PRELUDE
After a brief interlude, I have decided to put forth an issue
detailing the history of that most American of holidays, Thanksgiving.
As you return from a weekend of abundance and fellowship,
I hope the knowledge you gain here will give you a greater
appreciation and understanding of this great tradition.
QUOTES
OF THE WEEK
“The
discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than
the discovery of a new star.”
—Anthelme Brillat-Savarin
“Thanksgiving is a typically American holiday…
The lavish meal is a symbol of the fact that abundant consumption
is the result and reward of production.”
—Ayn Rand
“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of
thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”
—G.K. Chesterton
THIS
WEEK IN HISTORY
DECEMBER
1, 1824: For the first and only time in American history,
a presidential election is decided not by the electoral college,
but by the House of Representatives. The 12th Amendment to
the U.S. Constitution stipulates that if no candidate has
a majority of the electoral votes, “the House of Representatives
shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President”
“from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding
three on the list of those voted for as President.”
Each state was allowed a single vote, and a simple majority
conferred the presidency.
The election of
1824 marked the end of the “Era of Good Feelings,”
a period of American history known for its lack of partisan
politics. During this time, the Federalist Party was extinguished
(in the nearly unanimous election of 1820, in which James
Monroe received all but one of the electoral votes), and the
Democratic-Republican party governed without any substantial
opposition.
For this reason,
the 1824 election saw four candidates, each from the same
political party, vying for the presidency: Andrew Jackson,
the hero of New Orleans; John Quincy Adams, son of former
president John Adams and Monroe’s Secretary of State;
William Crawford, Monroe’s Secretary of Treasury; and
Henry Clay, Speaker of the House. While each candidate was
from the same party, their views differed along sectional
lines; Jackson was largely supported by the south, (continued
pg. 2 col. 2) |
 |
3
WORDS
Memorize these by week's end and you shall
quickly develop an enviable lexicon.
This week’s theme: words related to eating and feasting.
| gourmand
(GOR-mawnd) noun |
| 1. |
|
one who is excessively fond of eating and drinking |
| 2. |
|
one who is heartily interested in good food and drink |
Ex.
My father is a regular gourmand; he can
recommend a good glass of wine with any meal. |
|
sybarite (SIB-uh-rite) noun |
| 1. |
|
a person whose chief interests are luxury and the gratification
of sensual appetites |
Ex.
That old sybarite is easy to entertain!
Just give him some feminine distractions and a
glass of wine and you won’t hear from him
all night. |
|
regale (ri-GALE) verb |
| 1. |
|
to entertain richly or agreeably |
| 2. |
|
to give pleasure or amusement to |
| 3. |
|
to
feast oneself |
| Ex.
After we had sated ourselves on ham and mead, the
bard regaled us with tales of kings. |
|
|
