It Was Said

In the West, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is always seen as one of two things: KGB spy or judo master. But to anyone who’s ever lived in the Soviet Union, Putin is something else entirely: a street kid. Join journalist Julia Ioffe as she explores how Putin’s childhood taught him lessons that shape his thinking and actions to this day.

Eleanor Roosevelt champions the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a foundational document proclaiming that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt asks Congress for a declaration of war against Japan following the attack on Pearl Harbor – a date, he says, which will live in infamy.

Frederick Douglass delivers a searing speech on the Fourth of July, summoning the nation to remedy the contradiction between slavery and the founding principles of the United States.

Republican Senator Margaret Chase Smith breaks with partisan orthodoxy to take a stand against the demagoguery of Joseph McCarthy.