Booth Blog

Written by Chris Binkert, Photo courtesy of clintonlibrary.gov

While riding along on a tour bus during a recent trip to Scotland and Ireland, I was surprised to see a banner on a light post for William McKinley.  Just moments later, our tour guide began mentioning the number of presidents of Scots Irish descent.

The number and percentage of presidents with this ancestry stunned me. Of the 45 men who have been president, 28 have ancestral ties to Scotland or Ireland, an astonishing 62%.

Indeed, every president since 1961 has been of Scots Irish descent.

My mind began to wonder how these relatively small countries have had such an outsized impact on our nation.

And that’s where history gets interesting and complicated.

After the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, the King of Scotland became the King of England. This man was James I.  The English had engaged in centuries of battles and disputes with Ireland and the Gaelic Irish nobility.  James I decided to confiscate all the lands of the Irish nobility and import Scottish families to live on those lands in the northern part of Ireland known as Ulster.  They called this a ‘plantation’, meaning the Scots, loyal to the King, were ‘planted’ in northern Ireland.

Over the next centuries, these Scots Irish families generally thrived. Yet, significant numbers of both Scottish and Irish families decided to emigrate to the United States following our independence from England in 1776.  They saw opportunities in America that were generally not available to them in Ireland.

Our Scots Irish Presidents

Among our earliest presidents, Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809), James Monroe (1817-1825), and Andrew Jackson (1829-1837) were the first of Scots Irish descent.  Jackson’s family came from Antrim county in Ulster, a region of nine counties in northern Ireland.

Jackson was the first of nine presidents with descendants from Antrim. That county also has ties to Andrew Johnson (1865-1869), Chester Arthur (1881-1885), Grover Cleveland (1885-1889 + 1893-1897), William McKinley (1897-1901), Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909), Jimmy Carter (1977-1981), and Ronald Reagan (1981-1989).

James Buchanan (1857-1861) was the first of four presidents with descendants from Tyrone county, also in Ulster. Others include U.S. Grant (1869-1877), Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921), and Harry Truman (1945-1953).

Recent Scots Irish Presidents

Three of our recent presidents have celebrated their familial roots, travelling to their ancestral homes while in office.  John F. Kennedy’s (1961-1963) roots were 100% Irish, with family history in Limerick, Cork, Wexford, and Fermanagh.  He visited Ireland in 1963 and called those days “the best four days of my life.”

Irishman Joe Biden (2021-2025) also visited Ireland, specifically Louth on his trip in 2023. He said, “it feels like a homecoming.”

Bill Clinton’s relationship with Ireland is more substantive.  His mother, Virginia, was of Irish descent.  While president (1993-2001), he engaged in peace settlement talks to end the war in Northern Ireland.

When Clinton took office in 1993, the conflict between Protestant and Catholic communities had claimed over 3,000 lives over a 30 year period.  This period became known as ‘The Troubles’ and Clinton found it difficult to achieve peace.  The Good Friday Agreement with the British and Irish governments was signed in 1998, after years of negotiations and three personal visits from Clinton.

The Clinton-negotiated tenuous peace in Northern Ireland has lasted for 27 years, yet 6 large walls remain in the city of Londonderry/Derry, symbols of the past and ongoing segregation of Protestant and Catholics.   (If you call it Londonderry, you are Protestant, loyal to The Crown in London; if you call it Derry, you’re Catholic)

I was reminded of Clinton’s role in this process while in the lobby of our hotel in Belfast, where a plaque on the wall attests to his stay during one of the three visits.

Performance

How have these 28 Scots Irish presidents performed in office?  Six of them are among the top ten ranked best presidents. They are Theodore Roosevelt (#4), with ancestors from Antrim; Harry Truman (#6), with relatives from Tyrone; Thomas Jefferson (#7), whose mother was Scottish; John F. Kennedy (#8), with multiple Irish connections; Ronald Reagan (#9), with ties to Antrim; and Barack Obama (#10), whose maternal relatives came from Offaly.

As you might expect, many of our first 15 presidents were of British ancestry.

For this writer, to know that 62% of presidents sprang from Scotland or Ireland was a revelation, worthy of consideration and respect.

