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HISTORY: unwrapped – July 2007

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July 31 , 2007– America's First Celebrity

“I was honored with having a few stones, dirt, rotten eggs, and pieces of dead cats thrown at me.” In spite of these distractions, George Whitefield continued to preach for three hours. He had the most recognizable name in America, drawing thousands of listeners wherever he preached. Brutal mobs sometimes attacked Whitefield and his followers, and once he was stoned until nearly dead. He preached in fields rather than churches and even without amplification, could be heard by 30,000 or more. He pushed himself so hard and preached with such intensity, that afterward he often became ill. After preaching at Harvard it was reported that “The College is entirely changed. The students are full of God.” Praised as “the greatest preacher that England has ever produced,” George Whitefield lived each day doing what God had called him to do.

July 30, 2007 – The Constitution and the Bible

Using celebrities to endorse products is common practice today. Find some famous sports or movie stars, put them in front of a camera, and watch them do their magic with the new product. Before radio and television, the only way to communicate was through oratory and print media. Then there’s the issue of what’s worth pitching and how to pay for it. In colonial America, British law prohibited Bibles from being printed without permission of the crown. Editions of the Bible in the Indian and German languages were permitted, but English translations were verboten. All printing had to take place in England. This all changed after the success of the War for Independence. In 1791, the year the Bill of Rights was adopted and ratified, John Brown’s Self-Interpreting Bible was published in New York. Editions of Brown’s Bible had sold well in England. It was only natural to bring its publication to America. Brown, a Scottish Presbyterian minister, selected portions from several well-known commentaries, including those of Matthew Henry’s multi-volume set, to help the general reader better understand the text.

Funds were raised for the project through private “subscriptions” (contributions), and the names of the subscribers were listed alphabetically at the beginning of the volume, along with their occupation and the town where they lived. They came from all walks of life: shoemaker, baker, tailor, butcher, minister, lawyer, and many others. The name heading the list is “GEORGE WASHINGTON, Esq. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.” The prestige of Washington’s name associated with the Bible’s publication was a fat endorsement that was sure to attract other subscribes and buyers. Also listed as “subscribers” are Henry Knox (Secretary of War), Alexander Hamilton (Secretary of the Treasury), and John Jay (Chief Justice of the Supreme Court), and numerous other notable founders. The Frontispiece offers a perspective on how the Constitution was viewed in light of the Bible. There is an engraving of a female figure holding an open Bible illuminating another female the Constitution rolled up in her hand. Between them stands a woman holding a pole with a Liberty Cap. In the background, the façade of a building includes these words: “Sacred to Liberty, Justice, and Peace.”

July 27, 2007– Artist of Faith

Mention the name Michelangelo and frescoes of the Bible’s creation story on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel come to mind. Three million people a year flock to the Vatican to gaze at the famous masterpieces. The frescoes are a magnificent example of how a Christian artist interpreted Scripture through his art. Though it is one of the most studied and well known works of art, the Sistine Chapel is one of the least understood. It has become a temple to art, but Michelangelo intended it to be a place to worship God. In his later years, the artist concentrated on the free and priceless gift of salvation entirely dependent on God’s grace. Michelangelo emphasized God’s grace through his art, which was in contrast to the prevailing system of gaining salvation through indulgences and good works.

July 26 , 2007 – The Courageous French Admiral

The surrender of the British at Yorktown was a shock and a huge loss for the greatest military power in the world. The improbability of the events leading up to the surrender seems miraculous and much credit goes to the intervention of a French admiral. George Washington later told Congress how much he was indebted to Count de Grasse (duh grƏs) and the French fleet. De Grasse was in the West Indies when he received word that the Americans and French had agreed to launch a joint attack on New York. The admiral exceeded his orders and took his entire fleet to the Chesapeake. The British believed that the focus was on New York, but Washington changed his objective to Cornwallis in Virginia. With the French fleet in place, an attack was launched. America defeated Cornwallis thanks to the courageous decision of the French admiral.

July 25, 2007 – Georgia on His Mind

General James Oglethorpe (1696–1785) conceived a plan to provide a refuge for persecuted Protestants of Europe. On June 9, 1732, he was granted a charter by George II to establish a new colony. Oglethorpe named his colony Georgia. He was motivated primarily from strong Christian principles, which are evident in his denouncement of slavery. In London, in 1734, he praised Georgia for its anti-slavery policy:

Slavery, the misfortune, if not the dishonor, of other plantations, is absolutely proscribed. Let avarice defend it as it will, there is an honest reluctance in humanity against buying and selling, and regarding those of our species as our wealth and possessions. . . . The name of slavery is here unheard, and every inhabitant is free from unchosen masters and oppression. . . . Slavery is against the gospel as well as the fundamental law of England. We refused, as trustees, to make a law permitting such a horrid crime. But, Oglethorpe’s words were not heeded. The “horrid crime” of slavery was soon introduced to Georgia. “In 1750 the law prohibiting slavery was repealed and Georgia became a slave-worked plantation colony like its neighbor, South Carolina.”

In keeping with the original charter which gave the colonists of Georgia “a liberty of conscience” to worship God, the 1777 Constitution retains its essential religious character. Article VI states that “The representatives shall be chosen out of the residents in each county . . . and they shall be of the Protestant religion.” Article LVI declares that “All persons whatever shall have the free exercise of their religion; provided it be not repugnant to the peace and safety of he State.” Like many of the state constitutions, the Georgia constitution prohibited clergymen from holding seats in the legislature.

July 24, 2007 – The Big Pox

The smallpox virus had its greatest impact on the Indian populations in what is now Central and South America. Some historians have theorized that “it was not Cortez’ soldiers but smallpox that conquered the kingdom of the Aztecs in Mexico in 1520.” While this might be an exaggeration, smallpox certainly took its toll. It’s no wonder that the “Aztecs couldn’t believe that such a disease could be considered small and called it the `big pox.’“

The psychological impact of smallpox was also great. Between 1518 and 1531 nearly one-third of the total Indian population died of smallpox while the Spanish remained mysteriously unaffected. The Indians interpreted this to mean that their gods had failed them. In a deeply religious and superstitious society this assessment undermined the will to resist and made it possible for the Spanish to conquer what was left of the well-established pagan Aztec population.

Smallpox was followed by waves of measles, influenza, and typhus. “By the end of the sixteenth century, it is estimated that up to 90 percent of the indigenous populations had died in the successive waves of disease, and the Spanish began importing slaves to meet the labor demands created by catastrophic disease mortality.” The Aztecs contributed to their own demise through human sacrifice. As many as fifty thousand people a year were sacrificed “as a gourmet source of protein for its privileged elites.” But, that’s another story for another time.

July 23, 2007 – The Gentle Revolutionaries

Women were not recognized by the government as Revolutionaries or spies during the War for Independence, and they certainly were not admitted to the armed forces as soldiers. The only way for them to join the service was to disguise themselves as men. Deborah Sampson of Massachusetts had been an indentured servant for ten years, helping with housework and working in the fields. During the winter, when her work slowed down, she was able to attend school. When her servitude ended, she was hired as a teacher. In 1782 at the age of 21, Sampson enlisted in the Continental Army as a man. She was tall for a woman and performed her duties well, so she raised no suspicions. Rumors circulated back home about Sampson’s military activities, and she was excommunicated from the Baptist church because of a strong suspicion that she was “dressing in man’s clothes and enlisting as a soldier in the army.”

When Sampson was wounded in the leg in a battle near Tarrytown, she tended her own wounds so that her gender would not be discovered. As a result, her leg never healed properly. However, when she was later hospitalized for fever in Philadelphia, the physician attending her discovered that she was a woman and made discreet arrangements that ended her military career. After being honorably discharged from the army, Sampson gave lecture tours in which she wore her uniform and told of her experiences. When Sampson died, her husband was granted a military pension for her services.

July 20, 2007 – Leap'n Beamon

The 1968 Summer Olympic Games were held in the rarified air of Mexico City—7400 feet above sea level. Athletes and trainers were concerned that performances by distance runners would be affected by the thin atmosphere. Higher altitudes meant less oxygen, and if there is one thing runners need, it’s lots of oxygen. But it was the unexpected that made these Games memorable. Some of the black athletes put on a political demonstration. Tommie Smith and John Carlos, winning gold and silver in the 200 meters, accepted their medals in bare feet (to bring attention to the poverty of the African-American community), wearing beads (in honor of blacks murdered as victims of slavery or racism), and holding black-gloved fists in the air (the “Black Power” salute).

