- “Churchill’s Fourth of July,” Putnam County News & Recorder, July 4, 2017
“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal,” President Abraham Lincoln declared at Gettysburg on November 1863. - “Tensions Rippled Through D-Day Invasion Planning,” Stamford Advocate, June 6, 2017
Doubts would plague the preparations for Operation OVERLORD in World War II — the long-awaited cross-channel invasion of German-occupied Europe. - “Lincoln’s Ambition (and Churchill’s),” Stamford Advocate, February 19, 2017
“Every man is said to have his peculiar ambition,” declared Abraham Lincoln in announcing his first political campaign in 1832. “Whether it be true or not, I can say for one that I have no other so great as that of being truly esteemed of my fellow men, by rendering myself worthy of their esteem. - “Thanksgiving with the President in Cairo ’43,” Stamford Advocate, November 24, 2016
“There are some on this Thanksgiving Day who will feel that everything for which they might be thankful is overshadowed by the loss of some young life, either in the process of training or in the actual fighting,” Eleanor Roosevelt wrote in her “Thought for the Day” column on Nov. 25,1943. “But even to those who are sad, there is reason for thankfulness in the thought that the cause for which their loved ones died is triumphing.” - “One Intrepid Warrior on D-Day,” Stamford Advocate, May 30, 2016
His infantry units had drifted off course while landing on Utah Beach. Fortuitously, Roosevelt’s units landed nearly a mile from the division’s destination. - “The Prime Minister and the General: Churchill and Eisenhower,” Finest Hour, Spring 2016
When Winston Churchill died in January 1965, President Lyndon Johnson decided not to attend the funeral. - “July Fourth, the Declaration of Independence — with a Russian Inspiration,” Greenwich Time, July 4, 2015
Fireworks have long been part of the Independence Day celebrations in the United States. The Continental Congress specifically authorized a fireworks display for July 4, 1777 – the first anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. - “Winston’s Declaration,” Putnam County News & Recorder, July 4, 2014
Seventy years ago, the landing of Allied soldiers continued on Normandy’s beaches – four weeks after the initial D Day landings on the French coast. On July 4, 1944, just west of the nearby city of Caen, Canadian troops began Operation Windsor – a bloody assault through French wheat fields against SS machine guns defending the town of Carpiquet and its airfield. - “How a Cynic Crafted the Constitution and Fell for the Romance of America,” New York Sun, July 5, 2013
“We the people” begins the Preamble of the Constitution of the United States. These are the words of 35-year-old Gouverneur Morris, the talented wordsmith who fine-tuned this Founding document. - “His Excellency, General Washington,” Greenwich Time, July 3, 2013
During the heady days of July 1776, after the Declaration of Independence was approved, British commanders in New York sought out General George Washington hoping to resolve the conflict. - “Connecticut’s Roger Sherman, the Everyman Founder,” Hartford Courant, July 1, 2013
Connecticut’s Roger Sherman was a man of distinctive character and talent. The signer of the Declaration of Independence, which we will celebrate Thursday, was reserved, awkward, quiet, even-tempered, open-minded and extraordinarily active. - “James Monroe, the ‘Other’ Former President who Died on July Fourth,” Washington Examiner, June 27, 2013
On July 4, 1831, the fifth president of the United States died in New York City, far from his home in Virginia. Sick and heavily in debt, the widowed James Monroe had moved north from Virginia in 1830 to live with his daughter. - “Winston Churchill and the Fourth of July,” Putnam County News & Recorder, June 26, 2013
On July 4, 1940, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill released a memorandum to his country’s public officials: “On what may be the eve of an attempted invasion or battle for our native land, the Prime Minister desires to impress upon all persons holding responsible positions in the Government, in the Fighting Services, or in the Civil Departments, their duty to maintain a spirit of alert and confident energy.” - “John and Samuel Adams on the Road to Independence,” Greenwich Time, July 2, 2012
The Declaration of Independence has long been associated with Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. Jefferson was the pen who drafted the Declaration. Adams was the leading speaker for independence in the Continental Congress. - “A Hanging Affair,” Putnam County News & Recorder, June 27, 2012
