J.B. Watson, Jr., Ph.D.

Sociologist/Gerontologist; @SFASU Emeritus Fac.; nonfiction writer—aging/religion/higher ed; pol ind; ULM alum; writing a book on Christian spirituality/aging.

[J.B. Watson, Jr., Ph.D. @GWashingtonInde]

~~~> #religiousfreedom #evangelical #Iraq RT: @firstthingsmag "N" is for Solidarity: Standing with Nazarenes in Iraq http://t.co/EdUWvUT6DE

[J.B. Watson, Jr., Ph.D. @GWashingtonInde]

Vietnamese restaurant owner gave a free meal. Weeks later, her life changed - ABC News #writingcommunity https://t.co/4q8qDZ0RLm

[J.B. Watson, Jr., Ph.D. @GWashingtonInde]

Back-to-back 5.0-plus earthquakes shake California. See where - USA TODAY https://t.co/mcBtfvxYib

[J.B. Watson, Jr., Ph.D. @GWashingtonInde]

Forget the Inheritance. These Readers Are Passing Down Their Money Now. - The Wall Street Journal #writingcommunity #agingwell #healthylongevity https://t.co/KJUosr4z6k

[J.B. Watson, Jr., Ph.D. @GWashingtonInde]

#writingvommunity #AmRev

[𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗢𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗦𝗶𝘅 @JMurdock3890]

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗟 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗪𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗛

General Nathanael Greene is one of the most neglected heroes of the American Revolution.

Greene, a former Rhode Island Quaker with no military training, would go on to become George Washington’s most trusted battlefield commander and one of the Continental Army’s finest strategists.

After a series of terrible American defeats, in 1780 Washington sent Greene south to the Carolinas.

Instead of fighting a single decisive battle, Greene ran a brilliant campaign through North and South Carolina that wore down the British and helped set the stage for Cornwallis’s surrender at Yorktown the following year.

Many historians rate Nathanael Greene as the most important general of the Revolutionary War.

[J.B. Watson, Jr., Ph.D. @GWashingtonInde]

#writingcommunity #AmRev #America250 #July4th1776

[Claremont Institute @ClaremontInst]

With the 250th anniversary of America, a new book for all ages has been released by @MTMehan to share great American stories from across the country.

Watch The American Mind Podcast, where Claremont President @RpwWilliams, @SpencerKlavan, & @MESabo86 discuss Mehan’s new book: “The Americans Book of Fables”

[J.B. Watson, Jr., Ph.D. @GWashingtonInde]

#writingcommunity #AmRev #America250 #newbook

[The Washington Times @WashTimes]

BOOK REVIEW: “Instead of placing privileges above principles, as so many do today, ‘The American Book of Fables’ is a reminder of the principles that have given us the great privileges we enjoy today,” writes Timothy S. Goeglein @FocusFamily

[J.B. Watson, Jr., Ph.D. @GWashingtonInde]

#writingcommunity #AmRev #America250 #July4th1776 #newbook

[American Principles Project @approject]

The author of The American Book of Fables @MTMehan appeared on the @TSchillingShow.

Check out the full on Youtube episode below:
https://t.co/eNXzBEHR8U

[J.B. Watson, Jr., Ph.D. @GWashingtonInde]

#writingcommunity #AmRev #America250

[Matt Mehan @MTMehan]

My thoughts on @ByronYork’s suggestions for America’s 250th on the U.S. national mall in @realDailyWire.

[J.B. Watson, Jr., Ph.D. @GWashingtonInde]

#writingcommunity #AmRev #America250 #July4th1776 #GWashington

[Hillsdale in D.C. @HillsdaleInDC]

In the latest episode of The Story of America, Dr. Spalding reflects on George Washington's legacy as general, president, husband, father, and true statesman.

Watch this episode and catch up on the rest of the series at the link below!

https://t.co/6QAzXvVAGb

#HillsdaleinDC #America250

[J.B. Watson, Jr., Ph.D. @GWashingtonInde]

#writingcommunity #AmRev #America250 #July4th1776 #GWashington

[Larry P. Arnn @DrLarryArnn]

Victory alone was not enough to secure American liberty. Many nations have won independence only to lose it again.

America needed a man who understood that power must be restrained, even when it is rightfully his. George Washington had the character to surrender power when he could have kept it. That act helped establish a government of laws rather than men.

In our latest “Story of America,” Matthew Spalding of @HillsdaleInDC reflects on Washington’s indispensable role in the founding and the character that made American self-government possible.

[J.B. Watson, Jr., Ph.D. @GWashingtonInde]

#GWashington #writingcommunity #AmRev #America250 #July4th1776

[Mount Vernon @MountVernon]

#ThisWeekinHistory After conferring with Congress in Philadelphia about the defense of New York, George Washington turned his attention to the future of American government.

