M&M's

Founding Fathers - Madison/Franklin      

Civil Rights/Minority - MLK Jr

Martin Luther King, Jr. can easily be considered the most influential civil rights leader in history. Born in Atlanta, Georgia 1929, this morale activist became the national face of the civil rights cause. To end the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination, the Baptist minister began making his impact with the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott. President of the Montgomery Improvement Association, he led the thirteen month long boycott that ended with the Supreme Court ruling segregation on public buses as unconstitutional. He was leader of the civil rights organization Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957. King helped organize the 1963 nonviolent protests in Birmingham, Alabama which lead to a violent police response publicized over television. From 1957 through 1968, he traveled over 6 million miles, delivered 2500 speeches, wrote five books, and dozens of articles. Of all the speeches he’s delivered, none have stood the test of time as his “I have a Dream” speech. Symbolically delivered from the steps of the Lincoln memorial 1963, he spoke in front of 250,000 people both black and white. King had become such a force in America that he was named Time Magazines Man of the Year in 1963. A nice achievement in deed, but it paled in comparison when in 1964, he became the youngest man ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Though he spent his life a target of violent attempt, he never allowed the threats to discourage him. He was jailed over 20 times, was once stabbed in the chest, and his house was bombed. Despite all this, King continued to work tirelessly to promote the cause he so strongly believed in with a peaceful, nonviolent manner. He was assassinated on April 4 in Memphis, Tennessee, but his “dream” still leads on. Thanks to Ronald Reagan, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a public holiday to celebrate the man and what he stood for.  

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Women - Soujourner Truth   

Video

Sojourner Truth, formerly known as Isabella Baumfree, was enslaved at nine years old in New York City. At the age of 26 she escaped with her baby girl, leaving her other two children behind. Shortly after, she found out her 5 year old son, Peter, had been illegally sold off to a man in Alabama. Without hesitation Truth took the issue to court and became one of the first cases where a black woman successfully challenged a white man in the United States. Soon after, Truth devoted herself to the abolitionist movement. She met with leading abolitionists such as William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass to discuss not only racial equality but also women’s rights. After publishing her memoirs, Truth spoke at the first National Women’s Rights convention in Massachusetts leading her to tour and give speeches to audiences all over the United States. In 1851, Sojourner Truth delivered the famous speech “Ain’t I a Woman” which questioned the validity of sexist arguments. Full of radical attempts at gaining women’s rights and equality, her piece was quickly recorded and published. During the Civil War, she recruited union troops and met and spoke with Abraham Lincoln to share her beliefs and experiences.

Truth argued that both women and people of color needed rights to gain self-sufficiency. She once said, “ If women want any rights more than they's got, why don't they just take them, and not be talking about it”. Although she devoted her life to taking a stand for immediate results in all aspects of equality, Truth never lived to see women gain the rights they deserved. Yet Sojourner Truth, even after her death in 1883, lived on through the movement she helped create. Due to her radical speeches, and hard work, she set inspired countless women to take action and gain freedom for all. In 2009 a statue to commemorate her success opened at the capitol of the United States. This made her the first African-American woman to be memorialized at the US capitol proving that her continuous work has made her incredibly influential, even a century after her death.  

Lincoln Lottery - Truman/Wilson    

Truman

Harry S. Truman was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945-1953, following the death of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Truman successfully guided the United States through the end of World War II, both through the negotiations of the Potsdam conference, as well as through the courageous dropping of the atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. By using the United States’ greatest weapon at a time when many others would not have, Truman shortened World War II on the order of years, not of months, and most likely saved millions of lives, both American and Japanese. Shortly after the conclusion of World War II, President Truman initiated Cold War foreign policy and pioneered the policy of containment when dealing with communistic threats. He led the wildly successful Marshall Plan, which by giving aid to Western European countries both helped them to recover from the destruction of World War II and prevented them from falling under Soviet influence. Along with the Truman Doctrine, which limited foreign aid by the United States to those countries opposed to Soviet or communist influence, this plan helped to solidify the front against the advancing iron curtain and to propel the United States and the Western Democracies towards an eventual Cold War victory. Truman helped to defeat the Imperialist Japanese in World War II, the Communist USSR in the Cold War, and defined the face of American foreign policy for nearly half a century.

