Ananias Club
Encyclopedia
The Ananias Club, supposedly named for Ananias
who fell dead when he lied to the apostle Peter about a financial transaction, was an expression employed by the press in 1906-1907 to avoid the "short and ugly word" (liar) in connection with the "mutual accusations of in veracity" which arose between President Theodore Roosevelt
and Senator Benjamin Tillman
of South Carolina
over the railroad rate bill. The same expression was later used during the controversy between Roosevelt and the so-called "nature fakers
".
Franklin D. Roosevelt used the expression "Ananias Club" in his first press conference as President of the United States in reference to his policy on the use of background material provided by the White House
:
Ananias and Sapphira
Ananias and his wife Sapphira were, according to the Acts of the Apostles, members of the Early Christian church in Jerusalem.-The story:...
who fell dead when he lied to the apostle Peter about a financial transaction, was an expression employed by the press in 1906-1907 to avoid the "short and ugly word" (liar) in connection with the "mutual accusations of in veracity" which arose between President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
and Senator Benjamin Tillman
Benjamin Tillman
Benjamin Ryan Tillman was an American politician who served as the 84th Governor of South Carolina, from 1890 to 1894, and as a United States Senator, from 1895 until his death in office. Tillman's views were a matter of national controversy.Tillman was a member of the Democratic Party...
of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
over the railroad rate bill. The same expression was later used during the controversy between Roosevelt and the so-called "nature fakers
Nature fakers controversy
The nature fakers controversy was an early 20th-century American literary debate highlighting the conflict between science and sentiment in popular nature writing...
".
Franklin D. Roosevelt used the expression "Ananias Club" in his first press conference as President of the United States in reference to his policy on the use of background material provided by the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
:
Then there are two other matters we will talk about: The first is "background information", which means material which can be used by all of you on your own authority and responsibility, not to be attributed to the White House, because I do not want to have to revive the Ananias Club.