Articles with history

Important US Dates to Commemorate

[ Read the SemperVerus article, US Presidential Messages on Important Birthdays and Anniversaries ]

January 14th:  Ratification Day
Annually recognizes the ratification of the Treaty of Paris on January 14, 1784, at the Maryland State House in Annapolis, Maryland by the Confederation Congress that officially ended the American Revolution and established the United States as a sovereign entity.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Celebrating 250 Years: Learn About the American Revolution ]

January 16th:  National Religious Freedom Day
Since 1993, the President of the United States has proclaimed January 16 as National Religious Freedom Day, commemorating the Virginia General Assembly’s adoption of Thomas Jefferson‘s landmark Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom on January 16, 1786.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Free Online Educational Resources to Grow Your Spiritual Knowledge ]

February 1st:  National Freedom Day
Celebrates freedom from slavery and recognizes that America is a symbol of liberty. The day honors the signing by Abraham Lincoln on February 1, 1865 of a joint House and Senate resolution that later became the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution.

March 3rd:  National Anthem Day
Commemorates the day in 1931 the United States adopted The Star Spangled Banner (written September 14, 1814 by Francis Scott Key) as its National Anthem.

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10 Lessons From Benjamin Franklin’s Daily Schedule

How did Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) accomplish so much in his life? He established a written daily schedule that was guided by his list of 13 virtues to live by:

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Celebrating 250 Years: Learn About the American Revolution ]

1. Temperance: Eat not to dullness and drink not to elevation.
2. Silence: Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself. Avoid trifling conversation.
3. Order: Let all your things have their places. Let each part of your business have its time.
4. Resolution: Resolve to perform what you ought. Perform without fail what you resolve.
5. Frugality: Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself: i.e. Waste nothing.
6. Industry: Lose no time. Be always employed in something useful. Cut off all unnecessary actions.

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Paul Harvey: God Made A Farmer

Paul Harvey, the eloquent and articulate newscaster who galvanized radio listeners with his mellow voice and extended dramatic pauses, delivered a speech in 1978 at the Future Farmers of America Convention that captured the essence of responsible citizenship and sound moral behavior. Decades later it also reflects the five principles of SemperVerus living for all people, not only farmers—Prepare, Aware, Be, Know, Do—and the 17 virtues of the SemperVerus Brotherhood.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Paul Harvey: If I Were the Devil ]

The speech begins with the following words, imaginatively picking up the creation story the day after God rested:

And on the 8th day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, “I need a caretaker.” So God made a farmer.

God said, “I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, milk cows, work all day in the fields, milk cows again, eat supper and then go to town and stay past midnight at a meeting of the school board.” So God made a farmer….

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A Dramatic Example of Deciding to Act

Prisoner 5239 was captured by the Nazis at just 19 years of age. Withered after five years of death camp incarceration, while on a forced death march in 1945, suddenly, without warning, the moment of decision came. It was a five second junction, a crossroads between life and death. As they rounded a bend, he glanced back, and realized the rear guard was out of sight – and, hurriedly looking ahead, it was the same. For ten paces or so, they could not be seen. He had a choice, and he decided. Turning to a friend, he hissed: “Quick! Run! Now.”

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