James Monroe: Famous for the Monroe Doctrine

In 1823, President James Monroe gave one of his annual addresses to Congress on December 2nd. In this address, he announced that “the American continents, by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers” (Source: Text of the Monroe Doctrine). This was the famous “Monroe Doctrine,” the most iconic aspect of his administration. Some have argued that it had more to do with Monroe’s Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams – who would later succeed Mr. Monroe as president. But, either way, it is clear that Mr. Monroe approved it – which is why the doctrine still (rightly) bears his name. Many have argued that James Monroe was one of our Founding Fathers, and that he was thus “the last Founding Father president.” His presidency is today remembered by history as the “Era of Good Feelings.” (More about that later.) But who was this man? Why was he so important? And where exactly did he come from? These are the questions that this post will attempt to answer.

James Monroe

James Buchanan: One of the worst presidents in American history

When Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860, James Buchanan remained in office until March 4th of 1861. (The Twentieth Amendment, which later changed the regular inauguration date to January 20th, had not yet been passed.) Therefore, Southern states started seceding from the Union while James Buchanan was still in the White House. By the time that he left office, a full seven of them had seceded. But James Buchanan did nothing to stop them. The South was furious because Buchanan wouldn’t yield to their demands. And the North was also furious, because Buchanan wouldn’t stop Southern secession. Mr. Buchanan did practically nothing during this critical period. Thus, it would fall to his successor, Abraham Lincoln, to end the Southern attempts at secession. The seeds of the Civil War were being sown (at least in part) during James Buchanan’s administration. This is why Buchanan is typically ranked among the worst presidents in American history. But more about that aspect of the story later. For now, let me try to answer a relatively simple question: Where exactly did James Buchanan come from?

James Buchanan

John Tyler: The only US president to take part in the Confederate government

“I do solemnly swear [that] I will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

– Text of the presidential oath of office (as taken by John Tyler), from the United States Constitution (written 1787), Article 2, Section 1, Paragraph 7

When the American Civil War began in 1861, the former president John Tyler initially supported a peace conference. When that failed, John Tyler sided with the Confederacy. He was a slaveholding Virginian, and would preside over the opening of the Virginia Secession Convention. John Tyler would even serve as a member of the Provisional Government of the Confederate States. Later on, he won election to the Confederate House of Representatives, but died before it was first assembled. Earlier in his career, John Tyler had been the tenth president of the United States. He had presided over this very same Union, from which he was now voting to secede. John Tyler is thus the only president who took an active part in the Confederate government. When he died, John Tyler’s coffin was draped with a Confederate flag – the only president ever laid to rest, under a different flag from that of the United States. But who was John Tyler? What is the legacy of his presidency? And where did this man come from?

John Tyler

William Henry Harrison: A great general and a 30-day president

In the United States, the most famous general in our War of 1812 was probably Andrew Jackson, who now appears on our $20 bill. But my vote for the greatest American general of the war would go to William Henry Harrison, whose name has never even been heard by most contemporary Americans. He was one of the great generals in American history, but he is remembered mainly for being just a 31-day president. As the Animaniacs would later joke, “William Harrison, how do you praise? That guy was dead in thirty days!” He is the shortest-serving president in American history, when you exclude all currently-serving presidents from this category. A president who has just been inaugurated would technically have even less time in office, but usually has a good chance of making it past day 31 in good shape. Mr. Harrison is often excluded from presidential rankings, because his brief tenure provides little data by which to judge his administration. But his pre-presidency life provides much greater insight into his character, and makes his story much more interesting than his anticlimactic death by natural causes in 1841. He was first and foremost a great soldier, who contributed much to the early American republic.

