“To educate a person in the mind but not in morals is to educate a menace to society.” and “A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad.” – Theodore Roosevelt
“Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation.” and “Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource.” – John F Kennedy
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated failures. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” – Calvin Coolidge
“Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.” – Franklin Roosevelt, photo by Elias Goldensky, 1933.
Jimmy Carter, portrait at the National Portrait Gallery by Robert Clark Templeton
The 39th President of the United States, 1977 – 1981
AKA: Jimmy, The Peanut Famer
From: Georgia
College: Georgia Southwestern College, Georgia Institute of Technology, US Naval Academy
Married to: Rosalynn Smith
Children: Jack, James, Donnel, Amy
Party: Democratic
Previous Jobs: Peanut farmer, US Navy officer, state senator, Governor of Georgia
In His Words: “At the end of a long campaign, I believe I know the people of our state as well as anyone. Based on this knowledge of Georgians North and South, Rural and Urban, liberal and conservative, I say to you quite frankly that the time for racial discrimination is over.”
“We should live our lives as though Christ were coming this afternoon.”
“I’ve looked on many women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times. God knows I will do this and forgives me.”
“I never felt that my dedication to military service was a violation of my faith in Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.”
“Let us learn together and laugh together and work together and pray together, confident that in the end we will triumph together in the right.”
“We are a purely idealistic Nation, but let no one confuse our idealism with weakness.”
“Penalties against drug use should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against the possession of marijuana in private for personal use.”
“We are completely in bed with the Israelis to the detriment of the well-being of the Palestinians.”
“I can’t deny I’m a better ex-president than I was a president.”
Not true: In 1994, President Clinton and North Korea escalated tensions when North Korean President Kim Il-sung threatened to process spent nuclear fuel. Clinton then secretly recruited Carter to go on a “private” peace mission to North Korea to allow them a graceful exit without losing face.
Carter did indeed come to an understanding with President Kim Il-sung … but then went even farther. Without authorization, he negotiated a treaty and announced it on CNN – without Clinton’s permission – to help force the President’s hand. Eventually, a version of the treaty was signed and tensions did in fact decrease.
Until North Korea broke the treaty in reaction to a dispute with President George W Bush’s administration and the North Korean government of President Kim Jong-il.
It is true that Carter exceeded his “secret” authority, and whether or not the treaty was ultimately successful depends on your perspective. Bush administration officials, after North Korea discarded the agreement, stated they never intended to follow it. Carter felt the problem was with the Bush administration. In the end, however, the agreement was broken and North Korea remains unrepentant to this day.
True: Jimmy Carter is the first President born in a hospital.
In high school, Carter was a member of the Future Farmers of America.
In response to the 1979 USSR invasion of Afghanistan, Carter decided to boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
Amy Carter, who grew up while her Dad was President, had a tree house on the South Grounds of the White House. Sometimes she watched special ceremonies from there.
Carter is one of only 4 Presidents that did not have an opportunity to nominate a US Supreme Court Justice.
Carter is the only President to receive the Nobel Peace Prize after leaving office.
The Official Portrait: Herbert E Abrams painted this 1982 portrait of Jimmy Carter that’s in the White House collection. It was a gift to the White House from an anonymous donor. Abrams also painted the official White House portrait of George H. W. Bush.
In His Words: “The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on.”
General Ulysses Grant, a 2-star General, 1864
“I have long since believed that in spite of all the vigilance that can be infused into post commanders, the special regulations of the Treasury Department have been violated, and that mostly by Jews and other unprincipled traders. So well satisfied have I been of this that I instructed the commanding officers at Columbus to refuse all permits to Jews to come South, and I have frequently had them expelled from the department, but they come in with their carpet-sacks in spite of all that can be done to prevent it. The Jews seem to be a privileged class that can travel anywhere. They will land at any woodyard on the river and make their way through the country. If not permitted to buy cotton themselves, they will act as agents for someone else, who will be at military post with a Treasury permit to receive cotton and pay for it in Treasury notes which the Jew will buy up at an agreed rate, paying gold.”