But over at the finals of the long jump, something historic was about to happen. A lanky jumper from New York was bounding down the runway, and almost no one noticed. Most of the photographers were waiting at the finish line where Lee Evans was expected to finish the 400 meters in record time. This race had excitement written all over it. Jumping records at the Olympic level are broken by inches. In 1936, Jesse Owens owned the long jump record at 26’ 5 ¼. It took 24 years to break it, and only by 3 inches. In 1968, the record stood at 27’ 4 ¾. In a span of 32 years, the record had progressed less than a foot. But on this day, Bob Beamon jumped 29’ 2 ½”, eclipsing the record by nearly two feet—21 ¾ inches! Here’s how Track and Field News described it:

He was obviously fired up, his step was exactly right, his form bordered perfection, his speed (09.5–100y) came as a great asset, the runway was consistent and fast, the assisting wind read a maximum of 4.473 mph, the high altitude (7350 feet) provided reduced air resistance, and he put together perhaps the ultimate technical effort that all field event performers dream about but rarely realize.

After hearing how far he had jumped, Beamon became so excited and emotionally drained that doctors claim he suffered a “cataplectic seizure.” Igor Ter-Ovanesyan, the co-world record holder, remarked, “Compared to this jump, we are as children.” The leap was caught by a cameraman on his first film assignment and is today one of the greatest sports photographs ever shot. The record leap brought an end to Beamon’s career. While he continued to compete, he never got close to that almost magical jump ever again. His longest jump after Mexico City was 26’ 11 1/2”. On August 31, 1991, Mike Powell of the United States finally broke Beamon’s record when he landed 29’ 4 ½” in Tokyo.

July 19, 2007– In Search of a Wife

John Calvin, the Reformer, thought little of marriage until he lived for a short while with a pastor and his wife whose home was known as “the inn of righteousness.” Their happy marriage made an impression upon Calvin, and he realized that he needed someone to take care of him. He told his associates he was in the market for a wife who was not too fussy or fastidious, who was economical, patient, and interested in his health. Soon after giving up his search for a wife, a friend encouraged him to consider a widow in Calvin’s church. It wasn’t long before Calvin, Idelette, and her two children became a family. Though they only had nine years together before tuberculosis took Idelette, Calvin grieved that his best life’s companion had been taken from him, and he never remarried.

July 18, 2007– Hoover's Dam

Hoover Dam was named after President Herbert Hoover who was instrumental in its construction. This marvel of engineering began in 1931 and was completed two years ahead of schedule in 1936. Hardhats made of two baseball caps dipped in tar and allowed to harden were used for the first time. A surveyor was one of the first people to die in the dam’s construction. The son of the surveyor was the last person to die thirteen years to the day of his father’s death. When Franklin Roosevelt defeated Hoover in the 1932 presidential election, his Secretary of the Interior removed Hoover’s name from the project and unofficially renamed it Boulder Dam. After Roosevelt’s death, Congress restored the name Hoover Dam. Amazingly, the concrete used in construction of the National Historical Landmark is still curing and gaining strength every day.

July 17, 2007 – Rome Comes to Washington

Buildings in Washington D.C., with their columns and facades, are reminiscent of Classical architecture. In addition, some American political writers called themselves by Latin names like Cato and Publius. The authors of The Federalist, a collection of essays written in favor of the Constitution, did not use their real names. The 85 essays were attributed to the pseudonym “Publius,” but in actuality were written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay. Publius Valerius Publicola (“friend of the people”) was a Roman consul. George Washington was known as “Cincinnatus,” a Roman general and patriot (519–439 B.C.) who gave up supreme power and went home to his farm after rescuing the Roman army which had been besieged by hill tribes. You can even see an enormous marble sculpture of our first president—wearing a toga! Our early constitutional framers looked to some elements of the Roman Republic and its form of civil government—not to the Roman Empire and its pagan religious practices—as a model for their political ideas. The word “Senate” is also borrowed from the Romans.

July 16, 2007 – Delicious and Refreshing

Mention the name of Dr. John Stith Pemberton, and the majority of people would shrug their shoulders. But it was Dr. Pemberton, an Atlanta pharmacist, who carried his new concoction in a jug down the street to Jacob’s Pharmacy for a taste testing at the soda fountain. The syrup was declared “excellent” and sold for five cents a glass. Carbonated water was added to the new syrup producing a drink that was “Delicious and Refreshing,” a theme that continues to this day.

