On Tuesday, October 5, as people gathered on the historic Plymouth waterfront, the long-awaited American Pilgrimage 400 culminated with the re-enactment of the landing of the Pilgrims from the newly restored replica shallop. Jumping from the boat into waist deep water to the cheers of on-lookers, the role players from Plimoth-Patuxet Museums came ashore, some…
To whom were the writers of the Declaration referring when they wrote “Appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions?” Was it a mystical God that no one could define? Was it any god at all? These are important questions in our day. We are often told that those…
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God” said Jesus in his sermon on the Mount as recorded in Matthew 5:9. Though peace had been ratified with the Pilgrims’ closest neighbors and their great king, Massasoit, due to past injuries by the English, and also due to the challenge of…
The first winter was devastating. Nearly half their number had perished by the end of May, 1621. 28 men, 13 women and 7 children had died leaving only 56 people alive. By the fall only half of the 104 (102 on the voyage, and two born before landing) would remain. Yet they still saw the…
The Pilgrim or Separatist church began in the home but focused on the exaltation and presence of Christ. The revival of “hearth and home” in England was nurtured by families who had access to own the Geneva translation of the Bible in their own tongue. Fathers would read from the Scriptures in the morning and…
Thomas Faunce, born in 1646 in Plymouth, is the key individual who preserves the memory of the rock the Pilgrims stepped on when landing in Plymouth in December of 1620. The fifth of eight children, his father John arrived on the Anne in 1623 at about 15 years of age and was thus considered a…
The Old Colony Club is reported to be the oldest men’s club in the western hemisphere! Formed in January of 1769 by seven Plymouth men, this is its 250th year! On December 22 of that first year they first commemorated the landing of the Pilgrims on Plymouth Rock. Known as “Old Colony Day” and later…
It was November 21 in the year 1581 when 18 year old Henry Jacobs entered St. Mary Hall in Oxford. Not much is known about his childhood or adult life until 1596 when he began to write about separatism and breaking with the Church of England. The important thing to note is that all those…
The British surrender at Yorktown on October 19, 1781 was a miracle of providential timing and intervention. It involved at least four major ingredients that had to come together in the face of potential disaster. The disasters included worthless paper money and the lack of an ability to support the troops. In addition, troops outside…
John Paul Jones, known as the “father of the U.S. Navy”, was born under the name John Paul in Scotland on July 6, 1747. His fame came from the amazing battle on September 23, 1779 where he defeated the British warship Serapis against all odds in a display of Providence and valor. At 13 years…
On January 1, 1776, while the British laid siege to Boston, George Washington raised the Grand Union Flag on Prospect Hill near his headquarters in Cambridge. It was the first flag of the united colonies. It was known as the Congress Colors, the First Navy Ensign and the Cambridge Flag and could be considered the…
In history we find some of the best writings to be apologetics or in defense of rights. In 1774 the Continental Congress published its Declaration and Resolves stating in part: “…By the immutable laws of nature, the principles of the English constitution, and the several charters or compacts, have the following rights… life, liberty and…
It may come as a surprise to learn that it was a prayer meeting in 1806 and the work of missionaries in 1820 followed by a major revival that began the process of bringing the Hawaiian Islands into the United States. In 1959 Congress gave its approval, in June 93% of the people of Hawaii…
The Declaration of Independence was always considered inseparable with the Constitution since every charter by necessity must have a set of by-laws. However, in our day, as Americans celebrate the 242nd birth of their nation on the 4th of July, they may do so without an understanding that the truths declared in that charter is…
The Pledge of Allegiance has an interesting history and has gone through several revisions before its final rendition in 1954 which we continue to recite today. The phrase “under God” has clarified our unity as a nation and is consistent with our history. This phrase has kept us from the dangerous trend toward nationalism on…