AmericanHistory - Bethany Baptist Church

Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 –April 4, 1968) was an African American clergyman, activist and prominent leader in the American civil rights movement. His main legacy was to secure progress on civil rights in the United States and he is frequently referenced as a human rights icon today.

Read more of his biography here.

Hear his last prophetic speech, "Remember," here.

Martin Luther King in the Birmingham AL jail,
April 1963.

"The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority. If the church does not participate actively in the struggle for peace and for economic and racial justice, it will forfeit the loyalty of millions and cause men everywhere to say that it has atrophied its will. But if the church will free itself from the shackles of a deadening status quo, and, recovering its great historic mission, will speak and act fearlessly and insistently in terms of justice and peace, it will enkindle the imagination of mankind and fire the souls of men, imbuing them with a glowing and ardent love for truth, justice and peace."

Excerpt from "A Knock at Midnight, Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverent Martin Luther King Jr.," New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2000. See the video, "A Knock at Midnight," here.

The American Minute
The "American Minute" presents notable events of significance in America's history, remembered on the date they occurred, most with quotations by the persons involved thanking God and expressing Biblical and Christian sentiments. Though not a devotional resource per se, it reminds us of the fundamental Judeo-Christian foundation on which our constitutional republic is based. On the website, you can subscribe to this free, unique historical perspective on America.

WallBuilders
Christian historian David Barton, the president of WallBuilders, presents America's forgotten history and heroes, with an emphasis on the moral, religious, and constitutional foundation on which America was built. Books, videos, news, commentary, historical document library.

The History Place
The History Place is a private, independent, Internet-only publication based in the Boston area that is not affiliated with any political group or organization. The Web site presents a fact-based, common sense approach in the presentation of the history of humanity, with great care given to accuracy.

The Patriot Post
Provides weekly commentaries on issues of the day, as well as an extensive archive of historic documents and daily quotes by historic figures in US history.

Historical and Founding Documents
The U.S. Constitution lays out the supreme law of the United States and details our freedoms and rights. In addition to the "Patriot Post," the two other online resources below also make it and other important historical documents easy to use.

The National Constitution Center features an interactive copy of the Constitution. You can easily search the Constitution. Explanations of each article and amendment put the Constitution into perspective.

USConstitution.net also provides easy to use and read copies of the Constitution, and you'll find other important documents there, too.