HISTORY TM - Aniboom

Thomas Jefferson; Declaration of Independence,(July 4, 1776)

Matt Damon

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it...."

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Long before he was elected President of the U.S. in 1800, Thomas Jefferson left his mark on American history by drafting the Declaration of Independence. On June 10 1776, as friction with the British reached a breaking point in the colonies, the Second Continental Congress appointed a committee of five to draft a statement declaring the intention of the colonies to break away and form a sovereign nation. Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin were among those on the committee, but the actual writing task was delegated to Jefferson. After much debate and many drafts, the Declaration was adopted on July 4, 1776. Jefferson went on to become one of the nation's foremost leaders and political thinkers.

Frederick Douglass; The Meaning of the 4th of July to a Slave; (July 1852)

Morgan Freeman

What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are, to Him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy-a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour.

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Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) was born into slavery in 1818 and died a prominent statesman 77 years later. He managed to survive terrible hardship as a plantation slave in Maryland and eventually escaped from the clutches of his master to achieve freedom. Douglass was a self-taught reader who became a tireless advocate for the abolition of slavery. "The Meaning of the 4th of July for the Negro" is a blistering speech he delivered on July 5th, 1852 at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York. This speech helped fuel the growing anti-slavery movement in the United States.

Susan B. Anthony Addresses Judge Ward Hunt, (June 19, 1873) - (Women's Right to Vote)

Josh Brolin & Christina Kirk

Judge: Has the prisoner anything to say why sentence shall not be pronounced?
Miss Anthony: Yes, your Honor, I have many things to say. Your denial of my citizen's right to vote is the denial of my right of consent as one of the governed, the denial of my right of representation as one of the taxed, the denial of my right to a trial by a jury of my peers as a defender against law, therefore the denial of my sacred right to life, liberty, property...
Judge: The court cannot allow the prisoner to go on.
Miss Anthony: But your honor will not deny me this one and only poor privilege of protest against this high-handed outrage upon my citizen's rights.
Judge: The sentence of the court is that you pay a fine of $100 and the costs of the prosecution.
Miss Anthony-May it please your honor, I shall never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty. All the stock in trade I possess is a debt of $10,000, incurred by publishing my paper-The Revolution-, the sole object of which was to educate all women to do precisely as I have done, rebel against your man-made, unjust, unconstitutional forms of law, which tax, fine, imprison and hang women, while denying them the right of representation in the government; and I shall work on with might and main to pay every dollar of that honest debt, but not a penny shall go to this unjust claim. And I shall earnestly and persistently continue to urge all women to the practical recognition of the old revolutionary maxim, that "Resistance to tyranny is obedience to God."

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Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) was a leader of the movement for women's rights and particularly for the right of women to vote. Through the National Woman Suffrage Association she traveled throughout the U.S., educating other women on the importance of this issue and inspiring them to join the case. In 1872, Anthony decided to test the system by illegally casting her vote in the U.S Presidential election. Anthony, together with 15 other women who voted, was arrested. She appeared before the U.S. Circuit Court on June 19th, 1873 to plead her case, charging that her Constitutional rights had been violated. Anthony issued these defiant words in court after Judge Ward Hunt refused to allow her to take the witness stand before declaring her guilty of breaking the law.

Emma Goldman, Patriotism: A Menace to Liberty(1908)- (Anti-War)

Sandra Oh

Thinking men and women the world over are beginning to realize that patriotism is too narrow and limited a conception to meet the necessities of our time. The centralization of power has brought into being an international feeling of solidarity among the oppressed nations of the world; a solidarity which represents a greater harmony of interests between the working man of America and his brothers abroad than between the American miner and his exploiting compatriot; a solidarity which fears not foreign invasion, because it is bringing all the workers to the point when they will say to their masters, "Go and do your own killing. We have done it long enough for you."