America’s Declaration of Independence was not signed on July 4, 1776, nor was independence voted on July 4. Rather, on July 4, the Continental Congress finished editing Thomas Jefferson’s draft of the Declaration. The Congress had approved independence in principle two days earlier. - “Election of 1824: The Battle of the Giants,” Stamford Advocate, June 21, 2012
Taking office in 1817, President James Monroe had been very careful to construct his Cabinet in such a way as not to show favoritism to potential successors. Since he and two other presidents had previously served as secretary of state, that post was considered a stepping stone to the White House. Monroe’s reelection in 1820, virtually without opposition, had been a celebration of political “good feeling” in the country. Americans awaited a “Battle of the Giants” in 1824. - “Election of 1816: The Virginia Succession,” Stamford Advocate, June 14, 2012
In 1816, Secretary of State James Monroe was the logical successor to President James Madison. Like Madison, he had served as secretary of state. Like Madison, he was a close friend and protege of Thomas Jefferson. Like Madison and Jefferson, he was from Virginia. He had a great resume — in addition to secretary of state, he had served as secretary of war under the Madison administration. - “Election of 1808: The Battle of Neighbors,” Greenwich Time, June 6, 2012
By the time Thomas Jefferson prepared to retire from the presidency after two terms in 1808, James Madison had served for eight years as secretary of state. Madison was a close friend, advisor and Virginia neighbor of Jefferson. The president clearly wanted the younger Madison to succeed him in the White House, which Jefferson was anxious to vacate. - “Election of 1800: America’s Most Vicious,” Stamford Advocate, May 31, 2012
“What an effort, my dear Sir, of bigotry in Politics & Religion have gone through!” wrote Thomas Jefferson after his inauguration as America’s third President in March 1801. Addressing a famed English scientist, Jefferson complained: “The barbarians really flattered themselves they should be able to bring back the times of Vandalism, when ignorance put everything into the hands of the powerful & priestcraft…We were to look backwards, not forwards for improvement.” - “George Washington: A Leader’s Diligence,” Greenwich Time, February 21, 2012
George Washington was a reluctant leader. He was reluctant in 1775 to assume command of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. In 1787, he was reluctant to be a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, over which he was chosen to preside. - “Presidential Ambition: Surveying a Course for Themselves and the Nation,” Greenwich Time, February 9, 2012
They were big men. George Washington was 6-foot-3. Abraham Lincoln was almost 6-4. Their ambitions were equally big — first for themselves, and then for the nation they would lead. - “How Pennsylvania Lost Its Chance to Have the Nation’s Capital,” Harrisburg Patriot-News, July 16, 2011
The city of Columbia, Pa., almost became the capital of the United States. At a meeting in New York in September 1789, the House of Representatives voted for a site along the Susquehanna River, probably the site of the small town 28 miles south of Harrisburg. - “Winston Churchill and the Fourth of July,” Connecticut Journal-Inquirer, July 4, 2011
Near the end of World War I, Winston Churchill spoke on the “142nd anniversary of American independence.” The occasion was a Liberty Day rally in London on July 4, 1918. For the first time in history, Britain and America were allies in war. - “Dolley Madison, Betsey Hamilton, and Abraham Lincoln Together at the Washington Monument,” FoxNews.com, July 4, 2011
On July 4, 1848, Dolley Madison, the 80-year-old widow of President James Madison, joined 90-year-old Elizabeth Hamilton on the mall in the nation’s capital. - “Churchill and Lincoln: Guardians of Democracy,” Greenwich Time, May 27, 2011
On April 9, 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, effectively ending the Civil War. Four score years later in April 1945, the Allied coalition in Europe effectively strangled the Nazi war machine. - “Washington’s Brief Farewell,” Stamford Advocate, February 21, 2011
George Washington gave several notable farewell addresses. The first was a written circular to the troops distributed in September 1783. Four months later, he would give a brief address as he returned his commission to the American Congress. - “Washington’s Farewell Address,” Connecticut Post, September 19, 2010
George Washington’s Farewell Address was not a public speech. Nor was it a farewell. The presidential message was printed in a Philadelphia newspaper on Sept. 19, 1796, more than five months before the nation’s first chief executive left office. - “Edited by Committee: The Declaration of Independence,” Greenwich Time, July 4, 2010
