How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Somewhere that man was still speaking. Colonists... hope... Selma. (Introduction.6)
The character of Seth Grahame-Smith has just learned about vampires, so he's not paying attention to this speech, which is probably Obama's 2007 speech in Selma, Alabama, commemorating the long history of fighting for civil rights in America. It makes sense for vampires to get more attention than a speech (we'd probably ignore the speech too); but it's worth noting that the speech here is a pivotal moment in history that talks about how pivotal moments in history affect our present lives. Talk about meta.
Quote #2
This wholly unremarkable life would have surely escaped the notice of history had Thomas not ventured into Elizabethtown one day when he was twenty-eight and, by chance, laid eyes on the young daughter of a Kentucky farmer. Their marriage, on June 12th, 1806, would change the shape of history in ways neither could have dreamed. (1.26)
Since Thomas Lincoln isn't a wizard (we think), he can't know the future that he is about to change by marrying Nancy Hanks. Interestingly, the narrator emphasizes that this meeting and marriage happened "by chance," which doesn't sound a lot like destiny or fate. Does chance change history more than fate? Maybe.
Quote #3
When I heard a description of the bodies at Jeffersonville, I knew at once that a vampire was responsible, and I had a very good notion of where it was going. I remembered reading about a similar case in Dugre's On the History of the Mississippi River—one that had confounded settlers almost fifty years prior. (3.9)
As Henry will tell Abe later, vampires have a different sense of time since they don't have to worry about death. Funny how that happens. It makes some sense, then, for the same vampire to terrorize a certain location longer than most people could (at that time). But we pulled this quote because it also shows us that Abe is able to hunt a vampire because he has some understanding of history (local, weird history). He reads a lot, we're told, and now we see how it pays off. (Answer: it almost gets him killed.)