“The most important lesson of American history is the promise of the unexpected. None of our ancestors would have imagined settling way over here on this unknown continent. So we must continue to have society that is hospitable to the unexpected, which allows possibilities to develop beyond our own imaginings.” WayImportantPossibilityPromiseLessonsSettlingUnexpectedAncestorContinentsAmerican HistoryImportant Lessons Author:Daniel J. Boorstin
“We [Americans] inherited British law, which is like the new "reforms" that are being made now, in the sense that people are permanently entrapped in debt, if they once fall into bankruptcy. The reason that the law was changed in American history - the whole early period of the formation of the country was moving away from British law into a law that is generated here and that conforms to the sense of what is appropriate here.” PeopleIfsMadeCountryReasonWholeMovingLawFallChangedPeriodsBritishDebtReformAppropriateAmerican HistoryConformFormationBankruptcyMoving Away Author:Marilynne Robinson
“Many of the ugly pages of American history have been obscured and forgotten....America owes a debt of justice which it has only begun to pay. If it loses the will to finish or slackens in its determination, history will recall its crimes and the country that would be great will lack the most indispensable element of greatness-justice.” IfsHas BeensCountryWould BeAmericaLosesJusticePayCrimeGreatnessElementsPagesDeterminationForgottenUglyDebtRecallsAmerican HistoryIndispensableMisdeeds Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself-and possibly teh bogey man.” MenWould BeFearPresidentSpeechOvercomingPresidentialFearfulAmerican HistoryUnited States Of AmericaPresidencyAmerican PoliticsOvercoming FearFearlessnessBreast CancerNamelessGreatest FearAmerican PresidentFear Of LoveFear And CourageInaugurationFear NothingFace Your FearsFear CourageInauguralUs PresidentLove And FearFears Of LifeOvalInaugural AddressFacing FearPresidents DayFear Of The UnknownConquering FearGreat PresidentsFear NoneWorry And FearUnjustifiedConquer Your FearsWorry FearAnxiety And FearInaugural SpeechUs PresidentialHate And FearInspirational PresidentialInspiring PresidentialIgnorance And FearPower And FearPresidential LeadershipFear MongeringHealthy Fear Author:Pat Paulsen
“To judge by what my children are learning in school, you'd think American history was 75 percent slavery and 25 percent everything else (and that 25 percent includes a large dollop of imperialism, racism, sexism and homophobia, leaving little time for Lincoln, Edison, Clay, Holmes, Alcott, Dickinson, Adams, Longfellow or Fulton).” ThinkingChildrenLittlesSchoolJudgingRacismPercentSlaveryLeavingMy ChildrenSexismAmerican HistoryImperialismClayHomophobiaHolmesLittle Time Author:Mona Charen
“The hiring of Phil Messina, the production designer, was a big decision. He's so gifted, and his ideas were always so smart and rooted in American history and architecture. Nothing feels like it's not us, or couldn't be us, and I think that's very important.” ThinkingFeelsImportantIdeasBigsDecisionSmartProductionsArchitectureDesignerRootedAmerican HistoryGiftedHiringBig Decisions Author:Nina Jacobson
“Teaching ... particularly in the 1990s, teaching what is far and away the dumbest generation in American history, is the same as walking up Broadway in Manhattan talking to yourself, except instead of eighteen people who hear you in the street talking to yourself, they're all in the room. They know, like, nothing.” PeopleKnowsRoomsTalkingGenerationsStreetsTeachingWalkingAmerican HistoryBroadwayManhattanEighteenTalking To Yourself Book:The Human Stain Source: The Human Stain
“I'm sure that a previous generation of Jews who published radical newspapers and journals would be critical of [David] Simon's projects. These were left wingers who suffered casualties in some of bloodiest strikes in American history.” Would BeLeftGenerationsProjectsJewCriticalStrikesNewspapersRadicalAmerican HistoryJournalCasualtiesLeft WingPrevious Generations Author:Ishmael Reed
“A dangerous thesis has taken hold among many in the GOP: that it might be better to lose the '06 election and re-group. In American history, when a faction in the majority party decides the party is tired and could benefit from some time in the wilderness, the voters usually oblige. Most recently, the latest issue of Washington Monthly includes a cover story featuring seven such articles from prominent Republican strategists, insiders and commentators.” StoriesMightLosesPartyIssuesTakenGroupsDangerousRepublicanBenefitsElectionMajorityTiredSevenWildernessLinksVotersArticlesAmerican HistoryCommentatorsFactionsProminentThesisStrategistGopInsiders Author:Larry Sabato
“I would never want to write a character who was not thoroughly herself or himself. She's a very specific creature in my mind, and she has her thoughts, which range from skin to American history, philosophy, and the arts.” WantWritingMindArtPhilosophyCharacterCreaturesSkinsRangeAmerican History Author:Lynne Tillman
