American Quotations by William J. Federer 2024

Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808-July 31, 1875) was the 17th President of the United States, 1865-69; Vice-President under Abraham Lincoln, assuming the Presidency upon Lincoln's assassination; continued Lincoln's plan of Reconstruction for the South, pardoned those who had seceded, granted voting rights for all Blacks; acquitted of impeachment accusations, 1868; U.S. Senator, 1874-75; Military Governor of Tennessee, 1862-65; U.S. Senator, 1857-62; Governor of Tennessee, 1853-57; U.S. Representative, 1843-53; Tennessee State Senator, 1841-43; Tennessee State Representative, 1839-41, 1835-37; Mayor of Greenville, 1830-33; Alderman, 1828-30; married Eliza McCardle, 1827; and opened a tailor shop in Greenville, Tennessee, 1826. In an address upon...

Samuel Francis Smith (October 21, 1808-November 16, 1895) was an American poet and clergyman. In 1832, he wrote the patriotic hymn, My Country 'Tis Of Thee. He graduated from Harvard University in the same class as the poet Oliver Wendell Holmes, and continued through seminary, becoming a Baptist minister and professor of modern languages at Waterville College. He edited The Christian Review and devoted much time to helping the American Baptist Missionary Union. As a 23 year old seminary student, Samuel was inspired after hearing the national anthems for England, Sweden and Russia, and within a half hour wrote: <My...

William Strong (May 6, 1808-August 19, 1895) was an Associate Justice of U.S. Supreme Court, 1870-80. He had previously served his country as a U.S. Representative, 1847-51, and as a justice on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1857-68. He was president of the American Sunday School Union, 1883-95, and president of the American Tract Society, 1873-95. Justice William Strong stated: <You ask me what I think of Christ? He is the Chiefest among ten thousand, and altogether lovely-my Lord, my Saviour, and my God. What do I think of the Bible? It is the infallible Word of God, a light...

Salmon Portland Chase (January 13, 1808-May 7, 1873) was the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury under President Lincoln. He served as the Governor of Ohio, a U.S. Senator and was appointed by President Abraham Lincoln as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He was a strong opponent of slavery, defending so many escaped slaves when he first started practicing law that he was given the nickname "Attorney-General of Fugitive Slaves." On November 20, 1861, Secretary of the Treasury Salmon Portland Chase wrote to the Director of the Mint in Philadelphia: <Dear Sir, No nation can be strong except in the...

John Greenleaf Whittier (December 17, 1807-September 7, 1892) was an American poet. He was known as the "Quaker Poet," as his faith was exhibited in his life and poetry. He wrote Panorama, in 1856, which included the favorites "Barefoot Boy," and "Maud Muller." His other renowned works include: Song of the Vermonteers, 1779; Lays of My Home and other poems, 1843; Voices of Freedom, 1846; Snowbound, 1866; Justice and Expediency; Dear Lord and Father of Mankind. He was the editor of the American Manufacturer, the Essex Gazette, The Pennsylvania Freeman, and the National Era. He bitterly opposed slavery, to the...