A bill proposed in the West Virginia legislature would require every public school to place an Aitken Bible in every 4th-, 8th-, and 10th-grade social studies classroom! We need your help to stop it — Please contact your state representative and tell them to reject Senate Bill 388!
SB 388 is a dangerous measure that has already gained traction in the West Virginia Senate. It would require all public elementary and secondary schools to push the Aitken Bible onto students. The Aitken Bible, printed in 1782 by Philadelphia publisher Robert Aitken, was the first complete bible published in the United States, but it has been widely misrepresented. Pseudohistorian David Barton has long promoted false claims about the Aitken Bible’s role in American history, and those distortions are what fuel legislation like SB 388.
Here are a few of the falsehoods espoused by Barton that numerous scholars have debunked:
Claim: Congress printed the first American Bible (the Aitken Bible).
Barton has repeatedly stated that the U.S. Congress itself printed the 1782 Aitken Bible, even claiming it did so for use in American schools or as an official national bible.
Reality: Congress did not print or fund the Aitken Bible. Philadelphia printer Robert Aitken produced and paid for it. Congress’s only involvement was agreeing to have its chaplains review the bible for accuracy at Aitken’s request; they did not purchase or subsidize the printing.
Claim: Congress endorsed the bible for use in schools.
Barton has taken the phrase “a neat edition of the Holy Scriptures for the use of schools” and presented it as if Congress said this. This is essentially the pretext for SB 388.
Reality: Congress did not recommend the bible for school use. The phrase “a neat edition of the Holy Scriptures for the use of schools” was Aitken’s own wording in his petition to Congress, not language used by Congress in its resolution.
Claim: Congress intended to make the Aitken Bible an official national or governmental bible.
Barton has espoused the narrative that Congress’s action effectively made this bible a government-sanctioned religious text.
Reality: Congress did not designate any bible — including Aitken’s — as an official version. Nor did it commission Aitken as a government bible printer. Its action merely recognized that the bible had been reviewed for accuracy by congressional chaplains.
Ultimately, these bibles were never meant for public schools, and we must stop SB 388 to ensure they never make their way in. Tell your state representative to reject SB 388 today!
(Note: You must live in West Virginia in order to take part in this action alert.)