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What did George Washington do during his lifetime, why is he do important, and even one step further, what did he really look like?

Dear Friends, In light of January 6th, let us hear from the ghosts of our American past and their warnings to us in 2021. One of the most remarkable observations in the study of history is the caution and warnings that are always given by Founders of great civilizations. It seems that those who lay foundations for great civilizations are quite aware of the seeds of pride, selfishness, and contention in human nature which over time usually begin to manifest themselves in society--even good societies. These Founders, realizing the tendency of human nature to degenerate, have always closed their public...

Most people know that the American Republic inherited from its mother country, Great Britain, an antipathy toward Catholicism. However, given that Catholic France had played such a vital role in assisting the American colonies to win their independence, it is perhaps not surprising that the years immediately following the American victory witnessed a softening of the traditional American aversion to "Popery". During his long stay in France while acting as ambassador during the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin seems to have become adept at moving in Catholic circles. Though a very public Freemason, an occasional abuser of "Popish" customs in...

When reading the Declaration of Independence over the holiday weekend, it’s easy to skip over the names of the signers and focus instead on the sweeping language of the second paragraph. This overlooks the fact that the signers pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honor in order to found a country upon self-evident truths rooted in the nature of man.

This week, the Jefferson Memorial was drawn into the national debate about race following the shooting deaths of nine people in a predominantly black church in South Carolina last week. It joins other public statues depicting Southern or Confederate figures, including Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee, that some are arguing represent the country's racist past and should be removed. CNN anchor Ashleigh Banfield this week questioned whether the Jefferson Memorial should be taken down because Jefferson owned slaves. "There is a monument to him in the capital city of the United States. No one ever asks for that to...

Pope Francis weighed in on a thorny topic in California history Saturday when he spoke at length at a Rome Mass about Father Junipero Serra, the controversial California mission founder set to become America's first Latino saint later this year. Addressing an audience that included many American priests, including Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, the pope referred to the 18th century Franciscan priest as “one of the founding fathers of the United States” and praised his willingness to abandon the comforts and privileges of his native Spain to spread the Christian message in the New World. I wonder if...

John Carroll: America’s Bishop George J. GallowayWhen President James Madison asked for and received, by a narrow margin, a declaration of war against Great Britain in 1812, there was one man in the new republic who knew exactly what to do: John “Jackie” Carroll, Archbishop of Baltimore, an aging shepherd of a small and widely diverse flock, in a fledgling democracy about to enter into war against the greatest sea power on earth, got on his knees and dedicated America to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.This year, we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Baltimore. For the...

How many things are in a person's pocket that they don't even know about? We take money for granted -- most people can't tell us which way George Washington is facing on the quarter. They can tell us that Ben Franklin is on the front of the hundred, but they can't tell us that Independence Hall (where he helped draft the Constitution) is on the back. One might think that as denominations get smaller and more common, the pictures on them would become more famous and well-known. The ten-dollar bill features Alexander Hamilton on the front. Since he was never...

WHAT IS A FOUNDING FATHER? By John F. Di Leo, in Illinois Review, July 4, 2011 A.D. Every year for two centuries plus, the American people have celebrated the events of June and July, 1776… those fiery weeks when the Continental Congress debated changing their focus from improving our relationship with the King and Parliament who ruled them, to terminating that relationship once and for all. On a broader scale, on Independence Day, we champion the Founding Fathers, those wise and courageous patriots who managed this transition, who won us our independence and set these United States on the course...

Election Day is almost here! Now I would never presume to tell you for whom to vote. However, I would like to let some Founding Fathers remind you of some very good principles to follow when voting. Have you decided yet for whom to vote? If so, what criteria did you use to make your decision? We all certainly look at the positions of the candidates on the issues that are most important to us and try to find the one that matches our positions the best. But, have you considered the most important quality? Here’s what Noah Webster said...

Most famous today as a founding father, inventor and diplomat, Franklin also commanded troops during the French and Indian War Weapons ready, slogging into the deserted village, the men and their commander were appalled at what they saw: dead soldiers and civilians and evidence of a hasty retreat. The commander ordered quick fortifications against further attack, then burial parties. The orders came from an unlikely figure: Benjamin Franklin, 50 years old, already rich, retired from his printing business and notably famous for his inventions. He had received the Copley Medal from the Royal Society of London in 1753 for his...

John Hancock: A Neglected American Hero July 3rd, 2010 by Dr. Gary Scott Smith As we celebrate the Fourth of July this year, our attention will once again turn to such luminaries as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Samuel Adams. However, another founder who made substantial contributions to American independence, John Hancock, is typically overlooked and underappreciated. Although he served as the first president of the Continental Congress, did more than any other man except Robert Morris to finance the American Revolution, presided over the Massachusetts convention that ratified the Constitution, and played a major role...

Ok, I just watched about two minutes of O’Reilly talking to Glenn Beck as both of them outsmarted themselves. Actually, they were both outsmarted by Sarah Palin. They thought they could suggest Palin was less than qualified for the presidency because she wasn’t specific enough in naming her favorite among the founding fathers. Both O’Reilly and Beck have been left in the dust by Palin, as many here would expect. Palin’s answer, showing a general regard for the ideas of the founding fathers rather than focusing on their individual personalities, is in fact consistent with John Adams’ idea that we...

VIDEO of Mika mocking Palin for picking George Washington as her favorite "FOUNDING FATHER" and then Mika picks Abe Lincoln... Last time I checked Lincoln WAS NOT a founding father........... So who's the real Ditz???

At Elective Decisions, we salute all fathers everywhere on Father’s Day. However, we’d like to know just who your favorite Founding Father is, realizing that it was their efforts that helped bring about this great nation. So just who is your favorite Founding Father?

No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope that it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen, if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part I consider it...

John Witherspoon was not only a Founding Father, but in his roles as preacher and professor he taught and influenced many of the great men of the Founding era.On November 15, 1794, a 72-year-old Presbyterian preacher lay dying on his farm near Princeton, New Jersey. In some ways he may have welcomed death. His wife had died five years earlier, and for over two years he had been blind, so his associates had to lead him into the pulpit, where he still preached with his usual earnestness and perhaps with more than his usual solemnity and animation. Even though his...

Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul said today that he could see no possible reason to ever launch military action or initiate a war, vowing instead to battle efforts he said are undermining the individual liberties of people in America. In an interview with Washingtonpost.com's PostTalk program, the Texas congressman said he could see "no reason" to justify military action if he were elected president. He compared the United States to a schoolyard bully and said the country has no reason to flex its muscles overseas. "There's nobody in this world that could possibly attack us today," he said in the...

To Benjamin VaughanOctober 24, 1788. ------ Having now finished my term in the Presidentship, and resolving to engage no more in public affairs, I hope to be a better correspondent for the little time I have to live. I am recovering from a long continued gout, and am diligently employed in writing the History of my Life, to the doing of which the persuasions contained in your letter of January 31, 1783, have not a little contributed. I am now in the year 1756 just before I was sent to England. To shorten the work, as well as for...

"A citizen, first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen".From the eulogy delivered before Congress by Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee.