Reading Time: 8 minutesHISTORY OF THE AMERICAN EXPERIMENT: A DEMOCRACY OR A REPUBLIC? Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial ur quarter-millennium experiment with non-monarchical self-government, now 250 years old, remains singular in history. See my previous article on the American uniqueness compared to other nations throughout history. Congress had authorized George Washington to command the Continental Army in June 1775. In time, the American Revolutionary War would gain the country’s independence. The Treaty of Paris in 1783 officially ended the American Revolutionary War against the colonial power that had previously ruled us, Great Britain. King George III of Great Britain…
Reading Time: 5 minutesHISTORY OF INDEPENDENCE DAY Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial Podcast version [In my previous article, I wrote about Thomas Jefferson, a man of paradox: liberty-loving slaveholder, Indian-loving relocationist, publicly frugal and privately bankrupt, a constitutional conservative who bought the Louisiana Territory in 1803.] ndependence Day, also known as the Fourth of July, celebrates the adoption by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, of the Declaration of Independence, which proclaimed the severance of the American colonies’ allegiance to Great Britain. It is the most significant secular holiday in the United States, observed in…
Reading Time: 7 minutesHISTORY OF THE 4th OF JULY: THOMAS JEFFERSON Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial Podcast version [In my previous article, I wrote about John Adams, the first Vice President of the United States under George Washington, the second President of the United States, the first resident of the White House, and the writer of the Massachusetts State Constitution; he was also one of the creators of the Declaration of Independence during the Revolutionary War.] erhaps no one person is more associated with the 4th of July in American history than Thomas Jefferson, probably because…
Reading Time: 5 minutesHISTORY OF THE 4TH OF JULY: JOHN ADAMS Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial Podcast version [In my previous article, I discussed Ben Franklin, the most multidimensional Founding Father, a self-made gentleman-scientist who was the most famous American in Europe] efore John Adams became the first Vice President of the United States under George Washington, the second President of the United States, the first resident of the White House, and the writer of the Massachusetts State Constitution, he was one of the creators of the Declaration of Independence during the Revolutionary War. What was he…
Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial Podcast version [In my previous article, I discussed Alexander Hamilton, who founded America’s first political party, the Federalist Party.] e know this polymath as a writer, publisher, printer, merchant, scientist, moral philosopher, international diplomat, and inventor. He invented the glass harmonica in music, but he also invented the Franklin stove and started the first lending library and fire brigade in Philadelphia. He did experiments with electricity and developed the lightning rod. He was considered: America’s best scientist, inventor, diplomat, writer, and business strategist, and…
Reading Time: 8 minutesHISTORY OF ALEXANDER HAMILTON: FIRST SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial [In my previous article, I discussed the life and career of General George Washington. Today’s Founding Father served as his aide-de-camp during the Revolutionary War and was a close friend of the future president.] lexander Hamilton has gained popularity in recent years, mainly due to the 2015 Broadway musical “Hamilton” by Lin-Manuel Miranda. What is the real story behind this remarkable revolutionary? What kind of leader was he? How was his background similar to and different from that of…
Reading Time: 8 minutesHISTORY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON: FATHER OF THE NATION Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial [In my previous article, I discussed how the Founding Father John Witherspoon, immersed in both the Enlightenment and Presbyterian Christianity, was a professor and college president. Today’s Founding Father never went to college, but had a different kind of education.] eorge Washington was born on February 22, 1732, in Westmoreland County, Virginia, into a moderately prosperous planter family. Washington’s Birthday is an official federal holiday, though it is “observed” on Presidents Day, along with Abraham Lincoln’s, and other presidents’, as I’ve written…
Reading Time: 5 minutesHISTORY OF JOHN WITHERSPOON: THE ORDAINED FOUNDING FATHER Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial Podcast version [In my previous article, I discussed how the American Revolution against England was driven by the Enlightenment, the Age of Reason… and Religion, the predominantly Protestant Christian faith energized by the revival of the Great Awakening.] ohn Witherspoon, born on February 4, 1723, was an 18th-century Scottish preacher who emigrated to America in 1768. He was the sole clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence. As president of Princeton College, he significantly influenced several Founding Fathers, including framers of the Declaration and Constitution…
Reading Time: 5 minutesAmerican Revolution – Reason and Religion Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial Podcast version [In my previous article, I discussed how America’s experiment in self-government has been unique across 250 years.] wo waves propelled the 13 colonies into the prospect of independence from England and a call to write a Declaration of Independence: the Enlightenment, the Age of Reason… and Religion, the predominantly Protestant Christian faith driven by the revival of the Great Awakening. Each was a major force in 18th-century America and greatly influenced the worldview of the Founding Fathers.
