by David Barton
George Washington (1732-1799; Virginia) Soldier, jurist, and public official; commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel and then Colonel of a Virginia regiment during the French and Indian War (1754-55); served as aide-de-camp to British General Edward Braddock in the ill-fated expedition against Fort Duquesne in which Braddock was killed (1755); appointed Commander of all Virginia forces (1755-58); member of the State House (1758-74); justice-of-the-peace (1760-74); delegate to the Williamsburg Convention of August (1774); member of the Continental Congress (1774-75); unanimously chosen as the Commander-in-Chief of the American forces and served in that position until the successful conclusions of the American Revolution (1775-83); president of the Constitutional Convention and signer of the Constitution (1787); unanimously elected as the first President of the United States (1789) and then unanimously re-elected (1792); after declining renomination as President, he was appointed as Lieutenant-General and Commander of the United States Army (1798) which position he held until his death (1799); known as “The Father of His Country” and eulogized by Henry Lee as “First in War, First in Peace, and First in the Hearts of his Countrymen.”
Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (1732-1802; Virginia) Daughter of Colonel John Dandridge; her mother died early and her father remarried; Martha married Colonel Daniel Parke Custis by whom she had two sons and two daughters (although one of those sons and one daughter died in early childhood); her husband died, leaving her one of the richest women in Virginia (1757); married George (1759); her remaining daughter died in 1773 and her son died in 1781, leaving four children, two of whom George adopted; she managed the estate at Mount Vernon during the Revolutionary War and spent the winters at camp with Washington; she was America’s first “First Lady.”
Rev. Bishop Richard Watson (1738-1816; England) Educator, scientist, and author; graduated from Trinity College (1760); Professor of Chemistry (1764); Professor of the Regius Chair of Divinity (1771); published several works on chemistry; answered Gibbon’s attack on Christianity from his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776); was one of only two opponents which Gibbons respected; Arch-Deacon of Ely (1779); Bishop of Llandaff (1782); authored his Apology for the Bible in answer to Thomas Paine’s work (1796); opposed the war with America; denounced the slave trade; advocated union with Ireland.
Daniel Webster (1782-1852; Massachusetts, New Hampshire) Attorney and public official; graduated from Dartmouth (1801); admitted to the bar (1805); U. S. Representative from New Hampshire (1813-17); moved to Boston (1816); delegate to the Massachusetts constitutional convention (1820); member of the Massachusetts House (1823); U. S. Representative from Massachusetts (1823-27); U. S. Senator from Massachusetts (1827-41, 1845-50); candidate for U. S. President (1836); U. S. Secretary of State (1841-43, 1850-52).
Noah Webster (1758-1843; Massachusetts, Connecticut) Soldier, attorney, educator, public official, and author; graduated from Yale (1778); left Yale on two occasions to march to participate in battles during the Revolution; admitted to bar (1781); taught classics in New York (1782-83); published his Grammatical Institute of the English Language – America’s first speller (1783-85); advocate of a strong federal government, he printed Sketches of American Policy – one of the earliest calls for a Constitutional Convention (1785); began to campaign for copyright protections which finally were included in Article I, Section 8 of the U. S. Constitution (1787); printed pamphlet urging ratification of the federal Constitution (1787); visited with Franklin for ten months in Philadelphia on Americanization of spellings and consequently authored Dissertations on the English Language (1789); practiced law (1789-93); served in the Massachusetts Legislature, (1815-19); authored The American Dictionary of the English Language (1828); helped found Amherst College.
Eleazer Wheelock (1711-1779; Connecticut, New Hampshire) Clergyman and educator; graduated from Yale (1733); licensed to preach (1734); accepted pastorate (1735); popular preacher throughout the Great Awakening; began plan for educating and converting Indians, specifically the Mohegans and the Delawares (1743); began More’s Indian Charity School (1754); sent ten graduates as missionaries and schoolmasters to the Six Indian Nations (1765); obtained charter from Governor of New Hampshire for his college (1769) and established it as Dartmouth (1770); remained its president until his death.