“God gave us Lincoln and Liberty, let us fight for both.”
“Oh, I am heartily tired of hearing about what Lee is going to do. Some of you always seem to think he is suddenly going to turn a double somersault, and land in our rear and on both of our flanks at the same time. Go back to your command, and try to think what we are going to do ourselves, instead of what Lee is going to do.”
A 3-star General, circa 1865.
“I propose to receive the surrender of the Army of N. Va. on the following terms, to wit: Rolls of all the officers and men to be made in duplicate. One copy to be given to an officer designated by me, the other to be retained by such officer or officers as you may designate. The officers to give their individual paroles not to take up arms against the Government of the United States until properly exchanged, and each company or regimental commander sign a like parole for the men of their commands. The arms, artillery and public property to be parked and stacked, and turned over to the officer appointed by me to receive them. This will not embrace the side-arms of the officers, nor their private horses or baggage. This done, each officer and man will be allowed to return to their homes, not to be disturbed by United States authority so long as they observe their paroles and the laws in force where they may reside.
-Terms of surrender, given to General Robert E Lee after the Battle of Appomattox Courthouse, April 9, 1985.
“I rise only to say that I do not intend to say anything. I thank you for your hearty welcomes and good cheers.”
– Grant’s “Perfect Speech,” used frequently in 1865
“I leave comparisons to history, claiming only that I have acted in every instance from a conscientious desire to do what was right, constitutional, within the law, and for the very best interests of the whole people. Failures have been errors of judgment, not of intent.”
“Labor disgraces no man; unfortunately you occasionally find men disgrace labor.”
“Although a soldier by profession, I have never felt any sort of fondness for war, and I have never advocated it, except as a means of peace.”
“Nations, like individuals, are punished for their transgressions.”
Not true: In 1839, his father arranged for his admission to West Point. The congressman who nominated him mistakenly believed his name was Ulysses Simpson Grant (Simpson was his mother’s maiden name). Grant never corrected the error, maintaining that the “S.” didn’t stand for anything. His birth name, however, was Hiram Ulysses Grant.
True: When the Confederate Army launched a surprise assault at the Battle of Shiloh, the Union Army under Grant suffered devastating casualties on the first day of fighting. President Abraham Lincoln received several demands for Grant’s removal from command. Nevertheless, Lincoln refused, stating, “I can’t spare this man. He fights.”
Lincoln appointed him General-in-Chief in March 1864.
Grant was appointed our first 4-star general in 1866.
The Suez Canal opened and the first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, his first year as President.
His annual salary as President was $25,000 … the same sum paid George Washington and every other President through 1872. In 1873, his salary was doubled to $50,000 (where it stayed through Theodore Roosevelt’s tenure).
Our first national park, Yellowstone, was established during Grant’s Presidency.
Colorado became a state during his tenure.
Ulysses Grant’s time in office was marred by scandal and corruption. However, he did not participate nor profit from the illegal actions of his associates and appointees.
After leaving Washington to write his memoirs, Grant entered into an investment partnership with Ferdinand Ward. Unfortunately, Ward embezzled Grant’s asset, for which he went to jail. This left Grant with hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, and he claimed bankruptcy. He was forced to sell his Civil War memoirs to save his family from further financial hardship.
Ulysses S. Grant is buried in New York City in the largest mausoleum of its kind in the United States. Grant’s tomb is a National Memorial.
The Official Portrait: President and Mrs. Rutherford B. Hayes took great interest in collecting presidential portraits for the White House, adding paintings of Ulysses S. Grant, Andrew Jackson, John Adams, James Madison, James Monroe, Zachary Taylor and William Henry Harrison in the 1870s. German-born Henry Ulke completed a fine portrait of Grant from life in 1875.
