Experience the American dream with today’s Patriots of the Past interview. I’m your host, John Gillespie.
It’s October 7, 1778. I’m with Phillis Wheatley, a former slave who has just received her freedom. She is visiting with General Washington, reading her famous poem about Washington’s courage.
JG: “Excuse me, Miss Wheatley, what do you write in your poems?”
PW: “Mr. Gillespie, I write of the longing for freedom. In every human breast, God has implanted a principle, which we call ‘love of freedom.’ It is impatient of oppression and pants for deliverance.”
Miss Wheatley went on to write passionately on freedom.
Read the full text of Phillis Wheatley’s poem, His Excellency General Washington.
John and Jan Gillespie are the founders of the Rawhide Boys’ Ranch; they have fostered 351 teenagers and wrote the book Our 351 Sons; they have also assisted numerous churches in developing youth programs and expanding their total church ministries. After running for U.S. Senate, John founded 1776 American Dream, which exists to demonstrate the vision of our founding fathers and help our generation of youth passionately embrace those values.
