Hello standfast-ga,
A little more than three hours after the attacks began on September
11, 2001, the phrase "United We Stand" was appearing in newsgroup
posts. Scroll to the end of the following list to see the earliest
uses; actually, the first use on September 11, 2001 came before the
attacks and had nothing to do with them.
"Searched Groups for "united we stand" from Sep. 11, 2001 to Sep. 11,
2001."
Google Groups
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=%22united+we+stand%22&num=30&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&scoring=d&as_drrb=b&as_mind=11&as_minm=9&as_miny=2001&as_maxd=11&as_maxm=9&as_maxy=2001&filter=0
This phrase has been used periodically in patriotic situations since
the time of the American colonies. The originator was John Dickinson,
who in 1768 wrote a anti-British / pro-American song called "The
Liberty Song", containing the lines:
"Then join hand in hand
Brave Americans all,
By uniting we stand,
By dividing we fall"
"Re: The Liberty Song - words" (Posted by ESC on May 08, 2001)
The Phrase Finder
http://phrases.shu.ac.uk/bulletin_board/8/messages/1013.html
The phrase "United We Stand" (often in combination with "Divided We
Fall") has since appeared in many contexts, including the
Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and World War II. The phrase is
also the state motto of Kentucky, and was the basis for Ross Perot's
"United We Stand America" organization, which later gave rise to the
Reform Party. This history helps to explain how the phrase popped up
so quickly after the attacks of September 11, 2001.
"United We Stand [WAS: ground zero]", posted by Donna Richoux
(2002-02-05)
<sci.lang> <alt.usage.english>
Google Groups
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=1f74uql.1mmbvjmil80n6N%25trio%40euronet.nl
"July 1942: United We Stand - History of the Motto"
National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
http://americanhistory.si.edu/1942/campaign/campaign24.html
"Kentucky Can't Make Up Its Mind What The State Seal Should Show" (The
Courier Journal Louisville, Kentucky Thursday Morning, August 28,
1952)
Kentucky Secretary of State
http://www.sos.state.ky.us/ADMIN/SEAL/SEALART2.asp
"Reform Party History", by Beverly Kidder
Reform Party
http://reformparty.org/PrinciplesIssues/history.html
As you may have noticed in the weeks and months after September 11,
2001, the phrase "United We Stand" appeared in many forms, including
posters, signs, billboards, bumper stickers, shirts, and coffee mugs.
There was no single corporation or government entity that produced or
paid for these materials. Companies and individuals from all over --
for patriotic, charitable, and/or commercial reasons -- made,
distributed, and displayed these items. You can browse a large number
of "United We Stand" items, as well as computer generated displays, on
the following list of images:
"Searched images for "united we stand"."
Google Images
http://images.google.com/images?num=30&hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=%22united+we+stand%22&sa=N&tab=wi
However, I have found one company that played a significant role in
getting the ball rolling. Two days after the attacks, as American
flags were selling out everywhere, a Westlake CA company called Weiser
Litho began printing "United We Stand" posters. By September 22,
2001, the company had printed 65,000 posters, with 35,000 set to print
early in the following week, and had taken orders from nearly every
state in the country.
"An Unflagging Demand for Poster Overwhelms Firm", by Margaret Talev,
Los Angeles Times (September 22, 2001)
Weiser Litho
http://www.weiserlitho.com/news_times.html
I hope that this information is helpful.
- justaskscott-ga
Search terms used on Google:
"united we stand"
"phrase united we stand"
"united we stand" "john dickinson"
"united we stand" kentucky
"united we stand" perot
"united we stand" "reform party"
"united we stand posters"
"united we stand" "weiser litho"
[I tried other searches as well, but these were the ones that resulted
in the web pages that I've cited.] |