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Emma Goldman (1869-1940) was a fiery advocate for social change, and she believed that connections between people needed to extend beyond national boundaries. Born in Lithuania, she immigrated to New York City in 1885 where she started to work in a garment factory. Inspired by the social movements stirring among fellow workers, Goldman became a leader at labor and political meetings, giving rousing speeches about building a new kind of society. Goldman was an anarchist who believed in small-scale local communities; she spread her ideas and writings in a journal she published entitled Mother Earth. This essay about patriotism is among her well-known writings. Goldman was deported to Russia in 1919 because of her political activities, later moving to Germany and France where she continued to speak out for social justice for all people.

Yip Harburg, Song "Brother Can You Spare a Dime?"(1931)- (Depression anthem)

Allison Moorer

Once I built a railroad, I made it run, made it race against time.
Once I built a railroad; now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime?
Once I built a tower, to the sun, brick, and rivet, and lime;
Once I built a tower, now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime?
Once in khaki suits, gee we looked swell,
Full of that Yankee Doodle Dum,
Half a million boots went slogging through Hell,
And I was the kid with the drum!
Say, don't you remember, they called me Al; it was Al all the time.
Why don't you remember, I'm your pal? Brother, can you spare a dime?

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Edgar "Yip" Harburg (1898-1981) was a writer and lyricist who became well-known for his contributions to Broadway and American television. After attending City College in New York City with Ira Gershwin, Harburg started an electrical-appliance company which failed after the stock market crash of 1929. He decided to channel his energy and creativity into writing. Harburg is well-known for writing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz (1939), and for his political songs which captured the plight of everday people during the Great Depression. Together with the composer Jay Gorney, Harburg wrote the lyrics to "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" for the short-lived musical Americana. This song expressed the despair of working people who had been thrust into poverty during the Depression era. A fervent advocate for equality and economic justice, Harburg was black-listed in Hollywood during the 1950s for his political beliefs.

Eugene Debs, "Statement to the Court" (Sept 18, 1918)

David Strathairn

I am opposing a Social Order in which it is possible for one man who does absolutely nothing to amass a fortune of hundreds of millions of dollars while millions of men and women who work all the days of their lives secure barely enough for a wretched existence. This order of things cannot always endure. I have registered my protest against it. I recognize the feebleness of my effort but fortunately I am not alone....
I never so clearly comprehended as now the great struggle between the powers of greed and exploitation on the one hand, and upon the other , the rising hosts of industrial freedom and social justice...

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Eugene V. Debs (1855-1926) was a well-known labor leader and organizer. Debs served as President of the American Railway Union and became famous for his role in leading the Pullman strike in Chicago in 1894. An admirer of the theories of Karl Marx, Debs became a socialist and ran for U.S. President five times on the Socialist Party ticket. A relentless advocate for the rights of workers and free speech, Debs was arrested for opposing the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918. Many Americans were jailed under these acts for speaking out against the entry of the United States into World War I. In his "Statement to the Court", Debs passionately explained why he believes these acts violated the promises of American democracy.

Striking Flint: Genora (Johnson) Dollinger Remembers the 1936-37 GM Strike

Marisa Tomei

The first thing I did was attack the police. I called to them, "Cowards! Cowards! Shooting into the bellies of unarmed men and firing at the mothers of children." Then everything became quiet. There was silence on both sides of the line. I thought, "The women can break this up." So I appealed to the women in the crowd, "Break through those police lines and come down here and stand beside your husbands and your brothers and your uncles and your sweethearts."

In the dusk, I could barely see one woman struggling to come forward. A cop had grabbed her by the back of her coat. She just pulled out of that coat and started walking down to the battle zone. As soon as that happened there were other women and men who followed. The police wouldn't shoot people in the back as they were coming down, so that was the end of the battle. When those spectators came into the center of the battle and the police retreated, there was a big roar of victory.