Father Andrew White (1579-circa 1633; England) Attended St. Alban’s College at Valladolid (1595); involved in the ministry in the English mission field; exiled to France and entered the Society of Jesus (1605-09); went to Lisbon to the seminary founded by Father Persons (circa 1611); took final vows (1617); as a professor he taught Theology, Greek and Hebrew; while involved in the English mission he met Lord Baltimore and learned about the plans for the American colony, soon after he applied for the Maryland mission (1630); he wrote the famous Declaration Coloniae which provided the purposes of the colony as well as the terms and conditions offered to the settlers; known as “The Apostle of Maryland.”
Byron White (1917-2002; Colorado) Sailor, attorney, public official, and jurist; graduated valedictorian from University of Colorado (1938); received nine letters in sports and was nicknamed “Whizzer” for his abilities as a football running back; played for the Pittsburgh Steelers for a year after his graduation and led the league in rushing; accepted Rhodes scholarship to Oxford (1939); World War II broke out and he returned home (1939); studied law at Yale; played football with the Detroit Lions (1940-41); joined Navy shortly after Pearl Harbor and served in the Pacific as a naval officer with John Kennedy; after War, completed law school at Yale with high honors (1946); law clerk for Chief Justice Vinson (1946-47); practiced law in Denver (1947-60); Deputy Attorney-General under President John F. Kennedy (1961); appointed to U. S. Supreme Court by President John F. Kennedy (1962-93).
Roger Williams (1603-1684; England, Rhode Island) Clergyman; born in London; graduated from Pembroke (1624); received holy orders (circa 1628); emigrated to the Puritan Colony at Massachusetts Bay (1630); non-conformist and an extreme separatist, he insisted on complete repudiation of the Church of England and refused the call to a pastorate in Boston (1631); pastored at Plymouth (1632-33); pastored at Salem in defiance of the General Court (1634); convicted of spreading “dangerous opinions” (1635); banished and attempted to organize separate Colony of Narragansett Bay; forced out of Massachusetts; founded Providence and Colony of Rhode Island on basis of complete religious toleration (1636); founded the very first Baptist church in America (1639); traveled to England to obtain patent for Rhode Island (1643); got along well with Indians but gave up trying to convert them and was skeptical of existing churches; first President of Rhode Island (1654-57).
William Williams (1731-1811; Connecticut) Soldier, public official, and jurist; son of a Congregational minister; graduated from Harvard (1751); studied theology for a year under his father; member of a military expedition to Lake George during the French and Indian War (1755); member of the State House (1757-76, 1780-84) and its Speaker (1775, 1781-83); member of the Continental Congress (1776-78, 1783-84) where he signed the Declaration of Independence (1776); member of the Council of Safety; judge of the County Court of Windham (1776-1804); judge of probate (1776-1808); delegate to the State ratification convention for the federal Constitution (1788).
James Wilson (1742-1798; Scotland, Pennsylvania) Attorney, educator, public official, and jurist; born in Scotland; attended University of St. Andrews and University of Glasgow; immigrated to New York (1765); moved to Philadelphia as tutor of Latin at College of Philadelphia (1766); studied law under John Dickinson and admitted to the bar (1767); member of the Continental Congress (1774-77, 1783, 1785-86) where he signed the Declaration of Independence (1776); member of the Board of War (1776-77); delegate to the Constitutional Convention where he signed the federal Constitution (1787); delegate to the State ratification convention for the federal Constitution (1788); appointed to the U. S. Supreme Court as one of its original Justices by President George Washington (1789-98); authored much of the State constitut
ion (1789-90); first Professor of Law in the College of Philadelphia (1790) and in the University of Pennsylvania (1791); along with Thomas McKean, he co-authored America’s first Commentaries on the Constitution (1792); founded the first organized legal training in America; was one of only six men who signed both the Declaration and the Constitution.
John Winthrop (1588-1649; Massachusetts) Attorney, jurist, and public official; attended Trinity College (1603-05); his father was an attorney and he studied law under his father; admitted to practice law (1613); justice-of-the-peace at Groton (1609-26?); appointed an attorney to the Court of Wards and Liveries (1626); admitted to the Inner Temple (1628); became the first Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony because he wanted to establish a Bible Commonwealth free from the “corruption” of the Church of England (1629-34, 1637-40, 1642-44, 1646-49 – he died in office); helped establish the first church in Boston; became the first president of the New England Confederation (1643); authored History of New England – a valuable source book of American history.
