Mercy Adams Writes

Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis (Mrs. Lawrence Lewis), 1804, by Gilbert Stuart. (Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington/ The Journal of the American Revolution) Nelly was raised in an environment where she was denied very little. The product of upper-class Virginia gentry and the influence of Washington’s status, her life was comfortable and privileged. She was accustomed to not only wealth, but the relationship of two parent figures who had a mutual love and respect for each other. Devoid of both wealth and affection, Nelly was forced to reconcile with the fact that the comforts of her childhood could not be replicated in her marriage. The Journal of the American Revolution has published a biography of Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis, the granddaughter of George Washington, by Elizabeth Reese that I think personalizes the Washington family and brings their story to life. George Washington is an icon in America, which causes us to think of him as some sort of superhuman and his family mem...

Richard Varick painted c.1787 by Ralph Earl . The portrait shows Varick in his Continental Army officers uniform although he retired his commission in 1783. The blue decoration is that of the Society of the Cincinnati. (Wikipedia) The Journal of the American Revolution is featuring the biography Richard Varick in History and Memory: Colonial Lawyer, Continental Officer, Mayor of New York City   by Keith Muchowski and I encourage you to read it in its entirety as this is the story of a man who served our country well and one who might not be known by many in today's United States. From all accounts he was a man of integrity and one who had the trust of General George Washington. Let's take a look at this patriotic man who helped secure our freedom at such a pivotal moment in history: Richard Varick was born in Hackensack, New Jersey on March 25, 1753, and was of Dutch ancestry. He began his military career in June of 1775, and was soon commissioned as a captain in the Co...

  The Prayer in the First Congress, A.D. 1774 Courtesy of the Rector, Church Wardens and Vestrymen of Christ Church, Philadelphia ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ O Lord our Heavenly Father, high and mighty King of kings, and Lord of lords, who dost from thy throne behold all the dwellers on earth and reignest with power supreme and uncontrolled over all the Kingdoms, Empires and Governments; look down in mercy, we beseech Thee, on these our American States, who have fled to Thee from the rod of the oppressor and thrown themselves on Thy gracious protection, desiring to be henceforth dependent only on Thee. To Thee have they appealed for the righteousness of their cause; to Thee do they now look up for that countenance and support, which Thou alone canst give. Take them, therefore, Heavenly Father, under Thy nurturing care; give them wisdom in Council and valor in the field; defeat the malicious designs of our cruel adversaries; convince them of the unrighteousness of their Cause and if they pe...

On this Thanksgiving Eve, I am delighted to share this tribute to Rev. John Witherspoon, a founding father and dedicated Christian, featured at Breakpoint: In Declaration of Independence by John Trumbull (1818), Witherspoon is the second seated figure from the (viewer's) right among those shown in the background facing the large table. (Public Domain/ Wikipedia ) The Legacy of John Witherspoon The groundwork of a lesser-known founder who shaped the early years of the Repu blic. The month of November marks the death of John Witherspoon, one of the most important and most underrated of the American founding fathers. Born in Scotland in 1723, Witherspoon received a Master of Arts at age 16 from the University of Edinburgh, where he would continue his studies in divinity. In 1745, he became an evangelical minister in the Church of Scotland. Witherspoon was no fan of the monarchy and was imprisoned the following year for opposing the royalist Jacobite uprising, an experience that da...

One of my favorite founding fathers is John Hancock. While some think he was an opportunist or vain man, I happen to think he is one who rose to the occasion and risked it all - his fortune, honor and even his life to stand for what is right and to secure liberty for future generations. So, you can imagine my interest in the article JOHN HANCOCK’S POLITICS AND PERSONALITY IN TEN QUOTES by Brooke Barbier posted at The Journal of the American Revolution.  I was wondering where Mr. Hancock stood on the ratification of the Constitution as Samuel Adams* and Mercy Otis Warren were opposed to it. But I think John Hancock showed great wisdom in this quote as recorded below.  May God continue to bless the memory of John Hancock - a man with flaws, but also one who was used mightily in the formation of the United States of America. - Mercy Adams “ 8. 'We must all rise or fall together.' —John Hancock to the US Constitution Ratification Convention of Massachusetts, February 6, 1788 "...

Portrait of George Washington (1732–1799) Source:  George Washington - Wikipedia ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description:   George Washington is central to understanding America's founding. He was the crucial figure in winning the American Revolution, in creating the Constitution, and in establishing the precedents for effective self-government as our first president.  (Full Documentary - 1 hour and 34 minutes) Direct Link:  The Father Of America | The First American | Full Documentary | Documentary Central - YouTube

 Samuel Adams was a complex man - he's been called a revolutionary, a publican, a politician, a patriot, a Calvinist, a Psalm-singer and the last of the Puritans.  As a Christian, I believe God uses events in a person's life to equip them for service. Let's take a quick look at the formative years of Mr. Adams life and how the Christian faith influenced his character and activism. The Samuel Adams Heritage Society writes that Samuel's father was "a deacon of the Congregational Church, a businessman and a politician. Sam was born in a prominent and wealthy family that had high expectations of him. Both parents were strict puritans; his mother was a very religious woman who supported the narrow Calvinist faith movement. As a result his family’s religious beliefs played an important role in their son’s education. "His parents wanted him to become a minister of the church but he was not very interested in pursuing that path, he was interested in politics which be...

