The Pamphlet Heard Round the World

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      More than sixty years after the first battle of the American Revolution, Ralph Waldo Emerson commemorated the clash between colonial patriots and British redcoats at the North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts, on April 19, 1775, in his immortal poem Concord...

Benjamin Franklin’s Resolutions

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    New Year resolutions are nearly as old as recorded history, harkening back to the ancient Babylonians more than 4000 years ago.  What has changed is the date of the new year itself. In those earlier times, the spring planting season was considered the beginning of...

From “No” to “the Ayes Have It”

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    It was Monday, September 17, 1787. For more than three months, representatives from twelve of the newly independent states had argued bitterly on a wide range of issues, including whether the newly proposed constitution should have a strong or weak executive;...

A Tale of Two Christmases

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      Charles Dickens’ literary masterpiece, A Tale of Two Cities, opens with these memorable words, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of...

From Pastors to Patriots

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             It was September 11 and the sounds of destruction could be heard thirty miles away. That morning, the pastor of Augustus Church recorded in his journal that the sounds of violence were “heavy and long continuing.” But they were not the result of planes...

Tisqantum – A Bridge Between Two Worlds

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          Historians, scholars and pundits may disagree over whether the hand of Providence was evident in the origins of our nation’s history. But none can deny the improbabilities related to pivotal events throughout our founding. One such improbability took place...