1001 People Who Made America - Alan Axelrod [101]
Perry, Matthew C. (1794–1858) President Millard Fillmore commissioned Perry in 1852 to lead a naval expedition to persuade Japan to open diplomatic relations with the United States. Perry concluded that the only way to end Japanese isolationism was to intimidate the government with a display of naval force. Accordingly, he boldly sailed into fortified Uraga harbor on July 8, 1853, and effectively extorted a treaty. This ushered the United States onto an equal footing with Britain, France, and Russia in the economic exploitation of Asia.
Perry, Oliver Hazard (1785–1819) During a critical phase of the War of 1812, Perry quickly constructed an inland U.S. naval fleet and on September 10, 1813, used it to defeat the Royal Navy flotilla in the Battle of Lake Erie. The victory cut off the British army’s waterborne supply route and enabled General William Henry Harrison to win on land, the crucial Battle of the Thames (in Ontario, Canada). Having triumphed on Lake Erie, Perry sent a famous dispatch to Harrison: “We have met the enemy, and they are ours.”
Pershing, John J. (1860–1948) In 1906, John J. “Black Jack” Pershing (his nickname was conferred when he commanded a regiment of black cavalrymen) was personally promoted in one leap from captain to brigadier general by President Theodore Roosevelt. When the U.S. entered World War I in 1917, Pershing was chosen to command the AEF, all of the land forces sent overseas to fight the war. Pershing virtually created the AEF, and he successfully resisted French and British attempts to preempt command of the force. Emerging victorious from the war, he was promoted to the specially created rank of general of the armies (six stars), the highest military rank ever conferred on an American officer.
Phillips, Wendell (1811–1884) A prominent attorney, Phillips became the most popular and persuasive anti-slavery lecturer in the years leading up to the Civil War. His oratory electrified audiences and galvanized the abolition movement, earning him a national reputation as the greatest orator of the era.
Pierce, Franklin (1804–1869) Pierce was elected president in 1852 on the Democratic ticket and served through 1857. He proved a weak chief executive, who evaded the difficult issues surrounding slavery. This contributed to the nation’s inexorable drift toward civil war.
Pike, Zebulon (1779–1813) During 1805–1807 Lieutenant Pike led important explorations into the American West. His report on the military weakness of Spanish-held Santa Fe whetted the appetite of U.S. expansionists and helped pave the way to the U.S.-Mexican War years later. Pike was killed in action during the War of 1812. Pikes Peak (in Colorado) was named in his honor.
Pinchot, Gifford (1865–1946) Pinchot was an American naturalist trained in France, Switzerland, Germany, and Austria in forestry techniques. His work at Biltmore, the North Carolina estate of George W. Vanderbilt, in the 1890s was the first application of scientific forestry in the United States. In 1898, Pinchot was named the first chief of the federal agency that became the U.S. Forest Service. Under Presidents William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, and William Howard Taft, Pinchot instituted scientific forest development and conservation. He was one of the nation’s major environmental scientists.
Pinckney, Charles (1757–1824) A South Carolina delegate to the 1787 Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia, Pinckney presented a thorough plan