Henry David Thoreau was an American writer, philosopher, and naturalist best known for his works on individualism, simple living, and civil disobedience. He is most famous for his book Walden; or, Life in the Woods (1854), a reflection on simple living in natural surroundings.
Tag: freedom
The Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord, on April 19, 1775, were the first battles of the Revolutionary War. General Thomas Gage tried to stop the colonists’ rebellion by sending eight hundred troops to Lexington, twenty miles northwest of Boston. Their mission was to arrest John Hancock and Samuel Adams at Lexington. Then, continue on to…
The Great Awakening
The Great Awakening was a time when the people of America developed a renewed interest in God. It began in 1746, in Northampton, Massachusetts in the church of Jonathan Edwards. And it spread like wildfire throughout the thirteen colonies through the preaching of George Whitefield. George Whitefield was a young evangelist from England, who had…
The Shining City on a Hill
Jesus said to his followers, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine…
President Roosevelt’s Prayer For Our Troops on D-Day
On June 6, 1944, during the Invasion of Normandy on D-Day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave a national radio address. He led the nation in prayer, asking God to help our troops defeat the Nazis. He asked the American people to pray for the troops every day. They did, and God answered their prayers. This…
The Wisdom of James Madison
James Madison was the fourth President of the United States. He was the Father of the Constitution and the principal author of the Bill of Rights. He said: “In the former sense, a man’s land, or merchandise, or money is called his property. In the latter sense, a man has a property in his opinions…
Whoever Would Overthrow the Liberty of a Nation Must Begin by Subduing Freedom of Speech
Benjamin Franklin was a statesman, diplomat, inventor, and scientist. He signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. He persuaded the French to fight with us against the British in the Revolutionary War. He founded the University of Pennsylvania. Here, he explained why freedom of speech is essential to our survival as a nation:…
We Have Therefore To Resolve To Conquer Or Die
George Washington was the Father of Our Country and the first President of the United States. He defeated the British in the Revolutionary War. He could have been the King of America. But he chose to be President for two four-year terms instead. He was first in war, first in peace, and first in the…
We Have Appealed To Heaven For The Justice Of Our Cause
Samuel Adams was called the Father of the American Revolution. He was a founding member of the Sons of Liberty, he organized the Boston Tea Party and he signed the Declaration of Independence. He said, “We have proclaimed to the world our determination ‘to die freemen, rather than to live slaves.’ We have appealed to…
Our Prayers Were Heard And They Were Graciously Answered
Benjamin Franklin believed in God, and he also believed in the power of prayer. He was eight-one years old when he attended the Constitutional Convention in 1787. When the proceedings were hopelessly deadlocked, Franklin made a motion that the delegates open each day’s session with prayer. This is the written record of his speech: Mr….