While learning about the patriotic lady Lucy Knox, I was prompted to look into the character and religious beliefs of her husband, General Henry Knox. I found an excellent resource at Massachusetts Genealogy Trails . They have an excerpt of General Knox's biography from the book "Military Journal of the American Revolution": By James Thacher; M. D., Surgeon in the American Revolutionary Army; Publ. 1862; Pgs. 477-486 (Transcribed by Andrea Stawski Pack) posted online. Let's examine the facts from this credible source and decide for ourselves if he had a Christian worldview...(Emphases in bold are mine.) - Mercy Adams SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF GENERAL KNOX. Among those of our countrymen, who most zealously engaged in the cause of liberty, few sustained a rank more deservedly conspicuous than General Knox. He was one of those heroes, of whom it may be truly said, that he lived for his country. The ardor of his youth and the vigor of his manhood were devoted to acquiring its...

 “Mr. Adams was born and tempered a wedge of steel, to split the knot of lignum vitæ which tied North America to Great Britain. Blunderheaded as were the British ministry, they had sagacity enough to discriminate from all others, for inexorable vengeance, the two men the most to be dreaded by them, Samuel Adams and John Hancock; and had not James Otis been then dead, or worse than dead, his name would have been at the head of The Triumvirate. “James Otis, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock, were the three most essential characters; and Great Britain knew it, though America does not. Great and important and excellent characters, aroused and excited by these, arose in Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York, South Carolina, and in all the other States; but these three were the first movers, the most constant, steady, persevering springs, agents, and most disinterested sufferers and firmest pillars of the whole Revolution. “I shall not attempt even to draw the outlines of the biography of Mr. Sa...

  George Washington - The White House Was Christianity an influence in the life of our first president? Please examine the facts and decide for yourself. ~ Mercy Adams "There was a long tradition of service to the church in the Washington family. George Washington’s great-great-grandfather, Lawrence Washington, was an Anglican minister in England, while his great-grandfather, John Washington, and his father, Augustine Washington, were vestrymen for their parishes in Virginia. Both John Washington and his son, Lawrence Washington (who was George Washington’s grandfather) left statements of their belief in the basic tenets of the Christian faith in their wills. "In addition, within their home, George Washington’s parents had both a Bible and several theological books, which are believed to have been used in educating their children. His mother, Mary Ball Washington , was remembered by her grandchildren as a devout woman, who liked to visit a quiet spot outside, where she inst...

  Description:  No book was more accessible or familiar to the American founders than the Bible, and no book was more frequently alluded to or quoted from in the political discourse of the age. How and for what purposes did the founding generation use the Bible? How did the Bible influence their political culture? Shedding new light on some of the most familiar rhetoric of the founding era, Daniel Dreisbach analyzes the founders' diverse use of scripture, ranging from the literary to the theological. He shows that they looked to the Bible for insights on human nature, civic virtue, political authority, and the rights and duties of citizens, as well as for political and legal models to emulate. They quoted scripture to authorize civil resistance, to invoke divine blessings for righteous nations, and to provide the language of liberty that would be appropriated by patriotic Americans. Reading the Bible with the Founding Fathers broaches the perennial question of whether the Amer...

At Leben (A Journal of Reformation Life) , Aaron Sharp writes: "At first glance, the friendship that developed between Benjamin Franklin and George Whitefield would seem improbable at best and more likely a work of ironic historical fiction. Yet, the bond that developed between two of the eighteenth century’s most colorful figures was one that was genuine, and probably not as conflicted as one might initially assume. "Americans today are very familiar with the image of Franklin and his importance to the founding of the United States. As an author, publisher, thinker, politician, inventor, and statesman, Franklin’s contributions to American life, culture, and thinking are all but impossible to calculate. De-spite the fact that Franklin’s parents had in his words, 'brought me through my childhood piously in the Dissenting way,' he would also recall that, 'I was scarce fifteen, when, after doubting by turns of several points, as I found them disputed in the differen...

"Biographies of American historical personalities often prove disappointing for Christians anticipating serious consideration of the subject’s theological commitments within the religious environment of the era. For the Founding Fathers this can be particularly frustrating because the eighteenth century was decidedly religious whether Christian based, or a belief system that is a product of Enlightenment rationalism such as deism. The American colonial era extending to the end of the century proved crucial for the continued battle between God’s authoritative revelation of His will in the Bible and autonomous reason developing religious systems from natural revelation. Reason is good and necessary for understanding, but Christians must have reason captive to the Word of God. D. G. Hart shows in Benjamin Franklin, Cultural Protestant, Oxford, 2021, that in Franklin’s case the revelation based Puritan theology of his youth informed his religious commitment to personal and public good...

"The pulpit is essential for understanding Early America and America’s Founding. Regular church attendance, essentially mandatory in Anglican and Congregational colonies for many years, meant that the clerical voice was heard more often than that of any politician—and was likely more influential. Calvinist New England looked to ministers as prophets and mediators of the covenant with God. Clergy served as both representatives of de facto (or de jure) religious establishments and of dissenters against establishments. Ministers delivered not only spiritual counsel and theological instruction, but also essential interpretation of local and world events using lenses of scripture, classical sources, and contemporary philosophies. "General interest in religion was not confined to Sunday worship or formal membership. Public occasions such as fasts, thanksgivings, martial mustering, and election day gatherings also put ministers before the public. Nor was interest in religion or scri...