American Quotations by William J. Federer 2024

Jedediah Strong Smith (June 24, 1798-May 27, 1831) was an American trader and explorer. His expeditions were exceeded in importance only by those of Lewis and Clark. He helped lead expeditions up the Missouri River, with characters such as keelboatmen Mike Fink, Talbot, and Carpenter. He led expeditions across the Rocky Mountains, 1822-26; from California to the Oregon coast; across the Mojave desert and the Sierra Nevadas; and along the Santa Fe Trail, 1826-29. Jedediah Strong Smith, along with two other partners, operated the successful fur-trading company of Smith, Jackson and Sublette, in Salt Lake City. Jedediah Strong Smith, who...

Charles Hodge (December 27, 1797-June 19, 1878) was married to the great-grand daughter of Ben Franklin, received his doctorate from Rutgers University and was a professor for fifty years at Princeton University. A distinguished author, Charles Hodge wrote in 1871: <The proposition that the United States [is] a Christian...nation, is...the statement of a fact. That fact is not simply that the great majority of the people are Christians...but that the organic life, the institutions, laws, and official action of the government, whether that action be legislative, judicial, or executive, is...in accordance with the principles of...Christianity.... If a man goes to China,...

Sojourner Truth (c.1797-November 26, 1883) was an American abolitionist. A slave herself, she was freed in 1827 and who moved with her family to New York. In 1843, she heard "a voice from Heaven," and began to travel the North preaching emancipation of the slaves. In the mid- 1860's, she relocated in Washington, D.C., and helped resettle ex-slaves. A strong part of the abolitionist movement, Sojourner Truth stated: <When I left the house of bondage I left everything behind. I wanted to keep nothing of Egypt on me, and so I went to the Lord and asked him to give...

Rhode Island State Seal (1797) reflected the sentiments of the state's 69,122 population. On the seal, over the picture of an anchor, is inscribed the motto: <IN GOD WE HOPE.> 1797RI001 -- American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement. Endnotes: 1797RI001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Rhode Island Seal, 1797, motto inscribed on seal. "A New Display of the United States" (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress). Gary DeMar, God and Government (Atlanta, GA: American Vision Press, 1984), Vol. 2, p. 118. Mark A. Beliles and Stephen K. McDowell, America's Providential History...

Tennessee (June 1, 1796) was the 16th State admitted to the Union. The Constitution of the State of Tennessee, adopted 1796, stated: <Article XI, Section III. That all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences.> 1796TN001 <Article VIII, Section II. No person who denies the being of God, or a future state of rewards and punishments, shall hold any office in the civil department of this State.> 1796TN002 <Article XI, Section IV. That no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public...