Dr. Pemberton’s partner and bookkeeper suggested the name “Coca-Cola,” and soon the beverage was being advertised in the newspaper. The first year’s sales averaged about nine drinks a day. Dr. Pemberton had no idea of the potential of his creation. He eventually sold his business, with the remaining interest in his tasty drink being purchased by Asa Candler. Atlantan Candler had fine business sense and ended up with complete control of Coca-Cola. Under his direction, Coca-Cola became the most recognized product around the world.

July 13, 2007 – The Accidental Entertainers

If you’re looking for a sweet, peaceful tale to help you drift off to slumberland, don’t choose one of the stories from Grimm’s Fairy Tales. The stories collected by Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm in the 1800s often paint a cruel life as many generations of central Europeans knew it. In collecting and writing down the Germanic folktales, the brothers were attempting to preserve a part of German history. They had no idea that their stories would entertain so many future generations. Grimm’s Fairy Tales contains over 209 stories including “Cinderella,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Hansel and Gretel,” and “Rapunzel.”  

When the brothers saw the delight their tales gave young readers, they along with editors began tweaking their stories. The tales became sweeter and moral, but the heart of the stories was never removed. Jakob and Wilhelm studied the law and held university positions. But they will always be remembered for the tales that have produced a few goose bumps in all of us.

July 12, 2007 – Washington's Spymaster

The role of espionage was crucial during the War for Independence. Spying was made even more irresistible with both sides speaking the same language. When spy Nathan Hale was captured and hung by the British, George Washington was highly motivated to centralize intelligence operations. An American commander, Benjamin Tallmadge, became Washington’s chief of intelligence. Tallmadge ran a network of spies using cipher codes, invisible ink, double agents, and disinformation. Major Tallmadge’s network included men who operated inside enemy-held New York. Ordinary men, farmers, merchants, a newspaper editor, a tailor, and even women were involved in spying. A Quaker mid-wife and undertaker, Lydia Darragh, was one of the most successful of the women spies. She placed paper scraps of information into large buttons and sewed them onto her son’s clothing. The fourteen-year-old met his brother, a lieutenant in the Continental Army, who snipped off the buttons. Soon the British war plans were in Washington’s hands. Many years later, Benjamin Tallmadge wrote that the war had been won through the intervention of divine providence.

July 11, 2007 – The Galveston Hurricane

In 1900 there were no weather satellites and no Doppler radar. However, warnings were issued by the U.S. Weather Bureau.  People were advised to seek higher ground. Many didn't heed the warnings preferring instead to watch the huge waves. On September 8, the hurricane slammed into Galveston, Texas almost head on. Waves were higher than 15 feet and winds howled at 130 miles per hour. By the time the storm passed, more than 8,000 people were dead, countless were injured and half of the island's homes had been swept away. The Great Storm reigns today as the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history. But while the storm was phenomenal, so was the response of the people who survived it.

"Sunday morning, the day after the disaster, began with the sound of bells from the ruined Ursuline Convent calling people to worship," wrote historian David G. McComb. It was a fitting beginning. Despite the unimaginable devastation and what must have been a hard realization that it could happen again, the city immediately began pulling itself out of the mud.

July 10 , 2007 – Radio to the Rescue

During a very dense fog, the British ship East Goodwin collided with a British steamer. The steamer misjudged the tide and accidentally rammed the East Goodwin causing heavy damage. Fortunately, the sea was calm and the damaged ship was able to keep afloat. The steamer remained alongside the East Goodwin until a distress call was sent across the water by wireless radio. It was one of the first uses of radio since its invention just months earlier by the Italian physicist Guglielmo Marconi.

The Italian government was not interested in Marconi’s ideas of wireless communication when presented to them in 1896. Marconi believed he would have more success in England where some of his relatives resided. He filed his first patent for a system for telegraphy shortly after arriving in England and in 1897, formed the world’s first radio company.

Although lifeboats were not needed to rescue the East Goodwin crew and passengers, the wireless link with the shore made it possible for the rescue ship to set out much more quickly than would otherwise have been the case. The significance of what happened did not escape the people involved at the time. A system was now in place that enabled a vessel in distress to quickly call for help.

July 09, 2007 – The Father of Modern Chemistry

Robert Boyle (1627–1691) rejected the Aristotelian “science” of his day and showed that a scientific theory should be “proved” by experimentation before considered a scientific law. The ordered consistency of the universe, created by God but showing the effects of the fall, led Boyle to adopt this view of science. A reasonable god created a reasonable universe with consistency in the way the cosmos functioned. An experiment done one day should bring about the same results the next day.

