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This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories,

the show where America is the star and the American people. To search for the Our American Stories, the show where America is the star and the American people.

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William Tennant helped father the great awakening in the United Colonies,

which produced the spiritual strength of faith to win our liberty during the revolution. Here to tell this story

is Robert Morgan, who's the author of 100 Bible verses that made America, defining moments that

shaped our enduring foundation of faith. Let's take a listen. Reverend William Tennant Sr.

was born in Scotland and graduated from

the University of Edinburgh, but he was ordained into the Church of Ireland. When he migrated

to the 13 colonies in 1716, he was seeking freedom of religion, and he settled in Bucks

County, Pennsylvania, just north of Philadelphia, and there he served as a pastor.

But that's not all he did. He and his wife, Catherine, took in students who wanted to prepare for the ministry.

These young men became part of the tenant home, and William instructed them in matters of theology and ministry.

In 1727, Tenet purchased 100 acres of land and built a log cabin to serve as a school for the

training of these pastoral students. The log cabin was across the street from his house,

and the students, which included his four sons, studied there.

It was a humble school, a literal log cabin academy, that lasted less than 20 years,

and never had more than one part-time teacher, and only had about 20 young men who studied there.

And yet the impact of that humble seminary

on American history is impossible to gauge. All four of his sons became ministers, who helped

spur on the Great Awakening, and so did William Tennant's other students. They all excelled

...