‘American Minute’ Archives
Lincoln, and the Pledge of the South
American Minute with Bill Federer President Abraham Lincoln, on DECEMBER 8, 1863, announced his plan to accept back into the Union those who had been in the Confederacy. In his proposed pledge, he twice required the acknowledgement of God: Whereas it is now desired by some persons heretofore engaged in said rebellion to resume their [...]
Saint Nicholas
American Minute with Bill Federer Greek Orthodox tradition tells of Saint Nicholas being born to a wealthy, elderly couple in what is now Turkey in the year 280 AD. When his parents died, he generously gave to the poor. Upon hearing of a merchant who went bankrupt and that creditors were about to take his daughters, Saint Nicholas threw [...]
Hugh Williamson
American Minute with Bill Federer A signer of the Constitution licensed to preach? This was Hugh Williamson, delegate from North Carolina, born DECEMBER 5, 1735. At age 24 he studied theology in Connecticut, was admitted to the Presbytery of Philadelphia and preached two years, visiting and praying for the sick, till a chronic chest weakness [...]
Thomas Jefferson, And The Seperation of Church and State
American Minute with Bill Federer President Thomas Jefferson, author of the phrase "Separation of Church and State," asked Congress to ratify a treaty with the Kaskaskia Indians, which they did DECEMBER 3, 1803. Negotiated shortly after the Louisiana Purchase by future President William Henry Harrison, the Kaskaskia Indian Treaty [...]
Hernando Cortez and The Conquest of the Aztecs
American Minute with Bill Federer A thirty-three year old conquistador landed in Mexico with five hundred men. He was shocked to find the Aztecs taking prisoners of the weaker tribes, ripping their hearts out atop temples, and in a frenzy eating their bodies. With help from other tribes, the conquistador fought the Aztecs, freed prisoners, [...]
In Freeing the Slave, We Are All Free
American Minute with Bill Federer The Confederates won the Second Battle of Bull Run, crossed the Potomac River into Maryland and captured Harper’s Ferry. But the Confederate drive was halted at the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest day of fighting in American history. In total, over a half million lost their lives in the Civil [...]
Mark Twain
American Minute with Bill Federer "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" was his first popular story, written while in San Francisco. He then sailed to the Holy Land and wrote Innocents Abroad. While on this trip, he saw the picture of his friend's sister, Olivia Langdon of Elmira, New York, and he fell in love. Immediately upon his [...]
C.S. Lewis
American Minute with Bill Federer His death went unnoticed, as he died the same day John F. Kennedy was shot, but his works are some of the most widely read in English literature. Originally an agnostic, he served in World War I and became a professor at Oxford and Cambridge. He credits his Catholic friend and fellow writer, J.R.R. Tolkien, [...]
The King Does Not Like The Tea Party
American Minute with Bill Federer Following the hated Stamp Act of 1765, the British committed the Boston Massacre in 1770, firing into a crowd, killing five. Colonists responded with the Boston Tea Party in 1773. In retaliation, King George III blockaded Boston Harbor in 1774 to starve the city into submission. The President of the [...]
The Balfour Declaration
American Minute with Bill Federer During World War I, Britain was ineffective manufacturing explosives, until a breakthrough in synthesizing acetone was made by Jewish chemist Dr. Chaim Weizmann, who was born NOVEMBER 27, 1874. In gratitude, Britain issued the Balfour Declaration, establishing a Jewish homeland. President Woodrow Wilson [...]
The First National Thanksgiving Proclamation
American Minute with Bill Federer In order to thank God for the First Amendment, which was passed a week earlier by Congress, President George Washington issued the first National Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1789: Whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me 'to recommend to the People of the United States a day of [...]
Sojourner Truth
American Minute with Bill Federer Born a slave in New York in 1797, she spoke only Dutch until she was sold at age 11. Suffering hardships, her third master made her marry an older slave with whom she had five children. In 1827, she escaped to Canada. After New York abolished slavery, she returned as a domestic servant and helped with Elijah [...]
John Knox
American Minute with Bill Federer Sentenced as a galley slave on a French ship, he looked up as they sailed passed St. Andrews, Scotland, and said: I see the steeple of that place where God first in public opened my mouth to glory; and I am fully persuaded...I shall not depart this life till my tongue shall glorify his godly name in the same [...]
Franklin Pierce
American Minute with Bill Federer His only son, 11-year-old Bennie, was killed when their campaign train rolled off its tracks. This happened to 14th President Franklin Pierce, who was born NOVEMBER 23, 1804. Elected to Congress at age 29, Franklin Pierce was a Senator at 33. He resigned during the Mexican-American War, enlisted as a private [...]
President Kennedy
American Minute with Bill Federer Shots rang out as President John F. Kennedy was assassinated NOVEMBER 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas. The youngest President ever elected, he was also the youngest to die, barely serving 1,000 days. The 46-year-old Kennedy was on his way to the Dallas Trade Mart to deliver a speech, in which he prepared to [...]
