Political Quotes

“In brief, a moment of history about Russia. On March 20, 1917, one of the most momentous Cabinet meetings in American history took place in which Woodrow Wilson and his Cabinet judged that German submarine warfare had reached a point which left the United States with no choice but to enter the war on behalf of the Allied Powers. In 13 days Wilson would convene Congress and speak to a joint session asking for recognition of the state of war with Germany. At the Cabinet meeting, Robert Lansing, as Secretary of State, spoke in favor of doing this. He captured the meeting in a memorandum in which he wrote: 'I said that the revolution in Russia which appeared to be successful had removed the one objection to affirming that the European war was a war between democracy and absolutism.' Sir, in 1917, Russia had a democratic revolution. As a schoolchild in New York, I can recall the head of that provisional government, Mr. Kerensky, would come around to our assemblies to tell us about it. That democratic revolution was crushed by Lenin and the Bolsheviks in St. Petersburg. And the country lived a hideous 70 years under that regime. Then the Russians liberated themselves. They did it internally. They had to face a second coup against Mr. Gorbachev with tanks around the government buildings. The tanks withdrew and the forces of an earlier protodemocratic government prevailed. There are Russians who genuinely believe that they liberated their country.”