American Quotations by William J. Federer 2024

John Brown (May 9, 1800-December 2, 1859) was an abolitionist, reformer and northern martyr. In his efforts to free the slaves, he opened his barn in Pennsylvania as a station on the Underground Railroad, and even lived in a black community for a time. He also took extreme steps, most notably the killing of settlers who believed individuals had the choice of enslaving a human life, and the seizing of the government arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia. He was captured, sentenced, and on December 2, 1859, he was hanged. Labeled insane by some, he was called Saint John the Just...

Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800-March 8, 1874) was the 13th President of the United States, 1850-53; Vice-President under Zachary Taylor, 1848-50, assuming the Presidency upon Taylor's death; sent Commodore Perry to Japan, opening the trade routes to the Far East; signed the Compromise Act of 1850; admitted California, which had just begun the Gold Rush, into the Union as a free state; when the Library of Congress caught fire, 1851, President Fillmore and his Cabinet formed a bucket brigade to extinguish the flames; president of the Buffalo Historical Society, 1862; married Caroline Carmichael McIntosh, 1858, after death of first wife;...

Library of Congress (1800) was set up primarily to assist Congressmen in preparing laws, although it is open to all scholars. Burned by the British during the War of 1812, it was subsequently rebuilt. In 1897, it was relocated into its present building, and, in 1938, an annex was added. Numerous quotations from Scripture can be found within the walls of the Library of Congress. President Eliot of Harvard selected the following verse to be inscribed on the walls: <He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly...

Rufus Choate (October 1, 1799-July 13, 1859) was a lawyer, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts, 1831-34, and U.S. Senator, 1841-45. Before he was six years old, he had become so familiar with John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress as to repeat from memory large portions of it. Famous for his definition of a lawyer's vacation being "the space between a question to a witness and his answer," Rufus Choate was extremely fond of the Bible. He declared: <No lawyer can afford to be ignorant of the Bible.> 1799RC001 -- American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use...

Maryland Supreme Court, Runkel case (1799) in the case of Runkel v. Winemiller, Chief Justice Samuel Chase rendered the opinion: <Religion is of general and public concern, and on its support depend, in great measure, the peace and good order of government, the safety and happiness of the people. By our form of government, the Christian religion is the established religion; and all sects and denominations of Christians are placed upon the same equal footing, and are equally entitled to protection in their religious liberty.> 1799MD002 -- American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to...