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When Henry Ford announced the innovative concept of the assembly line in his factories, it was heralded as a mark of progress. Yet for workers like Genora (Johnson) Dollinger (1913-1995), the assembly line forced them to work at much faster rates with no extra support. By the mid-1930s auto workers increasingly demanded to be recognized as members of unions to negotiate for higher wages and better conditions. In 1936, a series of "sit down" strikes were waged throughout the United States as factory workers sat down and refused to work until their unions were recognized. At a General Motors plant in Flint, Michigan, Genora Johnson Dollinger played an active role in organizing female workers. After much resistance from GM, the company finally recognized the strikers as members of the United Auto Workers (UAW). Dollinger recounted the dramatic story of the strike years later.

Marge Piercy,(1980)

Stacyann Chin

The low road What can they do to you? Whatever they want. They can set you up, they can bust you, they can break your fingers, they can burn your brain with electricity, blur you with drugs till you can't walk, can't remember, they can take your child, wall up your lover. They can do anything you can't stop them from doing. How can you stop them? Alone, you can fight, you can refuse, you can take what revenge you can but they roll over you. But two people fighting back to back can cut through a mob, a snake-dancing file can break a cordon, an army can meet an army. Two people can keep each other sane, can give support, conviction, love, massage, hope, sex. Three people are a delegation, a committee, a wedge. With four you can play bridge and start an organization. With six you can rent a whole house, eat pie for dinner with no seconds, and hold a fund raising party. A dozen make a demonstration. A hundred fill a hall. A thousand have solidarity and your own newsletter; ten thousand, power and your own paper; a hundred thousand, your own media; ten million, your own country. It goes on one at a time, it starts when you care to act, it starts when you do it again and they said no, it starts when you say "We" and know you who you mean, and each day you mean one more.

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Marge Piercy (1936-) is an American poet and novelist who grew up in poverty in Detroit, Michigan. Piercy's work is characterized by several recurring themes, including the triumph of women over sexism, and the power of people to overcome inequality and injustice. The first in her family to attend college, Piercy has written numerous works including the well-known books Women on the Edge of Time, Gone to Soldiers, and Braided Lives. As an activist, Piercy has been involved with many movements for social change. Her poem entitled "The low road" conveys the spirit of American democracy and the potential of people to use their voices to reshape the world according to principles of justice and fairness.

Frederick Douglass: No Struggle, No Progress, 1857

Mixed Voice Quote by Don Cheadle, Jasmine Guy, Rosario Dawson, Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Vedder, and Morgan Freeman

The Whole History of the Progress of Human Liberty shows that all concessions yet made to her august claims have been born of earnest struggle. It may be both moral and physical but it must be a struggle. If there is no struggle there is no progress. (Frederick Douglass)

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As a former slave who worked tirelessly toward abolition, Frederick Douglass inspired many Americans to join the crusade against slavery. An extraordinary orator and writer, Douglass used his savvy as a communicator to persuade others to oppose slavery. In this speech, known as the "West India Emancipation" address, Douglass used the abolition of slavery in other parts of the world as a way to point out the contradictions of slavery in the United States. Delivered in 1857 in Canandaigua, New York, this speech was a fiery testament to what Douglass saw as the importance of fighting against the powerful interests in the U.S. determined to keep slavery legal. Later, Douglass helped persuade Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, an action that changed the course of history and propelled the elimination of slavery.

Atmosphere

Asylum Springtime _ POPZILLA _ Saba, Winter'

In Focus (MAIN) _ ISSUE BOX _ Werwath'

Long Lost Twin Brother _ INFONEWSDRAMATAINMENT _ Lemelle'

Moonlight and Tomorrows (MAIN) _ ISSUE BOX _ Saba_Winter'

Planet Surface _ BIG FAT DRAMA _ Winter, Saba'

Rainy Days and Puppies _ ATMOSPHERES _ Winter, Saba'

Schmaltz Waltz _ THE DRAMA SUTRA _ Jones'

Softly _ RELAX OR DIE _ Saba, Winter'

Starlover Memory (Summer 1973 Mix) _ REMIXES _ Saba_Winter'

Uber Peppy (MAIN) _ ISSUE BOX _ Lemelle'

Classic

Eternal Search _ DRAMATICUS _ Joseph Saba, Stewart Winter'