William Henry Harrison

William McKinley: President during the Spanish-American War

In 1898, President William McKinley sent American troops to fight in Cuba and the Philippines. This conflict is now known as the “Spanish-American War.” It lasted for only six months, but had a profound influence on world affairs. The war is now controversial – but at the time, it was viewed as a great success. But only three years after the war, William McKinley would be assassinated. In 1901, he was visiting Buffalo, New York, when he was shot by the anarchist Leon Czolgosz. Who was William McKinley? What was his legacy as president? Why was he struck down at the height of his glory? And where exactly did this unknown man come from? These are the questions that this post will try to answer.

William McKinley

Millard Fillmore: A moderate on slavery who pleased no one

In July 1850, President Zachary Taylor mysteriously died while still in office. Most seem to believe that his stomach disease was from natural causes, but there has long been a theory that it came from arsenic poisoning instead. This actually led to Mr. Taylor’s long-dead body being exhumed in 1991, nearly a century and a half after his death. The medical examiner failed to find any evidence of arsenic poisoning. Thus, most seem to believe that his stomach disease was indeed from natural causes, and that Millard Fillmore had no involvement in his death. There were open sewers in Washington, D.C. at that time, which caused an epidemic in the city. Nine of Mr. Taylor’s Cabinet officials were sick with the same disease as President Taylor. Thus, most believe that the poor sanitation led to Taylor’s food and drink being contaminated. As vice president, Millard Fillmore succeeded Zachary Taylor upon his death. And, fortunately for Mr. Fillmore, relatively few Americans suspected him of any involvement in his predecessor’s death. But Millard Fillmore would fail to be elected president in his own right, and only served for two-and-a-half years. Specifically, Fillmore finished out the term that he had inherited from Zachary Taylor. Fillmore would destroy the Whig political party, by enforcing the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850.

Millard Fillmore

Andrew Johnson: The man who botched Reconstruction

An anecdote about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth …

On April 14th, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. Lincoln was at the height of his glory, having just won the American Civil War. Lincoln had just begun his second term a month earlier. But John Wilkes Booth had robbed Lincoln of the opportunity to finish out his second term. As a Confederate sympathizer, Booth hated Lincoln’s support for African American civil rights, and thus shot the President of the United States at Ford’s Theatre. Booth had also wanted to kill the vice president, a relative unknown named Andrew Johnson. Booth then believed that the vice president would be at Kirkwood House while he (Booth) was surreptitiously shooting the president at Ford’s Theatre. Thus, Booth had assigned George Atzerodt to kill Johnson at Kirkwood House. As Wikipedia puts it, “Atzerodt was to go to Johnson's room at 10:15 pm and shoot him.[footnote]  On April 14, Atzerodt rented the room directly above Johnson's; the next day, he arrived there at the appointed time and, carrying a gun and knife, went to the bar downstairs, where he asked the bartender about Johnson's character and behavior. He eventually became drunk and wandered off through the streets, tossing his knife away at some point. He made his way to the Pennsylvania House Hotel by 2 am, where he obtained a room and went to sleep.[footnotes]” (Source: Their page on the “Assassination of Abraham Lincoln”)

George Atzerodt, the man whom John Wilkes Booth had tasked with killing Andrew Johnson

The complicated legacy of Martin Van Buren

Martin Van Buren was part of the “Jacksonian Era,” named after the controversial Andrew Jackson. Nonetheless, historians usually begin the era back in 1824 – when Andrew Jackson was defeated by John Quincy Adams. Jackson would later win his rematch with Adams, and was then elected to his two terms … as our first Democratic president. These terms are well-remembered, and most Americans know Andrew Jackson’s name. But most people do not know the name of his immediate successor, who served in three major positions in Andrew Jackson’s administration. That person was Martin Van Buren. Despite being born in Revolutionary-era New York, Van Buren owned at least one slave, because slavery was then legal in the District of Columbia – where he worked as a politician. But Van Buren would walk a tightrope with regards to slavery, which would be important later on in his career. He is also remembered for his handling of the Panic of 1837, and for the costly Second Seminole War.

Martin Van Buren

Why is Zachary Taylor now considered a “forgettable” president?

