Character

Person’s true character is revealed by what he does when no one is watching.

Ephesians 6:6 (KJV) Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;

Nobody knew the war was over

Another great american the attributes victory to God.

Nobody knew the war was over

American Minute with Bill Federer

500 men, women and children were massacred at Fort Mims, Alabama, on August 30, 1813, by the Red Stick Creek Indians, who were supplied with weapons by the British.

It was the largest Indian massacre in American history.

A rumor had been circulated that British were paying cash for American scalps.

Colonel Andrew Jackson defeated the Red Stick Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, March 27, 1814.

The Creeks ceded half of Alabama to the U.S. Government.

Promoted to General, Andrew Jackson was sent 150 miles west to defend New Orleans from the British.

Though the War of 1812 was effectively over two weeks earlier with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, December 24, 1814, news had not yet reached New Orleans.

On January 8, 1815, in the last battle of the War of 1812, nearly 10,000 battle-hardened British soldiers advanced under cover of darkness and heavy fog.

They were intending to surprise General Andrew Jackson’s Tennessee and Kentucky sharpshooters, aided by French pirate Jean Lafitte and his men.

As the British neared, the fog suddenly lifted and the Americans opened fire.

In just a half an hour 2,042 British were killed or wounded, while only 13 Americans were killed.

Considered the greatest American land victory of the war, General Andrew Jackson wrote to Robert Hays, January 26, 1815, regarding the Battle of New Orleans:

“It appears that the unerring hand of Providence shielded my men from the shower of balls, bombs, and rockets, when every ball and bomb from our guns carried with them a mission of death.”

General Jackson told his aide-de-camp Major Davezac of his confidence before the Battle:

“I was sure of success, for I knew that God would not give me previsions of disaster, but signs of victory. He said this ditch can never be passed. It cannot be done.”

Andrew Jackson wrote to Secretary of War James Monroe, February 17, 1815:

“Heaven, to be sure, has interposed most wonderfully in our behalf, and I am filled with gratitude, when I look back to what we have escaped.”

The Treaty of Ghent was ratified by the U.S. Senate, February 16, 1815.

The British had considered capturing Mobile, Alabama, but on February 26, 1815, Napoleon escaped from the Island of Elba and all British troops had to be immediately returned to Europe.

For the next one hundred days, events in Europe cascaded toward the massive Battle of Waterloo.

President Madison proclaimed for the United States a National Day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God, March 4, 1815:

“No people ought to feel greater obligations to celebrate the goodness of the Great Disposer of Events…distinguished by multiplied tokens of His benign interposition.”

---

The Moral Liberal contributing editor, William J. Federer, is the bestselling author of “Backfired: A Nation Born for Religious Tolerance no Longer Tolerates Religion,” and numerous other books. A frequent radio and television guest, his daily American Minute is broadcast nationally via radio, television, and Internet. Check out all of Bill’s books here.

Lewis Cass, born October 9, 1782

American Minute with Bill Federer

The Democrat Party’s candidate for President in the 1848 election was Lewis Cass, born OCTOBER 9, 1782.

In 1807, Lewis Cass became the US Marshal for Ohio.

He was a Brigadier-General in the War of 1812, fighting in the Battle of the Thames.

President James Madison appointed him Governor-General of the Michigan Territory, 1813-1831, where he made Indian treaties, organized townships and built roads.

In 1820, he led an expedition to northern Minnesota to search for the source of the Mississippi River in order to define the border between the U.S. and Canada.

Cass’ expedition geologist Henry Schoolcraft identified the Mississippi’s source as Lake Itasca in 1832.

President Andrew Jackson appointed Lewis Cass as Secretary of War in 1831, then minister to France in 1836.

He was elected a U.S. Senator from Michigan, 1845-48, 1849-57.

Senator Lewis Cass wrote from Washington, D.C. in 1846:

“God, in His providence, has given us a Book of His revealed will to be with us at the commencement of our career in this life and at its termination;

and to accompany us during all chances and changes of this trying and fitful progress, to control the passions, to enlighten the judgment, to guide the conscience, to teach us what we ought to do here, and what we shall be hereafter.”

Lewis Cass delivered a Eulogy for Secretary of State Daniel Webster, December 14, 1852:

“‘How are the mighty fallen!’ we may yet exclaim, when reft of our great and wisest; but they fall to rise again from death
to life, when such quickening faith in the mercy of God and in the sacrifice of the Redeemer comes to shed upon them its happy influence this side of the grave and beyond it…”

Continuing his Eulogy of Daniel Webster, Lewis Cass stated”

“And beyond all this he died in the faith of the Christian – humble, but hopeful – adding another to the long list of eminent men who have searched the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and have found it to be the word and the will of God.”

Lewis Cass was Secretary of State for President James Buchanan, 1857-1860.

