American Quotations by William J. Federer 2024

John Jay (December 12, 1745-May 17, 1829) was the first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, having been appointed by President George Washington. He was a member of the First and Second Continental Congresses and served as the President of the Continental Congress. He was very instrumental in causing the Constitution to be ratified, by writing the Federalist Papers, along with James Madison and Alexander Hamilton. In 1777, John Jay helped to write the Constitution of New York, and from 1795- 1801 held the position of Governor of the State of New York. On December 23, 1776, in an...

David Brearly (June 11, 1745-August 16, 1790) was a signer of the Constitution of the United States of America. He served as a Colonel in the Revolutionary Army, was appointed Federal Judge in New Jersey by President George Washington and served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey. David Brearly attended Princeton University, where he was under the instruction of the Reverend John Witherspoon, one of the nation's premier theologians and legal experts. He was admitted to the bar in 1767 and was so outspoken for the cause of liberty that he was arrested for "high treason"...

Richard Bassett (April 2, 1745-September 15, 1815) was an attorney, jurist and politician. He was a signer of the Constitution of the United States. He was instrumental in leading his state of Delaware to be the first to ratify the United States Constitution, 1787. He was a U.S. Senator, 1789- 93; Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Delaware, Captain in the Revolutionary War. He helped write the Constitution of the State of Delaware and was appointed by President John Adams as a U.S. Circuit Court Judge. Richard Bassett converted to Methodism during the Revolutionary War and became close personal friends...

Benjamin Rush (January 4, 1745-April 19, 1813) was a physician, educator and philanthropist. He was a member of the Continental Congress, 1776-77, and signed the Declaration of Independence. In 1774, he helped found and was president of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery. He helped found and was vice-president of the Philadelphia Bible Society; was a principal promoter of the American Sunday School Union; and a member of the Abolition Society. He also served as the Surgeon General of the Continental Army, 1777-78; helped to write the Pennsylvania Constitution, 1789-90; and was Treasurer of the U.S. Mint,...

Abigail Smith Adams (November 22, 1744-October 28, 1818) was the wife of John Adams, the 2nd President of the United States, and the mother of John Quincy Adams, the 6th President. The daughter of Reverend William Smith, she married John Adams when she was 20 years old, and together they had five children. She strongly supported her husband's career. Her letters and memoirs are now considered major historical documents revealing life during the Revolutionary era. On October 16, 1774, as tensions with Great Britain increased, Abigail wrote to her husband, John Adams, from their home in Braintree: <I dare not...