Tradition, mainly. The origin of a “seal,” after all, is that it formed an imprint in wax to “seal” a document or envelope and prove its authenticity. Officially, the Presidential Seal is used today to seal correspondence sent to Congress.
This is the ivory-handled seal Lincoln used to decorate the outside of envelopes for letters he sent. This Seal, still encrusted with red wax, is owned by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, in Springfield, IL. There’s a link below to a video about this Seal.
Various old versions of the Seal of the President of the United States, as printed in an 1885 issue of the Daily Graphic, a New York newspaper. The large seal on the left was made in 1850 by Edward Stabler, a Maryland farmer, postmaster, and engraver who made many governmental seals at the time. It was made according to the rough design submitted by President Fillmore, which can be seen at the bottom center. The associated article said that a smaller version was made by Stabler at the time, but since the seal in the upper right has only 27 stars and is labeled “The Old Seal”, it would instead appear to be an earlier seal dating from about 1846. The seal in the bottom right was used by Thomas Mifflin, the President of the Continental Congress, in 1784. It shows a constellation of 13 stars surrounded by clouds. This image is a reprint from an 1856 Harpers Magazine article by Benson J. Lossing.
The official design of the modern Presidential Seal was formalized by President Truman in 1945 in Executive Order 9646. The origin of this design rests with President Hayes, who was the first to use the central image (the eagle clutching the arrows and ivy leaves), known as the coat of arms, on White House invitations in 1877.
Today, you’ll see the Seal wherever the President goes: in the Oval Office, on Air Force One and on the front of the lecturn he’s speaking from.
The symbology of the Seal:
The eagle represents the United States of America and symbolizes the President’s role as head of state. In the eagle’s beak is a ribbon emblazoned with “E Pluribus Unum,” which means “Out of many, one.” Above the eagle are 13 white clouds and 13 white stars.
The 13 arrows symbolize the President’s role as Commander in Chief, while the 13 olive branches (with 13 olives) symbolize peace and the President’s role as chief diplomat.
The 13 stripes in the central shield represent the original 13 states, with a blue field uniting them and representing the Congress.
The 50 stars surrounding the coat of arms represent the states. Truman’s Seal had 48 stars; the only changes to the Seal since 1945 have been to add the 49th (in 1959) and 50th (in 1960) stars.
This image, on a deep blue field, comprises the “Presidential Coat Of Arms,” which is used on the Presidential flags … including those little flags on the car the President rides in.
When the Coat of Arms is surrounded by a tan field with the words “Seal of the President of the United States,” the Seal is complete.
A picture of the coat of arms on the ceiling of the Oval Office.
A persistent misconception is about why the eagle today faces to the eagle’s right … but formerly faced to the eagle’s left. Sources including one of Dan Brown’s novels and the popular TV show West Wing both cited this as the nation turning from war to peace. Some even say that the coat of arms in the rug in the Oval Office is replaced when the nation goes from war to peace!
It’s all not true. The eagle had faced to its left until 1945, and that is unusual in birds shown in heraldry. Truman did turn the eagle to its right because he felt it did symbolize the nation turning in a new direction after WWII, but there is no deeper, hidden meaning behind that change.
The Resolute Desk was originally given to President Rutherford B Hayes by Queen Victoria in 1880. FDR later had a central panel installed, with the carved image of the Presidential Seal – as used by President Hayes – to help conceal the fact that he was sitting in a wheel chair.
President Kennedy, working late at his White House office, wears a slight smile on his face, indicating perhaps he is not completely unaware that his son, John Jr., is exploring under his desk in the Oval Office in the White House in 1963. (AP, Look Magazine)
This portrait is based on some thirty studies that artist Henry Casselli made of Reagan over four days at the White House in late 1988. Commissioned with the National Portrait Gallery in mind, the finished picture arrived at the White House the following January for presidential inspection. When Reagan saw it, he exclaimed, “Yep! That’s the old buckaroo.”