The State of Michigan placed his statue in the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall.

In 17 States, Lewis Cass has places named for him, including: 30 townships, 10 cities, 10 streets, 9 counties, 4 schools, 3 parks, 2 lakes, 1 river, 1 fort, and 1 building.

Lewis Cass stated:

“Independent of its connection with human destiny hereafter, the fate of republican government is indissolubly bound up with the fate of the Christian religion,

and a people who reject its holy faith will find themselves the slaves of their own evil passions and of arbitrary power.”

---

The Moral Liberal contributing editor, William J. Federer, is the bestselling author of “Backfired: A Nation Born for Religious Tolerance no Longer Tolerates Religion,” and numerous other books. A frequent radio and television guest, his daily American Minute is broadcast nationally via radio, television, and Internet. Check out all of Bill’s books here.

Benjamin Franklin – an American Icon

American Minute with Bill Federer

On JULY 26, 1775, Benjamin Franklin became the first Postmaster General of the United States, a position he held under the British Crown before the Revolution.

Franklin’s public career began when he organized Pennsylvania’s first volunteer militia during threaten attacks from Spanish and French ships.

He then proposed a General Fast, which was approved by the Colony’s Council and printed in his Pennsylvania Gazette, December 12, 1747:

“As the calamities of a bloody War…seem every year more nearly to approach us…there is just reason to fear that unless we humble ourselves before the Lord & amend our Ways, we may be chastized with yet heavier Judgments,

We have, therefore, thought fit…to appoint…a Day of Fasting & Prayer, exhorting all, both Ministers & People, to observe the same with becoming seriousness & attention, & to join with one accord in the most humble & fervent Supplications;

That Almighty God would mercifully interpose and still the Rage of War among the Nations & put a stop to the effusion of Christian Blood.”

Franklin published evangelist George Whitefield’s sermons, thereby spreading The Great Awakening Revival.

He established a volunteer fire department, a circulating public library, an insurance company, a city police force, a night watch and a hospital.

He set up the lighting of city streets and was the first to suggest Daylight Savings Time. He invented bifocal glasses, the Franklin Stove, swim fins, the lightning rod, and coined the electrical terms “positive” and “negative.”

In 1754, Franklin wrote a pamphlet, “Information to Those Who Would Remove to America,” for Europeans interested in sending their youth to this land:

“Hence bad examples to youth are more rare in America, which must be a comfortable consideration to parents. To this may be truly added, that serious religion, under its various denominations, is not only tolerated, but respected and practised.

Atheism is unknown there; Infidelity rare and secret; so that persons may live to a great age in that country without having their piety shocked by meeting with either an Atheist or an Infidel.

And the Divine Being seems to have manifested his approbation of the mutual forbearance and kindness with which the different sects treat each other; by the remarkable prosperity with which he has been pleased to favor the whole country.”

On September 28, 1776, as President of Pennsylvania’s Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin signed the State’s first Constitution, “the most radically democratic Frame of Government the world had ever seen.

It stated:

“Government ought to be instituted…to enable the individuals…to enjoy their natural rights…which the Author of Existence has bestowed upon man; and whenever these great ends…are not obtained, the people have a right…to change it, and take such measures as to them may appear necessary to promote their safety and happiness…”

Pennsylvania’s Constitution continued:

“All men have a natural and unalienable right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences…

Nor can any man, who acknowledges the being of a God, be justly deprived or abridged of any civil right…

No authority…shall in any case interfere with…the right of conscience in the free exercise of religious worship.”

Pennsylvania’s Constitution added:

“And each member…shall make…the following declaration, viz: I do believe in one God, the Creator and Governor of the Universe, the Rewarder of the good and the Punisher of the wicked. And I do acknowledge the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by Divine Inspiration. And no further or other religious test shall ever hereafter be required.”

Pennsylvania’s Constitution had in Section 45:

“Laws for the encouragement of virtue, and prevention of vice and immorality, shall be…constantly kept in force…Religious societies…incorporated for the advancement of religion…shall be encouraged.”

At the end of the Revolutionary War, Franklin signed the Treaty of Paris, September 3, 1783, which began: “In the name of the Most Holy and Undivided Trinity…”

As Pennsylvania’s President (Governor), Ben Franklin hosted the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, where on June 28, 1787, he moved:

“That henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessing on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning.”

Franklin composed his epitaph:

“THE BODY of BENJAMIN FRANKLIN – Printer.
Like the cover of an old book,
Its contents torn out,
And stripped of its lettering and gilding,
Lies here, food for worms;
Yet the work itself shall not be lost,
For it will (as he believed) appear once more,
In a new, and more beautiful edition,
Corrected and amended By The AUTHOR.”

Franklin wrote April 17, 1787:

“Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom.

As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.”

