Hail to the Chiefs, Part 1
A recent study show that today’s teens are familiar with only a handful of U.S. presidents. They know Washington and Lincoln of course, a Roosevelt or two, and maybe Thomas Jefferson. Some of them think Alexander Hamilton and Benjamin Franklin were presidents. After all, their pictures are on money, so they must have lived in the White House, right? Wrong.
I’m no presidential scholar, but I’ve always been fascinated by this exclusive club. Only 45 men have held the job in 234 years. One of them, Grover Cleveland had the job, skipped a term, and got it again. That’s why Joe Biden is #46.
With a group of 45, you’re going to have some standouts, a few duds, and lots of guys in the middle. There’s a reason some are remembered more than others. Washington gets a lot of love because he was number one. John Adams was a big deal in his own right, but he’ll always be number two.
Thomas Jefferson, who came next, gets credit for doubling the nation’s land size, with the acquisition of the Louisiana Territory. However, in recent times, his standing has fallen because of his views and actions regarding slavery.
Numbers 4 and 5, James Madison and James Monroe, got a lot done. Madison is primarily responsible for the checks and balances in our three branches of government. Monroe is the man behind the doctrine that basically kept European countries from interfering with our business, and kept us from interfering with theirs.
Number 6, John Quincy Adams was best known for being the son of Number 2, John Adams. They had their own exclusive club until the Bushes came along. The younger Adams was fluent in six languages, and you can also thank him for purchasing Florida from Spain.
Next came “Old Hickory,” Andrew Jackson who dismantled the national bank, yet somehow ended up on the $20 bill. Some believed he was a war hero (others had their doubts), and he believed the earth was flat. He lowered the national debt, which may have helped him win a second term.
President 8 through 15 are largely forgotten for various reasons. Martin Van Buren led the nation into an economic depression, and failed to win another term. William Henry Harrison caught pneumonia on his inauguration day, giving a two hour speech in freezing weather, and died a month later.
Harrison’s VP John Tyler was the first man to assume the presidency following the death of an incumbent, and accomplished little. He mostly vetoed the bills Congress had passed, and ended up getting kicked out of his own party.
James Polk of Tennessee became president in 1845 with a handful of goals, and achieved them all. Among those goals was serving only one term. His policies helped fix the economy, and he expanded the nation westward into several states. Three months after leaving office, he died at 53 from intestinal issues.
“Old Rough and Ready” Zachary Taylor fought in several wars, supported Native American causes, and tried to keep a divided nation together, but died less than two years after taking office. He was succeeded by his vice president, Millard Fillmore. It turned out that he and Taylor were total opposites, and Taylor’s entire cabinet resigned when Fillmore took over. It is widely believed he helped accelerate the tensions that would lead to the Civil War.
When Number 14, Franklin Pierce took over in 1853, the slavery issue was heating up, and he too fanned the flames. He was also arrested for running over a woman with his horse, while he was president. He’s lucky cable news wasn’t around back then.
He was followed by James Buchanan. Historians have a hard time finding anything positive to say about his one term (1857 to 1861) in office. While Buchanan was president, seven states (Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Texas, and Louisiana) seceded from the Union. He said there was nothing he could do about it.
Abraham Lincoln’s presidency has been well documented, and he was faced with challenges like no other president before him. Next week, we’ll pick up where we left off with more presidential studs and duds.
(David Carroll is a Chattanooga news anchor, and his new book “I Won’t Be Your Escape Goat” is available on his website, ChattanoogaRadioTV.com. You may contact him at 900 Whitehall Road, Chattanooga, TN 37405, or at [email protected])