In his last will and testament, Boyle “addressed his fellow members of the Royal Society of London, wishing them all success in ‘their laudable attempts, to discover the true Nature of the Works of God’ and ‘praying that they and all other Searchers into Physical Truths’ may thereby add ‘to the glory of the Great Author of Nature, and to the Comforter of mankind.’” The title of one of Boyle's many books was The Christian Virtuoso, that is, “The Christian Scientist.” Boyle was not a lone Christian voice crying in the wilderness of secular science. The membership of the Royal Society was made up of many Christians who shared Boyle's view that “the world was God's handiwork” and “it was their duty to study and understand this handiwork as a means of glorifying God.”

July 06, 2007 – A City in Ruins

Yerba Buena was a tiny village of sand dunes and small oaks populated with fleas that tormented the few people who lived there. The Gold Rush transformed the sleepy town into the booming city of San Francisco. This cosmopolitan center was jolted awake on the morning of April 18, 1906 as an earthquake hit the city. People were in bed as buildings were leveled and streets rose and fell. Fires broke out, causing more destruction than the earthquake. Four square miles of the city was destroyed by fire and the death toll was 4,000. This was not the first time San Francisco had survived a disaster. The city had burned to the ground six times previously. The mythical bird that is reborn from its ashes, the Phoenix, was adopted as the city’s symbol. Did San Francisco survive only to fall victim to a future earthquake? Only time will tell.

July 05, 2007 – Education in Young America

A young colonist's education in New England was provided by a very limited curriculum, consisting of three books in addition to the Bible: the Hornbook, the New England Primer, and the Bay Psalm Book. The Hornbook consisted of a single piece of parchment, covered with a transparent substance attached to a paddle-shaped piece of wood. The alphabet, the Lord's Prayer, and religious doctrines were written or printed on the parchment.

In 1690 the first edition of the New England Primer appeared. By 1700 the Primer had replaced the Hornbook in a number of places. The Primer expanded the religious themes by including the names of the Old and New Testament books, the Lord's Prayer, "An Alphabet of Lessons for Youth," the Apostles' Creed, the Ten Commandments, the Westminster Assembly Shorter Catechism, and John Cotton's (1584-1652) "Spiritual Milk for American Babes." The Primer, developed by Benjamin Harris, included an ingenious way to learn the alphabet while mastering basic biblical truths and lessons about life.

A- In Adam's Fall, We sinned all

B- Thy Life to mend, This Book attend

C- The Cat doth play, And after slay

The Primer was later enlarged in 1777. Additional biblical material was added. The rhyming alphabet was updated and made more theological. For example, in the 1777 edition the letter C reads "Christ Crucified, For Sinners Died."

July 03, 2007 – Those Terrible Vikings

The Vikings attacked and plundered because of envy—they wanted what their victims had. They believed that they did not have as much as others because their gods were not as powerful. This envy led to the introduction of Christianity into the Viking world. It was a time when groups of people converted together with their leaders. A personal relationship with Jesus Christ that resulted from a changed heart was a nonexistent concept. In the Viking’s world, the god to worship was often decided by the man left standing. There is debate over whether or not people believed the world was going to end at the close of the first millennium. There is little doubt that for Scandinavia, the end of the world as the Vikings knew it actually happened. Their pagan way of life ended and was replaced with a new Christian world.

July 02, 2007 – For the Love of Peanuts

It is a mystery as to why no one has ever done a full-length film of George Washington Carver. The story of this great scientist is extraordinary. He was born in 1864 in Missouri on the farm of an elderly white couple, Moses and Susan Carver. While yet an infant, George and his mother were kidnapped by Confederate night-raiders. Moses tried to locate George and his mother after the war, but he was only able to find George and traded a horse to get him back. After enduring resistance in securing an education in a segregated world, Carver entered Simpson College in Iowa. He studied piano and art since the college offered no science classes. He transferred to another college and earned a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree in bacterial botany and agriculture. Carver became the first black faculty member of Iowa College.
Carver served as Director of Agriculture at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama where his teaching career established him as a world class scientist. Carver remained on the faculty until his death. He gained fame but no fortune in the development of multiple uses for ordinary and everyday foods like the peanut and sweet potato. His work attracted Franklin Roosevelt, Henry Ford, and Thomas Edison. While George Washington Carver was deeply attracted to his scientific work, it was his devotion to Jesus Christ that sets him apart from many in the scientific field.