American Quotations by William J. Federer 2024

Luther Martin (February 9, 1748-July 8, 1826) was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention where he gave 53 speeches. He proposed the "electoral college" system for selecting the President and strongly opposed a central government which would usurp the sovereignty of the states. One of the most prominent lawyers in the country, he served for 28 years as the Attorney General of Maryland, one of the longest records in American history. Luther Martin described himself as being devoted to: <The sacred truths of the Christian religion.> 1748LM001 -- American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted...

Sir Alexander Fraser Tytler (October 15, 1747-January 5, 1813) knighted Lord Woodhouselee, was an English historian. He wrote an essay titled The Principles of Translation, 1791, which was the first systematic study in English of translation. In his work, Universal History from the Creation of the World to the Beginning of the Eighteen Century (Boston: Fetridge and Company, 1834; 1850), Sir Alexander Fraser Tytler wrote: <As the Stoics believed the universe to be the work of an all-powerful, all-wise, and supremely beneficent Being, whose providence continually regulates the whole of that system of which every part is so combined as...

John Paul Jones (July 6, 1747-July 18, 1792) was called the "Father of the American Navy." He was noted for his courage in fighting larger and better equipped fleets. In 1779, he took command of the Bonhomme Richard (Poor Richard), which he named in honor of the Benjamin Franklin, author of Poor Richard's Almanac. On September 23, 1779, the Bonhomme Richard attacked the British ship, Serapis, which was leading a convoy. The ships came so close to each other that the masts entangled and the cannon muzzles touched. After intense naval combat, which nearly destroyed the Bonhomme Richard, the British...

Gunning Bedford (1747-March 30, 1812) was a signer of the United States Constitution. He was the delegate from Delaware to the Constitutional Convention, where he played a considerable part in the Federal Convention. In 1789, he was appointed to the First Federal District Court by President Washington. Gunning Bedford attended Princeton University, sharing rooms with James Madison. He studied under the influence of John Witherspoon, one of the nation's premier theologians and legal scholars. As a delegate from the State of Delaware, Gunning Bedford would have complied with the requirements for office, as stipulated by that State's constitution: <Article XXII. Every...

John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg (October 1, 1746-October 1, 1807) was an American clergyman, soldier and politician. In 1774, being 30-years-old, he was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses and a pastor. He was the son of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, one of the founders of the Lutheran Church in America. In 1775, John Peter Muhlenburg preached a message on Ecclesiastes 3:1, "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." He closed his message by saying: <In the language of the Holy Writ, there is a time for all things. There is a time to...