American Quotations by William J. Federer 2024

Continental Congress (November 1, 1777) issued from its temporary headquarters in York, Pennsylvania, (as the British occupied the national capital of Philadelphia) the first national Proclamation of Thanksgiving and Praise to all colonies, as a result of the victory at Saratoga. Originally written by Samuel Adams, the final version adopted by Congress stated: <Forasmuch as it is the indispensable duty of all men to adore the superintending Providence of Almighty God; to acknowledge with gratitude their obligation to Him for benefits received and to implore such further blessing as they stand in need of; and it having pleased Him in...

Continental Congress (October 6, 1777) meeting in York, Pennsylvania, appointed a third Chaplain, the Congregationalist Timothy Dwight, to serve a brigade of Connecticut troops. In a 1777 sermon, Timothy Dwight stated: <Nothing obstructs the deliverance of America but the crimes of its inhabitants...Independence and happiness [are] fixed upon the most lasting foundations, and that Kingdom of the Redeemer...[is] highly exalted and durably established on the ruins.> 1777CC103 -- American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement. Endnotes: 1777CC103. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Timothy Dwight, 1777, Sermon. Continental Congress. Introduction to book...

Continental Congress (October 1, 1777) meeting in York, Pennsylvania, appointed two Chaplains of Congress: Anglican, William White, and Presbyterian, George Duffield, to succeed the first Chaplain, Jacob Duché, returned to England. William White (1748-1836), was Duché's successor at Christ Church, Philadelphia, and George Duffield (1732-1790), was pastor of the Third Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia. An example of the preaching of Rev. William White can be seen in his Sermon delivered in Christ Church, Philadelphia, on June 21, 1786, at the opening of the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States (Reprinted in London by John Rivington and...

Continental Congress (September 11, 1777) a Committee approved and recommended to the people that 20,000 copies of The Holy Bible be imported from sources other than England. This was in response to the shortage of Bibles in America caused by the Revolutionary War interrupting trade with the King's commissioned printers. The Chaplain of Congress, Patrick Allison, brought the matter to the attention of Congress, who assigned it to a special Congressional Committee, which reported: <The use of the Bible is so universal and its importance so great that your committee refers the above to the consideration of Congress, and if...

Vermont Constitution (July 8, 1777): <Whereas, all government ought to be instituted and supported, for the security and protection of the community, as such, and to enable the individuals who compose it, to enjoy their natural rights, and the other blessings which the Author of Existence has bestowed upon man; and whenever those great ends of government are not obtained, the people have a right, by common consent, to change it, and take such measures as to them may appear necessary to promote their safety and happiness... And whereas, the inhabitants of this State have (in consideration of protection only)...