Bill Federer Content Alert!

 I spoke with William J. Federer and he talked about the French exploration of North America.
Pere Marquette, Joliet...

We then talked about his latest book Muscular Christianity where he talks about the role of Revival, particular under Charles Finney, and how it led to many of the institutions that have shaped America.
Were it not for Finney, Trump may not have had a theme song!

Pearl Harbor Day

We did a broadcast yesterday on Pearl Harbor and the impact it has on America today as events unfold in the Pacific. you can listen to it here: Your American Heritage 12 06 2025 Pearl Harbor

The following is excerpted from a letter I transcribed for my friend Nate Weiser to a high school class that had asked him to relate his Pearl Harbor experience on Dec 7th, 1941.

Nate had a degree in education with a sports career and had worked his way through college in the depression.

His military career was somewhat unique in that he was at Pearl and Normandy and Bastogne.

His commander at Pearl had given him permission to forgo mess duties as he pursued radio courses at the local college in Honolulu.

The mess sergeant saw Nate as a slacker for that. When the dishes rattled in the following story, he came out roaring at Nate for dropping them.

Nate and his two friends had been on a date the night before with some nurses.

He was stationed at Pearl in the Army Air Force and he was in radio.

My two friends and I were going to visit a friend later in the day who was in the Navy, and in Pearl Harbor for a short stay. We were in the Mess Hall around 7:50am Sunday morning. We were waiting in line for our Super Sunday Breakfast before we would go to see our friend when around 8:00am, give or take a few minutes, we heard a large noise that shook the building, and all the stacks of dishes that were on the table fell to the floor. The Mess Sergeant came out and was cussing everyone out. Right then, the second bomb fell and the table plus the food went crashing to the floor. I ran to the door and saw the Japanese Insignia on the aircraft and said to Don and Merrill, "Why are the Japanese planes here? This could be war!"

The planes were strafing all over the area. We were going to hide under the warehouse building next to the Mess Hall, but "Indian Joe", a WW1 veteran told us to get going and try to go to the Residential Area, and go in between the buildings so we wouldn't get hit. We saw the Number 1 hangar on the runway in flames. Half of it was full of ammunition (rumor had it that we were going to Wake Island in a very short time). They hit that hangar first, they knew what was in it. The planes on the ramp were tail to tail, all they did was strafe down the line and get two planes at a time. The reason they were tail to tail was so every Saturday morning the post could march in front of the commander before we had the weekend free. It was a miserable sight to see with us running for our lives. The planes flew so low that you could see some of the pilots red scarves and goggles. That sight I will never forget.

We finally got to the Residential Area and I went into one of the homes near Schofield Barracks. A sergeant lived there and had a couple of children. He told us to stay for a while and then go back to our base for instructions. It was thought that the Japanese might land and try to take the island over. The sergeant would get his company and go up into the mountains, and if the Japanese did invade, he told his wife what to do. We went back to the barracks, and each one of us got a .45 and a belt full of ammo. The second wave of planes was not as great as the first, but that evening it started to rain. The captain called us in his portable quarters and gave us a box about 8' long, 6" wide and 4 or 5" high. He told us that in case of emergency, this would be our only communications between our squadron and Honolulu, so guard it with all our might. It was a transmitter and receiver, all in one! We were to be sure to let him know where we were at all times. We decided to head toward the mountain, but not too far from the runway, near the captain, and hid in case of invasion, but where the planes would not strafe us. Little did we realize that the water off the mountain (it being a very rainy night) would fill our foxhole. We had a very uncomfortable couple of nights. We were very happy to learn after a couple of days that there would be no invasion by the Japanese. All islands were in blackout nights from here on in. By 1943 I was a Staff Sergeant and I and two other Sgts were sent back to the States to go to OCS. (Nate was to be an officer but declined. Also, his two friends died in the attack). After one and a half months, I asked to be sent back to the Air Force.

I was then assigned to Jefferson Barracks in St.. Louis. From there I was assigned to Richmond, Va with the 365th Fighter Bomber Group, 386th Squadron . I was a Tech Sgt and communication chief for P-47 Thunderbolts in the 9th Air Force. We got an all expenses paid tour of Europe.

Nate got the Bronze Star in Europe. it was an award for an idea he had for aircraft radio that allowed them to turn around and get back in the fight quicker in the event of radio failure.

His friends from the night before didn't make it through Dec 7th.

Nate with our son Scott.
Nate's the one on the left.

Nate passed shortly before his 99th birthday Dec 5th, 2016.

In case you don't know, I'm proud to say he was my friend.

Jamestown and Henrico

Before Plymouth Rock....

A historical overview of the founding of the first two surviving English colonies in North America, Jamestown and Henrico.

What's Henrico you ask? Listen.

Your American Heritage 11 22 2025 Jamestown and Henrico 

Thanksgiving Broadcast

Ed Bonderenka is joined by Professor Richard Deitering and callers for a discussion of some current events that effect our culture.

Then Scott Powell and William J. Federer each talk about the history of Thanksgiving and its effect on the American Character. 

Happy Thanksgiving 2025

First off, a Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.