By 1849, General Zachary Taylor had spent more than four decades in the United States Army. He had become one of the heroes of the Mexican-American War. But, when Zachary Taylor first ran for president, he had never held a political office in his life. Taylor’s political beliefs were vague and largely unknown, making one wonder why the Whig political party decided to choose him as their candidate. But, in 1840, the war with Mexico had just added some massive territories to the American Union, and our national debate over slavery was now increasing in intensity. That is, would these new states be admitted to the Union as “free states” or slave states? And how would this question be decided? When Zachary Taylor first entered the White House in 1849, the seeds of a future civil war were being sown. The prelude to the Civil War arguably began in this year that Zachary Taylor was inaugurated: 1849. The fateful cannon shots at Fort Sumter were then still twelve years in the future, but the nation was now on a fateful collision course … with itself.

Zachary Taylor

Franklin Pierce: One of our most pro-slavery presidents

In the earliest decades of the United States, all successful political parties tried their best to sidestep the controversial issue of slavery. But it became increasingly hard to do this as time went on, because the nation was expanding westward. Thus, people then had to debate about whether slavery would be expanding westward as well. Franklin Pierce continued the westward expansion through the Gadsden Purchase, but slavery rapidly became the biggest issue of his presidency. He hated the abolitionist movement, and the abolitionist movement likewise hated him in return. In 1820, the Congress had enacted the controversial “Missouri Compromise.” This compromise had admitted Missouri as a slave state, while simultaneously admitting Maine as a “free state” (among other policies). But, in 1854, several aspects of this compromise were effectively repealed, when Franklin Pierce signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act into law. He also created controversy by enforcing the prior Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. The country was on a fateful collision course with itself, and the drums of a future civil war began to 

beat with ever greater intensity.

Franklin Pierce

James K. Polk: President during the Mexican-American War

James K. Polk was one of the most expansionist presidents in American history. In 1845, he oversaw the annexation of the Republic of Texas, which had once belonged to Mexico. In 1846, he oversaw a full-scale war with Mexico, which would lead to the annexation of what is now the American Southwest. Mexico had formerly claimed the Oregon territory as well, but Oregon was divided between the United States and the British Empire in 1846. Oregon then became an incorporated territory of the United States in 1848, also during the presidency of Mr. Polk. But there’s more to the story of James K. Polk than his controversial foreign policy. He was also a believer in Jacksonian democracy, and the last president of the “Jacksonian Era.” James K. Polk is the only Speaker of the House of Representatives ever to be elected president. But who exactly is James K. Polk? What are the complexities of his legacy? And just where did this man come from? These are the questions that this post will try to examine.

James K. Polk

Warren G. Harding: Popular in life, unpopular in death

Warren G. Harding is now known as one of the worst presidents in American history. Many today would even consider him the very worst, although he has several painful contenders for this dubious distinction. But, surprisingly, he was quite popular during his lifetime – and during his presidency. The scandals of his administration only surfaced after he died of a heart attack while in office. Why was he popular in life? Where did he come from, and how did he get to the White House? And how did his presidency become such a train wreck, living in posthumous infamy until the present day? These are the questions that this post will attempt to explain. This post will give a brief overview of the career of Warren Gamaliel Harding, a bitter train wreck of a president.

Warren G. Harding

Why is Chester A. Arthur now considered one of the “least memorable” presidents?

On July 2nd, 1881, Charles J. Guiteau shot the 20th President of the United States. The president was James A. Garfield, the predecessor of Chester A. Arthur. And Garfield had taken office only four months before. When Garfield was shot in the Baltimore and Potomac Railway Station, his assailant was immediately apprehended there. When a police officer asked Mr. Guiteau why he had shot the president, Guiteau did not immediately respond. But the press later revealed a letter in which Guiteau described his bizarre motives, saying that he would make his “friend Arthur President.” (See the relevant portion of the letter here.) Thus, people initially wondered if Vice President Chester A. Arthur was involved in the murder. After all, the vice president was next in line for the presidency, if Garfield should later happen to die from his gunshot wounds. Fortunately for Chester A. Arthur, it was later established that Guiteau had acted alone, and was wholly unconnected with the vice president. All of this was true, and Arthur was indeed innocent of this kind of wrongdoing. But two months after the shooting, President James A. Garfield died in his bed. Thus, Chester A. Arthur then became the 21st President of the United States. But who was Chester A. Arthur, and where did he come from? That is what this post will now attempt to explain.

