A Little American History

July 6

"God has set His throne in heaven; He rules over us all. He's the King! So bless God, you angels, ready and able to fly at His bidding, quick to hear and do what He says. Bless God, all you armies of angels, alert to respond to whatever He wills. Bless God, all creatures, wherever you are—everything and everyone made by God." Psalm 103:19-22

FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA

In 1893, at the age of thirty-three, Katharine Lee Bates, an English professor at Wellesley College, took a train trip to Colorado Springs, Colorado, to teach a summer school session at Colorado College. Several of the sights on her trip inspired her to write a poem, first published in the Fourth of July edition of the church periodical, “The Congregationalist,” in 1895.

A decade earlier, in 1882, church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward was on a ferryboat trip from Coney Island back to his home in New York City after a leisurely summer day. A tune came to him, and he immediately wrote it down. In fact, He was so anxious to capture the tune in his head, he asked a friend and fellow passenger for his shirt cuff to write on!
Ward's music combined with Bates's poem were first published together in 1910 and titled, "America the Beautiful." (From Mike Huckabee’s God Fruits)

The Apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 3:20 that our citizenship is in heaven, but the reality is that since its inception, the earthly nation we call the United States of America has been the preferred choice for citizenship of countless millions of people from every corner of the globe.

Because the founding fathers of this country established it on Biblical principles and counted no one but Christ Himself as their King, this country has not only enjoyed the favor and blessings of the Living God but has conferred the opportunity to attain that favor and to secure those blessings upon all those who have come to our shores.

In honor its birthday, here is a quiz to see how much you know about this place that has been so blessed among the nations of men:

U.S. History Quiz!
1. When did the Continental Congress first meet?
2. Who was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence?
3. How many Founding Fathers signed both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution?
4. How many of the 56 signers of the Declaration died before the Peace Treaty of 1783 was signed to officially end the American Revolution?
5. Who was the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army?
6. Who was a female version of Paul Revere?
7. What two signers of the Declaration died on the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration?
8. What two signers of the Declaration were founders of America's first anti-slavery society?

Answers:

1.The Continental Congress first met on September 5, 1774 at Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia. Shortly after the gathering of delegates the Reverend Jacob Duché officially prayed. This tradition has been continued throughout the centuries. (For more information, see Color Through History or America's Godly Heritage.)

2. The Continental Congress appointed a committee of five to write the Declaration (Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman), but the others selected Thomas Jefferson to be the primary author; Adams and Franklin made a few additions. (For more information about Thomas Jefferson, see The Jefferson Lies, Thomas Jefferson poster, or check out the Historical Documents section of our website!)

3. Six: Benjamin Franklin, George Clymer, Robert Morris, George Read, Roger Sherman, and James Wilson (For information about the signing of the Declaration of Independence or the signing of the Constitution, see The Signing of the Constitution Poster or The Signing of the US Constitution Poster.)

4.Nine: Button Gwinnett, John Hart, Joseph Hewes, Philip Livingston, Thomas Lynch, Jr., John Morton, George Ross, Richard Stockton, and George Taylor (For additional information about the Signers of the Declaration, see The Signers of the Declaration of Independence and Wives of the Signers.)

5. George Washington (For additional information about George Washington, check out The Bulletproof George Washington, Color Through History, or the Washington & Troops Crossing the Delaware
Puzzle.)

6. Sybil Ludington

7. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson (To read the story of their reconciliation, see the WallBuilders website. For additional information on Thomas Jefferson, see The JeffersonLies.)

8. Dr. Benjamin Rush and Benjamin Franklin (To learn more about these Founding Fathers, check out Drive Through History: Discovering America's Founding Fathers the Benjamin Rush.
Taken from David Barton’s Wall Builders.