Posts by Rick Chromey
The Santa Chronicles: How A Man Named Nicholas became Santa Claus (Part 1)
TweetShareShareHis name was Nikolaos or Nicholas…St. Nicholas in the Greek Orthodox tradition. You and I know him better as “St. Nick.” Around the world he has other names: Sinterklass (Dutch), Kris Kringle (English), Papa Noel (French/Spanish), Weihnachtsmann (German), Grandfather Frost (Russia)…and SANTA CLAUS. Most of what we know about this “jolly old elf” and his…
Read MoreJohn Locke: How a Great Philosopher Influenced the Founding of America
TweetShareShare The Founding Fathers of the United States of America had many influences, but possibly none more than John Locke (1632-1704). Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and John Madison revered Locke. John Quincy Adams penned, “The Declaration of Independence [was]…founded upon one and the same theory of government…expounded in the writings of Locke.” But who was…
Read MoreThe Black Robe Regiment: How a Group of Patriots Founded America
TweetShareShareThey were called the “Black Robe Regiment.” A group of patriots who served in Congress, presided over influential American schools, led troops in the Revolutionary War, signed the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights and other important founding documents. Their names? JOHN WITHERSPOON (President of Princeton) JOHN P. MUHLENBERG (Revolutionary War General) FREDERICK A. MUHLENBERG…
Read MoreRev. Timothy Dwight: How the President of Yale Indicted the French Revolution
TweetShareShareOn July 4, 1798, TIMOTHY DWIGHT, the President of Yale College gave an address titled “The Duty of Americans at the Present Crisis.” It was a stinging indictment upon the French Revolution and their enlightened, secular culture. Dwight particularly noted how the infidel Voltaire had orchestrated the plan to convert Christian France into a secular…
Read MoreThe Oregon Trail: How Christianity Carved a New Path West
TweetShareShareOregon. Washington. Idaho. Parts of Montana and Wyoming. It’s nearly 300,000 acres of majestic, rugged land known as the Oregon Territory, a portion of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. The infamous Oregon Trail snakes through this vast estate, connecting the Great Plains to the Pacific Ocean. Thousands of westward wagons once traveled its corridors and…
Read MoreSuicide or Murder? The Mysterious Death of Meriwether Lewis
TweetShareShareHe led one of America’s greatest expeditions and proved the apple of Thomas Jefferson’s eye. To this day the name Meriwether Lewis sells books, inspires audiences and provokes pride. His leadership of the Corps of Discovery, along with William Clark, remains one our nation’s most enduring tales. In his post-expedition years he enjoyed fame and…
Read MorePublic Education, America and Religion
TweetShareShareAmerica’s schools are a mess. Teacher morale is low. Disrespect, truancy and discipline problems are rampant. Today’s kids are more profane, angry, hurting, confused, violent…and ignorant (especially of their history). But a failing education system was a problem our Founding Fathers knew was possible. In a rather inconvenient quote about American education. Dr. Benjamin Rush penned:…
Read MoreThe Summer of ’77: When a Bible Shortage Forced the Hand of Congress
TweetShareShareThe summer of 2022 was a season for shortages. From fuel to rental cars, certain food items to paper goods, stock was low and prices were high. Gasoline, for the first time in U.S. history averaged more than $5/gallon. In some places a gallon of petrol could run as high as $10/gallon! But it wasn’t…
Read MoreThe Yale Man: How One American Preacher Lit the Fuse for the First Great Awakening Revivals
TweetShareShareAmerica’s first colleges were in the Ivy League. And they were created for a distinct purpose. The original 1636 purpose of a Harvard education was to “…advance learning and perpetuate it to posterity: dreading to leave an illiterate ministry to the churches, when our present ministers shall lie in the dust.” Essentially, Harvard trained the…
Read MoreCourt Packing: How Franklin D. Roosevelt Reshaped the U.S. Supreme Court
TweetShareShareIn 1937 nobody was more popular than Franklin D. Roosevelt. His “New Deal”–hinged to Social Security and unemployment benefits–catapulted FDR to a 523-8 electoral landslide (60.8% of the popular vote) to a second term in 1936. Only Ronald Reagan would come close to that margin of victory in 1984 with 525-13 electoral votes (58.8% popular…
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