“I'm a history geek and I love American history. It's so bizarre and so problematic and I love the many conundrums that it represents. You can go down so many black holes.” BlackHolesAmerican HistoryBizarreGeekBlack HoleConundrums Author:Matana Roberts
“It was an injured worker finding a lawyer on a contingent fee in a little town in Texas that blew the top off one of the greatest industrial disasters in American history.” LittlesFindingsTownsWorkersLawyerDisasterTexasAmerican HistoryInjuredFeesLittle Towns Author:Ralph Nader
“In my totally unscientific yet enthusiastic survey of Communal Experiments Throughout American History, I've discovered that the thing most likely to break up said experiments is: Sex, all that murky, dark, dirty gunk simmering beneath human relations.” HumansSaidSexDarkBreakRelationExperimentsDirtyAmerican HistoryEnthusiasticSurveysHuman Relations Author:Lauren Groff
“If we look at American history, between 1942 and 1947, the data that was collected by the Census Bureau was handed over to the FBI and other organizations at the request of President Roosevelt, and that's how the Japanese were rounded up and put into the internment camps.” IfsLooksPresidentOrganizationDataCampsAmerican HistoryRequestFbiCensusInternmentPresident RooseveltInternment CampsCensus Bureau Author:Michele Bachmann
“If Martin Luther King were here he'd be very surprised at some of the sugar-coated versions of American history presented today.” IfsTodayKingsVersionsSugarAmerican HistoryLuther Author:Kwasi Kwarteng
“The most significant impact is what it does in terms of the integrity of the legislative process and the executive process, as opposed to what it does for campaigns. But to remove this unheard of process in the 1990s, where members of Congress are being pushed and shoved every Tuesday to ask for $100,000, $500,000, a million dollars from corporations, unions, and individuals, this was never allowed in American history.” DoeAsksIndividualProcessTermMillionsIntegrityMembersImpactDollarsUnionsCongressCampaignsSignificantCorporationsRemoveExecutivesAmerican HistoryMillion DollarsTuesdayUnheardLegislative Process Author:Russ Feingold
“I used to teach. I quote American history and I love words. I've read the dictionary I don't know how many times throughout my life. People say, "You read the dictionary?" I say, "Yes, and you can really believe it."” PeopleKnowsBelieveUsedTeachKnow HowAmerican HistoryDictionary Author:Jackee Harry
“Super PACs and a corrupt campaign finance system are destroying American democracy. We're proud that we have received four million individual contributions, more than any candidate in American history at this point.” IndividualMillionsDemocracyFourProudCampaignsFinanceCandidatesContributionDestroyingAmerican HistoryAmerican DemocracyPacsCampaign Finance Author:Bernie Sanders
“My favorite forgotten President in American history is James Buchanan, who in defending really robust and sharp-elbowed debates said, "I like the noise of democracy. I like the sound of people in the streets making noise."” PeopleSaidSoundPresidentDemocracyStreetsForgottenMy FavoriteDebateNoiseAmerican HistoryRobust Author:Jeff Sharlet
“[Louis] Brandeis, like [Tomas] Jefferson, is an equal opportunity critic of bigness. And he, like Jefferson, sees American history as this incredible clash between small producers, farmers, and small business people on the one hand, and wicked oligarchs and financiers and monopolists on the other.” PeopleHandsOpportunityEqualCriticsIncrediblesProducersWickedFarmersAmerican HistorySmall BusinessClashEqual OpportunityFinanciersLouis BrandeisTomas Jefferson Author:Jeffrey Rosen
“That strain of anti-monopoly crusading egalitarianism really runs throughout American history from [Tomas] Jefferson to Woodrow Wilson, that finds its apotheosis in [Louis] Brandeis, continues through the New Deal, but then it sort of peters out in the '60s because progressives in particular become more interested in extending equality to minorities, and women, and other excluded groups, and little more suspicious of these old white guys, often from the south, who were crusaders against monopolies.” LittlesRunningGuyWhiteDealsGroupsParticularSouthMinoritiesPeterAmerican HistoryStrainMonopolySuspiciousExcludedExtendingWilsonEgalitarianismNew DealWhite GuysLouis BrandeisApotheosisTomas Jefferson Author:Jeffrey Rosen
“Louis Brandeis beloved uncle, Lewis Dembitz, was an ardent abolitionist. His mother was an abolitionist in Kentucky at a time when Brandeis remembered hearing the shot from the confederate soldiers after the second battle of Bull Run. Amazing to think that he heard that and I studied with one of his last law clerks in college. And that encapsulates almost all of American history.” ThinkingRunningLastsLawMotherHeardCollegeBattleShotsSoldierHearingRememberedBelovedAmerican HistoryUnclesBullsArdentClerksKentuckyConfederateAbolitionistLouis Brandeis Author:Jeffrey Rosen
