Writes the author, a professor at Evergreen State College: "Today, new problems have emerged in the process of resolving old ones, but the solution is not to go back to the past."

"It wasn’t as if Americans renounced worldly success (this is America!), but there were rival status hierarchies: the biblical hierarchy, the working man’s hierarchy, the artist’s hierarchy, the intellectual’s hierarchy, all of which questioned success and denounced those who climbed and sold out."

He took office 100 years ago, the first of the liberal presidents. Why has he dropped from our sights?

There are increased demands on museums around the world to return bones brought back from conquered people or colonies. Some of the bones were "exotic trinkets" or used in trading. The German Museums Association issued ethical guidelines for human remains, citing human dignity.

"In the heady days after the Revolution, a national language seemed like a natural development for a new country. Franklin’s proposal found little support, even with those to whom he was closest. He did, however, manage to convert Webster, the pioneer of spelling reform."

"Over the past half-century, society has become more individualistic. As it has become more individualistic, it has also become less morally aware, because social and moral fabrics are inextricably linked. The atomization and demoralization of society have led to certain forms of social breakdown, which government has tried to address, sometimes successfully and often impotently."

It’s only fitting to honor Mother’s Day with a spirited selection of history’s finest motherly advice, spanning nearly half a millennium of poignant and prescient counsel from notable moms.