Chester A. Arthur

Rutherford B. Hayes: Entering office by a margin of one electoral vote

Reconstruction had been going on for twelve years, when Mr. Hayes became president

When the Civil War ended in 1865, it was followed by another violent period of postwar reconstruction. Some historians have even described the Reconstruction Era as a sort of “Second Civil War,” and this may actually be accurate. During the early phases of Reconstruction, Rutherford B. Hayes (who was, by then, a Republican) had supported his party’s attempts to bring order to the South. But the violence was ongoing, and Republicans were starting to lose support for maintaining the presence of federal troops in the South. It was a bit like the later Vietnam War, which lost American support as the war dragged on without an end in sight. The Republican president Ulysses S. Grant had thus been forced to retreat somewhat, in his efforts to keep federal troops there. General Grant completed two full terms as president, but was not then seeking a third term of office. Thus, in 1876, Rutherford B. Hayes became the Republicans’ new presidential candidate. He faced Samuel J. Tilden, a Democrat from New York. It would be one of the most controversial elections in American history.

Rutherford B. Hayes in Civil War uniform in 1861

William Howard Taft: Made and un-made by Theodore Roosevelt

William Howard Taft has now become little more than a footnote to the larger story of Theodore Roosevelt. When we hear Taft’s name today, it tends to be in connection either with Theodore Roosevelt, or with their mutual enemy Woodrow Wilson. But, in the early twentieth century, William Howard Taft was more than just an intervening figure between these two political giants. Taft was a reform-minded candidate, who was much more similar to Roosevelt … than Roosevelt himself would later give him credit for. William Howard Taft is known in part for his rotundity, and for being the only person to become both president and Chief Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court. Thus, an examination of Mr. Taft’s story might be in order here. This will provide us some insight into the United States, and into the twentieth century more generally.

William Howard Taft

Benjamin Harrison: A president whose grandfather was another president

Benjamin Harrison’s grandfather was William Henry Harrison, who was the ninth president of the United States. This grandfather had served as president for 31 days in 1841. But William Henry Harrison had died of natural causes after only this month in office. William Henry Harrison had enjoyed a distinguished career as a general, especially in the War of 1812. But the grandfather, William Henry Harrison, did not live long enough to make much of a difference as president. By contrast, Benjamin Harrison would eventually serve out a full term as president. He never won the popular vote, but he still defeated the incumbent president Grover Cleveland anyway. Again, Benjamin Harrison served a full term before his fatal rematch with Grover Cleveland. Where did Benjamin Harrison come from? How did he become the 23rd President of the United States? And what exactly is Benjamin Harrison’s legacy? These are the questions that this post will attempt to answer, however briefly.

Benjamin Harrison

Herbert Hoover: More interventionist than he’s remembered

How much of the blame for the Great Depression belongs to Herbert Hoover?

Herbert Hoover had been president for only seven months, when the American stock market crashed in October of 1929. The Wall Street Crash of ‘29, sometimes called the “Great Crash,” is often marked as the beginning of the Great Depression. But this nation has had several other stock market crashes in its long history, and recovered much more quickly from most of these other crashes. Thus, I’m not entirely convinced that the 1929 Crash is what “caused” the Depression, although it was certainly a catastrophe of gargantuan proportions. Regardless, Herbert Hoover got the blame for the crash, and for the truly Great Depression that soon followed it. Many homeless Americans then lived in shanty towns that came to be called “Hoovervilles,” named (with some bitterness) after him. But how much of the blame does Herbert Hoover really deserve for this (and he does indeed deserve some)? What is the legacy of Herbert Hoover’s presidency? And just where did Mr. Hoover come from? These are the questions that this post will attempt to answer.

