1001 People Who Made America - Alan Axelrod [107]
Rehnquist, William (1924–2005) Rehnquist was a Phoenix, Arizona, attorney from 1953 to 1969, active in conservative Republican politics. President Richard M. Nixon appointed him an assistant attorney general in 1969 and nominated him to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1971. Citing his hostility toward civil rights, Senate liberals tried unsuccessfully to defeat the nomination. His steadfast conservatism on the court prompted President Ronald W. Reagan to nominate him as chief justice in 1986. Rehnquist dissented from the high court’s reaffirmation of abortion rights and its protection of gay rights.
Remington, Eliphalet (1793–1861) Born in England, Remington immigrated to the Utica, New York, area with his family in 1800. In 1816, young Remington fashioned his first flintlock at his blacksmith father’s forge. The gun greatly impressed neighbors, who ordered copies—and thus Remington found himself in the firearms business. He built his first factory in 1828, and the Remington company went on to become the principal firearms supplier to the U.S. military, through the Civil War in the 19th century and the two world wars of the 20th.
Remington, Frederic (1861–1909) Trained in eastern art schools, Remington traveled throughout the American West, painting and sculpting the familiar figures of the region: Indians, cowboys, soldiers, and horses—always in action, often in combat.
Revere, Paul (1735–1818) Revere learned the art of silversmithing from his father, a Huguenot refugee who had settled in Boston. Widely praised as a great artisan, Revere prospered—his work is much prized today—but it was for his daring performance as a courier for Boston’s revolutionary Committee of Public Safety that he is even better remembered. On the night of April 18, 1775, he rode through Boston and environs to warn residents that the British, en route to Lexington and Concord, were coming. Thus roused, the Patriot militia was able to offer stiff resistance—and the American Revolution began. Revere’s deed entered into American historical consciousness largely through the 1863 ballad, “Paul Revere’s Ride,” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Rice, Condoleezza (1954– ) On January 26, 2005, when she replaced Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice became the first African American woman to serve as secretary of state. She came to the office after a distinguished career as a political scientist and after having served as President George W. Bush’s national security adviser. Earlier, she had served President George H. W. Bush as an expert on Soviet affairs. As secretary of state, Rice proved controversial because of her role in the U.S. war in Iraq (2003– ).
Richardson, Elliot (1920–1999) A prominent attorney and politician, Richardson had the distinction of being the only person to serve in four Cabinet posts in U.S. history: as Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (1970–1973), Secretary of Defense (January–May 1973), Attorney General (May 24–October 1973), and Secretary of Commerce (1976–1977), but it is for his role in the Watergate affair that he is best remembered. On October 20, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon ordered Attorney General Richardson to fire Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox (who demanded that President Nixon turn over tape recordings of Oval Office conversations). Richardson resigned rather than obey the order. Richardson’s second-in-command, Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus, also refused to fire Cox, and resigned, whereupon the president called on U.S. Solicitor General Robert Bork (a staunch conservative) to fire Cox. The sequence of resignations and