Interested in learning more about the presidents? Visit the Carolyn & James Millar Presidential Gallery on the upper level of the Booth Western Art Museum. The gallery features original letters and photographs of every U.S. president. Learn more at www.boothmuseum.org.

Written by: Chris Binkert; Photo by: Chris Binkert

For the first 150 years of our republic, most presidents were laid to rest at their estates or in church graveyards near their homes.

For the most part, their grave sites are relatively simple and unadorned.

For example, Thomas Jefferson, who died in 1826, is buried on his estate at Monticello in Virginia. The simple obelisk marker notes his achievements as author of the Declaration of Independence, author of Virginia’s Statute of Religious Freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia.  It does not indicate he was President of the United States.

As you might expect, there are exceptions to such simplicity.

In the 1850’s an entrepreneur in Richmond, Virginia, decided he could create an exceptional cemetery if a president were buried there. In short order, relatives of Virginian James Monroe, the fifth president, agreed to relocate his 27-year-old grave in New York City to the new Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond. Shortly thereafter, John Tyler, the tenth president, joined Monroe at the President’s Circle. As you can see in the photo, Monroe’s sarcophagus is inside a large cast iron ‘birdcage’ and is now a National Historic Landmark.

Hollywood Cemetery is not the only site with multiple presidential graves.

Second president John Adams and sixth president son John Quincy Adams are both buried at the family church in Quincy, Massachusetts, near Boston.

Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia also has two presidential graves.  First was William Howard Taft in 1930 following his national career that included his term as president from 1909 – 1913, and later included his tenure as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1921-1930. Arlington’s second presidential grave is John F. Kennedy’s, buried there in 1963 following his assassination in Texas.

The approach to presidential burial sites changed dramatically in 1941 when Franklin D. Roosevelt created the first presidential library at his estate in Hyde Park, New York.  He did this while still in office to plan for a place to house his presidential papers and artifacts.  He was buried there in 1945 following his sudden death in Warm Springs Georgia.

Succeeding Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman thought that FDR had a great idea and wanted his own library in Independence, Missouri, following his departure from office in 1953. In part due to his urging, Congress passed the Presidential Libraries Act in 1955 that allows any former president to have a library as long as it is built with private funds. Federal money is used for ongoing maintenance of the facility.

Since then, every former president has created their own library, and most are also the location of their gravesites as well.  The only exceptions are Kennedy, buried as noted in Arlington National Cemetery, and Lyndon B. Johnson, buried on his ranch in Stonewall Texas on land that is now a National Historic Park.  Upon his death, Jimmy Carter will become the third president not buried at their library, as he and Rosalynn have decided to be put to rest in the backyard of their home in Plains, Georgia.

Having visited 38 of the available 41 presidential grave sites/libraries/museums, I can attest to the dramatic changes over the centuries. The modern presidential library/museum is a full-on sensory experience, with liberal use of audio-visual effects, museum quality displays, and the expected gift shop stocked with t-shirts, books, golf balls, and tchotchkes for purchase.

In my experience, the Ronald Reagan Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California, is the best one to see. His Air Force One jet is on inside display, suspended on three pylons. Ronald and Nancy are buried on the property, simply, with a crescent shaped wall with appropriate words highlighting his legacy.

As to the future, if you visit the Bill Clinton Library in Little Rock, Arkansas, you can see the plot set aside for the graves of the president and his wife Hillary.  George W. Bush and Laura have also decided to be buried at his library in Dallas, Texas, on the campus of Southern Methodist University.

The burial plans for still living presidents Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden have not been disclosed. Obama is building his library and museum in Chicago, where it will be the first completely digital presidential library.  His, like Richard Nixon’s in California, will use no federal funding for ongoing operations.

In thinking about all the gravesites I’ve visited, the simplest and most accessible one is for Calvin Coolidge in upstate Vermont. It’s very basic, with only the presidential seal on the stone along with his name and dates of birth and death. There’s no fencing and you can walk right up to it. It’s a perfect reflection of the president, a man of few words. He once settled a wager when a dinner guest said, “I bet my friend that I could get more than two words out of you.”  Calvin’s reply: “You lose.”

