<aside>
<aside>
The lamb is the poor[ish] people, the lion is the rulers (magistrates)**. Through Love, Truth, Peace, Free, and Justice all are one and equal to seek their own destiny; and to worship under their own vine and fig tree. After the principles of the holy and divine laws of their forefathers. [Chapter 48: v.8]
</aside>
The vine represents our foundational heritage - the principles, resources, and innovations our forefathers established. It symbolizes spiritual good and connection to divine purpose.
The fig tree is the sweet fruit of prosperity, peace, and abundance that has grown from those roots.
</aside>
As George Washington wrote to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island: "May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants – while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid". This vision of religious tolerance, economic freedom, and individual security remains the cornerstone of American society.
The God breathed imagery of the vine and fig tree, deeply cherished by America's founding fathers, serves as a powerful metaphor for the ideal society they envisioned. George Washington referenced this passage nearly fifty times in his correspondence, seeing in it a future of prosperity, security, and individual liberty under divine providence. This document celebrates each state's unique contribution to this American vision, where the vine represents our foundational heritage—the principles, resources, and innovations our forefathers established—and the fig tree symbolizes the sweet fruit of peace, abundance, and prosperity that has grown from those roots.
Each state contributes its unique vine and fig tree to the American tapestry. From Arizona's mineral wealth to Florida's citrus groves, from Texas oil fields to California's technological innovation, the founding fathers' vision of prosperity under individual liberty continues to flourish. The promise that "none shall make them afraid" finds expression in state constitutions protecting property rights, natural heritage programs preserving resources for future generations, and agricultural policies ensuring food security.
As Washington envisioned when he wrote of sitting "in the shade of my own Vine and Fig tree,"America remains a land where individual enterprise, protected by just laws and limited government, can flourish in abundance. Each state's natural resources, agricultural heritage, and cultural identity contribute to a nation where liberty and prosperity grow together like intertwined vines, bearing the sweet fruit of the American dream.
The Vine and Fig Tree vision encompasses not just material prosperity, but the deeper values of justice, mercy, and walking humbly—principles that guided the founders and continue to inspire each state's contribution to the American experiment in self-governance under divine providence.