On this day in 1964: At Michigan Stadium, President Lyndon B. Johnson announced his plans for "The Great Society" during the University of Michigan’s commencement. This included Medicare, Medicaid, and the Civil Rights Act. On this day in 1844: Elijah McCoy, the son of escaped enslaved people, was born. His invention of a steam engine oil lubrication system led to the phrase "The Real McCoy."
TRANSCRIPT
Today in 1964 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, President Lyndon B. Johnson, speaking at the University of Michigan’s commencement ceremony, announced his plans for “The Great Society.” Johnson’s domestic plan which would be a core concept of his presidential campaign included Medicare, Medicaid, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as well as the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
And today in 1844, Elijah McCoy was born. The son of enslaved people who escaped to Canada, McCoy studied engineering in Scotland, but upon returning, lived in Ypsilanti, Michigan. As a black man in the 1800s, Elijah was not offered many opportunities. However, McCoy’s invention of a steam engine oil lubrication system grew famous, and often copied. But the quest for the authentic invention from his Ypsilanti workshop gave rise to a still-popular phrase in English: The Real McCoy.