---

The Moral Liberal contributing editor, William J. Federer, is the bestselling author of “Backfired: A Nation Born for Religious Tolerance no Longer Tolerates Religion,” and numerous other books. A frequent radio and television guest, his daily American Minute is broadcast nationally via radio, television, and Internet. Check out all of Bill’s books here.

Ulysses S. Grant – Soldier, President, man of faith

American Minute with Bill Federer

Ulysses S. Grant was commissioned JULY 25, 1866, as General of the Army, the first ever to hold that rank and wear the four silver star insignia.

Popularity from Civil War victories resulted in him being chosen as Republican candidate for President in 1868.

Earlier, while farming in Missouri, Grant inherited a slave from his wife’s father, a 35-year-old man named William Jones. Though they were in a dire financial situation, Grant freed his slave in 1859 rather than sell him for badly needed money.

Grant signed the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, limiting Democrat vigilante and lynching activity of freed slaves in the South.

Elected the 18th President, Grant supported ratification of the 15th Amendment guaranteeing freed slaves the right to vote.

Grant stated in his Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1873:

“Under Providence I have been called a second time to act as Executive over this great nation…

The effects of the late civil strife have been to free the slave and make him a citizen. Yet he is not possessed of the civil rights which citizenship should carry with it. This is wrong, and should be corrected. To this correction I stand committed.”

Grant worked to stabilize the country’s currency by having it backed by gold, as during the Civil War the Federal Government printed an excess of paper money with no backing except ‘faith’ in the Federal Government.

In his First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1869, President Ulysses S. Grant stated:

“Every dollar of Government indebtedness should be paid in gold…

It looks as though Providence had bestowed upon us a strong box in the precious metals locked up in the sterile mountains of the far West, and which we are now forging the key to unlock, to meet the very contingency that is now upon us.”

Of his Indian policy, Grant stated in his First Annual Message, December 6, 1869:

“The Society of Friends…succeeded in living in peace with the Indians in the early settlement of Pennsylvania…

These considerations induced me to give the management of a few reservations of Indians to them.”

President Grant stated in his 2nd Annual Message, December 5, 1870:

“Religious denominations as had established missionaries among the Indians…are expected to watch over them and aid them…to Christianize and civilize the Indians, and to train him in the arts of peace.”

President Grant wrote to Congress, January 1, 1871:

“Indians of the country should be encouraged…to adopt our form of government, and it is highly desirable that they become self-sustaining, self-relying, Christianized, and civilized.”

President Grant stated in his 3rd Annual Message, December 4, 1871:

“I recommend liberal appropriations to carry out the Indian peace policy, not only because it is humane and Christianlike…but because it is right.”

Grant, being the youngest President to that date, 46 years old, had a military training of trusting subordinates, leaving him ill-prepared for dealing with political intrigues, hidden motives and greed of Washington politicians.

As a result, a number of those in his Administration were involved in granting government favors and monopolies in exchange for bribes and insider deals.

Called the “Gilded Age” by Mark Twain, a friend of Grant’s, America saw:

-Immigrants arriving in record numbers;

-Railroads crossing the nation;

-Industry and manufacturing expanded;

-Iron, steel production rising dramatically;

-Western resources of lumber, gold and silver; and the

-Oil industry replacing the use of whale blubber oil, saving the whale.

Industrialists, called “Robber Barons,” amassed great wealth by providing more goods to people at cheaper prices, raising the country’s standard of living:

John Jacob Astor (real estate, fur);
Andrew Carnegie (steel);
James Fisk (finance);
Henry Flagler (railroads, oil);
Jay Gould (railroads);
Edward Harriman (railroads);
Andrew Mellon (finance, oil);
J.P. Morgan (finance, industrial);
John D. Rockefeller (oil);
Charles M. Schwab (steel); and
Cornelius Vanderbilt (water transport, railroads).

Ulysses S. Grant did not personally profit from being in office and even went bankrupt as a result of naively trusting investors.

Struggling financially, and suffering from throat cancer in his later years from cigar smoking, Grant was encouraged by Mark Twain to write his Memoirs of the Civil War in order to provide an income for his wife after his death.

Encouraged by the outpouring of support from people across the country, Ulysses S. Grant, who was a Methodist, wrote in 1884:

“I believe in the Holy Scriptures, and whoso lives by them will be benefited thereby. Men may differ as to the interpretation, which is human, but the Scriptures are man’s best guide…

I did not go riding yesterday, although invited and permitted by my physicians, because it was the Lord’s day, and because I felt that if a relapse should set in, the people who are praying for me would feel that I was not helping their faith by riding out on Sunday….

Yes, I know, and I feel very grateful to the Christian people of the land for their prayers in my behalf. There is no sect or religion, as shown in the Old or New Testament, to which this does not apply.”

Just days after delivering his final manuscript to the printer, Ulysses S. Grant died, July 23, 1885.

