A Lesson from Plymouth – Page 2 – Plymouth Rock Foundation

James Monroe

The 200th Anniversary of the Monroe Doctrine and the Turning Point of American Foreign Policy

History, Missionary, WarfareBy Dr. Paul Jehle December 6, 2023

On December 2, 1823, the Monroe Doctrine was proclaimed by President Monroe. It was the culmination of key ideas drawn from the Bible and articulated in the Reformation. Three words came to define the foreign policy of America and the application of the Monroe Doctrine: independence (rejecting interdependence), neutrality (rejecting intermeddling), and interposition (rejecting interventionism.)…

teddy bear

President Theodore Roosevelt and the Teddy Bear

HistoryBy Dr. Paul Jehle November 13, 2023

Most people may be aware that the “teddy bear” has some relation to President Theodore Roosevelt. However, the embedded lessons that can be learned can be seen as lessons from the Pilgrims in 1620 who planted a church in covenant with Christ and one another. They were willing to endure hardship, “whatsoever it should cost…

USS Constitution

The Legacy of the USS Constitution

History, WarfareBy Dr. Paul Jehle October 18, 2023

On October 21, 1797, the USS Constitution was launched in Boston Harbor after two previous failed attempts. The Naval Armament Act, signed by George Washington on March 27, 1794, authorized six frigates. She was the third to be completed, preceded by United States and Constellation. The other three were Congress, Chesapeake, and President. Essentially this…

Governor Bradford's marriage

‘Stepping-Stones Unto Others’

History, Natives, PilgrimsBy Dr. Paul Jehle September 19, 2023

When William Bradford, over 10 years after the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock, pondered the real mission of the Leyden Church migrating to the new world, he wrote that: “A great hope and inward zeal they had for the propagating and advancing the gospel of the kingdom of Christ in those remote parts of the…

Pilgrim prayer

Answered Prayer and a “Day of Thanksgiving”

History, Natives, PilgrimsBy Dr. Paul Jehle August 9, 2023

The Pilgrims and the Puritans celebrated two types of prayer services: fasting (and humiliation), as well as thanksgiving. As I wrote in my book, Journey of Faith: “To the Pilgrim, as well as the Puritan, everything was religious, but a prayer and fast day was called in the spring (regularly by 1694), to confess sin…

Bill of Rights

The Pursuit of Happiness

HistoryBy Dr. Paul Jehle July 6, 2023

Genesis 1:28 states: “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.” The word “subdue,” from the Hebrew, is a word that indicates authority to steward the earth. Interestingly, we are not to take dominion over people. Also, we are accountable to God for our stewardship. The first piece of real estate was the…

Pilgrim corn

The Drought of 1623 and Answered Prayer

History, Natives, PilgrimsBy Dr. Paul Jehle June 19, 2023

The Pilgrims were a praying people. It was out of a prayerful heart that their story was born. It was in prayer that they confirmed their salvation and relationship to Jesus Christ to “reform their lives.” It was also in prayer that they consecrated themselves to one another “by a covenant of the Lord.” They…

Good News from New England

Changing “The Common Course and Condition”

History, PilgrimsBy Dr. Paul Jehle May 29, 2023

Four hundred years ago, Edward Winslow commented on the year 1623, writing in Good News from New England (originally published in 1624), “The month of April being now come, on all hands we began to prepare for corn. And because there was no corn left before this time, save that was preserved for seed, being…

Minuteman

Prayer and Fasting: The Origin of Patriots’ Day

History, Holidays, WarfareBy Dr. Paul Jehle April 18, 2023

Patriots’ Day commemorates the Battle of Lexington that took place early on the morning of April 19, 1775. The day was first dubbed “Patriots’ Day” in 1894 to commemorate the battle. The Town of Lexington was established by the Parish of Cambridge Farms in 1713. However, the historic origin of what became known as Patriots’…

Pilgrims

Thomas Weston’s Settlement

History, Natives, Pilgrims, WarfareBy Dr. Paul Jehle March 14, 2023

Thomas Weston financially backed the Pilgrims and their voyage to the shores of New England. He was attracted to the Pilgrims because they came as families under a church covenant. This, he believed, would prove to be the best atmosphere for an investment that was risky, especially since many plantations did not have an outcome…

Lemuel Haynes

Lemuel Haynes: First Black Ordained in America

HistoryBy Dr. Paul Jehle February 22, 2023

February’s designation as “Black History Month” was inspired by Carter G. Woodson in 1915, with the first official week of celebration being held in 1926 due to both Lincoln and Douglas’ birthdays being the 12th and 14th respectively. For years I have enjoyed reading about pastors who have left a legacy of their commitment to…

Joseph Story

Religious Freedom Day: Roots of the First Amendment

HistoryBy Dr. Paul Jehle January 27, 2023

Thomas Jefferson gave instructions that on his grave marker, three achievements would be noted: writer of the Declaration of Independence, “father” of the University of Virginia, and author of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom. In 1992, the United States Congress established January 16 as Religious Freedom Day since “Bill No. 82” was passed…

George Washington

Valley Forge: The Crucible of Freedom, 1777 – 1778

History, WarfareBy Dr. Paul Jehle December 6, 2022

On December 19, 1777, General Washington led 12,000 soldiers and 400 women and children to Valley Forge, about 25 miles outside of Philadelphia. Once the 1,500 huts were built, it became the fourth largest city in the colonies, with a very diverse population of free and enslaved African-American soldiers, civilians, wealthy officers, impoverished men, immigrants,…

Squanto

Squanto, An ‘Instrument Sent of God:’ 1622-2022

History, Natives, PilgrimsBy Dr. Paul Jehle November 10, 2022

The story of Squanto is truly amazing. William Bradford called him “a special instrument sent of God for their good beyond their expectation.” Introduced to the Pilgrims by Samoset in March of 1621, his story of being captured by Thomas Hunt in 1614, being sent to Spain, gaining his freedom, learning English, and returning in…

Committees of Correspondence

The Committees of Correspondence: The Internet of the American Revolution

HistoryBy Dr. Paul Jehle October 14, 2022

After probably pondering the idea for weeks, on Monday, November 2, 1772, at a Town Meeting in Faneuil Hall (Boston), Sam Adams proposed “that a committee of correspondence be appointed, to consist of twenty-one persons, to state the rights of the colonies, and of this province in particular, as men, as Christians, and as subjects;…