American Quotations by William J. Federer 2024

First Charter of Virginia (April 10, 1606) granted by King James I to the settlers of the "Jamestown Colony" in Virginia. The Colony was named for the "Virgin Queen" Elizabeth I by Sir Walter Raleigh, who had explored the area and attempted to found a settlement on Roanoke Island, April 9, 1585. On August 13, 1587, the members of the colony converted the Indian Manteo, who was baptized into the Christian faith. That same month the first child was born in America, baptized with the name Virginia Dare. The Roanoke Colony was unsuccessful and became known as the "Lost Colony."...

John Eliot (1604-May 21, 1690) was a Puritan clergyman who was known as "The Apostle to the Indians," as he was the first to teach Christianity to the Indians of New England. Born in England, he graduated from Cambridge and traveled to Boston, 1631, to serve as a teacher and pastor. A young Indian who had converted from paganism to Christianity helped Eliot learn the various Indian dialects. John Eliot was responsible for having written the first Indian translation of the Bible and the first Indian grammar book. In addition, he established 3,600 Indians into over a dozen self-governing communities....

Abel Janszoon Tasman (1603-October 10, 1659) was the greatest of Dutch navigators and explorers. He discovered Tasmania, New Zealand, Tonga, and the Fiji Islands. He set sail from Batavia on August 14, 1642 with the instructions: <Destined for the discovery and exploration of the unknown Southland.... What numberless multitudes of blind heathen have by the same been introduced to the blessed light of the Christian religion....[and] invaluable treasures and profitable trade connections... the blessing of the Ruler of all things.... endow with manly courage in the execution of the intended discovery, and may grant a safe return.> 1603AT001 At the beginning of the voyage,...

Roger Williams (c.1603-March 1683) was a British-born clergyman who founded the Providence Plantation in Rhode Island. A graduate from Pembroke, 1624, he was ordained in the Church of England, 1628. An enthusiastic Puritan minister, his sermons in favor of religious liberty caused him to be persecuted. In 1630, he fled to the Massachusetts Bay Colony where he pastored in Plymouth, 1632-33, and in Salem, 1634. There his criticism of the state church led to a sentenced of being sent back to England, 1635. He escaped and lived among the Indians, befriending them and learning their language. In 1636, he founded the...

Samuel Rutherford (c.1600-March 1661) was Rector of St. Andrew's Church in Scotland and one of the commissioners at Westminster Assembly in London, 1643-47. In 1644, he wrote the controversial book, Lex, Rex or, The Law and the Prince, which challenged the "divine right of kings." Instead of the king being God's appointed regent whose word is law, Rutherford stated that all men, even the king, were under the law and not above it. He reasoned that even though rulers derived their authority from God, Romans 13:1-4, they received their authority through the people. Samuel Rutherford cited the following biblical passages...