 

Wilson

Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the penultimate leader of the progressivist movement, following and expanding the domestic policies of progressive presidents before him. Wilson worked to significantly reduce tariffs and other duties during his first term, believing that lower tariffs would promote popular freedom. He also passed the Federal Reserve Act of 1914 through Congress, which created a system of twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks and authorized those banks to print Federal Reserve notes. In keeping with the antitrust sentiments of earlier progressive presidents, Wilson passed the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914, which created the Federal Trade Commission, a regulatory body designed to prevent both monopolization and other unfair business practices. When World War I broke out in Europe in 1914, Wilson was extremely skilled in maintaining American peace and neutrality, successfully staying out of the war while earning an enormous profit in European trade until 1917. When it was clear in 1917 that the United States had to enter the war, Wilson requested and received a declaration of war from Congress. The war was largely over before American troops could have much impact on the battlefield, but what Wilson had won for the United States by that declaration of war was a say in postwar peace negotiations, with little loss of American lives. Wilson came to the Paris Conference of 1919 with a comprehensive peace plan drawn up, known as his Fourteen Points. These points were designed to prevent large European wars in the future, and among other things called for an end to secret alliances, an agreement not to hinder trade on the high seas, and the creation of a peacekeeping League of Nations. While Wilson’s Fourteen Points were never integrated into the Treaty of Versailles in their entirety, many of his most important suggestions were eventually integrated into the treaty, as well as being extremely important and influential when the time came to create a postwar agreement following World War II
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General - Grant     

The civil war was tearing America apart and needed to be put to bed when Ulysses S. Grant energetically volunteered to fight for his country and became the command of the 21st Illinois Infantry. As his skills were evident, he was promoted quickly, first to brigadier general and then he was given the honor of command of the District of Southeast Missouri. Here, Grant was able to secure the nickname “Unconditional Surrender” after his major triumphs at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, placing him in the public’s eye although this is not what sticks out for our determined general. His cunning mind and advanced skill set in the military allowed him to succeed in the most important battle of the war for America. Lincoln, who had taken note of these notable qualities, graduated Grant to the rank of lieutenant general, and named him general-in-chief of the Armies of the United States in March 1864. With this position, and backed up by Lincoln the whole way, Grant defeated Robert E. Lee’s Army, forcing the South to surrender, in the battle of Appomattox Court House. This solidified a Northern victory which set the foundation for the moralities of America and keeping the country on track for granting every individual their basic human rights.

Although a strong general, this was not the end for Ulysses S. Grant. As a result of keeping the American people’s hopes and spirits high, they gladly voted him in as the 18th president of the United States of America. Grant did not stop his moving forward with America as his influence was not limited to the battlefield. As president, he set his mind to reconstruction. He worked towards peacefully bring back North and South together while upholding the rights of the newly freed slaves. One of his accomplishments in this area was bringing down the racist KKK in the deep south. Grant was the general that inspired America to stick to their founding fathers’ “all men are created equal”, locking in place the ideal America prides itself most on.

Entrepreneur - Carnegie     

A self-made man, Andrew Carnegie worked hard to eventually become one of the most successful businessmen in America, and can be considered one of the most influential of the philanthropists. Of the first to employ vertical integration, Carnegie’s drive for efficiency would revolutionize the steel industry, allowing him to produce the best steel at the lowest prices. In 1900, his corporation produced more steel than all of Britain. This widely available steel contributed to the expansion of the railroad and the construction of urban cities, bridges, and skyscrapers, which furthered American industrialization and the urban population. When he was urged to join other corporations in a trust founded by figures like the Moore Brothers, Carnegie refused to join them, as he disliked the regulation of prices and lack of competition such amalgamation brought. Later in his life, Carnegie sought to help the common people “help themselves”, becoming a philanthropist after selling his steel holdings to J.P. Morgan for $480 million. In his book “Wealth”, he outlined his belief that the wealthy were morally responsible for the rest of society, warning his peers that “the man who dies thus rich dies disgraced”. He donated over 40 million dollars to over 2500 public libraries, 1600 in in America, and the rest worldwide in Africa, Europe, and Australia, in a time when there were no public library system. Another 125 million dollars was given to help schools and colleges. In addition, he also helped establish numerous buildings and institutions, with just a few of the most notable being Carnegie-Mellon University, Carnegie Hall, and Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. At the time of his death in 1919, Carnegie had donated around 90 percent of his fortune to helping better America, and the world.