Nine years earlier, President Grant wrote to the Editor of the Sunday School Times in Philadelphia, June 6, 1876:

“Your favor of yesterday asking a message from me to the children and the youth of the United States, to accompany your Centennial number, is this morning received.

My advice to Sunday schools, no matter what their denomination, is: Hold fast to the Bible as the sheet anchor of your liberties; write its precepts in your hearts, and practice them in your lives.

To the influence of this Book are we indebted for all the progress made in true civilization, and to this must we look as our guide in the future.

‘Righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people.’ Yours respectfully, U.S. Grant.”

---

The Moral Liberal contributing editor, William J. Federer, is the bestselling author of “Backfired: A Nation Born for Religious Tolerance no Longer Tolerates Religion,” and numerous other books. A frequent radio and television guest, his daily American Minute is broadcast nationally via radio, television, and Internet. Check out all of Bill’s books here.

Battle of Monongahela

American Minute with Bill Federer

Before the Revolutionary War, tensions between Britain’s King George II and France’s King Louis XV, and their allies, escalated into the first global war – the Seven Years War, which in America was called the French and Indian War.

The war spread to every major power in Europe and their colonies around the world, from the Caribbean, to India, the Philippines and Africa.

Over a million died.

It was sparked by the ambush in 1754 of a French detachment in the Ohio Valley by British militia led by 22-year-old Virginia Colonel George Washington.

In 1755, 1,400 British troops marched over the Appalachian Mountains to seize French Fort Duquesne, near present day Pittsburgh.

One of the wagon drivers was 21-year-old Daniel Boone.

On July 9, 1755, as they passed through a deep wooded ravine along the Monongahela River eight miles south of the fort, they were ambushed by French regulars, Canadians, and Potawatomi and Ottawa Indians.

Not accustomed to fighting unless in an open field, over 900 British soldiers were annihilated in the Battle of the Wilderness, or Battle of Monongahela.

Col. George Washington rode back and forth during the battle delivering orders for General Edward Braddock, the Commander-in-Chief of British forces in America.

Eventually, Braddock was killed and every officer on horseback was shot, except Washington.

Washington carried Braddock from the field.

Braddock’s field desk was captured, revealing all the British military plans, enabling the French to surprise and defeat British forces in succeeding battles at Fort Oswego, Fort William Henry, Fort Duquesne, and Carillon.

These British losses convinced the Iroquois tribes of Senecas and Cayugas to switch their allegiances to the French.

Before he died Braddock gave Washington his battle uniform sash, which Washington reportedly carried with him the rest of his life, even while Commander-in-Chief and President.

Washington presided at the burial service for General Braddock, as the chaplain was wounded. Braddock’s body was buried in the middle of the road so as to prevent his body from being found and desecrated.

Shortly thereafter, writing from Fort Cumberland, George Washington described the Battle of Monongahela to his younger brother, John Augustine Washington, July 18, 1755:

“As I have heard, since my arrival at this place, a circumstantial account of my death and dying speech, I take this early opportunity of contradicting the first, and of assuring you, that I have not as yet composed the latter.

But by the All-Powerful Dispensations of Providence, I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation; for I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet escaped unhurt, although death was leveling my companions on every side of me!”

An Indian warrior later declared:

“Washington was never born to be killed by a bullet! I had seventeen fair fires at him with my rifle and after all could not bring him to the ground!”

---

The Moral Liberal contributing editor, William J. Federer, is the bestselling author of “Backfired: A Nation Born for Religious Tolerance no Longer Tolerates Religion,” and numerous other books. A frequent radio and television guest, his daily American Minute is broadcast nationally via radio, television, and Internet. Check out all of Bill’s books here.

Leslie Lynch King, Jr. AKA Gerald Rudolph Ford

American Minute with Bill Federer

Gerald Rudolph Ford was the 38th U.S. President.

Born Leslie Lynch King, Jr., on JULY 14, 1913, he was 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 II.

Gerald Ford was House Minority Leader until chosen to be Vice-President when Spiro Agnew resigned, then President when Richard Nixon resigned.

He was the only President not elected.

Gerald Ford stated upon assuming the Presidency, August 9, 1974:

“I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your President by your ballots, and so I ask you to confirm me as your President with your prayers.”

On September 8, 1974, President Ford stated:

“The Constitution is the supreme law of our land and it governs our actions as citizens. Only the laws of God, which govern our consciences, are superior to it.

As we are a Nation under God, so I am sworn to uphold our laws with the help of God.”

In a Proclamation of Prayer, December 5, 1974, President Ford quoted President Eisenhower:

“Without God there could be no American form of government… Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first-the most basic-expression of Americanism.”

