American Quotations by William J. Federer 2024

Joseph Story (September 18, 1779-September 10, 1845) was a Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, appointed in 1811 by President James Madison ("The Chief Architect of the Constitution"). He was the youngest person ever to serve in that position and continued on the bench for 34 years, until his death. He had been a U.S. Representative, 1808-09, and son of one of the Boston Tea Party "Indians." He was instrumental in establishing federal supremacy in Martin v. Hunter's Lessee, 1816; and in establishing the illegality of the slave trade in the Amistad case. The founder of Harvard Law School, 1821-45,...

Benjamin Silliman (August 8, 1779-November 24, 1864) was an American physicist, chemist and geologist. He was a professor at Yale College, and in 1818, founded and edited the American Journal of Science and Arts. He also was an original member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1863. Benjamin Silliman published his research on the potential uses of crude oil in his respected Silliman Report, 1855, which was of significant importance in establishing the American oil industry. The mineral sillimanite, a form of aluminum silicate (Al2SiO5) is named for him. In 1807, Benjamin Silliman was the first in the United...

Francis Scott Key (August 1, 1779-January 11, 1843) was an American lawyer and poet. He was on a diplomatic mission from Washington, D.C., to free a popular American doctor held captive aboard the British flagship in Chesapeake Bay. On the fateful night of September 14, 1814, the ship Francis Scott Key was aboard was commandeered by the British, and he was forced to watch as the British unmercifully bombarded the U.S. Fort McHenry. As the smoke of the night passed and the morning light dawned, Key saw "Old Glory" still waving. So inspired was he that he penned The Star...

Council of New York (October 23, 1779) prescribed the oath to hold office in the State: <I do hereby solemnly without any mental reservation and equivocation whatsoever, swear and declare, and call God to Witness (or if of the People called Quakers affirm) That I renounce and abjure all Allegiance to the King of Great Britain; and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the State of New York as a free and independent State; and that I will in all things to the best of my knowledge and ability do my duty as a good and faithful...

South Carolina Constitution (March 19, 1778): <PREAMBLE. We, the people of the State of South Carolina...grateful to God for our liberties, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the preservation and perpetuation of the same. ARTICLE 3. That as soon as may be after the first meeting of the Senate and House of Representatives, and at every first meeting of the Senate and House of representatives thereafter, to be elected by virtue of this Constitution, they shall jointly in the House of Representatives choose by ballot from among themselves or from the people at large a governor and commander- in-chief,...