This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human. Liberty has never been just a word to we Americans. It has guided every one of our endeavors for the past 250 years, and now it takes form in a new way. The 2026 Semi-Quincentennial Coin and Metal Program from the United States Mint.
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Experience music performances from major artists, patriotic tributes, and the kickoff to Giving Forth, helping to make July 4th the largest day of giving in American history. It's more than just fireworks. Learn more about this landmark celebration at America250.org. What's up y'all? Summer's got a different tempo.
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Try the new Tropical Butterfly Refresher from Starbucks. This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories, the show where America is the star and the American people. If you want to know about the history of America, it's imperative that you know the role that the Bible played in shaping our country. Here to share another story is Robert Morgan, who is the author of 100 Bible Verses that made America. defining moments that shaped our enduring foundation of faith.
Let's take a listen. Yeah. Elijah Lovejoy was born in my wife's home state of Maine in 1802. His father was a congregational pastor and a farmer. Lovejoy began reading his Bible at the age of four.
and while still very young he memorized the entire 119th psalm which is the longest chapter in the bible along with other passages in many classic hymns. He later graduated at the top of his class and decided to move west to St. Louis. His parents, concerned for his spiritual well-being, prayed earnestly for him, and their prayers were answered when he wrote home telling them he had experienced a personal relationship with Christ during a revival meeting. He also told them that he was entering the Presbyterian ministry.
He enrolled in Princeton, and And as he grew in his knowledge of scripture, his convictions about the abolition of slavery deepened. Within a year, Lovejoy was licensed to preach, and while on a preaching circuit through Missouri, he met Celia Ann French and fell in love with her and married her. Lovejoy didn't confine his sermons to the pulpit. Returning to St. Louis, he became the editor of a weekly Christian publication called The St.
Louis Observer. The first issue rolled off the press on November the 22nd of 1833. In his opening editorial, Lovejoy wrote that his paper will seek no controversy, and it will decline none, when by so doing it might compromise the purity of the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. The observer became a vehicle for teaching scripture, relating the news of the day, and interpreting the latter by the former. His editorials were must-reading, and sparks began to fly when he set forth the biblical facts and the brutal truths about slavery.
On april sixteenth, eighteen thirty two, Lovejoy wrote prophetically. While Christians have been slumbering over it, the eye of God has not slumbered. Nor has his justice been an indifferent spectator of the scene. The groans and sighs and tears and blood of the poor slave have gone up as a memorial before the throne of heaven. In due time, they will descend in awful curses upon this land, unless averted by the speedy repentance of us all.
Lovejoy's drumbeat against slavery sparked an uproar in St. Louis. Mobs formed, threatening his newspaper and threatening his life. Officials sought to silence him, demanding he pass over in silence everything connected to the subject of slavery. Crowds marched into the street chanting, Down with the observer.
Lovejoy was threatened with whipping. He said, I cannot surrender my principles, though the whole world beside should vote them down. Asserting his freedom of speech, he fired off another series of blistering editorials condemning slavery with all of its horrors. He compared himself to his namesake in the Bible, Elijah. who stood before Ahab, rebuking his sins, and who refused to be silenced.
He said, I do therefore as an American citizen and a Christian patriot, and in the name of liberty and law and religion, solemnly protest against all these attempts, howsoever and by whomsoever made. to frown down the liberty of the press and forbid the free expression of opinion. Under a deep sense of my own obligations to my country and church and to my God, I declare it will be my fixed purpose to submit to no such dictation. Yeah. Writing to his brother, Elijah Lovejoy said.
Men came to me and told me that I could not walk through the streets of St. Louis by night or by day. I was alone in St. Louis, with none but God to whom to ask counsel. But thrice blessed be his name, he did not forsake me.
I was enabled deliberately and unreservedly to surrender myself to Him. When it became impossible for Lovejoy to dwell in St. Louis, he moved 30 miles away to Alton, Illinois. His printing press, which was transported by a boat up the Mississippi, was destroyed by a mob upon its arrival. Uh He ordered another press from Cincinnati, and the paper resumed publishing on August 17, 1837.
Support. Another mob surrounded him, shoved him around, and destroyed his new press. Love joy. ordered a third one. About 10 p.m.
on November 21st, in the light of a full moon, A mob of about 30 men armed with rocks and pistols left local taverns and began marching toward Elijah Lovejoy's house. Church bells rang and by midnight the whole town had assembled. The mob broke into his house and one of the rioters shot Lovejoy. Three bullets struck his chest, another his stomach. and another his left arm.
His new printing press was destroyed and thrown into the Mississippi River. and his hearse was hissed in the streets on the way to the cemetery. He was buried on his 35th birthday. The First White Martyr. and America for the cause of abolition.
a fairless publisher. who gave his life for the freedom of the press. and a preacher of the gospel. who once said, I can die at my post. but I cannot desert it.
And a terrific job on the production, editing, and storytelling by our own Greg Hengler. And a special thanks to Robert Morgan, the author of 100 Bible Verses that Made America: The Story of Elijah Lovejoy, here on our American Stories. Yeah. Lee Habib here, and I'd like to encourage you to subscribe to Our American Stories on Apple Podcasts, the iHeartRadio app, Spotify, or wherever you get our podcasts. Any story you missed or want to hear again can be found there daily.
Again, Please subscribe to the Our American Stories podcast anywhere you get your podcasts. It helps us keep these great American stories coming. Liberty has never been just a word to we Americans. It has guided every one of our endeavors for the past 250 years. And now it takes form in a new way.
The 2026 Semi-Quincentennial Coin and Metal Program from the United States Mint. It celebrates the founding ideals that have long shaped our coinage. Available one year only, this historic collection features new coin designs, limited edition releases, and reissues. Shop new official coins at usmint.gov forward slash semi-q. That's usmint.gov/slash S-E-M-I-Q.
This July 4th, come celebrate at America's Block Party, hosted by America 250. America's Block Party is a can't-miss 4th of July concert happening at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Experience music performances from major artists, patriotic tributes, and the kickoff to Giving Forth, helping to make July 4th the largest day of giving in American history. It's more than just fireworks. Learn more about this landmark celebration at America250.org.
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