Writing to his brother Jack in Virginia, Washington reflected on the immense responsibility of constitution-making, reflecting, “Every man should consider that he is lending his aid to frame a constitution which is to render millions happy or miserable.”

[J.B. Watson, Jr., Ph.D. @GWashingtonInde]

#writingcommunity #AmRev #America250 #July4th1776

[Brianna Lyman @briannalyman2]

Imagine it’s June 4, 1776

In one months time, the Second Continental Congress will vote to declare independence from Britain – and history will never be the same.

[J.B. Watson, Jr., Ph.D. @GWashingtonInde]

#writingcommunity #AmRev

[HeritageBulwark @hbulwark1]

“Washington Surrendering His Commission” (mural) — Edwin Blashfield, 1903

Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. Courthouse, Baltimore, Maryland

[J.B. Watson, Jr., Ph.D. @GWashingtonInde]

A good reminder that the application of quality ideas matters—and quality ideas can coexist when the advocates for each position are committed to civility. #writingcommunity #AmRev

[HeritageBulwark @hbulwark1]

Was every decision perfect? No. But was it destiny? Absolutely.

America needed Federalists to forge a strong Union that could defend liberty in an unknown land and Anti-Federalists to demand a Bill of Rights and checks against concentrated power.

That tension created something extraordinary. The greatest country on Earth.

[J.B. Watson, Jr., Ph.D. @GWashingtonInde]

#writingcommunity #AmRev

[American Battlefield Trust @Battlefields]

The Dey Mansion in Wayne, New Jersey, built around 1770 by Theunis and Hester Dey, is a prime example of Georgian architecture and served as General George Washington's headquarters in 1780 during the American Revolution. During Washington’s stay, military efforts included a planned attack on Staten Island and reconnaissance near Fort Lee, though some operations were ultimately called off.

Explore more Heritage Sites here: https://t.co/qExlt1e9K7

[J.B. Watson, Jr., Ph.D. @GWashingtonInde]

#writingcommunity #AmRev

[Echoes of War @EchoesofWarYT]

On this night in 1781, one man on a horse saved the American Revolution from losing Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and half of Virginia's government in a single morning.

You were never taught his name.

June 3, 1781. The British had chased Virginia's entire government out of Richmond. Jefferson, in his final days as governor, and the legislature had fled to Charlottesville, thinking they were safe in the foothills.

They were wrong.

That evening, 26 year old militia captain Jack Jouett was at a tavern in Louisa County when roughly 250 of the most feared cavalry in the British army came pounding down the road. Their commander: Banastre Tarleton, nicknamed "The Butcher," the man whose dragoons had cut down surrendering Americans at Waxhaws.

There was only one place they could be going. Charlottesville. 40 miles away. And the capture of Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, would be the prize of the war.

Jouett couldn't outrun them on the main road. So he didn't use it.

He swung onto overgrown backwoods trails and the abandoned Old Mountain Road, riding 40 miles through the dark with only the full moon for light. Legend says low hanging branches whipped and scarred his face for life.

Tarleton stopped his men for a 3 hour rest. Jouett never stopped.

Before sunrise on June 4, he came up the mountain to Monticello and woke Jefferson. Then he rode down into Charlottesville and warned the legislature.

Jefferson got out with minutes to spare. British dragoons were coming up his mountain as he left. The legislature escaped over the Blue Ridge to Staunton. Tarleton caught only seven stragglers, one of them a frontiersman serving in the legislature named Daniel Boone.

Paul Revere rode about 12 miles in 1775 and got captured before reaching Concord. Longfellow wrote him a poem and made him immortal.

Jack Jouett rode 40 miles, lost nothing, saved everything, and got a thank you gift of two pistols and a sword from the Virginia Assembly.

No poem. No fame. Almost no memory.

[J.B. Watson, Jr., Ph.D. @GWashingtonInde]

#writingcommunity #Amrev

[Echoes of War @EchoesofWarYT]

Samuel Chase might be the messiest Founding Father in American history, and almost nobody knows his name. Buckle up.

1762: He gets expelled from his Annapolis debating club for "extremely irregular and indecent" behavior. He is 21.

1765: He leads the Sons of Liberty in storming public offices and burning the local stamp distributor in effigy. The mayor's circle publicly brands him "a busy, reckless incendiary, a ringleader of mobs, a foul-mouthed and inflaming son of discord." Chase's response, basically: yes, and?

1776: Maryland is the holdout on independence. Chase races roughly 150 miles on horseback to Annapolis, strong-arms the convention into a yes, and gets word to Philadelphia just in time for the vote. He signs the Declaration of Independence at 35.

