Timothy Dwight, eighth president of Yale College, once said, “Religion and liberty are the meat and drink of the body politic. Withdraw one of them and it dies…Without religion we may possibly retain the freedom of savages, but not the freedom of New England…If our religion were gone, our state of society would perish with it and nothing would be left worth defending.”

A renowned New England clergyman, Lyman Beecher was quoted in McGuffey’s Eclectic Sixth Reader, 1907: “While most nations trace their origin to barbarians, the foundations of our nation were laid by civilized men, by Christians.”

He lost his first presidential race to John F. Kennedy by the smallest margin to that date. A Lieutenant Commander in the Navy during WWII, he was a Congressman, Senator, and Vice-President under Eisenhower. His name was Richard Milhous Nixon, born JANUARY 9, 1913. He was the 37th U.S. President before becoming the only one to resign.

Though the War of 1812 had ended two weeks earlier, news had not yet reached New Orleans and on January 8, 1815, five thousand British soldiers charged in a frontal assault against General Andrew Jackson’s Tennessee and Kentucky sharpshooters. French pirate Jean Lafitte and his men aided the Americans. In just a half-hour, over two thousand British were killed and only 8 Americans.

Listen to American Minute [slaudio: http://americanminute.com/media/audio/01-07%20January.mp3, Listen to American Minute] American Minute from William J. Federer Becoming the 13th President when Zachary Taylor died unexpectedly, he sent Commodore Perry to Japan and admitted California, which just began the Gold Rush, into the Union. This was Millard Fillmore, born JANUARY 7, 1800. When the Library of Congress caught fire, he formed a bucket brigade to extinguish the flames. On July 10, 1850, Millard Fillmore stated: “I dare not shrink; and I rely upon Him who holds in His hands the destinies of nations to endow me with the requisite strength for the task.” In his Annual Message, December 2, 1850, Millard Fillmore stated: “I can not bring this communication to a close without invoking you to join me in humble and devout thanks to the Great Ruler of Nations for the multiplied blessings which He has graciously bestowed upon us. His […]

As the political season heats up it occurs to me that, as important as elections are, unless the hearts of men are changed, the heart of a nation cannot awaken. Our nation is experiencing heart failure. It needs an awakening – a spiritual awakening. Desperately. Every year secular-“progressives” and obnoxious atheist pressure groups exponentially ramp up demands that all traces of Christianity be purged from the public sphere; particularly at Christmas time. This is like demanding the abolition of penicillin during an outbreak of Typhoid Fever.

After winning the Battle of Trenton, Christmas night, George Washington’s small force met General Cornwallis’ 8,000 man British army. The night before the battle, Washington left his campfires burning and silently marched his army around the back of the British camp at Princeton, New Jersey. At daybreak, JANUARY 3, 1777, Washington attacked, capturing three regiments of British troops.

A 3-cent stamp honoring Betsy Ross was issued in Philadelphia, JANUARY 2, 1952, commemorating the 200th anniversary of her birth. Born a day earlier, January 1, 1752, to a Quaker family in Philadelphia, Betsy was the 8th of 17 children. She apprenticed as a seamstress and fell in love with upholsterer John Ross, son of an Episcopal rector at Christ Church and nephew of Declaration signer, George Ross. As Quakers forbade interdenominational marriage, John and Betsy eloped, being married by New Jersey Governor William Franklin, Ben Franklin’s son.

You may (or may not) have heard that the PC Police have been out on Capitol Hill during this Christmas, er, holiday, er, winter season and told congressmen that they are not allowed to wish their constituents “Merry Christmas” in official mailings. Representative Scott Rigell (R-VA) has a very politically incorrect Christmas message for you this Christmas season.

The Watchmen on the Wall 2011 Northern Plains Pastor’s Briefing was held today in Rapid City, South Dakota. Watchmen on the Wall holds a national briefing every year in May, but very few across the country; Rapid City was fortunate to be chosen to host this year’s event for the Northern Plains area.