Thomas Jefferson was a writer, not a speechmaker. Even his most memorable public address — his first presidential inaugural in 1801 — was delivered in barely audible tones. - “Martha Washington: The First Lady,” Stamford Advocate, February 19, 2010
Martha Dandridge’s first husband died after seven years of marriage and four children. A year and a half later at age 27, the pretty, personable and very rich widow married her second husband, George Washington — on January 6, 1759. - “Franklin and Lincoln: True Leaders for Change,” Connecticut Post, January 17, 2010
They were born 103 years apart. Abraham Lincoln was born in rural Kentucky in 1809. Benjamin Franklin was born in relatively cosmopolitan Boston on Jan. 17, 1706 — 304 years ago, today. - “The Death of George Washington,” FoxNews.com, December 14, 2009
George Washington died on December 14, 1799. The 60-year-old former president was effectively asphyxiated over a two-day period. “I die hard,” said Washington before he passed away. - “President and Prize-Winner was a Bull Moose,” Greenwich Time, October 21, 2009
Theodore Roosevelt was campaigning for president in Milwaukee, Wisconsin when he was shot in the chest. John Schrank, an anarchist and would-be assassin fired his .38 revolver as Roosevelt paused outside the Hotel Gilpatrick to wave to the crowd. - “400 Years Ago, Hudson Sparked Our Long River Voyage,” Norwalk Advocate, September 16, 2009
Two centuries before Abraham Lincoln was born, Henry Hudson sailed up the river that would come to bear his name. After tentatively exploring the mouth of the Delaware River and the Chesapeake Bay to the south during the summer of 1609, Hudson spent three weeks sailing up and down the Hudson. Hudson’s ship, the Half Moon, got as far as present-day Albany before turning back because of impediments to further travel upriver. - “Holding Court: Connecticut’s Oliver Ellsworth,” Danbury News, August 21, 2009
Sometimes, you need to know when to quit. Connecticut delegate Oliver Ellsworth left the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia on Aug. 23, 1787 — nearly a month before the Constitution itself was formalized. But Ellsworth had left his mark on the founding document before departing. - “Father’s Day with the Founding Fathers,” Connecticut Post, June 21, 2009
Proper education and conduct was a repeated theme of letters from the Founders to their favorite relatives. Alexander Hamilton’s advice to his 9-year-old daughter Angelica could easily have been written by rival Thomas Jefferson: “I was very glad to learn, my dear daughter, that you were going to begin the study of the French language. We hope you will in every respect behave in such a manner as will secure to you the goodwill and regard of all those with whom you are associated.” - “The Men Who Created This Country Owned Much of it, Too,” Stamford Advocate, May 15, 2009
America was built in part on land investment and speculation. In 1796 as he was preparing to leave office, President George Washington wrote Sir John Sinclair a long letter about the characteristics and value of American land, which Sinclair was considering purchasing: “The rise in the value of landed property, in this country, has been progressive, ever since my attention has been turned to the subject — now more than 40 years — but for the last three or four (years) of that period, it has increased beyond all calculations — owing in part to the attachment to, and the confidence which the people are beginning to place in, their form of Government — and to the prosperity of the country from a variety of concurring causes, none more than to the late high prices of its produce.” - “A Nation Divided is an Old American Story,” Greenwich Time, December 3, 2008
Barack Obama is not the first president-elect to confront the demons of division. Thomas Jefferson confronted such a situation after the election on 1800 – perhaps the most bitter and unpredictable in American history. Jefferson and John Adams, who had bonded as fellow members of the Continental Congress and as American diplomats in Paris, had split during the administration of President Washington. - “Whither American History and American Capitalism,” Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, April 17, 2005
We gather to think about American History, to consider the academic standing of our national patrimony, even to think about its adversaries. In President Lincoln’s final message to Congress, he admonished us that “[Our opponents] do not attempt to deceive us. [They] afford us no excuse to deceive ourselves…” - “Alexander Hamilton,” March 31, 1999
Richard Brookhiser, the celebrated author of Rediscovering George Washington (1996), intrudes again upon the specious present to hold up for the praise of men the character and achievements of Alexander Hamilton, (1999). “He is a great man” we are told. Indeed, “…a great American”.