George Washington: “It (is)… little short of a miracle, that the delegates from so many different states should unite in forming a system of national Government”
In a letter from Washington to Lafayette on 7 Feb. 1788: “It appears to me, then, little short of a miracle, that the delegates from so many different states (which states you know are also different from each other in their manners, circumstances, and prejudices) should unite in forming a system of national Government, so little liable to well-founded objections.” - quoted in Catherine Drinker Bowen, ...
Signing of the Constitution
In a warm room in Philadelphia, 39 men signed the document that formed our nation. With each passing year, America continues her record of having the longest on-going constitutional republic in history. “Done…the seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty seven.” This is the last line of the U.S. Constitution. Signer of the Constitution James McHenry noted ...
The Constitutional Convention Begins in Philadelphia on May 25th and Ends on Sept 17th with the Miracle of the Constitution
The Constitutional Convention takes place in Philadelphia and, by the account of many participants during the process, ends with a miracle of divine providence in the formation of the constitution that provided the American people with a people's government assuring their rights and freedom, with a balance of powers, and equal representation for all states. "Miracle at Philadelphia " is in fact a quote from a ...
The Treaty of Paris of 1783, Negotiated Between the United States and Great Britain, Ended the Revolutionary War and Recognized American Independence
On 3 September 1783, the Peace of Paris was signed and the American War for Independence officially ended. The following excerpt from John Ferling’s Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence recounts the war’s final moments, when Washington bid farewell to his troops. The war was truly over. It had lasted well over eight years, 104 blood-drenched months to be exact. As is ...
Did Isaac Potts Really See Washington Pray at Valley Forge?
One of the legends or myths of Valley Forge is that Washington prayed for his country here. We do not say that he did not pray at Valley Forge (he assuredly did), there simply is an open question as to how he did so and if he actually was witnessed in prayer. Although this article has been added with a date of January 17, 1778, the ...
George Washington Inspires a Tired and Defeated Army to Continue the Fight for Liberty
George Washington faced a grim moment January 1, 1777. All enlistments for the Continental Army had expired on that date and all of the army, or at least what was left of it, was free to go home. This would not just cripple the Revolution, but probably end it. He gathered his troops together, the drum roll began, and the general asked all those willing to ...
George Washington’s Crossing of the Delaware River in the Dead of the Night on Christmas
So why were Washington and his bedraggled Continental Army trying to cross an ice-choked Delaware River on a cold winter’s night? It wasn’t just to get to the other side. Washington’s aim was to conduct a surprise attack upon a Hessian garrison of roughly 1,400 soldiers located in and around Trenton, New Jersey. Washington hoped that a quick victory at Trenton would bolster sagging morale in ...
Continental Congress Calls for a Day of Fasting and Humiliation for the Soldiers
Because of the distressing condition of the tattered but unbowed soldiers, the American Continental Congress called for a day of fasting and humiliation: Resolved, That it be recommended to all the United States, as soon as possible to appoint a day of solemn fasting and humiliation; to implore of Almighty God the forgiveness of the many sins prevailing among all ranks, and to beg the countenance ...
Washington Crossing The East River and the Miracle at the Battle of Long Island
There is not a famous painting of this river crossing on the night of August 29/30, 1776 unlike the crossing of the Delaware before the Battle of Trenton four months later (see The Jersey Campaign) but it was just as important for achieving American independence. In March 1776 the British abandoned Boston, sailing away to Nova Scotia. There, they were reinforced and developed a plan to ...
General Washington to his Army: “Let us rely upon the goodness of the cause, and the aid of the Supreme Being in whose hands victory is…”
On July 2, 1776, from his headquarters in New York, General Washington issued his general orders: “The time is now near at hand which must probably determine whether Americans are to be freemen or slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their houses and farms are to be pillaged and destroyed, and themselves consigned to a state of wretchedness ...