“Donald Verrilli has argued 37 cases in five years on behalf of the [Barak] Obama administration. Many of them turned out to be truly landmark cases. He is the seventh-longest-serving solicitor general in American history.” YearsCasesFiveAdministrationFive YearsServingAmerican HistoryBehalfLandmarksBarak ObamaSolicitors Author:Dahlia Lithwick
“Frank Johnson was recognized as one of the great federal judges of American history, I suppose. He was a law-and-order judge. He was a classical, I think, conservative. But he believed that civil rights provided in the Constitution applied to everybody.” ThinkingLawOrderRightsJudgingConstitutionConservativeCivil RightsFrankAmerican HistoryJohnsonLaw And OrderFederal Judges Author:Jeff Sessions
“This is a critical time in American history. [Donald's Trump] strength is willingness to stand up to political conventions, take on Republican and Democrat leaders, and, in effect, do so in defense of the legitimate interest of people who make less than median income in America, is the key to victory.” PeopleAmericaPoliticalInterestLeaderEffectsKeysTrumpVictoryRepublicanDemocratCriticalDefenseIncomeWillingnessConventionsAmerican HistoryMedian Author:Jeff Sessions
“Now, thanks to President [Barack] Obama and the policies of Democrats when we have been able to achieve 73 straight months of sustained growth in the private sector. The longest it has been in American history.” Has BeensAbleGrowthPresidentAchievePolicyMonthsDemocratThanksBarackAmerican HistoryPrivate SectorPresident Barack Obama Author:Debbie Wasserman Schultz
“What's four years in our long American history? Remember when I asked that wheelchair-bound politician to "stand up." It turns me off when people say Donald Trump is authentic. Just because he says "Mexican rapists." What about me? I am the real deal.” PeopleYearsLongRealRememberTurnsDealsFourTrumpPoliticianBoundsFour YearsAmerican HistoryRemember WhenMexicanWheelchairsTurn Me Author:Joe Biden
“There was no news in the Dan Rather piece. They didn't say [to Bush]: "We found a piece of paper that was overlooked in the 300,000 pieces of paper that were covered in the Iran-Contra hearings, and we have a piece of news we'd like to ask you about." CBS decided to create a media event and cover it in its own fashion. This was unprecedented in American history. CBS cancelled two-thirds of the newscast... to get a guy and take him out.” TwoGuyAsksFoundPiecesMediaFashionEventsPaperNewsDecidedThirdsHearingIranCoveredAmerican HistoryUnprecedentedOverlookedIran Contra Author:Roger Ailes
“It's a deal that will lead to a nuclear Iran, an Israel that will be less safe and secure, and a much more dangerous Middle East. Let's ask it: Hillary Clinton, as an inept negotiator of the worst nuclear arms deal in American history. Is she guilty or not guilty?” AsksDealsMiddleWorstDangerousArmsSafeClintonIsraelEastNuclearGuiltySecureIranMiddle EastAmerican HistoryNot GuiltyNuclear ArmsNuclear Iran Author:Chris Christie
“I don't think I came out of anybody. I think I developed out of the influences I described in My Dark Places. American history, L.A. of the 1950s. I'm comfortable with that.” ThinkingDarkInfluenceComfortableAmerican HistoryDark Places Author:James Ellroy
“Throughout American history, we have elected presidents who had not been honest man. Warren Harding, Richard Nixon, to some extent, Lyndon Johnson just to name a few.” MenNamesPresidentHonestAmerican HistoryJohnsonHonest ManHardingWarren Harding Author:Bill O'Reilly
“I think that one of the ways that Americans will come to want to look at history is by looking at their own families' histories, and how those stories relate to the larger picture of American history. Then it is no longer abstract. Then it becomes a story that really means something to us as individuals.” ThinkingWayWantLooksMeanStoriesIndividualRelateAbstractAmerican HistoryReally MeanFamily History Author:Adele Logan Alexander
“I have to throw in on a personal note that I didn't like history when I was in high school. I didn't study history when I was in college, none at all, and only started to do graduate study when my children were going to graduate school. What first intrigued me was this desire to understand my family and put it in the context of American history. That makes history so appealing and so central to what I am trying to do.” TryingFirstsChildrenSchoolDesireStudyCollegeHigh SchoolMy FamilyNotesMy ChildrenGraduatesAmerican HistoryIntriguedGraduate School Author:Adele Logan Alexander
“Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are the most disliked and untrusted candidates for president in American history.” PresidentTrumpClintonCandidatesAmerican History Author:Jill Stein
