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Keeping Presidents in President’s Day

Did you know that of the 44 men who have been President of the United States, 9 of them did not graduate from college?  One of the nine went to graduate school and five of the nine were lawyers. 29 of the 44 men who have been President served in the military.

“But we’ve had 45 presidents”, you might be thinking to yourself.  That’s true, but President Grover Cleveland served as the 22nd and 24th presidents after he lost his reelection bid to President Benjamin Harrison but won a rematch in 1892.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt is the only president to be elected to the highest office in the land more than twice.  He died in office less than three months after his fourth inauguration.   But FDR was not the only president who wanted to serve more than two terms.  President Ulysses S. Grant was the only POTUS to complete two terms during the 76 year span between Presidents Andrew Jackson and Woodrow Wilson. Grant sought a third nomination from the Republican Party, but lost to Rutherford B. Hayes.  Hayes won the presidency, by one electoral college vote on the day before the inauguration.  Hayes did not seek reelection in 1880 and Grant sought the GOP nomination for a fourth time.   The Republican Party nominated James A. Garfield instead of Grant to be the 20th POTUS. Garfield, became the last president to be born in a log cabin (so far), was shot at a Washington, DC train station on July 2, 1881 and died from his wounds (the bullet could not be found or removed) 79 days later.

The above and many other facts and stories about our Presidents are detailed in National Geographic’s Our Country’s PRESIDENTS: A COMPLETE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE U.S. PRESIDENCY by historian Ann Bausum.

The encyclopedia is really not “complete.”  For example, there is no mention of the fact that President Garfield died in Monmouth County…at an ocean front cottage in the Elberon section of Long Branch.  There is no mention of “The Summer Capital”, as Grant declared Long Branch before there was a Camp David. Grant established a tradition followed by Presidents Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Harrison, McKinley, and Wilson of summering in Monmouth County.

However incomplete, Our Country’s Presidents is a fun family reference guide and provides insights into United States history that will contribute to the education of young students and adults alike.  As one would expect from National Geographic, the book is beautifully illustrated.

Starting with President Donald Trump’s November 9, 2016 Victory Speech and ending with a brief pre-presidency biography of the 45’th POTUS, Our Country’s Presidents truncates our national history into six eras: The growth of the Presidency; the expansion of the United States from “Sea to Shining Sea,” the post slavery era, 1861-1897; our growth as a global economic and political power, 1897-1933; Seeking Stability in the atomic age, 1933-1981, and Footprints on the Global Frontier, 1981-present.

The book has a list price of $24.99.  You can pick it up on Amazon for $11.74.

 

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Posted: February 19th, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Book review | Tags: , , , | 2 Comments »

2 Comments on “Keeping Presidents in President’s Day”

  1. Bob English said at 8:54 pm on February 19th, 2017:

    Interesting stuff. Never knew that about President Grant

  2. Good stuff, said at 10:21 am on February 20th, 2017:

    and, the longer I live, the more I understand how nearly impossible it is for one person to be our president. Look, everyone is human, with their assets and flaws. The media today make it nearly impossible to govern effectively. But, what to me is a consistent thread is, what was the moral fiber of the man, what values( or lack thereof,) did they bring with them, and carry through all their decisions? What toughness and pure guts, helped them to protect and yes, save our nation?
    While some failed quite miserably( as in these last eight frightening years,) some, of both parties, actually, really stepped up and soldiered on, making the tough decisions, keeping our Republic the best in the world. I feel even more fortunate now to be an American, and have hopes that we can and will return to more safety, prosperity and civility, over these next four or eight years!