At a Southern Methodist University Convocation, September 13, 1975, President Ford stated:

“I see a century…which equips young men and women…to make their own decisions rather than permit their future to be programmed by massive government structures that an imaginative writer foresaw for 1984–a nightmarish fantasy of what our third century could be.

It is my deepest conviction that a government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have…

Men and women must prevail over the endless agencies and bureaus that would reduce human beings to computerized abstractions and program people into numbers and statistics.

Today’s mounting danger is from mass government…we must not let them prevail…

Never forget that in America our sovereign is the citizen…The state is a servant…It must never become an anonymous monstrosity that masters everyone.”

Washington’s Farewell toHis Mother.

Weekly Story: Washington’s Farewell to his Mother

Weekly Story

 

George Washington’s adopted son recalls President-elect Washington’s visit with his mother.

 

“But go, George, fulfil the high destinies which Heaven appears to have intended you; go, my son, and may that Heaven’s and your mother’s blessing be with you always.”

 

Washington’s Farewell toHis Mother.

—————

 

IMMEDIATELY after the organization of the present government [spring of 1789], the Chief Magistrate repaired to Fredericksburg, to pay his humble duty to his mother, preparatory to his departure for New York. An affecting scene ensued. The son feelingly remarked the ravages which a torturing disease had made upon the aged frame of the mother, and addressed her thus:

“The people, madam, have been pleased, with the most flattering unanimity, to elect me to the chief magistracy of these United States, but before I can assume the functions of my office, I have come to bid you an affectionate farewell. So soon as the weight of public business, which must necessarily attend the outset of a new government, can be disposed of, I shall hasten to Virginia, and—”

Here the matron interrupted with—“and you will see me no more; my great age, and the disease which is fast approaching my vitals, warn me that I shall not be long in this world; I trust in God that I may be somewhat prepared for a better. But go, George, fulfil the high destinies which Heaven appears to have intended you; go, my son, and may that Heaven’s and your mother’s blessing be with you always.”

The president was deeply affected. His head rested upon the shoulder of his parent, whose aged arm feebly, yet fondly encircled his neck. That brow on which fame had wreathed the purest laurel virtue ever gave to created man, relaxed from its lofty bearing. That look which could have awed a Roman senate in its Fabrician day, was bent in filial tenderness upon the time-worn features of the venerable matron.

The great man wept. A thousand recollections crowded upon his mind, as memory retracing scenes long passed, carried him back to the maternal mansion and the days of juvenility, where he beheld that mother, whose care, education, and discipline, caused him to reach the topmost height of laudable ambition—yet, how were his glories forgotten, while he gazed upon her whom, wasted by time and malady, he should part with to meet no more.

Her predictions were but too true. The disease which so long had preyed upon her frame, completed its triumph, and she expired at the age of eighty-five, rejoicing in the consciousness of a life well spent, and confiding in the belief of a blessed immortality to the humble believer.

—George W. P. Custis, “The Mother of Washington,” Ladies’ Magazine
(September 1831).

The Bible of the Revolution is one of the rarest books

This is a very informative article that shows the support Signers of the declaration had for the Bible and its needs. This took place during the revolutionary war. This was done by  honorable God fearing men that our latter day “historians?” call deists. Lengthy but excellent.

American Minute with Bill Federer

In colonial America, Bibles had to be imported as the British government tightly regulated their printing.

It was actually illegal to print Bibles in the English language without a license from the King, and licenses were only granted to Oxford and Cambridge University presses and a printer in Scotland.

The Revolutionary War interrupted trade with the King’s authorized printers in England resulting in shortages of the King James Authorized Version, which was used by clergy, courts of justice and in education.

In July of 1777, three clergymen signed a petition to the Continental Congress:

“To the honorable Continental Congress of the United States of North America now sitting in Philadelphia.

Honored Gentlemen,
We the Ministers of the Gospel of Christ in the City of Philadelphia, whose names are under written, taking it into our serious consideration that in our present circumstances, books in general, and in particular, the Holy Scriptures contained in the Old and New Testaments are growing so scarce and dear, that we greatly fear that unless timely care be used to prevent it, we shall not have Bibles for our schools and families, and for the public worship of God in our churches.

We therefore think it our duty to our country and to the churches of Christ to lay this danger before this honorable house, humbly requesting that under your care, and by your encouragement, a copy of the Holy Bible may be printed, so as to be sold nearly as cheap as the common Bibles, formerly imported from Britain and Ireland, were sold.

The number of purchasers is so great, that we doubt not but a large impression would soon be sold, but unless the sale of the whole edition belong to the printer, and he be bound under sufficient penalties, that no copy be sold by him, nor by any retailer under him, at a higher price than that allowed by this honorable house, we fear that the whole impression would soon be bought up, and sold again at an exorbitant price, which would frustrate your pious endeavors and fill the country with just complaints.