“I see Donald Trump as a phenomenon of an expression of certain fears, certain resentments, that have been a running thread in American history.” Has BeensRunningCertainExpressionTrumpPhenomenonResentmentThreadAmerican History Author:Barack Obama
“I often suggest in workshops that if you have 30 students in your American History course in 11th grade, or whatever grade level, that you maybe triple them up. You put, and have them choose, let's say 11 different Native American cultures. Maybe you give them a list of 15 and they choose 11 of those 15 so that they have some choice in the matter.” IfsGivingDifferentMatterChoicesCultureCoursesLevelsStudentsListsGradesNativeNative AmericanAmerican HistoryAmerican CultureWorkshopsNative American Culture Author:James W. Loewen
“What I'm interested in is modern American history. I'm taken with the changes that have occurred in America in my lifetime.” AmericaTakenModernLifetimeAmerican History Author:Sam Abell
“At various periods in American history, people get pretty rambunctious when it comes to our democratic debate.” PeoplePeriodsDemocraticVariousDebateAmerican History Author:Barack Obama
“Obamacare's not imploding. The main goal of Obamacare was two-fold. One was to cover the uninsured, of which we've covered 20 million, the largest expansion in American history. The other was to fix broken insurance markets where insurers could deny people insurance just because they were sick or they had been sick. Those have been fixed, and for the vast majority of Americans, costs in those markets have come down, thanks to the subsidies made available under Obamacare.” PeopleHas BeensMadeTwoGoalMillionsBrokenCostSickMajorityAvailableDenyThanksFixedCoveredAmerican HistoryExpansionFoldsObamacareSubsidies Author:Jonathan Gruber
“The largest tax reduction in American history, one page tax form, reducing government spending. Those are all the keys to economic progress.” GovernmentFormProgressEconomicKeysTaxesPagesSpendingAmerican HistoryReducingReductionGovernment SpendingEconomic Progress Author:Rudy Giuliani
“I do think Donald Trump would be a catastrophic turn in American history.” ThinkingWould BeTurnsTrumpAmerican History Author:George Packer
“Through American history, we have had populist movements that often, often, often have this ugly racial element. But, often, there are warning signs of some deeper social and economic problem.” ProblemSocialEconomicMovementElementsUglyDeeperWarningAmerican HistoryPopulistEconomic ProblemsWarning Signs Author:David Brooks
“I've been there for so many crossroads in American history. My whole political life spans the birth of the environmental movement, the women's movement, the civil rights movement, putting an end to unjust wars, and so and so.” WarEndsWholePoliticalRightsMovementBirthEnvironmentalCivil RightsAmerican HistoryUnjustCivil Rights MovementCrossroadsPolitical LifeLife SpanUnjust War Author:Barbara Boxer
“Throughout American history our presidents have invoked our nation's founding fathers. This is particularly true of recent presidents.” FatherNationsPresidentAmerican HistoryFounding Author:Paul Kengor
“[Ronald Reagan] called the image of [George] Washington praying on his knees in Valley Forge "the most sublime image in American history."” PrayingKneesValleysAmerican HistorySublimeValley Forge Author:Paul Kengor
“I was first introduced to August Wilson in the 80s when Charles Dutton did Ma Rainey and James Earl Jones and Courtney Vance did Fences. I've long considered August Wilson to be one of the five greatest playwrights in American history.” FirstsLongFiveAmerican HistoryFence80sPlaywrightAugustWilsonCourtney Author:Denzel Washington
“Republicans fighting back against changes Obama made means those changes are important, as with most of the major progress in American history.” MeanMadeImportantFightingProgressRepublicanMajorsAmerican HistoryFighting Back Author:Jonathan Chait
“Donald Trump will be a tragedy, a sad joke in American history.” TrumpJokesTragedyAmerican History Author:Jonathan Chait
“[Donald Trump] ran an extraordinarily unconventional campaign and it resulted in the biggest political upset in perhaps modern political history. American history.” PoliticalModernTrumpCampaignsRanUpsetAmerican HistoryUnconventionalPolitical History Author:Barack Obama
“Adam Clayton Powell's entire political career has to be looked at in the entire context of the American history and the history of, and the position of the Afro- American or negro in American history. [He] has done a remarkable job in fighting for rights of black people in this country. On the other hand, he probably hasn't done as much as he could or as much as he should because he is the most independent negro politician in this country.” PeopleShouldCountryDoneHandsJobsPoliticalFightingBlackCareersRightsPositionPoliticianIndependentRemarkableBlack PeopleAdamAmerican HistoryAfros Author:Malcolm X