1001 People Who Made America - Alan Axelrod [134]
Wayne, John (1907–1979) Born Marion Michael Morrison in Winterset, Iowa, Wayne first appeared in silent Western films in the late 1920s and, in 1930, first starred as “John Wayne” in The Big Trail, directed by Raoul Walsh. From that time until his death, Wayne played (usually) cowboys and other figures of the American West and, especially during and after World War II, soldiers. For millions of fans, he was the image of the strong, stoic American masculine ideal, a man of deeds rather than words, who lived by an unshakable moral code.
Webster, Daniel (1782–1852) An attorney who argued before the Supreme Court, a U.S. congressman from Massachusetts (1813–1817 and 1823–1827), senator (1827– 1841 and 1845–1850), and secretary of state (1841–1843 and 1850–1852), Webster was celebrated as the greatest orator of his day. During January 19–27, 1830, he engaged Senator Robert Y. Hayne of South Carolina in a series of debates on the doctrine of states’ rights. Webster held that the individual states were sovereign only where their power was not qualified by the Constitution and further argued that the Constitution and the federal government were not sovereign over the states, but over the people of the United States. The Webster-Hayne debates established the opposing concepts of government that would lead to the outbreak of the Civil War.
Webster, Noah (1758–1843) The first American lexicographer, Webster wrote books that not only endowed American English with an identity distinct from British English, but advanced the proposition that spelling, grammar, and usage were not absolute, but rather based upon living language as actually spoken at a particular time and in a particular place. Webster democratized the dictionary.
Weems, Mason Locke (1759–1825) Often called Parson Weems, Mason Locke Weems was a traveling book salesman and a writer. In 1800, he published The Life and Memorable Actions of George Washington, inserting into fifth edition (1806) of this extraordinarily popular work the entirely fictitious story of how young George chopped down his father’s favorite cherry tree then owned up to the act because (he said) “Father, I cannot tell a lie.” The story caught on as a parable of the incorruptible character of the future “Father of His Country.”
Weinberger, Caspar (1917–2006) “Cap” Weinberger served as President Reagan’s secretary of state from 1981 until his resignation on November 23, 1987. He presided over an extraordinary expansion of the American military in accordance with Reagan’s hard line against what he called the Soviet “evil empire.” Recent historians believe that Weinberger’s massive military spending program forced the Soviet Union to overspend its faltering economy in an attempt to keep pace. This weakened the Soviet Union, bringing about, first, a thaw in the Cold War and, ultimately, the collapse of Communism. Weinberger ended his tenure as defense secretary embroiled in the Iran-Contra Affair, the major scandal of the Reagan administration. Indicted for his role in Iran-Contra, he was pardoned by Reagan’s successor, George H. W. Bush, before he could be prosecuted.
Welch, Joseph (1890–1960) Welch was a civilian attorney for the U.S. Army when it was under investigation by Joseph McCarthy’s Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. On June 9, 1954, the 30th day of the nationally televised “Army-McCarthy Hearings,” McCarthy attempted to smear one of Welch’s junior attorneys, implying that he had Communist ties. Welch squashed the attempt, then rebuked McCarthy: “Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?” Welch then cut off McCarthy’s bid to renew his attack by demanding that