 |
 The Gettysburg
Address was a 273-word speech
delivered by President Abraham Lincoln on
November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the
Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania, site of the bloodist battle of the
Civil War. Despite its significance in history,
the speech was actually not a major part of the
dedication ceremony. |
 Rough
Riders is the
nickname that was given to the First Volunteer
Cavalry, which distinguished itself with great
fanfare during the Spanish-American War. The unit
was recruited and led by Colonel Leonard Wood and
Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt. |
 Stephen Watts
Kearny entered the military at the
start of the War of 1812 and ended up making it a
career. He subsequently led the campaign that
captured New Mexico without a fight and served
briefly as Military Governor of California. |
 John
Sevier was one of the leaders of the
State of Franklin movement that ultimately led to
the admission of Tennessee as the 16th state in
1796. He subsequently served six terms as
Governor of Tennessee and represented that state
in the U.S. House of Representatives. |
 Alfred
Emanuel Smith served four terms as
Governor of New York, was the 1928 Democratic
nominee for President, and was first a supporter
of and then opponent of Franklin Roosevelt's
presidency. |
 John
Herschel Glenn, Jr. became the first
American to orbit the Earth on February 20, 1962.
When NASA would not let its new hero return to
space, Glenn went into politics and eventually
served four terms in the U.S. Senate. He finally
got to return to space in 1998, and became the
oldest person ever to go into space. |
 Andrew
William Mellon was one of the
richest men in America when he was named
Secretary of the Treasury, a position he held
during the administrations of Presidents Harding,
Coolidge, and Hoover. During his tenure the
national debt was cut dramatically, only to build
up again during the Great Depression. |
 John
Foster Dulles was born into a
family with a history of public service. He
continued that history by becoming a successful
lawyer and then successful diplomat. He crowned
his career by serving as President Dwight D.
Eisenhower's Secretary of State. |
 Leland
Stanford moved to California in 1852
and quickly became a successful merchant. Elected
Governor of California in 1861, he used his
position to secure state financing for the
estbound leg of the Transcontinental Railroad, of
which he was an investor. Stanford University,
which opened its doors in 1891, was founded by he
and his wife as a lasting memorial to their only
child. |
 Newton
Diehl Baker served as Secretary of
War from 1916 to 1921. In this capacity, he was
responsible for drafting, organizing, and
outfitting an army of 2 million men as quickly as
possible, which resulted in his creation of the
draft lottery system. |
 Marcus
Alonzo Hanna was a successful Ohio
businessman who became a powerful force in the
Republican Party. After getting a favored
candidate elected to the U.S. Senate, he then
played a major part in getting William McKinley
elected Governor of Ohio, and then saw to it that
McKinley was elected President of the United
States. |
 Thomas
Hart Benton served in the U.S.
Senate for 30 years, during which time he was one
of President Andrew Jackson's strongest
supporters, an advocate for western expansion,
and a supporter of a gradual end to slavery. |
 McGeorge
Bundy served as National Security
Adviser under presidents John F. Kennedy and
Lyndon B. Johnson. In this capacity, he played
key roles during the Bay of Pigs Invasion, the
Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Vietnam War. He
advocated dialogue with Fidel Castro, and
increased American military involvement in
Vietnam. |
 Robert
Francis Kennedy became a nationally-known figure during
televised hearings into corruption within the
Teamsters Union when he verbally squared off
against Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa. He
subsequently served as his brother's Attorney
General and in the U.S. Senate before entering
the 1968 race for the Democratic presidential
nomination. |
 Silas
Wright spent 26 years in political
service, including 2 years in the U.S. House, 11
years in the U.S. Senate, and one term as
Governor of New York. During those years, he was
a proponent of tariffs and of removing federal
deposits from the Bank of the United States, and
an opponent of abolition. |
