Wake Up to Politics - February 18, 2013 - Happy Presidents' Day! Edition
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Transcript of Wake Up to Politics - February 18, 2013 - Happy Presidents' Day! Edition
THIS IS YOUR WAKE UP CALL
a
From the Editor’s Desk
When most people think of Presidents’ Day, they think of a couple things: one is
probably the Macy’s Presidents’ Day sale. Or the one at Sears. Or Best Buy’s, or
the companies all across the nation using this national holiday for marketing
purposes. If you do think of our Presidents, you may think of George Washington
or Abraham Lincoln, whose birthdays are days after and before this holiday. You
may think of Washington’s wooden teeth and the cherry tree or Lincoln’s log cabin
or stovepipe hat. But if you’re like me this Presidents’ Day holiday, you’re
thinking of a country that has gone on for 200+ years. In those years, just 43 men
have served this country as the head of state. And they weren’t king or emperor or
czar, as our founders could have made them. They have been Presidents. On this
holiday, which was originally made to honor our first chief executive, and to a
lesser extent, our 16th, why don’t we think of all 43 of the men who have held the
office of President of the United States.
To help, I’ve put together a list of all the Presidents, with their name, number,
term, party, picture, and…one fact for each President.
I hope you enjoy it, and maybe learn something new!
And have a fabulous Presidents’ Day,
Gabe Fleisher
Editor-in-Chief
Wake Up To Politics
George Washington, 1st President
No Party
1789-1797 Appointed the most Supreme Court Justices of any Presidents – 11. Then again, he did
appoint the whole first court.
John Adams, 2nd President
Federalist
1797-1801 Is the only President to be defeated by his own Vice President.
Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President
Democratic-Republican
1801-1809 A lover of all things France and food, Jefferson brought French fries to America.
He also proved tomatoes weren’t poisonous, and was rumored to have brought
ice cream from France, but he wasn’t actually the first to eat it in the 13 colonies,
although he introduced it to many Americans.
The Presidents of the United States…
James Madison, 4th President
Democratic-Republican
1809-1817 Was the first President to wear pants – all of his predecessors wore the common
knee breeches of the day, while Madison bucked the trend by putting on
trousers.
James Monroe, 5th President
Democratic-Republican
1817-1825 Only President with a foreign capital city named for him – Monrovia, Liberia.
John Quincy Adams, 6th President
Democratic-Republican
1825-1829 Read the Bible cover to cover each year – making him the book’s most avid
Presidential reader.
Andrew Jackson, 7th President
Democrat
1829-1837 Is the only President to be a prisoner of war, at age 13 he and his brother were
captured by the British in the Revolutionary War.
Martin Van Buren, 8th President
Democrat
1837-1841 Married his first cousin once removed, Hannah Hoes.
William Henry Harrison, 9th President
Whig
1841 Was the first President to campaign actively.
John Tyler, 10th President
Whig
1841-1845 His wife started the tradition of playing “Hail to the Chief” for the President.
James Polk, 11th President
Democrat
1845-1849 Surprisingly,is the only President to have previously served as Speaker of the House.
Zachary Taylor, 12th President
Whig
1849-1850 Against his objections, his daughter married Jefferson Davis, although she died
before she could become First Lady of the Confederacy. After her death, Davis
actually served under General Taylor in the Mexican-American War. This kind of
makes Taylor the father-in-law of another President.
Millard Fillmore, 13th President
Whig
1850-1853 If you’ve ever heard the name of our 13th Chief Executive, you’ve probably wondered
how he got his name – Millard was his mother’s maiden name.
Franklin Pierce, 14th President
Democrat
1853-1857 Only President to go a full term with no changes to his Cabinet.
James Buchanan, 15th President
Democrat
1857-1861 Despite the fact that he is remembered negatively for his views on slavery,
secession, and the Civil War, he had the first African-American artist at the White
House – Thomas “Blind Tom” Wiggins.
Abraham Lincoln, 16th President
Republican
1861-1865 Is the only President to have gotten a patent – in 1849, for an invention that could
lift boats over obstructions in a river. The patent document wasn’t discovered or
known until 1997.
Andrew Johnson, 17th President
Democrat
1865-1869 Johnson and his wife Eliza were married by Mordecai Lincoln, Abe’s first cousin
once removed.
Ulysses Grant, 18th President
Republican
1869-1877 Grant was the first President of just three to have both of his parents live to see
him become Chief Executive. Neither of them actually attended either of his
inaugurations, but Grant’s father did visit the White House more than once.
