Political History
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First President Gives a Warning
There is a warning contained in George Washington’s Farewell Address. In an op-ed piece in the New York Times by Thomas R. Pickering and James Stoutenberg, Feb. 18, 2018, they point out Washington’s “uncanny foresight” regarding forces that can threaten our democracy. In a quote from Washington’s address this first leader of America reveals weaknesses in our system of government that can be exploited: “A free country should inspire caution in those entrusted with its administration, to confine themselves within their respective constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exercise of the powers of one department to encroach upon another,” he declared. Such encroachment, he said, would lead to the consolidation of…
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The Martha Mitchell Effect
Martha Beall was born on September 2, 1918 and later became Martha Beall Mitchell the wife of President Richard Nixon’s 1968 appointed Attorney General, John Mitchell. Nixon, notoriously known as a man who shifted blame away from himself and onto others, shamelessly placed the Watergate scandal onto Martha’s shoulders. In an interview with popular talk show host David Frost (September 1977 on Frost on America) Nixon said, “If it hadn‘t been for Martha Mitchell, there‘d have been no Watergate.” Martha’s claims of White House wrong doing were thought at first as unbelievable, but were eventually proven correct. On January 1, 1975, her husband John Mitchell was convicted of conspiracy, obstruction…
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Date of Nixon Resignation
It was at 9: 01 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White House that President Nixon gave his resignation speech that was broadcast on radio and television. PRESIDENT NIXON’S RESIGNATION SPEECH PDF FILE PRESIDENT NIXON’S RESIGNATION SPEECH August 8, 1974 Good evening. This is the 37th time I have spoken to you from this office, where so many decisions have been made that shaped the history of this Nation. Each time I have done so to discuss with you some matter that I believe affected the national interest. In all the decisions I have made in my public life, I have always tried to do what was best…
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Ayn Rand’s Objectivism
by Research History In 1959, when Ayn Rand was relatively unknown, Mike Wallace conducted her first interview. This broadcast stirred up quite a controversy. The Russian-American philosopher and novelist called her philosophy Objectivism. Her beliefs seemed strange and extreme from an American’s point of view, but when you consider her experience as a Russian at the time of the Russian Revolution of 1917 it begins to make sense. When Rand was twelve, she and her family had their lives disrupted by the Bolshevik party under Vladimir Lenin. This resulted in the eventual confiscation of her father’s pharmacy and they were forced to flee to Crimea. Personal experience and cultural context are the staples…
