‘American Minute’ Archives
William Penn’s Holy Experiment
American Minute with Bill Federer He was arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London eight months for being a Quaker, but later King Charles II gave him land in America as repayment of a large debt owed to his father. He invited persecuted Christians of Europe to join his colony of religious toleration. Soon Quakers, Mennonites, Pietists, [...]
A Testament to the Usefulness of Christianity — De Tocqueville
American Minute with Bill Federer Alexis de Tocqueville was born JULY 29, 1805. A French social scientist who traveled the United States in 1831, de Tocqueville wrote in Democracy in America: "Religion in America...must be regarded as the foremost of the political institutions of that country; for if it does not impart a taste for freedom, [...]
The 14th Amendment: The War on State Rights Begins
American Minute with Bill Federer The 14th Amendment was adopted JULY 28, 1868, because southern States, though forced to end slavery by the 13th Amendment, did not grant citizenship to freed slaves. Southern Democrat Legislatures passed Black Codes requiring freed slaves to be "apprenticed" to "employers" and punished any who left. Illinois [...]
Freedom Is Not Free
American Minute with Bill Federer "FREEDOM IS NOT FREE" is the inscription on the Korean War Memorial in Washington, D.C. The Korean War ended JULY 27, 1953, with the armistice signed at Panmunjom. Begun three years earlier as a UN "police" action, the outnumber U.S. troops fought courageously against the Communist Chinese and North Korean [...]
For It Will (As He Believed) Appear Once More — Benjamin Franklin
American Minute with Bill Federer On JULY 26, 1775, Benjamin Franklin became the first U.S. Postmaster General, a position he held prior to the Revolution under the British Crown. Franklin established a volunteer fire department, a circulating public library, an insurance company, a city police force, a night watch and a militia. He set up [...]
Ulysses S. Grant on Christianizing the Indians
American Minute with Bill Federer Ulysses S. Grant was commissioned JULY 25, 1866, as General of the Army, the first to hold that rank. His Civil War victories resulted in his election as the 18th U.S. President. In his First Annual Message, December 6, 1869, President Grant wrote: "The Society of Friends...succeeded in living in peace [...]
Tennessee’s First Constitution: Religion Clauses
American Minute with Bill Federer Tennessee's Constitutional Convention composed its State Constitution in 1796. The U.S. Congress accepted it and President George Washington signed the bill admitting Tennessee as the 16th State on June 1, 1796. Tennessee's Constitution stated in Article XI, Section III: "All men have a natural and [...]
He Ever Adorned the Profession of Christianity
American Minute with Bill Federer Roger Sherman was the only person to sign all four of America's founding documents: the Articles of Association-1774, the Declaration of Independence-1776, the Articles of Confederation-1777, and the U.S. Constitution-1787. At age 19, Roger Sherman's father died and he supported his family as a shoe cobbler, [...]
Carl Sandburg Reflects On God’s Hand
American Minute with Bill Federer "A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on," wrote poet Carl Sandburg, who died JULY 22, 1967. A son of Swedish immigrants who worked on the railroad, Sandburg left school after 8th grade, borrowed his father's railroad pass and traveled as a hobo. He volunteered for military service, was sent [...]
More Interested in the Eternal — William Jennings Bryan
American Minute with Bill Federer The Scopes Monkey Trial ended JULY 21, 1925. John Scopes, a Tennessee High school biology teacher was found guilty and fined for teaching a controversial theory of origins called "evolution." William Jennings Bryan, a three time Democrat Presidential candidate, was the prosecuting attorney arguing for [...]
Greater Than Standing On the Moon — American Minute
American Minute with Bill Federer "One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind," stated Neil Armstrong, JULY 20, 1969, as he became the first man to walk on the moon. He, along with Colonel Aldrin, landed their lunar module, the "Eagle," and spent a total of 21 hours and 37 minutes on the moon's surface before redocking with the [...]
Washington Was Never Born To Be Killed By A Bullet! — American Minute
American Minute with Bill Federer Prior to the Revolution, British troops were marching toward Fort Duquesne when they were ambushed by the French and Indians. Not accustomed to fighting unless in an open field, the British soldiers were annihilated. 23-year-old Colonel George Washington rode back and forth during the battle delivering [...]
Praying for Apollo 11 — American Minute
American Minute with Bill Federer Apollo 11 blasted off from Cape Kennedy JULY 16, 1969, being the first mission to walk on the moon. In Proclamation 3919, President Richard Nixon stated: "Apollo 11 is on its way to the moon. It carries three brave astronauts; it also carries the hopes and prayers of hundreds of millions of people...That [...]
Mr Aitken, and The Authorized Publication of The Bible — American Minute
American Minute With Bill Federer The Continental Congress was evacuating Philadelphia as the British had just won the Battle of Brandywine, forcing Washington's troops to retreat to Valley Forge. In addition, Congress was informed that the war had interrupted trade with the King's authorized printers in England, thereby causing a shortage [...]
The Most Basic Expression of Americanism — Gerald Ford
American Minute with Bill Federer Leslie Lynch King, Jr., born JULY 14, 1913, became the 38th President of the United States. Renamed by his stepfather, he was the only Eagle Scout to be President. He attended the University of Michigan on a football scholarship, graduated from Yale Law School and served in the Navy during World War [...]
