November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881
James A. Garfield was the 20th President of the United States. A lawyer and Major General during the Civil War, Garfield served in the Ohio State Senate before being elected to a 17 year career in the U.S. House of Representatives. Serving in Congress during the post-war Reconstruction found Garfield helping to steer the course of the recovering nation as a prominent legislator.
October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893
The 19th President of the United States, Rutherford Birchard Hayes’ career was marked with both good and bad moments. As a lawyer and abolitionist, he defended a number of fugitive slaves (good). As President, he formally ended all Federal Reconstruction efforts in the south, basically letting White southerners determine for themselves what rights Black freed men could have (bad). He weeded out corruption in the postal and civil services (good). He “remedied” the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 by ordering the military to bloodily end it (bad). So on and so forth.
December 29, 1808 – July 31, 1875
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States. Becoming President following Abraham Lincoln’s assassination and preceding Grant’s administration, Johnson was a sort of “historical stop-gap” that was widely regarded as – at best – ineffectual. The country was a mess thanks to the Civil War and Johnson’s attempts at a quick reconstruction were mostly bungled. He wanted the southern states back in the union quickly. He didn’t care if they adopted laws and codes that protected the now-freed former slaves or not. Congress strongly disagreed. Johnson vetoed any bill they put forward. They impeached him. Very little got done. Continue reading
January 7, 1800 – March 8, 1874
Millard Fillmore was the 13th President of the United States. Born in a log cabin. Mostly self-educated. Became a lawyer. He was basically Abraham Lincoln lite. Well, not exactly. Fillmore was sort of haphazardly elected as Vice-President in 1848 and assumed the Presidency when Zachary Taylor ate some bad cherries in July of 1850. He was the last member of the Whig party to hold the office. Continue reading
February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States. Arguably, one of the most famous presidents in U.S. history, Lincoln guided the country through its bloody civil war. A largely self-educated lawyer who grew up in Kentucky and Indiana, he went on to represent Illinois in the United States congress. After a return to private law practice, and amidst a rising tension between Southern, slave-owning states and the North, Lincoln was persuaded to run for President as a moderate in the newly founded Republican party. Despite receiving virtually no votes from the Southern states, Lincoln won the election in 1860. His victory led the first states in the South to begin working toward secession and the war followed quickly. Lincoln navigated the war with admirable skill and prowess. In 1862, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which effectively freed the slaves in the Southern states. In 1864, he was re-elected while the war raged on and began to work toward what post-war Reconstruction would look like. Continue reading
July 4, 1872 – January 5, 1933
“The words of a President have an enormous weight, and ought not to be used indiscriminately.” – Calvin Coolidge
John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States. Known far and wide as “Silent Cal,” the conservative Republican worked his way up, as a lawyer, through state politics in Massachusetts, eventually becoming the governor of the commonwealth in 1918. Coolidge’s handling of the 1919 Boston Police Strike earned him a reputation as a politician who acted quickly and wisely. As his actions in the Massachusetts state house became more and more known, many in the Republican party started to urge him to seek the Presidency. Continue reading
December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862
Martin Van Buren, the 8th President of the United States, was born in mostly-Dutch-speaking Kinderhook, NY in 1782. He was the first U.S. President to be born AFTER the country had declared its independence from Britain. He was 5’6″. And, because of his upbringing, was the only President to speak English as a second language.
But, fun factoids do not a great president make. Continue reading
October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886
A relatively quiet cog in the post-civil war New York political machine, Chester A. Arthur was thrust into the U.S. Presidency when his predecessor, James Garfield, was assassinated in the first year of their administration. Arthur served out the single term in surprisingly successful fashion considering his general lack of public opinion prior to being nominated as Garfield’s vice-president. Originally from Vermont, Arthur studied and practiced Law in New York before getting into politics. His rise through the New York Republican “Stalwarts” put him at odds with Garfield and the two were never close. Continue reading
January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945
The former Governor of New York and 32nd President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt is the only President to have served more than two terms and be elected FOUR times. Of, course, with term limits now in place, no President will ever again get the chance to do that. FDR was more than just the name of a highway. His optimism and overcome-all-odds spirit helped pull the U.S. out of the grips of the Great Depression. His New Deal policies shaped modern American society and transformed the political landscape of the country for decades. Continue reading
July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848
John Quincy Adams was the 6th President of the United States. While his presidency was unremarkable, even by early standards, his life in national politics was certainly impactful. He is the only U.S. President to serve in the House of Representatives AFTER leaving the presidency. He represented Massachusetts in Washington D.C. for the final 17 years of his life. Prior to being elected President, he served in the U.S. Senate and as Secretary of State under James Monroe. Despite all of this, he is probably best remembered for his service and prowess as a foreign diplomat. Continue reading
Celebrity Graveland 