Today’s History Lesson
The 13th Amendment: Abolished slavery
- 100% Republican Support
- 23% democrat Support
The 14th Amendment: Gave Citizenship to freed slaves
- 94% Republican Support
- 0% democrat Support
The 15th Amendment: Right to Vote for All
- 100% Republican Support
- 0% democrat Support
Friday B-Movie Pick: 1776
Since it July 5th, I will once again go with the 1972 film version of the Broadway musical 1776. Based on the Broadway play, it tells the tale of getting the resolution on Indepence passed through the Contential Congress in the summer of 1776. William Daniels is quite good as John Adams, but it is Howard Da Silva as Benjamin Franklin who steals the show. The sets and costumes are first rate as well.
Quote of the Day
“The first Republican I knew was my father. He joined because the democrats would not register him to vote. The Republicans did.”
— Former Secretary of State, Dr. Condoleezza Rice
Monday Book Pick: The Jefferson Allegiance
The Jefferson Allegiance by Bob Mayer
A political thriller with conspiracies linked to secret branches of organizations founded by the Thomas Jefferson (author of the Declaration of Independane and the third President) and Alexander Hamilton (first Secretary of the Treasury). Plenty of action and lots of history. A tasty bit of reading for somebody like me, who likes thrillers, conspiracies and American history.
Independence Day Quote of the Day
“Races didn’t bother the Americans. They were something a lot better than any race. They were a People. They were the first self-constituted, self-declared, self-created People in the history of the world.”
June 11, 1964, Senate democrats filibustered the Civil Rights Acts
An important historical fact to remember, congressional democrats opposed the Civil Rights Act.
Senate democrats filibustered the Civil Rights act for 57 working days, which included a speech by democrat Senator Robert Byrd against the bill that lasted fourteen straight hours. Byrd’s opposition was not surprising, since the late Senator got his start in politics as a recruiter for the Ku Klux Klan.
The filibuster was finally ended when the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen, a Republican from Illinois, pushed for a closure vote in a speech that called for the democrats to end their filibuster and accept racial equality.
The Civil Rights Act was finally voted on, and passed with a majority of Republicans and minority of democrats voting for it.
President Reagan D-Day speech at Normandy
In honor of D-Day, which occurred on this day in 1944, here is a speech given by President Ronald Reagan at Normandy.
Update: The official US Army D-Day page.
Originally posted on June 6, 2009
Quote of the Day
“A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government.”
Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States of America
Statue of George Washington
A statue of George Washington in the National Museum of American History. Done in the classic Greek style, it’s tending toward the ‘deification’ that Washington was never comfortable with.
Originally posted at Slices of Life blog.
Independence Day Quote of the Day
“Races didn’t bother the Americans. They were something a lot better than any race. They were a People. They were the first self-constituted, self-declared, self-created People in the history of the world.”