With Pure Hearts, Let us Appeal to Heaven for the Justice of Our Cause — American Minute
American Minute with Bill Federer After George Washington retired from being President, he became Commander-in-Chief of the Army for a second time. It was 1798, the year before he died, that he received an urgent plea from President John Adams. France, in the midst of revolution, was demanding extortion payments not to harass American [...]
We are Given Herbs that Bears Seed, To Us It Shall Be Meat — American Minute
American Minute with Bill Federer Born a slave around JULY 12, 1864, George Washington Carver became a scientist of international renown. On January 21, 1921, Carver addressed the United States House Ways and Means Committee on behalf of the United Peanut Growers Association on the use of peanuts to improve Southern economy. Initially given [...]
That Eternal Immutable Law Obligatory Upon All — Alexander Hamilton
American Minute with Bill Federer He intentionally fired into the air, but his political rival, Aaron Burr, took deadly aim and fatally shot him in a duel JULY 11, 1804. Born in the West Indies, he fought in the Revolution and was aide-de-camp to General Washington. He helped write the Constitution and convinced States to ratify it by [...]
President Millard Fillmore on Keeping The Sabbath a Day of Rest — American Minute
American Minute with Bill Federer Millard Fillmore became the 13th President, JULY 10, 1850, when President Zachary Taylor died unexpectedly. President Millard Fillmore stated: "A great man has fallen among us and a whole country is called to...mourning...I dare not shrink; and I rely upon Him who holds in His hands the destinies of nations [...]
Our Ground of Hope is in Proper Moral and Religious Training of the Children — American Minute
American Minute with Bill Federer "Old Rough and Ready" died JULY 9, 1850. This was General Zachary Taylor. He fought the British in the War of 1812, the Sac Indians in the Black Hawk War and the Seminole Indians in Florida. Zachary Taylor's victories in the Mexican War, being greatly outnumbered by Santa Anna's forces, made him a [...]
Proclaiming Liberty Throughout the Land — American Minute
American Minute with Bill Federer The Liberty Bell got its name from being rung JULY 8, 1776, to call the citizens of Philadelphia together to hear the Declaration of Independence read out loud for the first time. Made in England in 1752, this massive bell, weighing over 2000 pounds, was rung on each anniversary, until JULY 8, 1835, when it [...]
Hawaii’s Motto: The Life of the Land is Perpetuated in Righteousness — American Minute
American Minute with Bill Federer Hawaii became a U.S. Territory JULY 7, 1898, as President McKinley signed the Treaty of Annexation. Discovered by Captain James Cook in 1778, the islands were united by King Kamehamaha. After his death in 1819, his wife and son abolished the pagan religion which practiced human sacrifice. The next year [...]
Politics, and the Prohibition of Plural Marriage — American Minute
American Minute with Bill Federer A decade prior to the Civil War there were two major political parties in the United States: Democrats, favoring freedom of choice to own slaves; and Whigs, wanting a big tent party. In Ripon, Wisconsin, anti-slavery activists met on February 28, 1854, then held their first State Convention in Jackson, [...]
The Patriotic Efforts of Heaven Directed Men — American Minute
American Minute with Bill Federer They both served in the Continental Congress. One was elected the second President and the other was elected the third. Once political enemies, they became close friends in later life. An awe swept America when they both died on the same day, JULY 4, 1826, exactly 50 years since they passed the Declaration [...]
July 4th and The Day of Deliverance — American Minute
American Minute with Bill Federer The Declaration of Independence was approved JULY 4, 1776. John Hancock signed first, saying "the price on my head has just doubled." Benjamin Franklin said "We must hang together or most assuredly we shall hang separately." Of the 56 signers: 17 served in the military, 11 had their homes destroyed, 5 were [...]
Invitation to Render Homage to the Divine Majesty — American Minute
American Minute with Bill Federer Washington, D.C., was in a panic as 70,000 Confederate troops were just sixty miles away near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The furious battle had lasted three days. As General Lee found his ammunition running low, he ordered General Pickett to make a direct attack. After an hour of murderous fire and bloody [...]
A Little Child Shall Lead Them — American Minute
American Minute with Bill Federer One bullet grazed his elbow, but a second lodged in the back of President James Garfield, who was shot by a member of a polygamist-type cult on JULY 2, 1881, as he waited in a Washington, D.C., train station. Garfield had only been in office four months. Though not wounded seriously, unsterile medical [...]
Emancipation and the Cuban Slave Trade — American Minute
American Minute With Bill Federer Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders charged up Cuba's San Juan Hill and captured it JULY 1, 1898. After eight hours of heavy fighting over 1,500 Americans lay dead or wounded. Just 4 months prior the U.S.S Maine was blown up in Havana's Harbor. Teddy Roosevelt resigned as Assistant Secretary of the Navy [...]
History of the French Huguenots in Florida — American Minute
American Minute with Bill Federer The first settlement in North America was Fort Caroline at St. John's River in Florida, founded by French Christians known as Huguenots. On JUNE 30, 1564, they set a day of Thanksgiving and offered the first Protestant prayer in North America: "We sang a psalm of Thanksgiving unto God, beseeching Him [...]
Henry Clay: I Trust In the Atonement of Christ — American Minute
American Minute with Bill Federer "I would rather be right than President," stated Henry Clay, who died JUNE 29, 1852. The son of a Baptist minister, Henry Clay was elected Speaker of the U.S. House 6 times, serving in Congress over 40 years with Daniel Webster and John Calhoun. The State of Kentucky placed Henry Clay's statue in the U.S. [...]