Facing The Waves _ BIG FAT DRAMA _ Winter, Saba'

Fields of Awe _ DRAMATIZED _ Jones'

Human Hybrid (MAIN) _ ISSUE BOX _ Saba_Winter'

Modula Continuo _ ATMOSPHERES _ Winter, Saba'

Rainbows of Love _ STEREOATYPICAL _ Saba, Winter'

Romantic Violinist _ STEREOATYPICAL _ Hanson'

The Fondling _ THE DRAMA SUTRA _ Saba, Winter'

Victorious West _ OVERKILL _ Saba, Winter'

We Beat the Odds (MAIN) _ ISSUE BOX _ Randazzo'

Dance

Activate _ HAPPY, SAD & STUPID _ Winter, Saba'

Funk Whatcha Heard (MAIN) _ TESTOSTROGEN _ Randazzo'

Methodical Progress (MAIN) _ ISSUE BOX _ Lemelle'

No Applause Necessary _ SUPERHAPPYFUNFUN _ Saba, Winter'

Party Vulture _ THE DRAMA SUTRA _ Saba, Winter'

Plasticland _ RHYTHMIA _ Winter, Saba'

RPM Quartet _ MORE LIGHT DRAMA _ Jones'

Secret Entanglement (MAIN) _ ISSUE BOX _ Saba_Winter'

Sugardiamond _ POP SMEAR _ Saba, Winter'

Up Next _ EVENTOLOGY _ Saba, Winter'

Drama

Cavalcade of Kings _ UNEASY LISTENING _ Jones'

Celebratory Romp _ OVERKILL _ Lemelle'

Certain Drama (MAIN) _ DRAMARRHEA _ Saba_Winter'

Contest of Titans _ DRAMATICUS _ Mike Bielenberg'

Fight Response (MAIN) _ ISSUE BOX _ Saba_Winter'

Hands Across the World _ OVERKILL _ Saba, Winter'

Man Has No Understanding _ FREAKSHOW _ Jones'

Path to the Road to Victory (MAIN) _ ISSUE BOX _ Lodgiani'

Rise to Power (MAIN) _ ISSUE BOX _ Lodgiani'

Time Deconstructed (MAIN) _ ISSUE BOX _ Saba_Winter'

Miscellaneous

American Politricks (MAIN) _ ISSUE BOX _ Randazzo'

Blind Whiskey Pig (MAIN) _ POP SMEAR _ Lemelle'

Bombastic Dancing Sodas _ EVENTOLOGY _ Saba, Winter'

Boston Iggy Pops _ SUPERHAPPYFUNFUN _ Saba, Winter'

Commentary _ BIG FAT DRAMA _ Winter, Saba'

Embiggening the Small _ OVERKILL _ Saba, Winter'

Facing the Challenge (MAIN) _ DRAMARRHEA _ Werwath'

Paradise Lost and Found (MAIN) _ DRAMARRHEA _ Saba_Winter'

Political Propulsion (MAIN) _ DRAMARRHEA _ Werwath'

Wholesome Goodness _ EVENTOLOGY _ Lemelle'

Pop-Rock

Conditions are Hostile (MAIN) _ ISSUE BOX _ Saba_Winter'

Conflicted Triptych _ DRAMATICUS _ Joseph Saba, Stewart Winter'

Great Plains County _ POP SMEAR _ Saba, Winter'

Handmade Americana (MAIN) _ TESTOSTROGEN _ Holter, Smith'

Hit It and Quit It (MAIN) _ TESTOSTROGEN _ Randazzo'

Image Armageddon (MAIN) _ ISSUE BOX _ Lemelle'

Straight Through the Heartland (MAIN) _ ISSUE BOX _ Werwath'

Summer Sounds (MAIN) _ TESTOSTROGEN _ Saba, Winter'

Summiting the Sky (MAIN) _ TESTOSTROGEN _ Saba, Winter'

Too Little _ POPZILLA _ Hanson'

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