Concession Speech

I came across this quote just recently-one that I have heard numerous times in the past-and I thought it worth posting here. On November 5, 1952 Adlai Stevenson conceded defeat to Dwight Eisenhower in the presidential race that year. Stevenson recalled a story that was popular in his native Illinois that came from Abraham Lincoln. When Lincoln was asked how he felt after losing an election his response was "...he felt like the little boy who had stubbed his toe in the dark. He said that he was too old to cry, but it hurt too much to laugh".

(Source: Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History edited by William Safire. W.W. Norton and Company 1992. Page 805).

Jim Crow America

Another example of racial segregation that I came across while reading an article by William Styron who wrote "Confession of Nat Turner" was one I had not heard of before. On ferryboats, white passengers took the starboard side of the boat while black passengers took the portside.

(Source: I did not record the source other than to know it was from American Heritage magazine).