Choice - JFK     

John F. Kennedy led America through a lot of hard times. He led us through the Cold War with the Soviet Union, a time in which neither country trusted the other. During this time both countries made very large amounts of nuclear weapons. There were times in which things could have ended in disaster or war such as in Cuba or Berlin. But Kennedy made it his mission to avoid this. He brought the ‘New Frontier to the American people which wasn't more land but a new way of thinking. The idea was that people could solve problems themselves if they only worked together.

One of the first things Kennedy did during his term was to create the Peace Corps, (which is still around today) so that Americans could volunteer where help was needed, such as in education, farming, healthcare and construction, throughout the world. This program gained the respect of many other countries and now other counties have modeled their programs off of the Peace Corps. Kennedy was also the first president to ask Congress to approve more than $22 billion dollars for the Apollo project, with the goal to have American astronauts on the moon before the end of the decade.

During his term the civil rights movement broke out. Before Kennedy was even president the Supreme Court had ruled that segregation and racial discrimination would be ended in all American schools. But in many states mostly in the south this law was not being followed. There were many peaceful protests but Kennedy never got involved, thinking the protest would only anger more white Americans and make it more difficult for him to convince the members of congress who opposed the law to vote for it. But then on June 11, 1963, Kennedy decided that it was time to stand up and show what his beliefs were. He presented a new civil rights bill to Congress and went on T.V. asking the American people to end racism. He made it clear to everyone that everyone regardless of skin color, should be able to enjoy a happy life in the United States.

Choice - Carl Sagan     

Carl Sagan, in addition to being the preeminent atmospheric and planetary scientist of the 20th Century, ushered in the era of human space exploration and created a new generation of scientists by inspiring millions of budding thinkers around the world and throughout his career. Sagan was the first to document that extreme temperatures on the planet Venus are likely due to a runaway greenhouse effect, as well as the existence of complex hydrocarbons on Saturn’s moon Titan. these discoveries have proven instrumental in understanding the effects of climate change on Earth and advancing the search for extraterrestrial biological processes respectively. In addition, Carl Sagan’s television program Cosmos, which has been viewed by more than one billion people over the past four decades, has been touted by such thinkers as Neil deGrasse Tyson as the reason for the latest generation of scientific thinkers. Sagan’s stirring oratory, ability to relate scientific ideas to the collective human consciousness, and realistically optimistic worldview continue to inspire us to his day, as the Carl Sagan Foundation continues the mission of his namesake in attempting to preserve scientific thought and curiosity in American society and in human society.

Lastly but certainly not least, Sagan oversay nearly every NASA mission to the outer solar system from the early 1970’s until his death, most importantly the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 missions. These spacecraft remain the only manmade objects to leave our solar system and each carry with them an identical golden record, fashioned after the vinyl records of the mid-20th Century. These records document Earthly life, as well as human knowledge, culture, and common experience for any spacefaring civilization that may come across them. The records, by our best estimates, will be preserved and will remain intelligible for at least the next billion years. By any reasonable conjecture, these records are likely to be mankind’s most enduring legacy, and their creator our most enduring hero. Carl sagan is not only the most influential figure of American history, but may well prove the most influential in human history.

To experience for yourself Sagan’s ability to inspire and excite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PN5JJDh78I

For more information regarding NASA’s golden record project:

http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/goldenrec.html

Villain - John Wilkes Booth     

This is what our team will lead too...free hugs

#goals