Interested in learning more about the presidents? Visit the Carolyn & James Millar Presidential Gallery on the upper level of the Booth Western Art Museum. The gallery features original letters and photographs of every U.S. president. Learn more at www.boothmuseum.org.

Written By: Chris Binkert

I’m often asked the question “Who is your favorite president?”

My reply is always Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), president from 1901-1909.

I’m not alone in my admiration for our 26^th president.  In a YouGov poll of the general population, he consistently shows in the top five, among Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

Seen as the architect of the modern presidency, Roosevelt’s multi-faceted life is full of energy, leadership, heroism, decisiveness, and loss.

There’s much you probably already know about Theodore Roosevelt: President, Conservationist, Rough Rider, Panama Canal, Mt. Rushmore, and Bull Moose.  I won’t dwell on those well-known achievements but rather talk about the man himself.

The Theodore Roosevelt you may not know.

First, he hated the name Teddy, finding it “too juvenile”. He preferred Theodore or later, as Colonel.  Also, he had no middle name, and he was a Junior, as his father was Theodore Roosevelt. And yes, he was fifth cousins with future president Franklin D. Roosvelt.

As a child in New York City, he had severe asthma, so much so that his father had to take him out for nighttime carriage rides to force fresh air into his lungs. His father encouraged him to overcome this condition by strengthening his body and mind. He deeply respected his father,  which led him to decide to live a strenuous life, emphasizing effort, hardship, and duty over ease and self-indulgence. He also was very nearsighted and began wearing glasses at age thirteen, an event that opened up the world to him.

He married his college sweetheart, Alice Hathaway Lee, in 1880 at age 22 following his graduation from Harvard.

At age 23, his first endeavor after college was to write an influential book, The Naval War of 1812. Still quoted today, the book cemented his reputation as a scholar and writer. He went on to write 46 other books, 33 articles in major publications, and an estimated 150,000 letters.

On Valentines Day, 1884, Alice died two days after childbirth.  On the same day and in the same house, his mother, Mittie, died from typhoid fever.

In his grief, he left baby Alice with his sister and moved west to North Dakota to become a rancher. Three years in, he lost his investment in the ranch when all his cattle died during a frigid winter.

In 1886, he returned to New York and married a childhood friend, Edith Carow. They had 5 children plus his first daughter Alice.

After a stint as a police commissioner in New York City, he was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy by President William McKinley. During the run up to the Spanish-American War in 1898, Roosevelt advocated for a rapid buildup of preparations. He derided McKinley’s reluctance to declare war by saying “he has no more backbone than a chocolate éclair”.

After his wartime Rough Rider charge up San Juan Hill, his popularity boomed, paving the way for his election as Governor of New York.  A reformer at heart, he made the New York politicians so uncomfortable, they strongly recommended Theodore to become the Vice Presidential nominee in the 1900 election with the incumbent McKinley.

President of the United States

McKinley’s second term was short-lived: McKinley was assassinated in Buffalo in 1901. At age 42, Roosevelt became the youngest President in history.

Early in Roosevelt’s presidency, he went on a hunting trip to Alabama, specifically to shoot a bear.  After two days without a bear, the local officials trapped a tired old bear, tied it to a tree, and suggested Roosevelt shoot it. Theodore refused, calling it unsportsmanlike.  The resulting adulation in newspapers across the country gave an entrepreneur in New York an idea:  create  a plush, soft, bear toy. It sold out in hours, and the Teddy Bear was born.

In 1904, he created the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, saying the USA must be the policeman for the Western Hemisphere because unruly, corrupt smaller nations had to be controlled.

Roosevelt was the first president to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his leadership in settling the Russian Japanese War in 1905. He was the first president to travel outside the country, visiting the under-construction Panama Canal in 1906.

Knowing his affinity for all things naval, in 1907, Roosevelt sent the Great White Fleet, composed of 16 battleships, around the world as a demonstration of formidable US naval power.

Just before he left office in 1909, he put in place new fitness standards for officers in the Army. To show them it could be done, he rode horseback for 100 miles in one day during winter weather.