1778: As a congressman, he learns of a secret plan to buy flour for the French fleet. He allegedly tips off business partners to corner the market first. A furious 23-year-old Alexander Hamilton invents a pen name just to publicly destroy him, writing that his crimes were "infamous in itself, repugnant to your station, and ruinous to your country."

The pen name Hamilton invented to torch Samuel Chase? Publius. The same one he'd reuse nine years later for the Federalist Papers. The most famous byline in American political history started as a burner account for one feud.

Somehow Chase rehabilitates himself, and in 1796 George Washington puts him on the Supreme Court. His colleagues nickname him "Old Bacon Face" because of how red he turns when he rants from the bench. He rants a lot.

He rants so much, openly campaigning against Jefferson from the bench, that in 1804 he becomes the only Supreme Court justice ever impeached.

Now the twist. The official who presides over his 1805 Senate trial is Vice President Aaron Burr, who at that moment is wanted in two states for killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel.

A Boston newspaper covered it under the headline "The World Upside Down": formerly the murderer was arraigned before the judge, but now the judge is arraigned before the murderer.

Burr ran the trial flawlessly. Chase was acquitted on every count. And that acquittal is the reason, to this day, that a president cannot remove judges just for ruling against him.

One man's rap sheet: expelled, mob ringleader, profiteer, justice, impeached, acquitted, and the accidental origin of the Federalist Papers. They don't make Founders like this anymore.

[J.B. Watson, Jr., Ph.D. @GWashingtonInde]

#writingcommunity #socent

[@markdtooley @markdtooley]

This article extolling "Christian empire" almost flowed until it started defending Belgian King Leopold II, whose atrocities were exposed by American Presbyterian missionaries among others. No thanks. https://t.co/wzRRWeD3Rh

[J.B. Watson, Jr., Ph.D. @GWashingtonInde]

#writingcommunity #socent

[Jordan J. Ballor @JordanBallor]

Institute on Religion and Democracy launches ecumenical ‘Christians for Capitalism’ project https://t.co/5oXXNlBYmx

[J.B. Watson, Jr., Ph.D. @GWashingtonInde]

#writingvommunity #AmRev

[Echoes of War @EchoesofWarYT]

The richest man in America signed a document that could have gotten him hanged, and when someone sneered that he was safe because no one would know which Charles Carroll to come for, he picked up the pen and told the British exactly where to find him.

His name was Charles Carroll, and the colonies were crawling with men who shared it. His own father was Charles Carroll of Annapolis. So when the Declaration of Independence came to him for signing in 1776, a delegate made a cruel little joke. He said Carroll risked nothing by signing. There were so many Charles Carrolls that the King's men would never know which one to hang.

Carroll didn't argue. He leaned over the page and added three words to his signature: "of Carrollton." The name of his estate. His address. He was the only signer in the entire room who wrote down where he lived, and he did it on purpose, so that if the British wanted to come hang the traitor, they would know exactly which door to knock on.

That is who Charles Carroll of Carrollton was.

Here is what makes the moment even sharper. He was not a man with little to lose. He was the single wealthiest man in the thirteen colonies and the largest private landowner among them. While George Washington and John Hancock get talked about as rich men, it was Carroll who topped them all. When he signed, he was wagering the biggest personal fortune in America against a noose.

And he was the last man anyone would have expected to be there at all. Carroll was Catholic. In colonial Maryland, a colony founded as a Catholic refuge that had since turned on its own, Catholics could not vote. They could not hold public office. They could not worship in public. The most educated, wealthiest man in America was, in the eyes of the law, a second-class subject barred from the very government he was helping to create. He had spent seventeen years being educated by Jesuits in France and spoke five languages fluently, and back home he still could not legally cast a ballot.

So he became the only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence, putting his name on a revolution that he hoped would build a country with room for men like him. That was its own enormous bet, made by a man the existing system had already shut out.

Then he simply outlived everyone.

Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died on the same astonishing day, July 4, 1826, exactly fifty years after the Declaration. When they were gone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton was the last living signer left on earth. For six more years he was the final human link to that room in Philadelphia, the last hand that had signed, a living relic of the founding that ordinary Americans traveled to see and shake.

He finally died in November 1832 at the age of ninety-five, fifty-six years after he wrote his address on a treason document and dared the empire to come find him.

The richest man in America. The only Catholic. The last one standing. He had more to lose than any of them, every legal reason to stay quiet, and he signed his full address anyway.

We remember the names we were handed in school. We forget the man who made sure his couldn't be mistaken for anyone else's.

Which Founding Father do you think history shortchanged the most?