American Quotations by William J. Federer 2024

Pope John Paul II (May 18, 1920-April 2, 2005) born in a small town in Poland, Karol Wojtyla was a chemical worker during World War II and he risked punishment by Communists for being ordained a priest. In 1967, he became Archbishop of Krakow and, in 1978, he became Pope John Paul II, the first non-Italian pope since 1522. Leader of one billion Catholics, Pope John Paul spoke eight languages and traveled a million miles in 170 countries-more than any other pope. In 1981, he survived an assassination attempt by a Muslim Turk, whom he forgave during a prison visit. The...

Alexander Solzhenitsyn (December 11, 1918-August 3, 2008) was a Russian author imprisoned by Joseph Stalin from 1945-53. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1970, but was not allowed to leave Russia to accept it until the Soviet Government expelled him from the country, February 13, 1974. Alexander Solzhenitsyn proceeded to publish his telling book, The Gulag Archipelago, 1974-79, which won international acclaim. On June 30, 1975, while speaking in Washington, D.C., Alexander Solzhenitsyn stated: <In pre-revolutionary Russia, during the 80 years before the revolution-years of the revolutionary movement when there were attempts of the Tsar's life, assassination of a...

William Franklin "Billy" Graham (November 7, 1918-February 21, 2018) an American evangelist and statesman. Since 1944, he has addressed crowds in North America, Europe, Africa, China, the Far East, Eastern Europe, and the former Soviet Union. Originally desiring to be a baseball player, he was converted at a revival meeting at the age of 16 and began preaching. He was ordained a Baptist minister, after having studied at Bob Jones University and the Florida Bible Institute. He attended Wheaton College and served as pastor in Western Springs, Illinois. In 1949, he began serving as the vice-president of Youth for Christ International,...

Robert Caryle Byrd (November 20, 1917-June 28, 2010) a U.S. Senator from West Virginia, 1950-52; reelected 1958. He served as Senate majority leader, 1977-79; 1987-88; Senate minority leader, 1980-87; U.S. Representative, 1952-58; and as a West Virginia State Representative, 1946-50. He was the chairman of the Democratic Steering Committee; Democratic Policy Conference; and Senate Democratic Conference. On June 27, 1962, Senator Robert Byrd delivered a message in Congress just two days after the Supreme Court declared prayer in schools unconstitutional: <Inasmuch as our greatest leaders have shown no doubt about God's proper place in the American birthright, can we, in our day,...

Massachusetts Constitution (November 6, 1917) Amendment, Article 18, Section 1: <No law shall be passed prohibiting the free exercise of religion.> 1917MA001 The Massachusetts Constitution (November 6, 1917), Amendment, Article 11, stated: <Instead of Article 3 of the bill of rights, the following modification and amendment thereof is substituted. As the public worship of God and instructions in piety, religion and morality, promote the happiness and prosperity of a people and the security of a republican government; therefore, the several religious societies of this commonwealth, whether corporate or unincorporate, at any meeting legally warned and holden for that purpose, shall ever...