‘American Minute’ Archives
Julia Ward Howe: The Battle Hymn of the Republic
American Minute with Bill Federer Five dollars was all she was paid by the Atlantic Monthly Magazine for her poem, The Battle Hymn of the Republic, published FEBRUARY 1, 1862. The Union's theme song during the Civil War, Julia Ward Howe wrote it while visiting Washington, D.C., and seeing the teeming military, galloping horses and countless [...]
FDR: Like the Bible, the Constitution Should be Re-Read Consistantly
American Minute with Bill Federer Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born JANUARY 30, 1882, in Hyde Park, NY. The 32nd President, he was in office longer then any other, over 12 years, serving during the Great Depression and World War II. On October 6, 1935, FDR stated: "We cannot read the history of our rise and development as a nation, without [...]
Robert Frost, and the Road Less Traveled
American Minute with Bill Federer "I shall be telling this with a sigh, Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference" wrote Robert Frost in "The Road Not Taken." He first published poems in his high school bulletin and graduated co-valedictorian [...]
President Reagan on the Space Shuttle Challenger
American Minute with Bill Federer Seventy-three seconds after lift-off, on JANUARY 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded, killing its entire seven member crew, which included a high school teacher-the first private citizen to fly aboard the craft. In his address to the nation, President Ronald Reagan stated: "Today is a day for [...]
The Immigration of the Jews; American Minute
American Minute with Bill Federer Ferdinand and Isabella sent Columbus on his voyage in 1492 after they liberated Spain from occupying Muslim forces. Spain's policies then forced Jews to flee, first to Portugal, then to Amsterdam, where some sailed with Dutch merchants to South America. When Spain attacked there, they fled again and 23 [...]
Douglas MacArthur: Old Soldiers Never Die; They Just Fade Away
American Minute with Bill Federer Douglas MacArthur was born JANUARY 26, 1880. He commanded in World War I, was superintendent of West Point, and the youngest Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. A four-star general, he retired in 1939, but returned in 1941 to defend the Philippines. When Japan invaded, President Roosevelt ordered him to [...]
Reagan: 1st Amendment Written to Protect Religion From Tyranny
American Minute with Bill Federer In his State of the Union Address, JANUARY 25, 1984, President Reagan stated: "Each day your members observe a 200-year-old tradition meant to signify America is one nation under God. I must ask: If you can begin your day with a member of the clergy standing right here leading you in prayer, then why can't [...]
James Madison and the Defense of Religious Freedom
American Minute with Bill Federer James Madison's defense of religious freedom began when he stood with his father outside a jail in the village of Orange and heard Baptists preach from their cell windows. He wrote of another incident to William Bradford, JANUARY 24, 1774: "There are at this time in the adjacent Culpepper County not less [...]
John Carroll: Freedom Should Be Enjoyed By All
American Minute with Bill Federer JANUARY 23, 1789, John Carroll founded Georgetown University. He was brother of Daniel Carroll, who signed the U.S. Constitution and gave the land where the Capitol is built. He was cousin to Charles Carroll, the wealthiest man in America and the longest living signer of the Declaration of Independence. [...]
The Overemphasizing of Roe v. Wade
American Minute with Bill Federer JANUARY 22, 1973, the Supreme Court decisions of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton allowed abortion in all nine months of pregnancy. 23 years later, Norma McCorvey, who was the “Jane Roe” in the Roe v. Wade suit, was interviewed by USA Today. She stated that once, while employed at a clinic when no one [...]
The Ten Commandments are a Charter and Guide to Liberty
American Minute with Bill Federer He produced epic films in Hollywood for almost five decades and started Paramount Pictures. His name was Cecil B. DeMille and he died JANUARY 21, 1959. His best-known films include: Samson and Delilah, The Ten Commandments and The Greatest Show on Earth, for which he won an Academy Award. At the opening of [...]
American Minute on the 20th Amendment
American Minute with Bill Federer The 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1933, changed the date of Presidential Inaugurations from March 4th to JANUARY 20th. Franklin Roosevelt stated in his Inaugural Address, 1945: "Almighty God has blessed our land." Harry S Truman, 1949: "We believe that all men are created equal because [...]
William Orville Douglas; American Minute
American Minute with Bill Federer William Orville Douglas died JANUARY 19, 1980. He was a Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court for 36 years, after having taught law at Yale and Columbia University. In the 1952 case of Zorach v. Clauson, Justice Douglas wrote: "The First Amendment, however, does not say that in every and all respects there shall [...]
Daniel Webster Was One of the 5 Greatest Senators in History
American Minute with Bill Federer One of the five greatest Senators in U.S. history, the State of New Hampshire placed his statue in the U.S. Capitol's Statuary Hall. His career spanned almost four decades, serving as Secretary of State for Presidents William Harrison, John Tyler and Millard Fillmore. His name was Daniel Webster, born [...]
The Battle of Cowpens; American Minute
American Minute with Bill Federer The Battle of Cowpens, JANUARY 17, 1781, depicted in Mel Gibson's movie "The Patriot," was where American General Daniel Morgan had a line of militia fire into British General Cornwallis' and Colonel Tarleton's dragoons, regulars, Highlanders and loyalists. When the Americans retreated, the British pursued, [...]
Baptist Minister Rev. Martin Luther King. Jr.