Post Presidency

Unhappy with his chosen successor, William H. Taft, Roosevelt ran for president in 1912 as leader of the third party Progressive Party, also known as the Bull Moose Party.  While campaigning in Milwaukee, he was shot in the chest at close range. The bullet pierced his glasses case and a 50 page folded speech in his breast pocket, stopping short of his heart and lungs. Bloodied, he went ahead with the 90 minute speech before going to the hospital. He told the audience “it takes more than that to kill a bull moose!”

Roosevelt earned more electoral votes than any other third party candidate in history but lost to Woodrow Wilson.

In 1913-1914 he led an expedition to explore the unknown River of Doubt in the Amazon. He nearly died on the long journey in dugout canoes. His son Kermit was there and refused to leave Roosevelt behind when his leg became infected and a fever spiked.

He volunteered to fight in World War I, but President Wilson would not grant him permission. All four of his sons served in the war. Son Quentin was a pilot, dying in a plane crash behind German lines.

Roosevelt was never the same after this loss, dying in less than a year later at age 60.

Enduring Legacy

Roosevelt’s legacy has endured and expanded over the decades.  In the 1930’s, his face was included in the memorial at Mt. Rushmore. In 1953, his home at Sagamore Hill New York opened as a museum. In 2001, President Bill Clinton posthumously awarded Roosevelt the Medal of Honor for his exploits as a Rough Rider on San Juan Hill.  His son, Theodore Roosevelt Jr., also won the Medal of Honor on the Normandy beaches of World War II.

A new Theodore Roosevelt Museum will open July 4, 2026, in Medora, North Dakota to celebrate this one-of-a-kind man’s life on the prairie.

So, he’s my favorite.  Who’s yours?

Interested in learning more about the presidents? Visit the Carolyn & James Millar Presidential Gallery on the upper level of the Booth Western Art Museum. The gallery features original letters and photographs of every U.S. president. Learn more at www.boothmuseum.org.

They are among the most recognizable monuments in the country. Most could identify the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and Jefferson Memorial in Washington DC with ease. Many of you may have also visited these premiere spots to soak up history and ponder the events that led to their greatness.

For me, I love sitting on the top center step of the Lincoln Memorial and just rest quietly with him for a while.

As a nation, we have created numerous monuments to our presidents. They are to be found literally all over the country, in places large and small, urban, and rural, prominent, or hidden.

I began to wonder which of our presidents has the most monuments?  And that’s where the story gets interesting.

That was one of the questions on the mind of the people who conducted the National Monuments Audit in 2021.  Using $4 million from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, they located nearly 50,000 monuments of all types in the USA.

An examination of the Top 50, ranked by number of monuments, shows some surprising results.

There are 10 presidents among the Top 50 monuments in the country, representing 609 locations. Here’s their ranking and number of monuments:

#1:          Abraham Lincoln                               193

#2:          George Washington                        171

#9:          John F. Kennedy                               44

#10:       Thomas Jefferson                            36

#11:       Ulysses Grant                                    35

#15:       Andrew Jackson                              27

#16:       Theodore Roosevelt                       27

#17:       William McKinley                             27

#32:       Franklin D. Roosevelt                     17

#33:       Dwight Eisenhower                         17

#49:       James Garfield                                 12

We are inclined to memorialize those who led in war, were founding fathers, or were assassinated. Those assassinated presidents were Lincoln in 1865, Garfield in 1881, McKinley in 1901, and Kennedy in 1963.

In a related way, one of Thomas Jefferson’s most dramatic decisions was to send Merriweather Lewis and William Clark to explore his 1803 Louisiana Purchase. These men, along with Indian guide Sacagawea, captured the American spirit of courageous exploration and survival during their adventure from May 1804 to September 1806.   Here’s their ranking and number of monuments:

#23:       William Clark                      22

#28:       Sacagawea                          20

# 35       Merriweather Lewis        16

The raising of monuments can be controversial.  It took the citizens of New Hampshire 57 years to erect a monument to Franklin Pierce, the fourteenth president, who served from 1853-1857.  Pierce, the sole president from New Hampshire, was a Southern sympathizer who defended slavery, making him unloved by many in his home state.

Presidential monuments can also be quirky.  As you can see in the photo, Ronald Reagan is seated at a picnic table accompanied by Ms. Jennie Gowaty, eating a Polish potato pancake at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown Pennsylvania in 1984 while campaigning for his second term.