Then a recap of history.

So you're some white people.
You've recently arrived on the shores of this land, not where you thought you would.
You're not gonna make it without some help.
Over half of you have died already.
You pray to your God for help.
A Native American walks out of the woods and asks in clear King's English:
"Can I help?", and proceeds to show you how to farm, fish, hunt, survive and serves as an ambassador to the native people.

Yea, there's a God, and He had a hand in founding this country.

Happy Thanksgiving.

If you read about Bradford below, which I of course recommend, understand that they almost died because of a socialist philosophy. Bradford put an end to that, and they all prospered.

Some lessons bear repeating.

(I am truly thankful today that I could rip this off from http://www.ushistory.org/us/3b.asp )

William Bradford and the First Thanksgiving

Copyright 2001 by Pilgrim Hall Museum

As was the custom in England, the Pilgrims celebrated their harvest with a festival. The 50 remaining colonists and roughly 90 Wampanoag tribesmen attended the "First Thanksgiving."

The major similarity between the first Jamestown settlers and the first Plymouth settlers was great human suffering.

November was too late to plant crops. Many settlers died of scurvy and malnutrition during that horrible first winter. Of the 102 original Mayflower passengers, only 44 survived. Again like in Jamestown, the kindness of the local Native Americans saved them from a frosty death.

The Pilgrims' remarkable courage was displayed the following spring. When the Mayflower returned to Europe, not a single Pilgrim deserted Plymouth.

Helping Hands

Massasoit, chief of the Wampanoag tribe, signed a treaty with the Pilgrams in 1621, that was never broken. As a result, the two groups enjoyed a peaceful coexistence.

By early 1621, the Pilgrims had built crude huts and a common house on the shores of Plymouth Bay. Soon neighboring Indians began to build relations with the Pilgrims. SQUANTO, a local Indian who had been kidnapped and taken to England nearly a decade before, served as an interpreter with the local tribes. Squanto taught the Pilgrims to fertilize the soil with dried fish remains to produce a stellar corn crop.

MASSASOIT, the chief of the nearby Wampanoags, signed a treaty of alliance with the Pilgrims in the summer. In exchange for assistance with defense against the feared Narragansett tribe, Massasoit supplemented the food supply of the Pilgrims for the first few years.

Governor Bradford

The modern conception of a Pilgrim might include a man in a black hat with a buckle, but not all of the original settlers of Plymouth County fit this description.

Successful colonies require successful leadership. The man to step forward in Plymouth colony was WILLIAM BRADFORD. After the first governor elected under the Mayflower Compact perished from the harsh winter, Bradford was elected governor for the next thirty years. In May of 1621, he performed the colony's first marriage ceremony.

Under Bradford's guidance, Plymouth suffered less hardship than their English compatriots in Virginia. Relations with the local natives remained relatively smooth in Plymouth and the food supply grew with each passing year.

By autumn of 1621, the Pilgrims had much for which to be thankful. After the harvest, Massasoit and about ninety other Indians joined the Pilgrims for the great English tradition of HARVEST FESTIVAL. The participants celebrated for several days, dining on venison, goose, duck, turkey, fish, and of course, cornbread, the result of a bountiful corn harvest. This tradition was repeated at harvest time in the following years.
It was President Lincoln who declared Thanksgiving a national celebration in 1863. The Plymouth Pilgrims simply celebrated survival, as well as the hopes of good fortune in the years that lay ahead.

Focus on the Family did a radio drama on it:
Squanto Story pt 1

Squanto Story pt 2

The Trump Doctrine, also Intifada on the Hudson

Note: Spotify provides a transcription of each episode when you visit the links.

First, Ed Bonderenka explains the history of the Monroe Doctrine, which becomes the precursor of the Trump Doctrine.

Then Ed is joined by Gary Wellings, host of TheDailyDrift.com and they talk about the new Trump Reset which trumps the WEF's "Great Reset".

Your American Heritage 11 1 2025 Trump Doctrine Gary Wellings

I also spoke with Robert Spencer of JihadWatch.org and the author of :
Intifada on the Hudson: The Selling of Zohran Mamdani

How did it come to this?

Your American Heritage 11 1 2025 Robert Spencer

Election Fraud and ⁠A Time to Stand⁠.

Note: Spotify provides a transcription of each episode when you visit the links.

Election Fraud investigator, sometime ⁠Lindell-TV⁠ host, author, former state senator and Meddling Kid, Patrick Colbeck talks about the latest developments in election integrity efforts.

Pat's a friend and has been on the show since it's first episode. Not many know more about election integrity and voter fraud than Pat. Pat's been a state rep and candidate for governor in Michigan.
And as a former rocket scientist, some of his stuff is floating around in space on the ISS.

Listen here: Your American Heritage 10 25 2025 Patrick Colbeck

I also spoke with Michael Finch, president of the David Horowitz Freedom Center, about his new book, 
⁠A Time to Stand⁠, a very timely and beautifully written set of essays.

We also talk about issues facing us today, including anti-semitism on the right. 

Your American Heritage 10 25 2025 Michael Finch