Voltaire and Atheism
American Minute with Bill Federer French author Voltaire was born NOVEMBER 21, 1694. Yale president Timothy Dwight wrote of Voltaire in his Address "Duty of Americans at the Present Crisis," July 4, 1798, published in Encyclopedia Britannica's Annals of America: About the year 1728, Voltaire, so celebrated for his wit and brilliancy and not [...]
The Gettysburg Address
American Minute with Bill Federer NOVEMBER 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address where 50,000 soldiers were killed or wounded in a 3 day battle: Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. [...]
Julius Caesar Watts, Jr. and President Chester Arthur
American Minute with Bill Federer Julius Caesar Watts, Jr., better know as J.C. Watts, was born NOVEMBER 18, 1957. A college and pro football player, he was a youth minister and, in 1994, was elected to the U.S. Congress, where he was chosen House Conference Chairman. In response to the President's 1997 State of the Union Address, [...]
Queen Elizabeth
American Minute with Bill Federer "Bloody Mary," daughter of Henry VIII, sentenced 300 people to death during her 5 year reign. At her death, NOVEMBER 17, 1558, her half-sister Elizabeth became Queen. During Elizabeth's 45 year reign, Shakespeare wrote plays, Francis Bacon began the scientific revolution and Sir Walter Raleigh attempted to [...]
Samuel Francis Smith
American Minute with Bill Federer My country, 'tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty, Of thee I sing; Land where my fathers died, Land of the pilgrims' pride, From every mountainside, Let freedom ring! This hymn was written by Samuel Francis Smith, who died NOVEMBER 16, 1895. A Harvard classmate of poet Oliver Wendell Holmes, Smith went to [...]
John Witherspoon
American Minute with Bill Federer He lost two sons in the Revolution, was the only clergyman to sign the Declaration and served on 120 Congressional Committees. His name was John Witherspoon, and he died NOVEMBER 15, 1794. Born in Scotland, he was a descendant of John Knox. John Witherspoon was the President of Princeton University, the [...]
Booker T. Washington and Tuskegee Institute
American Minute with Bill Federer Born a slave, he taught himself to read, and attended school after working all day. At age 25, he founded Tuskegee Institute and recruited George Washington Carver. By his death, NOVEMBER 14, 1915, Tuskegee had over 1,500 students. His name was Booker T. Washington, and he was the first African American to [...]
The Mayflower Compact
American Minute with Bill Federer High winds and treacherous tides along North America's coast prevented the Pilgrims from sailing further south to join Virginia's earlier settlement. Unexpectedly finding themselves with no government authorities to submit to, they created their own government - the Mayflower Compact. It was the first [...]
Veterans Day
American Minute with Bill Federer The 11th hour of the 11TH DAY OF THE 11TH MONTH of 1918, World War I ended. Though the Armistice was signed at 5:00 AM, fighting continued till 11:00 AM, killing nearly 11,000 more men. In 1921, President Warren Harding had the remains of an unknown soldier killed in France buried in the Tomb of the Unknown [...]
Doctor Livingstone
American Minute with Bill Federer "Doctor Livingstone, I presume," was the greeting NOVEMBER 10, 1871, by New York Herald newspaper reporter Henry Stanley as he met David Livingstone on the banks of Africa's Lake Tanganyika. Livingstone, an internationally renowned missionary who had discovered the Zambezi River, Victoria Falls, and searched [...]
Eisenhower Stating the Obvious
American Minute with Bill Federer On NOVEMBER 9, 1954, President Eisenhower addressed the National Conference on the Spiritual Foundation of American Democracy at the Sheraton-Carlton Hotel, Washington D.C.: Now Dr. Lowry said something about my having certain convictions as to a God in Heaven and an Almighty power. Well, I don't think anyone [...]
Ocean in View! Lewis and Clark
American Minute with Bill Federer "Ocian in view! O! the joy," wrote William Clark in his Journal, but the next day, NOVEMBER 8, 1805, Lewis and Clark realized they were only at Gray's Bay, still 20 miles from the Pacific. Clark wrote: We found the swells or waves so high that we thought it imprudent to proceed...The seas roled and tossed [...]
Billy Graham
American Minute with Bill Federer He wanted to be a baseball player, but after attending a revival at age 16, his life changed. He has addressed crowds around the world and is unprecedented in having friendships with U.S. Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Bush. His name is Billy [...]
Mercy Otis Warren – The Conscience of the American Revolution
American Minute with Bill Federer Mercy Otis Warren was called "The Conscience of the American Revolution." She was wife of Massachusetts House Speaker James Warren, sister of patriot James Otis, and she corresponded with Franklin, Jefferson, Hamilton and John Adams. In 1805, Mercy Otis Warren published a 3 volume History of the Rise, [...]
Charles Carroll
American Minute with Bill Federer United States Senator Charles Carroll was unique. He was the only Roman Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence and he outlived all the other signers. At his death, Charles Carroll was considered the wealthiest citizen in America. His statue was chosen to represent the State of Maryland in the [...]
