During Harry S Truman’s years as President of the United States, from 1945 to 1954, he was known as a feisty politician. It earned him the nickname “Give ‘em Hell…
Year: 2016
“Life is unfair,” as President John F. Kennedy famously observed on this date…
Many people are familiar with the famous quotation by President John F. Kennedy, “Life is unfair.” But few people today remember or know the context of this quote. It was…
“No rights which the white man was bound to respect.”
On March 6, 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court issued it’s controversial decision on Scott v. Sandford — generally referred to as “the Dred Scott case.” The plaintiff, Dred Scott, was…
“Any man who hates dogs and babies can’t be all bad.”
To paraphrase Firesign Theatre, everything most people know about some famous quotations is wrong. A notable example is the famous line “Any man who hates dogs and babies can’t be…
“A little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing” for “the tree of liberty”…
In 1786, the new democratic government of the United States of America wasn’t quite working out like some Revolutionary War veterans had expected. Many had not been paid for their…
How a political backlash turned “a grand old rag” into “a Grand Old Flag”…
On January 19, 1906, American composer, playwright and performer George M. Cohan copyrighted a new song he’d written titled “You’re a Grand Old Rag.” It was one of the songs…
The origin of the slogan “Sisterhood is Powerful.”
In 1970, feminist leader and author Robin Morgan edited an anthology of articles about the growing woman’s liberation movement titled Sisterhood Is Powerful. The book quickly became a bestseller and…
“I have nothing to declare except my genius” – the famous Oscar Wilde quip that he probably didn’t say…
On January 3, 1882, the Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde disembarked from the ship that brought him from England to New York. It was the beginning of what would…