Commander-in-Chief George Washington appointed Lafayette as a Major General in the Continental Army. He insisted on serving without pay, covering all his own expenses. Lafayette endured the freezing winter at Valley Forge, 1777-1778. He was wounded at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777. He fought in the: Battle of Gloucester, Battle of Barren Hill, Battle of Monmouth, Battle of Rhode Island, and Battle of Green Spring.
Rev. Henry Ward Beecher purchased the chains that held abolitionist John Brown in prison, even dragging them across the platform and stomping on them as he preached against slavery.
He heldsimulated auctions in which his congregation donated money to buy freedom for real slaves.
From 1854 to 1858, Henry Ward Beecher and his church bought hundreds of the new Sharps Rifles and shipped them to anti-slavery Free Soil supporters and abolitionist Republicans in Kansas.
Bryant added: "Using clear precedent, poetic language, and appeals to morality, Francis Scott Key argued that the hundreds of African captives found aboard the Antelope should be returned to Africa and freedom. United States law demanded it, he said. The law of nations demanded it, he said. Even the law of nature demanded it. Key looked into the eyes of the six justices sitting for the case, four of whom were slave owners, and announced that 'by the law of nature, all men are free.'"
President Franklin Roosevelt stated JUNE 6, 1944: "My fellow Americans: Last night, when I spoke with you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our allies were crossing the Channel in another and greater operation ... I ask you to join with me in prayer: Almighty God, Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our republic, our religion, and our civilization ...
Flag Day, June 14, 1954, President Eisenhower stated: "From this day forward, the millions of our school children will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural school house, the dedication of our nation and our people to the Almighty."