Robert Winthrop (1809-1894; Massachusetts) Attorney and public official; graduated from Harvard (1828); studied law under Daniel Webster and admitted to the bar (1831); member of the State House (1834-40) and its Speaker (1838-40); U. S. Representative (1840-50) and Speaker of the House (1847-49); U. S. Senator appointed to replace Daniel Webster (1850-51); member of Massachusetts Historical Society (1839-94) and its president for thirty years; noted orator of his day.
William Wirt (1772-1834; Virginia) Attorney, author, and public official; parents died while a youth – raised by uncle; tutored privately; studied law and admitted to the bar (1792); clerk of the State House (1800); member of the State House (1808); appointed U. S. Attorney by President James Madison and was counsel for the prosecution in the Aaron Burr conspiracy trial (1816); authored numerous books but perhaps his best known was Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry (1818); appointed U. S. Attorney-General under President James Monroe (1817-29) and argued several landmark Supreme Court cases including McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), Dartmouth College case (1819), Gibbons v. Ogden (1824); practiced law in Baltimore (1829-34); was presidential candidate for the Anti-Masonic party (1832); early manager of the American Sunday School Union; vice-president of the American Bible Society.
John Witherspoon (1723-1794; Scotland, New Jersey) Clergyman and public official; graduated from University of Edinburgh (1739); received Divinity degree (1743); licensed to preach in Presbyterian church and was ordained (1745); received his doctorate from University of St. Andrews (1764); conservative, orthodox, and Calvinist churchman; refused call to become President of Princeton (1766) but later accepted after being requested by Benjamin Rush (1768-76); member of the Committee of Correspondence (1775); member of the Provincial Congress of New Jersey (1776); member of the Continental Congress (1776-82) where he signed the Declaration of Independence (1776); labored strongly to rebuild Princeton after the Revolution (1782-94); member of the New Jersey State Assembly (1783-89); member of the State ratification convention for the federal Constitution (1787); authored numerous theological works.
Oliver Wolcott (1726-1797; Connecticut) Soldier, jurist, and public official; graduated from Yale College (1747); commissioned a captain by the Governor of New York (1747); raised a company of volunteers and served on the northwestern frontier; studied medicine; practiced law; first Sheriff of Litchfield (1751-71); member of the State Council (1774-86); judge of the County Court of Common Pleas (1774-86); Major-General of militia; appointed by the Continental Congress as one of the commissioners of Indian affairs for the Northern Department and was intrusted with the task of inducing the Iroquois Indians to remain neutral (1775); member of the Continental Congress (1776-78, 1780-83) where he signed the Declaration of Independence (1776); commander of fourteen Connecticut regiments sent for the defense of New York (1776); divided his time between Army service and congressional service; commanded a brigade of militia which took part in the defeat of General Burgoyne (1777); Lieutenant-Governor of Connecticut (1786-96); Governor (1796-97); both his father and his son served as Governors of Connecticut.
William E. Woodward (1874-1950; South Carolina) Author; after graduating from the South Carolina Military Academy (the Citadel), he went into newspaper work and advertising; become an executive vice-president and a director of several banks (1918); bored with his job, he quit and went to Paris for a year where he began to write a novel (1920); authored several novels and biographies and New American History; is considered a blatant revisionist.
Thomas Worthington (1773-1827; Virginia, Ohio) Public official; finished preparatory studies and went to sea; moved to Ohio (1796); member of the first and second territorial legislatures (1799-1803); delegate to the State constitutional convention (1803); U. S. Senator (1803-07, 1810-14); member of the State House (1807, 1821-22); Governor (1814-18); Canal Commissioner (1818-27); vice-president of the American Bible Society (1816-27).
.John Wycliffe (circa 1320-1384; England) Clergyman; studied at Oxford; became master of Balliol College (1361); he discovered that a relationship with God could be obtained without the help of a priest or sacraments; he criticized the church for what he felt was folly and corruption in the clergy and felt that the church hierarchy had too much authority; taught that the Holy Scriptures were the supreme authority; the church of Rome pronounced him a heretic and declared that his teachings were dangerous (1377); England refused to deliver him up to the church; was the first person to undertake a systematic translation of the Bible into English; the full translation of the Latin Vulgate Bible into English was published after his death (1388); Wycliffe’s followers become known as the Lollards; John Huss was one of his followers who helped spread his doctrine to the degree of a national religion; called “The Morning Star of the Reformation”; Luther quoted extensively from his beliefs and his emphasis on the Bible; Pope Martin V ordered Wycliffe’s bones to be dug up and burned (1428).