Herbert Hoover

Calvin Coolidge: One of our greatest presidents

Wikipedia gets the presidency of Calvin Coolidge badly and wildly wrong …

Calvin Coolidge may be one of the greatest presidents in American history. But, strangely enough, Wikipedia notes that “Scholars have ranked Coolidge in the lower half of U.S. presidents. He gains nearly universal praise for his stalwart support of racial equality during a period of heightened racial tension in the nation,[footnote] and is highly praised by advocates of smaller government and laissez-faire economics; supporters of an active central government generally view him far less favorably.” (Source: Their page on “Calvin Coolidge”) I agree that this is why his critics have tended to view him a bit less favorably. And, regarding other presidents, I have sometimes tended to agree with the general consensus of historians. But I feel that these historians have gotten this call badly and wildly wrong, and seriously underestimated the benefits of President Calvin Coolidge. Their ratings seem to have come from a bloated belief in the value of big government, and from fundamental misunderstandings of economic principles to boot. Thus, it may be time to challenge this popular view of Calvin Coolidge, and give a more accurate picture of the Coolidge administration.

Calvin Coolidge

Grover Cleveland: Serving two non-consecutive presidential terms

At the time that I write this, Grover Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive presidential terms. That is, he was both the 22nd and 24th Presidents of the United States. Because of his rotundity, many have joked that he was also physically large enough to be counted twice for that reason. But there’s more to his story than meets the eye. He was one of only three presidents to win the popular vote in at least three different presidential elections. At that time, this had not happened since Andrew Jackson, and it would not happen again until Franklin Delano Roosevelt – nearly half a century later. Thus, an examination of his story might be in order here. I will show why the two Grover Cleveland presidencies were important, and also take a look at where this unknown guy came from.

Grover Cleveland

A review of PBS's “Murder of a President” (James A. Garfield)

“I conceived of the idea of removing the President four weeks ago. Not a soul knew of my purpose. I conceived the idea myself. I read the newspapers carefully, for and against the administration, and gradually, the conviction settled on me that the President's removal was a political necessity, because he proved a traitor to the men who made him, and thereby imperiled the life of the Republic ... Ingratitude is the basest of crimes. That the President, under the manipulation of his Secretary of State, has been guilty of the basest ingratitude to the Stalwarts admits of no denial. ... In the President's madness he has wrecked the once grand old Republican party; and for this he dies.... I had no ill-will to the President. This is not murder. It is a political necessity. It will make my friend Arthur President, and save the Republic.”

– Charles Guiteau, in his letter to the American people, on 16 June 1881

On July 2nd, 1881, Charles J. Guiteau went to the Baltimore and Potomac Railway Station, and lay in wait for his intended murder victim. President James A. Garfield was scheduled to leave Washington D.C., and Guiteau wanted him dead before his train ever left the city. When President Garfield walked into the waiting room of the station, Charles Guiteau walked up behind him and pulled the trigger at point-blank range from behind. President Garfield cried out: “My God, what is that?”, flinging up his arms. Guiteau fired a second shot, and the president collapsed. One bullet grazed the president's shoulder, while the other struck him in the back. Guiteau put his pistol back into his pocket and turned to leave via a cab that he had waiting for him outside the station, but he collided with policeman Patrick Kearney, who was entering the station after hearing the gunfire. Kearney apprehended Guiteau, and asked him: “In God's name, what did you shoot the president for?” Guiteau did not respond. The crowd called for Guiteau to be lynched, but Kearney took Guiteau to the police station instead. (This paragraph borrows some exact wording from Wikipedia, which I should acknowledge here as a source.)

Contemporaneous depiction of Garfield assassination, with James G. Blaine at right

President Garfield with James G. Blaine in the railway station, shortly after the shooting