We are persuaded that your care and seasonable interposition will remove the anxious fears of many pious and well disposed persons; would prevent the murmurs of the discontented; would save much money to the United States; would be the means of promoting Christian knowledge in our churches, and would transmit your names with additional honor to the latest posterity.

Our sincere prayers shall ever be for your welfare and prosperity, and we beg leave with the greatest respect to subscribe our selves.
Honored Gentlemen, Your most obedient humble servants,
Francis Alison
John Ewing
William Marshalle”

The Chaplain of Congress, Patrick Allison, brought the issue to the attention of the Continental Congress, which referred it to a committee composed of John Adams, Daniel Roberdeau and Jonathan Bayard Smith.

The Committee reported to Congress, September 11, 1777, that it had:

“…conferred fully with the printers, etc., in this city and are of the opinion, that the proper types for printing the Bible are not to be had in this country, and that the paper cannot be procured, but with such difficulties and subject to such casualties as render any dependence on it altogether improper…”

The Committee recommended:

“The use of the Bible is so universal and its importance so great that your committee refers the above to the consideration of Congress…

The Committee recommends that Congress will order the Committee of Commerce to import 20,000 Bibles from Holland, Scotland, or elsewhere, into the different parts of the States of the Union.

Whereupon it was resolved accordingly to direct said Committee of Commerce to import 20,000 copies of the Bible.”

That same day, September 11, 1777, Washington’s troops lost the Battle of Brandywine, retreating eventually to Valley Forge, and British General John Burgoyne’s troops were marching down from Canada.

In a panic, the Continental Congress evacuated Philadelphia before action could be taken on the Bible resolution, fleeing to the City of Lancaster, then to York, Pennsylvania.

On September 26, 1777, British General William Howe occupied Philadelphia, expecting the war to be over, as European countries would surrender if their capital was captured.

The war continued and in 1780 a motion pertaining to the printing of Bibles was again made in Congress by James McLene of Pennsylvania and seconded by John Hanson of Maryland:

“Resolved: That it be recommended to such of the States who may think it convenient for them that they take proper measures to procure one or more new and correct editions of the Old and New Testament to be printed and that such states regulate their printers by law so as to secure effectually the said books from being misprinted.”

On January 21, 1781, Robert Aitken presented a ‘memorial’ petition to Congress to publish the entire Bible:

“To the Honorable The Congress of the United States of America
The Memorial of Robert Aitken of the City of Philadelphia, Printer

Humbly Sheweth
That in every well regulated Government in Christendom, The Sacred Books of the Old and New Testament, commonly called the Holy Bible, are printed and published under the Authority of the Sovereign Powers, in order to prevent the fatal confusion that would arise, and the alarming Injuries the Christian Faith might suffer from the spurious and erroneous editions of Divine Revelation…”

Robert Aitken continued:

“That your Memorialist has no doubt but this work is an object worthy the attention of the Congress of the United States of America, who will not neglect spiritual security, while they are virtuously contending for temporal blessings.

Under this persuasion your Memorialist begs leave to, inform your Honors that he both begun and made considerable progress in a neat edition of the Holy Scriptures for the use of schools, but being cautious of suffering his copy of the Bible to issue forth without the sanction of Congress,

humbly prays that your Honors would take this important matter into serious consideration & would be pleased to appoint one Member or Members of your Honorable Body to inspect his work so that the same may be published under the Authority of Congress.

And further, your Memorialist prays, that he may be commissioned or otherwise appointed & authorized to print and vend editions of, the Sacred Scriptures, in such manner and form as may best suit the wants and demands of the good people of these States, provided the same be in all things perfectly consonant to the Scriptures as heretofore Established and received amongst us.”

Robert Aitken, a Scottish immigrant, printed The Pennsylvania Magazine, which had 600 subscribers, with Thomas Paine as editor.

In January of 1776, Robert Aiken began printing the journals of the Continental Congress.

In early September, 1782, Robert Aitken sent a message to Congress informing them he had nearly completed his Bible, “accomplished in the midst of the Confusion and Distresses of War.”

Congress requested the Chaplains of Congress review it:

“REPORT OF COMMITTEE OF CONGRESS ON MR. AITKEN’S MEMORIAL
By The United States Congress Assembled:
September 12th, 1782.

THE Committee to whom was referred a Memorial of Robert Aitken, Printer, dated 21st January, 1781, respecting an edition of the Holy Scriptures, report,

That Mr. Aitken has, at a great expense, now finished an American edition of the Holy Scriptures in English, that the Committee have from time to time attended to his progress in the work; that they also recommended it to the two Chaplains of Congress to examine and give their opinion of the execution, who have accordingly reported thereon; the recommendation and report being as follows:

‘Philadelphia, 1st September, 1782.
Reverend Gentlemen,
OUR knowledge of your piety and public spirit leads us without apology to recommend to your particular attention the edition of the Holy Scriptures publishing by Mr. Aitken.