Honoring the presidents has become an international effort too.  At least 10 presidents have monuments in foreign countries. Lincoln has 4 in Mexico because he was against the Mexican American War in 1848 and against slavery. There’s one of Lincoln in Moscow, depicted shaking hands with Czar Alexander II. It was dedicated in 2011 on the 150^th anniversary of the freeing of serfs in Russia.

Ronald Reagan, in honor of his spirited efforts to fight communism, has statues in 3 European countries: Budapest, Hungary; Warsaw, Poland; Gdansk, Poland; and Berlin, Germany. It was in Berlin at the Brandenburg Gate that he famously declared: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

Finally, in a mostly forgotten presidential term, Rutherford B. Hayes, president from 1877-1881, has a statue in Paraguay.  While president, he brokered a peace deal to settle a land dispute between Argentina and Paraguay, resulting in the statue, and other local memorials such as names of streets.

There’s little doubt that the presidents are popular subjects for statues, memorials, and monuments.  We have two prominent presidential sites in Georgia.  Warm Springs was Franklin Roosevelt’s retreat and site of his death in 1945.  Plains is Jimmy Carter’s birthplace and long-term residence. Take a day trip and visit one sometime soon.

Interested in learning more about the presidents? Visit the Carolyn & James Millar Presidential Gallery on the upper level of the Booth Western Art Museum. The gallery features original letters and photographs of every U.S. president. Learn more at www.boothmuseum.org.

One of the most astute and frequently quoted observers of the presidency was Richard Neustadt, author of the influential 1960 book Presidential Power.  His most famous quote is: “The power of the presidency is the power to persuade.”

For much of our country’s history, the president’s ability to persuade became a lightning rod for success in office.  The prominence of this concept has accelerated in the past 90 years as the presidency evolved into the modern, global, media and social media- driven age.  Inspiring and motivating others to support their vision, plans and solutions has become a key focal point for successive administrations.

A sure marker for the acceleration of this concept is its inclusion in C-Span’s survey of historians. Public persuasion is one of ten factors used to rate the success of a presidential administration. The most recent C-Span survey was published in 2017. It ranked all the presidents, the top ten in public persuasion were:

1. Franklin D. Roosevelt
2. Theodore Roosevelt
3. Abraham Lincoln
4. George Washington
5. Ronald Reagan
6. John F. Kennedy
7. Andrew Jackson
8. Thomas Jefferson
9. Bill Clinton
10. Barack Obama

However, just what does it mean to be an effective presidential persuader?  Convincing Congress to pass the laws you desire? Giving a great speech? Getting elected in the first place or getting re-elected? Bringing on successful cabinet members? Convincing other countries to go to war with you?

On average, most presidents have been mediocre persuaders.  Why would that be the case when they have the immense power of the presidency and the White House apparatus at their disposal?

In looking at those at the top, these presidents have been able to build a shared vision among their targeted influence group.  At any point in time, that might be the Senate, the House of Representatives, an individual leader, the head of a foreign government, or the American people as a whole. The absence of a shared vision generally results in defeat for the president’s ideas.

Yes, it’s helpful if they can give a great speech. With the exception of Washington, who persuaded by example, and Jefferson, who persuaded with his pen, all the others in the top ten above were very effective speakers.  Speaking well counts for much in getting elected, but giving great speeches rarely gets the job done in office when a shared vision is lacking.

For example, in 1993-1994, Bill Clinton made hundreds of speeches about his vision to overhaul the American health care system.  He used all the levers of persuasion he could find but ultimately failed. Why?  He lacked a shared vision with the Congress, who dug in their heels and refused to move ahead.  In political terms, he didn’t have the votes.

Some observers have concluded that the more a president advocates for a measure, the less likely they are to achieve it, particularly in our modern ‘we win, they lose’ dynamic.  The very reality of laying out an agenda makes it harder to accomplish.  But, they keep doing it, because not to push for your agenda is seen as being uncertain about it. In Frances Lee’s book Beyond Ideology (2009), she argues that “the president’s attempts at persuasion might have the perverse effect of making it harder to govern.”