Ronald Reagan (1911 – 2004)
The 40th President of the United States, 1981 – 1989
AKA: Dutch, The Gipper, The Great Communicator
From: Illinois, California
College: Eureka College
Married to: Jane Wyman, Nancy Davis
Children: Maureen, Christine, Michael (adopted), Patti Davis, Ron
Party: Democratic (before 1962), Republican
Previous Jobs: Lifeguard, radio broadcaster, actor, commercial pitchman, US Army Captain, President of the Screen Actors Guild, Governor of California
In His Words: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.”
“I didn’t leave the Democratic Party. The party left me.”
“Back in 1927, an American socialist, Norman Thomas, six times candidate for President on the Socialist Party ticket, said that the American people would never vote for socialism but he said under the name of liberalism the American people would adopt every fragment of the socialist program.”
“It’s silly talking about how many years we will have to spend in the jungles of Vietnam when we could pave the whole country and put parking stripes on it and still be home by Christmas.”
“A tree’s a tree. How many more do you need to look at?”
“Unemployment insurance is a pre-paid vacation for freeloaders.”
“One legislator accused me of having a nineteenth-century attitude on law and order. That is a totally false charge. I have an eighteenth-century attitude. That is when the Founding Fathers made it clear that the safety of law-abiding citizens should be one of the government’s primary concerns.”
Photo by Michael Evans, 1982
“I’m convinced that today the majority of Americans want what those first Americans wanted: A better life for themselves and their children; a minimum of government authority.”
“Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.”
“And I have to point out that government doesn’t tax to get the money it needs, government always needs the money it gets.”
“Thomas Jefferson made a comment about the Presidency and age. He said that one should not worry about one’s exact chronological age in reference to his ability to perform one’s task. And ever since he told me that, I stopped worrying.”
“The defense policy of the United States is based on a simple premise: The United States does not start fights. We will never be an aggressor. We maintain our strength in order to deter and defend against aggression — to preserve freedom and peace.”
“I have left orders to be awakened at any time in case of national emergency, even if I’m in a cabinet meeting.”
“I am not worried about the deficit. It is big enough to take care of itself.”
“I want you to know that also I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.”
“As long as a love of liberty is emblazoned on our hearts, Jefferson lives.”
“Well I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — America’s best days are yet to come. Our proudest moments are yet to be. Our most glorious achievements are just ahead.”
Ronald Reagan, Official White House Portrait Photo, 1981
Not true:
Reagan is an enduring symbol for the Republican Party, but he was not a supporter of today’s right wing “no gun control” goal. In fact, he favored gun control.
He famously stated, “I do believe that an AK-47, a machine gun, is not a sporting weapon nor needed for home defense.”
He also joined former Presidents Ford and Carter in 1994, writing the US House of Representatives to urge they ban assault weapons.
True: Due to his nearsightedness, he could not serve overseas in the military during WWII. He served in the First Motion Picture Unit, which made over 400 training films during the war.
General Electric hired Reagan as its spokesman, and required he tour their plants 16 weeks per year, making up to 14 speeches per day. He hosted “General Electric Theater” on television, 1953-1962. GE paid him $125,000/year.
Reagan was the first President to have been divorced. In 1969, he signed the first “no-fault” divorce law while Governor of California. This became a national movement … and has been found to have decreased domestic violence against women as well as female suicide.
Early in his Presidency, Reagan began wearing a hearing aid. When he went public with this choice in 1983, sales of hearing aids rose nationwide.
Reagan is the only President to be shot in an assassination attempt, and survive. He told his wife, “Honey, I forgot to duck.”
Reagan increased military spending early in his Presidency, but eventually emphasized diplomacy to decrease tensions with the USSR. His policies helped end the Cold War.
He championed tax cuts, bringing down the effective tax rates to historical norms. The average tax rate during his Presidency was 18.2% of GDP, compared with an average of 18.1% 1970 – 2010.
He was the oldest man to be elected President, and the oldest President to leave office.
