William Jennings Bryan Quotes
Nation after nation, when at the zenith of its power, has proclaimed itself invincible because its army could shake the earth with its tread and its ships could fill the seas, but these nations are dead, and we must build upon a different foundation if we would avoid their fate.
Bryan, William Jennings. "Imperialism." Speeches of William Jennings Bryan, vol. 2, Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1909, p. 48.
The Germans had invaded Russia. Most of the world thought the German Army was invincible. Stalin however, was historically right, and with U. S. material and weapons help, the Russians bore the brunt of Allied casualties, but also inflicted more casualties on the Nazi’s and were instrumental in their defeat.
This audacious general and Queen of one of the Roman Provinces conquered most of the area including Egypt. Then she declared her independence from the Roman Empire itself. A master of multilateral coalition leading, she was able to attract nearby provinces to join her. The Roman Emperor Aurelian himself set out to subjugate Zenobia—the Roman, Latin name. In the first battle, the Romans won a tactical victory for some territory but lost many men. The Emperor asked Bat Zabbai to surrender, but she refused in this famous reply. She was counting on the fact that the Romans would not accept the high losses she was inflicting. See Aurelian’s letter to the Roman Senate {606345}. The Romans did however did pay the price and eventually conquered Bat Zabbai and brought her to Rome as a captive. However she was very much admired by Roman society and after she pledged to not revolt against Rome, she was allowed to live in Rome—but not go back to Syria where she might raise another army. She became a major celebrity of Roman society and married a Roman Senator. Her exploits although well known at the time lapsed into obscurity in that later Roman Christian society did not see her as a fitting Christian female example, and when Islam developed in Syria, she was not considered a model Muslim woman. So a key figure in Roman history was ignored by most of the cultures until recently where the original documentation of the time has been made more widely available.
William Jennings Bryan was an American orator and politician from Illinois and Nebraska. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the Democratic Party, running three times as the party's nominee for President of the United States in the 1896, 1900, and 1908 elections. He also served in the United States House of Representatives and as the United States Secretary of State under Woodrow Wilson. Because of his faith in the wisdom of the common people, he was often called "The Great Commoner".