All that said, there are many examples of successful presidential persuasion.  Some of the most memorable are:

John F. Kennedy’s ‘we choose to go to the moon’ program. He kicked it off with a memorable speech and was able to build a shared vision that American could overtake the Soviets and reach the moon by the end of the decade.

Franklin Roosevelt was expert at connecting with everyday Americans. He developed great empathy for rural people from his Warm Springs Georgia polio rehabilitation facility, mixing with them for weeks and months at a time.

Military experience also brings a person closer to real people. Commanding soldiers in battle is highly valued as sharing a purpose with higher values in mind.  Military leaders George Washington, Zachary Taylor, Ulysses Grant, Willam McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Dwight Eisenhower all benefited in the eyes of the public, ramping up the shared vision needed to get things done.

Being an effective storyteller can also help. Lincoln was renowned for his home-spun stories that made a point.  To urge Americans to support the Lend-Lease program in 1940, Franklin Roosevelt used a story about “lending your garden hose to your neighbor if his house is on fire”.  Many could relate to that image and approved of lending ships and war materials to England to fight Hitler.

Having a memorable line can also push an agenda forward.  Franklin Roosevelt kicked off his administration in the depths of the depression, stating “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”.  John F. Kennedy’s “ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country” is a peak example of setting a vision in a memorable way.

It’s a rare presidency that forms at the confluence of adequate votes in Congress, world events, and voter desires that can coalesce into a shared vision. When these factors come together, let the successful persuading begin.

Interested in learning more about the presidents? Visit the Carolyn & James Millar Presidential Gallery on the upper level of the Booth Western Art Museum. The gallery features original letters and photographs of every U.S. president. Learn more at www.boothmuseum.org.

Why did Ronald Reagan hang the portrait of Calvin Coolidge in his cabinet room?

On the surface, the two men could not have been more different.  The sunny, outgoing, Reagan offers a striking contrast to Coolidge’s tight lipped, frowning New England aloofness. But there are many ways these two presidents, separated by nearly six decades in their service, are very much alike.

Let’s drill down to compare and contrast the 30^th and 40^th presidents.

Early years

Calvin Coolidge was born and raised on a farm in Vermont in a community of less than 100 people.  Ronald Reagan was also born in a tiny town, Tampico, Illinois, population 849.  Calvin’s father was a farmer and elected local official in Plymouth Notch, Vermont. Reagan’s father was an alcoholic salesman who moved the family many times to find new jobs.

Both men graduated from small colleges, Coolidge from Amherst College in Massachusetts and Reagan from Eureka College in Illinois.

First Jobs

Coolidge “read the law” in Northampton, Massachusetts under the eye of a local lawyer.  After passing the bar, Coolidge started out slowly, representing small businesses.  His steady growth as a lawyer was the result of his willingness to build relationships in his community.

Reagan’s success as a radio sports broadcaster in Des Moines, Iowa lead him into the acting profession, ultimately helping him win movie roles in California that honed his speaking abilities.

Marriages

Coolidge and Reagan married attractive, resourceful women that helped them in their political careers.  Coolidge married Grace Goodhue, also from Vermont.  Reagan first married actress Jane Wyman, and after his divorce, married actress Nancy Davis. Both Grace and Nancy were deemed successful First Ladies, known in part for their fashion style.

Republican Governors

Coolidge and Reagan were both elected Republican governors of progressive states, Coolidge in Massachusetts and Reagan in California. It was Coolidge’s handling of a police strike in Boston that rocketed him into national prominence in 1919.  After a week – long strike by police that included nine deaths, Coolidge famously stated: “There is no right to strike against the public safety, anywhere, anytime.”

As Governor of California in 1967, Reagan confronted anti-war student protests on college campuses. He said, “Many leftist campus movements have transcended legitimate protest, with their actions having more to do with rioting and anarchy than academic freedom.”

Reagan, years later as president, would end a 1981 strike by air traffic controllers by firing 11,000 workers, replacing them with freshly trained controllers.

Both Coolidge and Reagan benefitted from taking strong stances in labor disputes affecting public safety.

Presidencies

Vice President Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929) became president upon the death of Warren G. Harding in 1923. He was administered the oath of office at his father’s farmhouse in Vermont, since his father was a notary public.   He won election in his own right in 1924.

