Can You Identify the Authors and Circumstances of the Most Memorable Utterances in American History?
6/30/26 – – The celebration of our nation’s 250th anniversary has rekindled interest in American history. As we head into the July 4th holiday weekend, I have a reading recommendation especially well-suited for patriotic communicators.
Tippecanoe and Tyler Too: Famous Slogans and Catchphrases in American History tells America’s story through more than 50 sound bites that define major periods, themes and events. While all are memorable (drummed into our heads in history class and popular usage) we may have forgotten who said them and lost the context that made them consequential.
This creative, engaging presentation was authored by Jan Van Meter, an extraordinary communicator I had the good fortune to work with at both the Hill & Knowlton and FleishmanHillard public relations agencies in New York. Jan’s counsel and writing were always informed by his background as a CIA intelligence analyst, college English professor, speechwriter and business executive. I can hear Jan’s voice in the book’s Introduction:
“The Founding Fathers knew the power of words. Indeed, well before the Declaration of Independence was written, their words created the possibility of a new nation and turned untrained men with their hunting weapons into a force that endured to defeat the most powerful nation in the world. With their pens and their voices they stirred themselves and the world.”
Here are four notable phrases analyzed in the book from around the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence:
“Give me liberty or give me death.”
“These are the times that try men’s souls.”
“We must all hang together or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”
“I only regret that I have but one life to give to my country.”
Do you remember the authors and circumstances of all four? Or do you need to turn to your AI assistant to refresh your memory? (Not to worry: I reveal the answers at the end of this blog.)
Tippecanoe and Tyler Too moves us through the Civil War, the age of big business, the Great Depression, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Cold War. Here are more of the book’s slogans and catchphrases:
“A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
“War is hell.”
“The business of America is business.”
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
“I have a dream.”
“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
For history buffs inspired by the milestone our nation is about to reach, there is no shortage of great books. But Tippecanoe and Tyler Too is the only one to my knowledge that surveys America’s past from this scholarly, but fun perspective. Being reminded of the people, settings and circumstances of these enduring utterances brings our history back to life.
Jan Van Meter’s survey ends with the close of the 20th century. For fun this weekend, quiz family and friends on the sound bites in this blog post and challenge them to come up with three slogans or catchphrases worthy of inclusion from the first quarter of the 21st century. (My guess is that “Make America Great Again” makes the list no matter what side of the political spectrum you’re on!)
If you’ve delayed your Google or ChatGPT searches, here’s the condensed who, when and why of the slogans and catchphrases featured above:
“Give me liberty or give me death.” Delivered by Patric Henry in 1775 to convince the Second Virginia Convention to send troops into the Revolutionary War.
“These are the times that try men’s souls.” The powerful words are from Thomas Paine’s 1776 pamphlet The American Crisis. General George Washington ordered that it be read to his troops before the pivotal Battle of Trenton.
“We must all hang together or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.” Benjamin Franklin’s stark advice to his fellow patriots at the signing of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776.
“I only regret that I have but one life to give to my country.” Defiant words spoken by Connecticut school teacher Nathan Hale in September 1776 right before he was hanged in New York by the British for spying.
“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Biblical phrase used by Abraham Lincoln in his House Divided Speech at the 1858 Illinois Republican State Convention making clear his opposition to the continuing expansion of slavery.
“War is hell.” Attributed to American Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman who in 1860 said: “It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation. War is hell.”
“The business of America is business.” President Calvin Coolidge in a 1925 address to the American Society of Newspaper Editors in Washington, D.C., captured the exuberant pro-business mentality of the Roaring 20s.
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Assuring a nation gripped by the Great Depression that there would be better times, President Franklin D. Roosevelt made this statement in March 1933 during his first Inaugural Address, broadcast nationally on radio.
“I have a dream.” From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King shared his dream in 1963 with 250,00 people participating in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” President Ronald Reagan’s message to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in June 1987 during a speech at the Brandenburg Gate near the Berlin Wall.
And finally:
“Tippecanoe and Tyler Too” Lyrics from a campaign song for the 1840 Whig Party presidential ticket of William Henry Harrison (hero of the 1811Battle of Tippecanoe between US forces and Native Americans for control of the Indiana territory) and John Tyler, a Virginia states-rights senator. The song drove high voter turnout, helping Harrison defeat Democrat incumbent Martin Van Buren. But Harrison did not have much time to celebrate. He died about a month after taking office. Tyler became our 10th President, serving for only one term.
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