US
History of John Witherspoon: the Ordained Founding Father
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,…
Read MoreAmerican Revolution: Reason and Religion
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…
Read MoreHistory of America: 250 Years
Reading Time: 6 minutesHISTORY OF AMERICA: 250 YEARS Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial Podcast version he United States of America celebrates its 250th birthday this year… or at least the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It should be noted that the Declaration was essentially a “bill of divorcement” from Great…
Read MoreHistory of Juneteenth: and the Emancipation Proclamation
Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF JUNETEENTH: and the Emancipation Proclamation une Nineteenth, or Juneteenth, historically marked the celebration of the emancipation of African-American slaves in Texas in 1865. While the annual celebration started in Texas the following year in 1866, and became an official Texas state holiday there in 1980, this formerly obscure holiday is now observed across…
Read MoreHistory of Flag Day
Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF FLAG DAY Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial une 14 is Flag Day in the United States. While it is not a federal holiday and may not be as widely celebrated as other American holidays, it is one of the oldest. It was resolved by the Second Continental Congress in…
Read MoreHistory of the Golden Gate Bridge: 89 Years Old
Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE his week, we celebrate the 89th anniversary of the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge. On May 27, 1937, the bridge opened to traffic after more than five years of construction. I remember asking my father when I was young: “Why isn’t the Golden Gate Bridge golden?” He didn’t…
Read MoreHistory of Memorial Day: Where did it Begin?
Reading Time: 2 minutesHISTORY OF MEMORIAL DAY: BOALSBURG, PA The city of Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, an American village on the National Historic Register, claims to be the birthplace of Memorial Day, as do at least 24 other towns in America. I first visited this hamlet near State College, home of Penn State University, decades ago. Boalsburg’s claim goes back…
Read MoreHistory of Memorial Day: Which War?
Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF MEMORIAL DAY: WHICH WAR? Memorial Day was not universally recognized as a shared American Holiday until after World War I. But that’s not how it started in the United States. When did it begin? Civil War and Memorial Day Following the American Civil War, or the “War Between the States,” as it…
Read MoreHistory of Jonathan Edwards, America’s greatest theologian
Reading Time: 5 minutesHISTORY OF JONATHAN EDWARDS onathan Edwards (1703-1758) was the most important American preacher during the Great Awakening. He has been called “America’s greatest philosophical theologian.” A revival in his church in Northampton, Massachusetts, between 1734 and 1735, was considered a harbinger of the Awakening, which unfolded a few years later. Edwards was more than an…
Read MoreHistory of April 19: Three Reasons Why It’s Significant
Reading Time: 3 minutesHISTORY OF APRIL 19 any of my Facebook friends have asked me to write an article on the History of April 19th. Why? Statistically, this date is slightly more likely to fall on Tuesday, Thursday, or Sunday (58 in 400 years each) than on Friday or Saturday (57 each), and somewhat less likely to occur…
Read MoreHistory of Tax Day: Still April 15?
Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF TAX DAY pril 15 is the deadline for filing income taxes in the United States… usually. But there are extensions, postponements, and natural disasters, It has been wondered aloud by tax accountants: “Will taxes will ever be due on April 15 again?” The Coronavirus pandemic delayed deadlines to July 15 in…
Read MoreMovie Review: A Great Awakening, the history behind the movie
Reading Time: 9 minutesMOVIE REVIEW: A GREAT AWAKENING, THE HISTORY BEHIND IT “Arise, O sleeper, awaken!” his phrase, famously associated with the great evangelical preacher George Whitefield, is featured in his open-air sermon in Philadelphia in the movie A Great Awakening… “Let us proclaim freedom to the captives. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed! Arise,…
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