He undertook this expensive work at a time when, from the circumstances of the war, an English edition of the Bible could not be imported, nor any opinion formed how long the obstruction might continue.

On this account particularly he deserves applause and encouragement.

We therefore wish you, Reverend Gentlemen, to examine the execution of the work, and if approved, to give it the sanction of your judgment, and the weight of your recommendation.

We are, with very great respect, Your most obedient humble servants.
(Sign’d) JAMES DUANE, Chairman in behalf of a Committee of Congress on Mr. Aitken’s Memorial.’”

The two Chaplains of Congress at this time were: Rev. George Duffield, pastor of the Third Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, who helped form the Presbyterian Church in the United States;

and Rev. William White, rector of Christ Church, who helped organize the Protestant Episcopal Church in America and was the first president of the Bible Society of Philadelphia – the first Bible Society in the United States.

Chaplains William White and George Duffield reported to Congress, September 10, 1782:

“REPORT OF THE CONGRESSIONAL CHAPLAINS
Reverend Doct. White and Revd. Mr. Duffield,
Chaplains of the United States in Congress assembled.
Report.

Gentlemen,
AGREEABLY to your desire we have paid attention to Mr. Robert Aitken’s impression of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament.

Having selected and examined a variety of passages throughout the work, we are of opinion that it is executed with great accuracy as to the sense, and with as few grammatical and typographical errors as could be expected in an undertaking of such magnitude.

Being ourselves witnesses of the demand of this invaluable book, we rejoice in this present prospect of a supply; hoping that it will prove as advantageous as it is honorable to the Gentleman, who has exerted himself to furnish it, at the evident risque of private fortune.
We are,
Gentlemen,
Your very respectful and humble servants,
(Sign’d) William White, George Duffield.
Philadelphia, September 10th, 1782.”

On September 12, 1782, Congress approved of Robert Aitken’s printing of the Bible.

Called ‘The Bible of the Revolution’ it was the first English-language Bible printed in America and the only Bible ever authorized by an act of Congress:

“ENDORSEMENT OF CONGRESS
Honble James Duane, Esq. Chairman, and the other Honble Gentlemen of the Committee of Congress on Mr. Aitken’s Memorial.

Whereupon, RESOLVED,
THAT the United States in Congress assembled highly approve the pious and laudable undertaking of Mr. Aitken, as subservient to the interest of religion, as well as an influence of the progress of arts in this country, and being satisfied from the above report of his care and accuracy in the execution of the work, they recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United States, and hereby authorize him to publish this Recommendation in the manner he shall think Proper.
CHA. THOMSON, Sec’ry.”

Robert Aitken’s ‘Bible of the Revolution’ is one of the rarest books.

In 1940, the Rev. Edwin A.R. Rumball-Petre located 28 copies in institutions in America and abroad, and 22 in private collections.

Copies are in the possession of the American Bible Society’s Museum of Biblical Art in New York, and Houston Baptist University’s Dunham Bible Museum.

The endorsement of Robert Aitken’s Bible was signed by the Secretary of Congress Charles Thomson, who had also signed the Declaration of Independence with John Hancock on July 4, 1776.

Charles Thomson, with William Barton, designed the Great Seal of the United States.

When Charles Thomson retired from Congress, he spent 19 years researching and writing his ‘Thomson Bible,’ a four-volume work containing the first American translation of the Greek Septuagint.

Charles Thomson’s Bible was printed in 1808 by Jane Aitken, who had taken over the printing business of her father, Robert Aitken, when he died on JULY 15, 1802.

This made Jane Aitken the first woman ever to print the Bible.

---

The Moral Liberal contributing editor, William J. Federer, is the bestselling author of “Backfired: A Nation Born for Religious Tolerance no Longer Tolerates Religion,” and numerous other books. A frequent radio and television guest, his daily American Minute is broadcast nationally via radio, television, and Internet. Check out all of Bill’s books here.

George Washington Carver was born July 12, 1865

American Minute with Bill Federer

George Washington Carver was born a slave during the Civil War, possibly around the date of JULY 12, 1865, but there are no records.

Within a few weeks, his father, who belonged to the next farm over, was killed in a log hauling accident.

Shortly after the Civil War, while still an infant, George, with his mother and sister, was kidnapped by bushwhackers.

Moses Carver sent friends to track down the thieves and trade his best horse to retrieve them.

The thieves left baby George lying on the ground, sick with the whooping cough. George never saw his mother and sister again.

Illness claimed the lives of his two other sisters and they were buried on the Carver farm.

George and his older brother, Jim, were raised in Diamond Grove, Missouri, by “Uncle” Moses and “Aunt” Sue Carver, a childless German immigrant couple.