Coolidge inherited significant federal debt, incurred during World War I that ended in 1918.  One of the major efforts during his six years as president was to pay down the national debt, reducing it 35% from $28 billion to $18 billion. He actively worked at paring this debt by holding multiple working sessions each month to control spending.  He defined frugality in every decision.

Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) was elected president in part due to his conservative mantra of reducing the size and scope of the federal government.  His landmark tax laws in the 1980s lowered the top personal tax rate from 73% to 28%, the lowest this rate had been since Coolidge was in office.  Reagan also shored up funding for Social Security, the last president to tackle that issue. Reagan oversaw large increases in defense spending that eventually helped lead to the demise of the Soviet Union.

As a result, under “Reaganomics”, the federal debt nearly tripled in size, growing from $728 billion to $2.1 trillion.  In today’s way of thinking, the value of Reagan’s spending and management of the economy was worth it. Pinching pennies as Calvin Coolidge did was ultimately stifling.

Personalities

Coolidge and Reagan had quite different personalities. Coolidge lived in a small duplex in Northampton until he became Vice President. Reagan made much more money and spent it too.

Known as “Silent Cal”, Coolidge was a man of very few words. So much so that a lady seated next to him at a dinner said “Mr. President, I made a bet that I could get you to say more than three words tonight.”  Coolidge said in reply, “You lose.”

Reagan, due to his acting experience, was one of the best public speakers we’ve ever had. Always ready with a quick quip, Reagan could disarm anyone with humor. When he was wheeled into the operating room after being shot in 1981, he said, “I hope all of you are Republicans.”

After the White House

Coolidge declined to run again in 1928 and retired to Northampton where he wrote a successful autobiography.  He died in 1933 of a heart attack at age 60 only 4 years out of office.

Ronald Reagan also wrote a successful autobiography in retirement. He gave speeches for millions of dollars around the world. He died in 2004 at age 93 after battling Alzheimer’s for several years.

So, why did Reagan have Coolidge’s portrait on his wall?

Reagan wanted to emulate the ‘small government’ concepts that Coolidge executed in office.  Reagan, however, was faced with a much more dynamic and complicated world than Coolidge’s.  Reagan made bold and expensive choices, many of which helped re-shape our modern world for the better.

Interested in learning more about the presidents? Visit the Carolyn & James Millar Presidential Gallery on the upper level of the Booth Western Art Museum. The gallery features original letters and photographs of every U.S. president. Learn more at www.boothmuseum.org.

The Oval Office is renowned for being the central place of power for the President of the United States, a space at once familiar and intimidating. Familiar due to its ubiquity in movies, photos, and speeches. Intimidating as the physical representation of the most powerful country on earth.

But the Oval Office also begs questions.  Why is it oval?  Who designed it? How big is it?  What famous furniture and artwork does it have?

Origins

Our first president, George Washington, had firm control over the design of the White House, selecting Irish architect James Hoban and working closely with him on the style and type of rooms he wanted.

Hoban learned that Washington had made architectural changes to his residences in New York and Philadelphia, creating large bow windows where he could stand for his levees to receive guests.  Washington requested oval shaped rooms in the new White House as well. Hoban created the first floor Blue Room and second floor Yellow Room in the same oval shape to accommodate Washington’s requests.

The Presidential Office

That was fine for entertaining, but the president had to work, too. From its first occupant, John Adams (1797-1801) all the way to Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909), the presidents worked on the second floor in rooms near their own personal family spaces.  It wasn’t until Roosevelt’s wife Edith strongly urged her husband to create office space elsewhere that steps toward the modern Oval Office occurred.   Roosevelt knocked down ancient glass conservatories and built the West Wing in 1902.   He used a rectangular office in the center of the new building.

Roosevelt’s successor, William H. Taft (1909-1913), built the first Oval Office in 1909. Architect Nathan C. Wyeth recommended its shape and moved it to the south façade, positioning it more centrally in the workflow.  Twenty years later the Oval Office suffered major damage in a fire on Christmas Eve when Herbert Hoover (1929-1933) was president.