George Wythe (1726-1806; Virginia) privately instructed by his mother; studied law at William & Mary and admitted to the bar (1746); member of the State House (1754-55, 1758-68); Mayor of Williamsburg (1768); clerk of the State House (1769-75); member of the Continental Congress (1775-76) where he signed the Declaration of Independence (1776); member of the committee to prepare a seal for Virginia (1776); Speaker of the State House (1777); Judge of State Chancery Court (1777); Chancellor of Virginia (1778); professor of law at College of William & Mary – the first chair of law at a college in America (1779-90); he trained Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, James Monroe, and Henry Clay; selected as delegate to the Constitutional Convention but did not remain long at the Convention (1787); member of the State ratification convention for the federal Constitution (1788); moved to Richmond and formed and conducted a private law school (1791-1806); was poisoned by a greedy grand-nephew seeking his estate, but Wythe lived long enough to write that nephew out of his will
Appendix D:
Endnotes
Chapter 1 Religion and the Courts
1. County of Allegheny v. ACLU, 492 U.S. 573, 678 (1989) (Kennedy, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part).
2. Reynolds v. United States, 98 U.S. 145, 164 (1878); Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510, 513 (1925).
3. In a Westlaw search on the phrase “respecting an establishment…,” the results were: all state cases = 1,245 cases; all federal cases = 1,606 cases; total cases using the First Amendment phrase “respecting an establishment…” = 2,851 cases. In a Westlaw search on the phrase “separation of church and state” or “wall separating church and state” the results were: all state cases = 860 cases; all federal cases = 3,329 cases; total cases using the phrase “separation of church and state” = 4,189. First search string was (respecting +2 establishment +2 religion) (prohibiting +2 free +1 exercise) with February 12, 2008 as the date of the request. The second search string was (wall +1 separating separation +2 church +2 state) with February 12, 2008 as the date of the request.
4. Everson v. Board of Education, 330 U.S. 1, 18 (1947).
5. Anderson v. Milwaukee County, 433 F.3d 975 (7th Cir. 2006).
6. H.E.B. Ministries v. Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, 114 S.W.3d 617 (Tex. App. 2003). (The policy was eventually reversed at H.E.B. Ministries v. Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, No. 03-0995 (Tex. August 31, 2007)).
7. Lowe v. City of Eugene, 459 P.2d 222 (Or. 1969).
8. Ellis v. City of La Mesa, 990 F.2d 1518 (9th Cir. 1993).
9. Carpenter v. City and County of San Francisco, 93 F.3d 627 (9th Cir. 1996).
10. Separation of Church and State Committee v. City of Eugene, 93 F.3d 617 (9th Cir. 1996).
11. Murphy v. Bilbray, Nos. 90-134 GT, 89-820 GT, 1997 WL 754604 (S.D. Cal. Sept. 18, 1997) (City voted to sell the land with a cross to a private group as suggested by the court in 1991, but the court disallowed the sale and ordered the cross to come down.)
12. Paulson v. City of San Diego, 294 F.3d 1124 (9th Cir. 2002).
13. Buono v. Norton, 212 F. Supp. 2d 1202 (C.D. Cal. 2002), aff’d, 371 F.3d 543 (9th Cir. 2004).
14. Harvey v. Cobb County, 811 F. Supp. 669 (N.D. Ga. 1993), aff’d, 15 F.3d 1097 (11th Cir. 1994).
15. Young v. County of Charleston, 1999 WL 33530383 (S.C. Com. Pl. 1999).
16. ACLU of Tennessee v. Hamilton County, 202 F. Supp. 2d 757 (E.D. Tenn. 2002).
17. Glassroth v. Moore, 335 F.3d 1282 (11th Cir. 2003).
18. Adland v. Russ, 307 F.3d 471 (6th Cir. 2002).
19. ACLU of Ohio v. Ashbrook, 375 F.3d 484 (6th Cir. 2004).