The Official Portrait: Everett Raymond Kinstler painted several portraits of Reagan. Seven Presidents have posed for him, and his portraits of Ford and Reagan are both the Official White House Portraits.
The painter of this portrait, Swedish artist Anders Zorn, drew his loose brushwork and preference for natural lighting from French impressionism. Cleveland was quite pleased with Zorn’s likeness, declaring to a correspondent, “As for my ugly mug, I think the artist has ‘struck it off’ in great shape.”
Grover Cleveland (1837 – 1908)
The 22nd President of the United States, 1885 – 1889
The 24th President of the United States, 1893 – 1897
AKA: His Obstinancy, The Stuffed Prophet, The Elephantine Economist, Uncle Jumbo, The Guardian President
From: New Jersey, New York
College: One of 8 US Presidents that did not attend college
Married to: Frances Folsom
Children: Ruth, Esther, Marion, Richard, Francis
Party: Democratic
Previous Jobs: Clerk, teacher, assistant district attorney, county sheriff, lawyer, Mayor of Buffalo, Governor of New York
In His Words: “The laboring classes constitute the main part of our population. They should be protected in their efforts peaceably to assert their rights when endangered by aggregated capital, and all statutes on this subject should recognize the care of the State for honest toil, and be framed with a view of improving the condition of the workingman.”
“I have tried so hard to do the right.”
“The wants and needs of the employers and the employed shall alike be subserved and the prosperity of the country, the common heritage of both, be advanced.”
“He mocks the people who proposes that the Government shall protect the rich and that they in turn will care for the laboring poor.”
“The United States, in aiming to maintain itself as one of the most enlightened nations, would do its citizens gross injustice if it applied to its international relations any other than a high standard of honor and morality.”
“What is the use of being elected or re-elected unless you stand for something?”
Not true: Charles Lachman wrote A Secret Life, chronicling the events surrounding a child that may, or may not, have been the product of Grover Cleveland’s so-called date rape of Maria Halpin, a 38-year old sales clerk and mother of 2. This affair was a smarmy sex scandal involving a bachelor … who would later run for governor, and then for President. At the time, newspapers pounced on the scandal, and Cleveland steadfastly clung to “the truth:” that Halpin had affairs with more than one man, including Cleveland’s law partner. Cleveland took responsibility for the boy … and had the mother committed to an asylum when her drinking became a problem.
What’s true here? We don’t know. But can an author in 2011 really know definitively what happened in 1873? I think not. It is true the scandal was investigated in its day, and that Cleveland won two elections to the highest office in the land after the affair was widely known and investigated while the participants were all still living.
True: He is also the only President to have had his wedding inside the White House. He married his law partner’s ward, 24 years his junior, that he claimed to have fallen in love with when he first saw her as a baby.
Grover Cleveland is the only president to serve 2 terms separated by another President.
Utah was admitted as the 45th state during Cleveland’s Presidency.
He kept a mockingbird and several canaries as pets while President.
Cleveland paid a man $150 to serve in the Civil War in his stead (which was legal at the time).
He believed the President should be the executor of the nation’s laws … and not the creator of public policy. He believed that it was Congress’ job to make the laws, and he sought to avoid that task.
The Official Portrait: Eastman Johnson painted Grover Cleveland’s portrait in 1891; he also painted Benjamin Harrison’s portrait. Those two are the last portraits officially painted for the White House collection in the 19th century.
The 33rd President of the United States, 1945 – 1953
AKA: Give ‘Em Hell Harry
From: Missouri
College: Spalding’s Commercial College (withdrew), University of Missouri – Kansas City (withdrew)
Married to: Bess Wallace
Children: Margaret
Party: Democratic
Previous Jobs: Railroad timekeeper, clerk, mailroom clerk, farmer, Captain in the National Guard, haberdasher, judge of the County Court, US Senator, Vice President
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; transfer from the National Gallery of Art; gift of Mrs. Augustus Vincent Tack, 1952
In His Words: “Have fired 500 rounds at the Germans, at my command, been shelled, didn’t run away thank the Lord and never lost a man. Probably shouldn’t have told you but you’ll not worry any more if you know I’m in it than if you think I am. Have had the most strenuous work of my life, am very tired but otherwise absolutely in good condition physically mentally and morally.” (letter to Bess Wallace, 1918)
“People are very much wrought up about the Communist bugaboo.”
“Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a Republican. But I repeat myself.”
“It’s a recession when your neighbor loses his job; it’s a depression when you lose your own.”
“I am not worried about the Communist Party taking over the Government of the United States, but I am against a person, whose loyalty is not to the Government of the United States, holding a Government job. They are entirely different things. I am not worried about this country ever going Communist. We have too much sense for that.”
In his farewell address to the American people given in January 1953, President Truman referred to this concept very specifically in asserting that, “The President–whoever he is–has to decide. He can’t pass the buck to anybody. No one else can do the deciding for him. That’s his job.”
“Some of my best friends never agree with me politically.”
“Boys, if you ever pray, pray for me now. I don’t know whether you fellows ever had a load of hay fall on you, but when they told me yesterday what had happened, I felt like the moon, the stars and all the planets had fallen on me. I’ve got the most terribly responsible job a man ever had.” (the day after he became President)
“No government is perfect. One of the chief virtues of a democracy, however, is that its defects are always visible and under democratic processes can be pointed out and corrected.”
“If we see that Germany is winning we ought to help Russia and if Russia is winning we ought to help Germany, and that way let them kill as many as possible, although I don’t want to see Hitler victorious under any circumstances. Neither of them thinks anything of their pledged word.”
“If wars in the future are to be prevented the nations must be united in their determination to keep the peace under law.”
On the atomic bomb: “We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war, in order to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans. We shall continue to use it until we completely destroy Japan’s power to make war. Only a Japanese surrender will stop us.”
“I have read your lousy review of Margaret’s concert. I’ve come to the conclusion that you are an eight ulcer man on a four ulcer job … Some day I hope to meet you. When that happens you’ll need a new nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes and perhaps a supporter below.” (Letter to critic Paul Hume, as quoted in TIME magazine, December 18, 1950)
On tight money: “It reflects a reversion to the old idea that the tree can be fertilized at the top instead of at the bottom — the old trickle-down theory.“
Truman was so widely expected to lose the 1948 election that the Chicago Daily Tribune ran this incorrect headline. Historians now believe that pollsters used telephone surveys to predict Dewey’s victory, and thus did not properly estimate the number of Truman voters that did not have telephones.
Not true: In Truman’s book Plain Speaking, he did say this:
“My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician. And to tell the truth, there’s hardly any difference.”
The often-quoted next line, however, never was written by Truman:
“I, for one, believe the piano player job to be much more honorable than current politicians.”
It is not known who applied that sentence to Truman’s actual quote.
True: His middle initial, S, was a tribute to both of his grandfathers’ names, but did not stand for anything.
He met his future wife, Bess, when he was 6 years old … in Sunday School at their Baptist church.
He proposed to Bess in 1905. She turned him down . There were married in 1919 after an extended courtship.
Truman was not accepted for an appointment to West Point, and then rejected by the National Guard because of his poor eyesight. He overcame his 20-50 eyesight and passed the vision test by memorizing the eye chart.
In 1940, Truman used his chairmanship of the Committee on Military Affairs to investigate the fraud and abuses he saw on the military bases as the nation prepared for war. The press dubbed it “The Truman Committee,” and its success launched Truman to the national stage.
President Truman made some of the most crucial decisions in history. As WWII reached its final stage, Japan rejected a proposed surrender. Truman, after consultations with his advisers, ordered atomic bombs dropped on two Japanese cities devoted to war work: Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Japanese surrender quickly followed.
In 1948, President Truman ordered desegregation of the armed forces.
