God Bless the Women of America

We will be celebrating President's Day this coming Monday. This day is set aside to honor two of our most renown Presidents....President George Washington and President Abraham Lincoln. Both men were great leaders and mentors for our country in its early years. Both served during a time of war. Abraham Lincoln gave a speech whereby he acknowledged the contribution of women during the Civil War. Below is an excerpt.

"I have never studied the art of paying compliments to women; but I must say that if all that has been said by orators and poets since the creation of the world in praise of women were applied to the women of America, it would not do them justice for their conduct during this war. I will close by saying, God bless the women of America!" The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume VII, "Remarks at Closing of Sanitary Fair, Washington D.C." (March 18, 1864), p. 254.

We have women today serving our country to provide the women of Iraq the opportunities afforded to women of democracy. Many of these women have made immense sacrifices in order to fight for the truths that they believe in. These are the truths as expressed in our Declaration of Independence,... "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." There are also women here at home who have made the sacrifice of their sons and daughters in the service of our country. To all the women who have given beyond what was required of them, I join Abraham Lincoln in saying, "God bless the women of America!"