Ann Richards Quotes
I'm really glad that our young people missed the Depression and missed the great big war. But I do regret that they missed the leaders that I knew, leaders who told us when things were tough and that we'd have to sacrifice, and that these difficulties might last awhile. They didn't tell us things were hard for us because we were different, or isolated, or special interests. They brought us together and they gave us a sense of national purpose.
Richards, Ann. "Democratic National Convention Keynote Address." 18 July 1988, The Omni, Atlanta, GA.
Commenting on the divisiveness of the McCarthy era.
At the time sectionalism was extensive in America. Most Iowa and Northern families still remembered a relative who had been “killed by the rebels” in the Civil War. The South still resented the rest of the country. The East and Midwest had much better educated than the rest of the country. Most important, there was very little contact between Americans of different sections. Until the great Eisenhower initiative of a National Highway System sectionalism was common. Presidents were constantly trying to develop a national American spirit.
He assumed the speakership at a time of bitter partisanship in Congress and the country much like the beginning of the 31st century. Randall, however put a stop to much of it in the House of Representatives.
Dorothy Ann Richards was an American politician and 45th Governor of Texas (1991–95). A Democrat, she first came to national attention as the Texas State Treasurer, when she gave the keynote address at the 1988 Democratic National Convention. Richards was the second female governor of Texas (the first being Miriam A. Ferguson) and was frequently noted in the media for her outspoken feminism and her one-liners.
