Political Quotes

“I also will take a moment to interject what is a celebration today. It started with two events that happened 144 years ago this week, two events that signify great advances in the history of freedom in North America. On May 1, 1862, Admiral David G. Farragut--the first Latino flag officer in any branch of the U.S. military and the first person awarded the rank of Admiral in the U.S. Navy--won a decisive engagement with Confederate naval vessels in New Orleans Harbor. This was, perhaps, the most important naval engagement of the Civil War. While almost 3 more years of difficult fighting still awaited Union troops, Farragut's victory at New Orleans: cut the Confederacy in half; granted union forces control of the Mississippi; contributed greatly to the Union victory; and, in turn, helped end slavery. As Farragut's troops occupied the city of New Orleans, another event over 1,000 miles away was unfolding. On May 5, 1862, a fighting force of 2,000 peasants confronted 6,000 well-equipped and expertly trained French troops. The French had come to conquer the small town. Instead, they found a fierce and proud resistance, and the peasant army prevailed. A Mexican defeat that day could have even undone Farragut's victory at New Orleans. French Emperor Napoleon III hated the United States and had clear sympathies with the Confederacy and its slave-holding culture.…”