In poor health as a child, George stayed near the house helping with chores, learning to cook, clean, sew, mend and wash laundry.

His recreation was to spend time in the woods.

George worked his way through school and eventually taught on staff at Iowa State College.

In the fall of 1896, George surprised the staff at Iowa State College by announcing his plans to give up his promising future there and join the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.

The staff showed their appreciation by purchasing him a going away present, a microscope, which he used extensively throughout his career.

At Tuskegee, George assembled an Agricultural Department.

He visited nearby farmers and taught them farming techniques, such as crop rotation, fertilization and erosion prevention.

Carver noticed that the soil was depleted due to years of repeated cotton growth and produced very poorly.

Also, an insect called the boll weevil swept through the South, destroying cotton crops and leaving farmers devastated.

Farmers heeded Carver’s advice but soon had more peanuts than the market wanted, as peanuts were primarily used as animal feed.

George determined to increase the market for peanuts by discovering and popularizing hundreds of uses for them.

He did the same for the sweet potato, pecan, soybean, cowpea, wild plum, and okra.

George credited Divine inspiration for giving him ideas regarding how to perform experiments.

In the summer of 1920, the Young Men’s Christian Association of Blue Ridge, North Carolina, invited Professor Carver to speak at their summer school for the southern states.

Dr. Willis D. Weatherford, President of Blue Ridge, introduced him as the speaker. With his high voice surprising the audience, Dr. Carver exclaimed humorously:

“I always look forward to introductions as opportunities to learn something about myself…”

He continued:

“Years ago I went into my laboratory and said, ‘Dear Mr. Creator, please tell me what the universe was made for?’

The Great Creator answered, ‘You want to know too much for that little mind of yours. Ask for something more your size, little man.’

Then I asked, ‘Please, Mr. Creator, tell me what man was made for.’

Again the Great Creator replied, ‘You are still asking too much. Cut down on the extent and improve the intent.’

So then I asked, ‘Please, Mr. Creator, will you tell me why the peanut was made?’

‘That’s better, but even then it’s infinite. What do you want to know about the peanut?’

‘Mr. Creator, can I make milk out of the peanut?’

‘What kind of milk do you want? Good Jersey milk or just plain boarding house milk?’

‘Good Jersey milk.’

And then the Great Creator taught me to take the peanut apart and put it together again. And out of the process have come forth all these products!”

Among the numerous products displayed was a bottle of good Jersey milk. Three and-a-half ounces of peanuts produced one pint of rich milk or one quart of raw “skim” milk, called boarding house “blue john” milk.

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.

George expounded on the many potential uses of the peanut as a means to improve the Southern economy.

Initially given only ten minutes to speak, George Carver so enthralled the committee that the Chairman said, “Go ahead Brother. Your time is unlimited!”

George spoke for one hour and forty-five minutes, explaining the many food products that could be derived from peanuts:

“If you go to the first chapter of Genesis, we can interpret very clearly, I think, what God intended when he said, ‘Behold, I have given you every herb that bears seed. To you it shall be meat.’

This is what He means about it. It shall be meat. There is everything there to strengthen and nourish and keep the body alive and healthy.”

The Committee Chairman asked Carver:

“Dr. Carver, how did you learn all of these things?”

Carver answered, “From an old book.”

“What book?” asked the Chairman.

Carver replied, “The Bible.”

The Chairman inquired, “Does the Bible tell about peanuts?”

“No, Sir” Carver replied, “But it tells about the God who made the
peanut. I asked Him to show me what to do with the peanut, and He did.”

On November 19, 1924, Carver spoke to over 500 people at the Women’s Board of Domestic Missions:

“God is going to reveal to us things He never revealed before if we put our hands in His. No books ever go into my laboratory.

The thing I am to do and the way are revealed to me the moment I am inspired to create something new.

Without God to draw aside the curtain, I would be helpless. Only alone can I draw close enough to God to discover His secrets.”

On March 24, 1925, Carver wrote to Robert Johnson, an employee of Chesley Enterprises of Ontario:

“Thank God I love humanity; complexion doesn’t interest me one single bit.”

On July 10, 1924, George Washington Carver wrote to James Hardwick:

“God cannot use you as He wishes until you come into the fullness of His Glory. Do not get alarmed, my friend, when doubts creep in. That is old Satan.

Pray, pray, pray. Oh, my friend, I am praying that God will come in and rid you entirely of self so you can go out after souls right, or rather have souls seek the Christ in you. This is my prayer for you always.”

---

The Moral Liberal contributing editor, William J. Federer, is the bestselling author of “Backfired: A Nation Born for Religious Tolerance no Longer Tolerates Religion,” and numerous other books. A frequent radio and television guest, his daily American Minute is broadcast nationally via radio, television, and Internet. Check out all of Bill’s bookshere.