American Quotations by William J. Federer 2024

John Cotton (December 1585-December 23, 1652) was a powerful Puritan minister and scholar in Boston, Massachusetts. Born in England, he fled to the colonies in 1632 to avoid religious persecution. There he rose to become perhaps the most influential leader in shaping the destiny of Puritan New England, serving at the First Church of Boston, 1633-52. Known for his didactic writings, the principles stated in his sermons were frequently put into immediate practice by civil authorities. In 1636, Rev. John Cotton gave the outline for a code of laws, titled, An Abstract of the Laws of New England, as They...

Virginia History (1584) from The Original 13-A Documentary History of Religion in America's First Thirteen States (Amerisearch, 2009): <Sir Walter Raleigh named Virginia after Virgin Queen Elizabeth. In 1584, he attempted to found the Roanoke Colony, located in present day North Carolina, but it failed. Jamestown was founded by members of the Church of England, which was the established denomination from 1606 until 1786. Catholics were prohibited, with even Lord Baltimore, a friend of Charles I, being prohibited from stopping in Virginia in 1628 on his way to found the Colony of Maryland as a refuge for persecuted Catholics. The...

Charter to Sir Walter Raleigh (1584) by Queen Elizabeth of England: <Elizabeth, by the Grace of God of England...Defender of the Faith...We give and grant to our trusty and well beloved servant Walter Raleigh...to discover, search, find out, and view such remote, heathen and barbarous lands, countries, and territories, not actually possessed of any Christian Prince, nor inhabited by Christian People... And...upon...finding...such remote lands...it shall be necessary for the safety of all men, that shall adventure themselves in those...voyages, to determine to live together in Christian peace...So always as the said statutes, laws, and ordinances may be as near as conveniently may be...

Hugo Grotius (April 10, 1583-August 28, 1645) was a Dutch jurist, theologian and statesman, who was considered the founder of the science of International Law. In 1607, being 24 years old, he was appointed Advocate General for the provinces of Holland and Zealand. In 1613, at the age of 30, he became the Chief Magistrate of Rotterdam. In 1619, Prince Maurice of Nassau sentenced him to life imprisonment for his support of the Arminian faith. Three years later, with his wife's help, he escaped to France hidden in a linen chest. Hugo Grotius (or Huig de Groot in the Dutch...

Peter Bulkeley (January 31, 1583-March 9, 1659) was the Puritan leader who established the city of Concord, Massachusetts, 1636. In his only publication, The Gospel Covenant; or the Covenant of Grace Opened, published in London, 1646; 1651, Peter Bulkeley stated: <We are as a city set upon a hill, in the open view of all the earth....We profess ourselves to be a people in covenant with God, and therefore...the Lord our God...will cry shame upon us if we walk contrary to the covenant which we have promised to walk in. If we open the mouths of men against our profession, by reason of...