In 1917, at 49, Page wrote "The American's Creed," as a submission to a nationwide patriotic contest suggested by Henry Sterling Chapin, of New York, which was inspired by a fervor at the beginning of the American entry into the First World War. The goal was to have a concise but complete statement of American political faith. Inspired by thoughts on his way home from church in May 1917, having just recited the Apostles' Creed used in most Christian churches as a statement of belief, Page drew on a wide variety of historical documents and speeches, including the Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the US Constitution, Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, a speech made by Daniel Webster, and text from Edward Everett Hale's 1863 patriotic short story of a military officer condemned to exile, "The Man Without a Country." He proceeded to craft a simple but moving expression of American patriotism.