By Bill Federer, staff writer

On FEBRUARY 21, 1848, John Quincy Adams suffered a stroke at his desk in the House chamber, shortly after making an impassioned speech against the Democrat plan of extending slavery to the Western territories won in the Mexican-American War. He died 2 days later without regaining consciousness. A bronze marker on the floor indicates where Adams’ desk once stood, known as the “whispering spot” in Statuary Hall. John Quincy Adams was the only President to serve as a Congressman after having been President. Nicknamed Old Man Eloquent for speaking out against slavery, he offered a plan for its elimination. In 1841, John Qunicy Adams defended before the Supreme Court 53 Africans who had mutinied aboard the slave ship Amistad, gaining them their freedom. As African slaves were purchased at Muslim slave markets, John Quincy Adams wrote in his “Essay on Turks” (1829): “The natural hatred of the Mussulmen towards the infidels is … Continue Reading:American Minute Feb. 21

By Bill Federer, staff writer

 A Revolutionary War Colonel, he built the fortifications at Breed’s Hill and commanded the militia at the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775. He fought in the battles of Long Island in 1776 and Saratoga in 1777. His name was William Prescott, born FEBRUARY 20, 1726. After the Boston Tea Party, where colonists threw 342 chests of British East India tea overboard, Parliament passed the Boston Port Bill, blockading the harbor and starving the inhabitants. The Committee of Correspondence sent word to the other Colonies, who called a Day of Fasting and Prayer, June 1, 1774, “to seek divine direction and aid.” In August 1774, William Prescott led the men of Pepperell, Massachusetts, to deliver many loads of rye, telling Boston’s inhabitants: “We heartily sympathize with you, and are always ready to do all in our power for your support, comfort and relief, knowing that Providence has placed you where you must stand … Continue Reading:American Minute Feb. 20

By Bill Federer, staff writer

The groans of a dying man kept him awake in the little inn outside New York. He was hardened to the cries because a college friend at Brown University had persuaded him to be an atheist. The next morning he learned the man who died in the night was none other than his college friend. This rude awakening led him to become one of America’s first foreign missionaries. His name was Adoniram Judson, born in Massachusetts, August 9, 1788. At age 23, and his wife 22, they sailed from New England on FEBRUARY 19, 1812, for Calcutta, India, but were forced by the British East India Tea Company to Rangoon, Burma. They preached in Burmese, translated Scriptures and started schools. Enduring hardships, Adoniram was imprisoned during the Burmese War. He later gained respect from the Burmese and British officials, translating his English-Burmese Dictionary and the Bible. By his death, there were 63 churches, … Continue Reading:American Minute Feb. 19