans had long depended largely upon Britain for their English Bibles. The Revolution disrupted that dependence, and an American printer produced one at home.
So, did Congress approve America’s first English Bible?
Not exactly. But Congress did something perhaps more interesting: it formally approved Aitken’s undertaking and recommended his Bible to the American people.
And that leaves us with a much bigger question.
The same founding generation that resisted established religion could speak openly about the “interest of religion,” employ congressional chaplains, call for days of prayer and thanksgiving, and recommend the work of a Bible printer.
How did they reconcile those things?
What did America’s founding generation actually believe the proper relationship should be between government, religion, and the Bible?
We’ll come back to that question next Wednesday.