American Minute with Bill Federer Martin Luther King, Jr. was born JANUARY 15, 1929. A minister like his father and grandfather, he pastored Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery and Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. He formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. On April 16, 1963, King wrote: As the Apostle Paul carried the [...]
Jan. 16 – Religious Freedom Day
American Minute with Bill Federer “Each year on JANUARY 16, we celebrate Religious Freedom Day in commemoration of the passage of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom,” wrote President George W. Bush in his 2003 Proclamation. Jefferson's Article of Religious Freedom, which he commemorated on his tombstone, was passed JANUARY 16, 1786, [...]
Medical Missionary: Albert Schweitzer; American Minute
American Minute with Bill Federer Albert Schweitzer was born JANUARY 14, 1875, in a village in Alsace, Germany. A Lutheran pastor's son and acclaimed for playing the organ, he earned doctorates in philosophy and theology, was pastor of St. Nicholai's Church, principal of St. Thomas College, and professor at University of Strasbourg. Then, [...]
James Oglethorpe And the Georgia Charter
American Minute with Bill Federer Educated at Oxford, James Oglethorpe joined the Austrian army at age 17 and helped free Belgrade from Muslim Turks. Returning to England, he unintentionally killed a man in a brawl and went to prison. Upon release, he followed his father's footsteps and served in Parliament. He opposed slavery and, as a [...]
Edmund Burke, and the Only Way Evil Can Triumph
American Minute with Bill Federer "The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." This famous quote was from British statesman Edmund Burke, who was born JANUARY 12, 1729. Considered the most influential orator in the House of Commons, Burke stands out in history, for, as a member of the British Parliament, he [...]
Timothy Dwight; American Minute
American Minute with Bill Federer Grandson of Princeton president Jonathan Edwards, he could read at age 4 and entered Yale at 13. He was a chaplain in the Continental Army until his father died, when, as the eldest of 13, he worked the family farm to pay off debts. He was in Massachusetts' first State Legislature. This was Timothy Dwight, [...]
Lyman Beecher: Foundation of US Were Laid by Christians
American Minute with Bill Federer His daughter was Harriet Beecher Stowe, who wrote the abolitionist novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin." His son was Henry Ward Beecher, a famous New York preacher known for denouncing slavery, government corruption, and for supporting women's suffrage. His name was Lyman Beecher and he died JANUARY 10, 1863. A [...]
Richard M Nixon, and the Civil Rights
American Minute with Bill Federer He lost his first presidential race to John F. Kennedy by the smallest margin to that date. A Lieutenant Commander in the Navy during WWII, he was a Congressman, Senator, and Vice-President under Eisenhower. His name was Richard Milhous Nixon, born JANUARY 9, 1913. He was the 37th U.S. President before [...]
The Battle of New Orleans
American Minute with Bill Federer Though the War of 1812 had ended two weeks earlier, news had not yet reached New Orleans and on January 8, 1815, five thousand British soldiers charged in a frontal assault against General Andrew Jackson's Tennessee and Kentucky sharpshooters. French pirate Jean Lafitte and his men aided the Americans. In [...]
Millard Fillmore; American Minute
American Minute with Bill Federer Becoming the 13th President when Zachary Taylor died unexpectedly, he sent Commodore Perry to Japan and admitted California, which just began the Gold Rush, into the Union. This was Millard Fillmore, born JANUARY 7, 1800. When the Library of Congress caught fire, he formed a bucket brigade to extinguish the [...]
The Twelve Days of Christmas – The Council of Tours
American Minute with Bill Federer In 567 AD, the Council of Tours ended a dispute. Western Europe celebrated Christmas, December 25, and Eastern Europe celebrated Epiphany, JANUARY 6, recalling the Wise Men's visit and Jesus' baptism. The Council made all 12 days from December 25 to January 6 "holy days" or "holidays," thus the "Twelve Days [...]
George Washington Carver; American Minute
American Minute with Bill Federer Kidnapped after the Civil War, he was ransomed with a horse. Raised by German immigrants, Moses and Susan Carver, he left home at eleven and attended school in Neosho, Missouri, paying tuition by doing odd jobs. He drifted from Kansas to Iowa, working as a cook and doing laundry. He studied at Simpson [...]
Father of American Medicine, Benjamin Rush
American Minute with Bill Federer Called the "Father of American Medicine," he signed the Declaration of Independence, was Surgeon General of the Continental Army, and a staff member of the Pennsylvania Hospital, where he opened the first free medical clinic. His name was Benjamin Rush, and he was born JANUARY 4, 1745. He founded the [...]
The Battle at Princeton — American Minute
American Minute with Bill Federer Frederick the Great of Prussia called these ten days "the most brilliant in the world's history." After winning the Battle of Trenton, Christmas night, George Washington's small force met General Cornwallis' 8,000 man British army. The night before the battle, Washington left his campfires burning and [...]
Rudyard Kipling, and the Ballad of East and West
American Minute with Bill Federer "Oh, East is East, and West is West, And never the twain shall meet, Till earth and sky stand presently, At God's great judgment seat" wrote Rudyard Kipling in Ballad of East and West. Born DECEMBER 30, 1865, in Bombay, India, he was sent back to England at age 5 for schooling. Poor eyesight ended hopes of a [...]
