Category: American Character

Individuals who have exhibited Biblical character qualities and have had a positive impact on American history.

The Truly Valuable Part of Mankind

I commented on the attitude of the U.N. in yesterday’s posting, particularly how America has been a target of the majority of nations that comprise that body. Today, this political cartoon appeared, making the same point. The real issue here is why we want those nations to like us in the first place. Most of them are dictatorial thuggeries (is that a word?) rather than legitimate governments. For instance . . . I was reminded of a statement George Washington… Read more »

American Character: John Jay

He was a significant founder, yet not many people know his name. He was a devoted Christian, but how many are aware of that? John Jay’s family came to America as persecuted Protestants from France. Liberty of conscience came with them, and that belief was transferred to him. Jay was deeply involved in the constitutional debate over Great Britain’s policies leading to the American Revolution. While he was very concerned over the British government’s claims, he nevertheless was a moderate… Read more »

American Character: John Witherspoon

He was the man who shaped the men who shaped America, yet few know anything about him. John Witherspoon arrived in America in 1768, enticed to leave his Scottish homeland by the offer of the presidency of a fairly new college called the College of New Jersey. Later, its name would change to Princeton. Witherspoon was a clergyman before he was an educator, but the two were always intertwined in his life. He took the fledging college, which started shortly after… Read more »

American Character: Samuel Adams

If Patrick Henry was the voice of American resistance to the policies of Great Britain, Samuel Adams was the organizer. His contributions to American independence are immense. Far ahead of his contemporaries, he believed that independence was inevitable. When others thought everything between the colonies and the Mother Country had been ironed out, Adams understood that the truces were essentially temporary peace arrangements. The problem, he knew, was that both operated from differing principles. To keep his fellow citizens informed… Read more »

American Character: Patrick Henry

Nearly everyone knows the name Patrick Henry. But we are a nation of people only barely acquainted with our Founders. There is little depth to that knowledge. Henry was a man who was motivated by his Christian faith, something some historians try to deny. As a young boy, he was taken to the revival meetings of the First Great Awakening by his mother. It was at these meetings that he learned his method of public speaking, an approach that made… Read more »

Pride Goes Before . . . What Was That Again?

I’m grateful for the example of Calvin Coolidge. Yes, you read that correctly. A man who is ridiculed by all the “right” people actually was one of the most faithful to the Constitution. And he also realized the danger of holding political power. He declined to run again for the presidency in 1928. His reason? Read this carefully and appreciate what he is saying: It is difficult for men in high office to avoid the malady of self-delusion. They are… Read more »

American Character: Noah Webster

The name “Webster” sounds familiar to most people. They think for a minute and then say, “Oh, yeah, he’s the dictionary guy, right?” Right. But he’s more than that. Noah Webster is a prime example of someone who exhibits the character trait of diligence. A native of Connecticut  and descendant of Pilgrim governor William Bradford, Webster was raised in the Congregational church, graduated from Yale, and even was awarded a master’s degree—unusual for the time. In 1783, he got the nation’s… Read more »