In 1951, he was part of the first transcontinental TV broadcast.
The first family lived across the street from the White House in Blair House during the extensive renovations of the White House, 1948 – 1952.
The Official Portrait: Martha Greta Kempton studied at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts before emigrating to the US in 1926. After painting Bess Truman, she painted 5 portraits of Harry Truman, the first of which became the Official White House Portrait.
Being a Scout is expensive. I’ve seen the parent walk into the store with camping gear and plunk down the plastic to buy their young man whatever he needs.
But that’s not doing it the right way.
Here’s another approach, which I read courtesy of Ed Darrell over at Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub: a letter from a future President asking for more allowance.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was our first President who was a Scout as a youth. He rose to the rank of Star Scout, and later served on the Executive Board of the Boston Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Here’s a (very poor) picture of him as a Scout.
John F Kennedy as a Scout in 1930.
President Kennedy receiving Boy Scout greeting – December, 1962 (photo courtesy John Loengard, Life Magazine)
President Kennedy described Scouting:
“For more than 50 years, Scouting has played an important part in the lives of the Boy Scouts of this nation. It has helped to mold character, to form friendships, to provide a worthwhile outlet for the natural energies of growing boys, and to train these boys to become good citizens of the future.”
President John F. Kennedy Visits with the Boy Scouts’ “Scouting Family of the Year”, February 8, 1962.
President John F. Kennedy meets with the Fair family, a representative family selected as “Scouting Family of the Year” by the Boy Scouts of America, in conjunction with Boy Scout Week. L-R: Grant, Bill, and Bob Fair (order undetermined); Martha Fair; President Kennedy; Jane Swift Fair; Harry G. Fair. Fish Room, White House, Washington, D.C. Photographer: Robert L Knudsen.
The 28th President of the United States, 1913 – 1921
AKA: The Phrasemaker, The Schoolmaster
From: Virginia
College: Davidson College (transferred), Princeton University, University of Virginia School of Law (withdrew), Johns Hopkins University (Ph. D.)
Married to: Ellen Axson, 1885 – 1914 (her death), Edith Bolling
Children: Margaret, Jessie, Eleanor
Party: Democratic
Previous Jobs: Lawyer, Professor, Football Coach, President of Princeton University, Governor of New Jersey
In His Words:
“Adventurers swarmed out of the North, as much the enemies of one race as of the other, to cozen, beguile and use the negroes. The white men were aroused by a mere instinct of self-preservation — until at last there sprung into existence a great Kuklux Klan, a veritable empire of the South, to protect the Southern country.”
“The ear of the leader must ring with the voices of the people.”
President Woodrow Wilson, seated at desk with his wife, Edith Bolling Galt, standing at his side. First posed picture after Mr. Wilson’s stroke partially paralyzed his left side, White House, June 1920. Mrs. Wilson holds a document steady while the President adds his signature.
“There are two beings who assess character instantly by looking into the eyes,—dogs and children. If a dog not naturally possessed of the devil will not come to you after he has looked you in the face, you ought to go home and examine your conscience; and if a little child, from any other reason than mere timidity, looks you in the face, and then draws back and will not come to your knee, go home and look deeper yet into your conscience.”
“The purpose of a university should be to make a son as unlike his father as possible. By the time a man has grown old enough to have a son in college he has specialized. The university should generalize the treatment of its undergraduates, should struggle to put them in touch with every force of life.”
“America lives in the heart of every man everywhere who wishes to find a region where he will be free to work out his destiny as he chooses.”
“Liberty is its own reward.”
“I would rather belong to a poor nation that was free than to a rich nation that had ceased to be in love with liberty.”
“No nation is fit to sit in judgment upon any other nation.”
“The only excuse that America can ever have for the assertion of her physical force is that she asserts it in behalf of the interests of humanity.”
“I have long enjoyed the friendship and companionship of Republicans, because I am by instinct a teacher and I would like to teach them something.”