Rutherford Hayes, 19th President
Republican
1877-1881 Signed legislation allowing women to argue cases before the Supreme Court.
James Garfield, 20th President
Republican
1881 Impressed people by writing in Latin with one hand…while he wrote in Greek
with the other.
Chester Arthur, 21st President
Republican
1881-1885 The house in Manhattan where Arthur lived for most of his adult life now has a
Mediterranean deli on its first two floors and apartments on its other three.
Grover Cleveland, 22nd and 24th President
Democrat
1885-1889 and 1893-1897 Vetoed the most bills of any other President, except FDR (who of course had much
more time) – a total of 584
Benjamin Harrison, 23rd President
Republican
1889-1893 On June 6, 1892, became the first sitting President to attend a Major League Baseball
game, when the Reds beat the Washington Senators in a game that went on for 11
innings.
William McKinley, 25th President
Republican
1897-1901 While he wasn’t really the first President to ride in a car, McKinley was the first Chief
Executive to ride in a self-propelled vehicle – the ambulance from after he was shot. He
died eight days later.
Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President
Republican
1901-1909 Is the only President to have received the Medal of Honor – meaning he both
received and awarded America’s highest military honor. President Clinton awarded
TR the Medal for his service in the Spanish-American War posthumously in 2001.
William Taft, 27th President
Republican
1909-1913 First President of two to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Woodrow Wilson, 28th President
Democrat
1913-1921 Only President to have stayed in D.C. after leaving office, and the only one to be
buried there – his body rests in the National Cathederal.
Warren Harding, 29th President
Republican
1921-1923 He is the last President to have no children, there being only five others, including
George Washington, the “Father of His Country,” and James Madison, the “Father of
the Constitution.”
Calvin Coolidge, 30th President
Republican
1923-1929 His favorite food was pancakes.
Hebert Hoover, 31st President
Republican
1929-1933 He has more than Hoovervilles and Hoover vacuums - this President is the
namesake of the asteroids Herberta and Hooveria. While four other Presidents got
asteroids named for tem, Hoover is the only one with two.
Franklin Roosevelt, 32nd President
Democrat
1933-1945 First President whose mother decided to vote for him. No, no, the other ones
supported their children, but no Mother-in-Chief would have been able to vote
until Warren Harding’s mom, but his wasn’t alive. Neither were any others from
Harding to FDR.
Harry Truman, 33rd President
Democrat
1945-1953 Nine Presidents never graduated from college, but Truman is the most recent as
well as the only one from the twentieth century.
Dwight Eisenhower, 34th President
Republican
1953-1961 First President to appear on color television.
John Kennedy, 35th President
Democrat
1961-1963 JFK is the only President who had a grandparent live to see him take office –his
maternal grandmother actually outlived him as well, in addition to both his parents,
if that gives you an idea of how young he was when he was killed.
Lyndon Johnson, 36th President
Democrat
1963-1969 He had a button on his Oval Office desk that alerted a military aide to bring him
his favorite drink, Fresca.
Richard Nixon, 37th President
Republican
1969-1974 He is the only person to have been elected to two terms as Vice President as well as
two terms as President – the irony is that he had to resign and didn’t get to actually
serve the last two and a half years of his Presidency.
Gerald Ford, 38th President
Republican
1974-1977 Only President to have been employed by the National Park Service, having been
a ranger at Yellowstone National Park.
Jimmy Carter, 39th President
Democrat
1977-1981 First President to be born in a hospital.
Ronald Reagan, 40th President
Republican
1981-1989 Only President to have led a labor union.
George Bush, 41st President
Republican
1989-1993 H.W. had a pretty impressive pre-presidential résumé: Congressman, UN
Ambassador, Chair of the RNC, the post that was the predecessor to Ambassador
to China, Director of the CIA, Vice President, and two-time Senate nominee.
Bill Clinton, 42nd President
Democrat
1993-1997 On his last day in office, he pardoned his half-brother.
George W. Bush, 43rd President
Republican
2001-2009 Bush is the only President to have gotten an MBA (Master of Business
Administration), which he earned from Harvard Business School.
Barack Obama, 44th President
Democrat
2009-2016 Obama is a big comic book collector – he has Spider-Man and Conan the
Barbarian in his collection.
Email me with any questions, comments, or tips on any of the facts or Wake Up To Politics in
general. Also if you have had any trouble receiving or opening today's or other editions of Wake Up
To Politics or would like me to add anyone to the Wake Up mailing list (it takes a little bit, but I
will do it), please email me as well! Have a great President!