1001 People Who Made America by Alan Axelrod

Author:Alan Axelrod [Axelrod, Alan]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: History
ISBN: 9781426202681
Google: r3uoTbtY8z4C
Amazon: B0014BRLL0
Barnesnoble: B0014BRLL0
Goodreads: 7915241
Publisher: National Geographic
Published: 2007-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

Lafayette, Marquis de (1757–1834) Eager to win glory as a soldier in a noble cause, Lafayette left his native France and arrived in Philadelphia in July 1777 to fight for American liberty. He was commissioned a major general in the Continental Army and established a close bond with General George Washington. He performed heroically at the Battle of Brandywine (September 11, 1777), returned to France and persuaded Louis XVI to send 6,000 men to fight immediately, then came back to America in April 1780 to take command of an army in Virginia. Lafayette was instrumental in bottling up Charles Cornwallis and his army on the Yorktown peninsula in late July 1780, which set Cornwallis up for the defeat that effectively ended the American Revolution.

Laffer, Arthur B. (1940– ) While serving as chief economist for the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) during 1970–1972, Laffer developed the idea that lowering tax rates would actually increase tax revenues by stimulating investment. He illustrated this with the famous “Laffer Curve,” a foundation of Reagan-era supply-side economics, which held that reductions in federal taxes on businesses and individuals would lead to increased economic growth. As for the reduction in social welfare programs such tax cuts might necessitate, supply-side economics held that the economic benefits to business and the wealthy would “trickle down” to the middle and lower classes as well.

Lafitte, Jean (1780?–1825?) Born in France, Lafitte settled in New Orleans, from which he operated as a smuggler and pirate, preying on Spanish shipping. Seeking a pardon for his illicit activities, Lafitte offered the services of himself and his men to General Andrew Jackson in defense of New Orleans during the War of 1812. Lafitte fought brilliantly, and the Battle of New Orleans (December 1814–January 1815) was a great American victory. He and his men were pardoned by President James Madison.

La Follette, Robert M. (1855–1925) Governor of Wisconsin (1901–1906) and U.S. senator (1906–1925), La Follette led the Progressive Movement, an effort to bring about large-scale political reform. Although La Follette failed in his bid for the White House in 1924—he ran on the Progressive Party ticket—he did poll some 5,000,000 votes, nearly 17 percent of the votes cast. His Progressive philosophy was shared in varying degrees by such politicians as Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.

La Guardia, Fiorello (1882–1947) La Guardia was a lawyer and reform-minded politician. He served in Congress before his election in 1933 as mayor of New York, running on the Fusion ticket, which united the Liberal and Republican parties. His object was to reform the corrupt Tammany Hall Democratic boss system. He did just that, making sweeping reforms that became the envy of the nation. Through three terms as mayor, he emerged as a beloved figure of infinite energy and great compassion, fighting corruption and organized crime, bringing new efficiency to city services, expanding municipal social-welfare services, and introducing slum-clearance and subsidized housing. Many consider him the greatest mayor of any major American city—ever.

Land, Edwin (1901–1991) While a student at Harvard

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