Not true: Conspiracy theorists love this one.
Wilson allegedly said, after signing the Federal Reserve into existence, “I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men.”
HOWEVER, the underlined sentences appear to be a fabrication of the anti-fed movement. There is no evidence that Wilson wrote, or said, “I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined by country.”
True: Woodrow Wilson is the only President to earn a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. D.).
Woodrow Wilson was President when World War I began. He tried to keep our country out of the war. Then, when we had to go to war, Wilson said he hoped it would be the “war to end all wars.”
Two of Wilson’s daughters were married in the White House while he was President.
President Wilson was the first President to host a press conference.
His 1913 State of the Union Address was delivered live – he was the first President to do so since Thomas Jefferson discontinued the practice in 1801.
Wilson is one of two Presidents to be widowed while in office (President Tyler was the other).
Wilson pushed the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 through Congress, effectively throttling anti-war or pro-German opinions. The US Post Office, following the instructions received from the Justice Department, refused to carry any materials deemed critical of the US war effort … 60 newspapers lost their 2nd class mailing rights, and were effectively banned from the US mail. Freedom of the Press? Not 100 years ago!
Freedom of Speech? During the war, criticism of the Democratic Wilson administration became grounds for arrest and imprisonment.
He was the first President to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
President Wilson’s first wife, Ellen Axson, died in the White House during the summer of 1914. Wilson married again in December 1915, to Edith Bolling Galt After Wilson suffered a stroke while in office, Edith controlled access to the President, igniting a debate that still remains over how much power she exerted.
In 1920, President Wilson was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
He is the only President buried in Washington, DC.
The Official Portrait: F Graham Cootes painted this 1936 portrait of Woodrow Wilson. The painting hangs above the Grand Staircase in the White House, along with portraits of other 20th century Presidents. It shows an academic President, with a book in hand.
John Trumbull’s Capture of the Hessians at the Battle of Trenton shows Monroe wounded. He took a musket ball in the left shoulder.
James Monroe (1758 – 1831)
The 5th President of the United States, 1817 – 1825
AKA: The Era of Good Feelings President, The Last Cocked Hat (because he loved the fashion of the last century)
From: Virginia
College: The College of William & Mary
Married to: Elizabeth Kortright
Children: Eliza, James Spence, Maria Hester
Party: Democratic-Republican
Previous Jobs: Planter, Lieutenant in the Continental Army, Delegate to the Congress of the Confederation, US Senator, Minister to France, Minister to the United Kingdom, Governor of Virginia, Secretary of State, Secretary of War
In His Words: “The American continents … are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers.”
“A little flattery will support a man through great fatigue.”
Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze. Monroe is shown holding the flag.
“Never did a government commence under auspices so favorable, nor ever was success so complete.”
“Our country may be likened to a new house. We lack many things, but we possess the most precious of all — liberty!”
“Preparation for war is a constant stimulus to suspicion and ill will.”
Not true: It’s not true that everyone loved Monroe – though he was an extremely well-liked war hero, statesman and President. He ran unopposed in 1820 and received every electoral college vote except one, which was cast for John Quincy Adams, his eventual successor.
True: James Monroe died on July 4th – just like Thomas Jefferson and John Adams.
Monroe was in favor of founding African colonies for the return of free African Americans. Those colonies would eventually form Liberia. Its capital, Monrovia, is named in his honor.
Five states were admitted during his Presidency: Mississippi (1817), Illinois (1818), Alabama (1819), Maine (1820), Missouri (1821).
On December 25, 1776, George Washington’s army crossed the Delaware River to attach a Hessian army camped near Trenton, New Jersey. Lieutenant James Monroe was one of two wounded; he was shot in the shoulder rushing an artillery battery.
The Official Portrait: James Monroe was painted by Samuel F.B. Morse, circa 1819. Better known as the inventor of the electric telegraph, Morse was also the first professor of painting and sculpture for New York University.