The Modern Oval Office

1934 marked the renovation that brought us the Oval Office we recognize today. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) decided to make significant changes to the office, in part due to his use of a wheelchair. He excavated a full basement for offices under the adjacent lawn and built a new cabinet room and Oval Office. He added inset bookcases, doors topped with pediments, a ceiling medallion of the presidential seal, and indirect lighting.

All presidents are allowed to select new draperies, furniture, rug and artwork.  Some have also replaced the flooring itself. There have been four different floors in the Oval Office. The first was cork over softwood, followed by wood – grained linoleum selected by Lyndon Johnson (1963-1969). Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) installed an oak and walnut floor in cross parquet pattern, which George W. Bush replicated exactly in 2005.

The Resolute Desk

The Resolute Desk was a gift from Queen Victoria to President Rutherford Hayes (1877-1881). The desk was constructed from oak timbers of the British ship HMS Resolute and weighs 1,300 pounds.  It was delivered to the White House in 1880.

HMS Resolute explored the Arctic in 1855. It’s crew abandoned the ship when it froze in ice.  The Resolute drifted over 1,000 miles and was recovered by an American whaler. The US Congress authorized funds to repair the ship and return it to England. Once it was decommissioned in 1879, Queen Victoria had three desks made from the timbers, one of which was sent to President Hayes in gratitude for saving the ship.

Most presidents since Hayes have used the Resolute Desk. A few used a desk of their own that they preferred. John F. Kennedy’s young children famously used the privacy door of the Resolute Desk for play, having their photo taken while their dad worked. JFK also added a two-inch plinth to raise the height of the desk to make it more comfortable.

Artwork

Presidents are fond of having portraits of George Washington (1789-1797), the Founding Father, in the Oval Office. Jimmy Carter acquired a Charles Willson Peale portrait of Washington in 1977 and had it placed over the mantle.  Also frequently displayed have been portraits of presidents Jefferson, Jackson, and Lincoln, as well as founders Hamilton and Franklin.

Presidents also like to have busts of famous presidents and American leaders displayed in the Oval Office.  Eight presidents have displayed Frederic Remington’s The Bronco Buster.

You may have noticed from photos the ivy on the mantle of the Oval Office. This tradition began with John F. Kennedy who received the ivy plant as a gift from the Irish Ambassador.  All subsequent presidents have used descendants of that original plant to demonstrate continuity.

At 816 square feet, the Oval Office exudes power and functions as an ongoing site for all things presidential.  Most of the recently built presidential museums and libraries have a full-sized replica of the Oval Office that you can visit and even have your picture taken seated at a replica of the Resolute Desk.

Interested in learning more about the presidents? Visit the Carolyn & James Millar Presidential Gallery on the upper level of the Booth Western Art Museum. The gallery features original letters and photographs of every U.S. president. Learn more at www.boothmuseum.org.

What happens to U.S. presidents after they serve in office?  Let’s take a closer look at this rarified atmosphere – ‘the most exclusive club in the world’ – one that has shown to be as varied as the 45 men who have been members.

Faced with the immense stress of being president, most former presidents want peace, tranquility, and little more.  Not counting the 8 Presidents who died in office, most retired to their home states to write their memoirs and stay out of the spotlight.

However, a few of our ex-Presidents tried to jump right back into the oval office. Some have been elected to Congress or served on the Supreme Court.  Some have pursued humanitarian causes, while some suffered personal tragedy and poverty.

Uniquely, William Howard Taft became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1921, serving until his death in 1931. He arguably accomplished more in his 9 years as Chief Justice than his four years as President, (an office his ambitious wife Nellie desired but he never did himself).  It was Taft who persuaded Congress to fund the construction of the recognizable Supreme Court building in Washington, finally moving The Court out of the basement of the Capitol.

Millard Fillmore’s wife died only three weeks after he left office, and his daughter died 15 months later. Despite such personal tragedy, he unsuccessfully ran for President again for the Know Nothing party, remarried a wealthy widow and became a philanthropist.

And then we come to Grover Cleveland, the only President elected to two non-consecutive terms. Defeated as an incumbent in 1888, his wife Frances said to the White House staff “keep everything in good order until we move back here in 4 years.”  And so, it was.  In 1892, Cleveland defeated incumbent Benjamin Harrison, reclaiming the levers of power.

John Quincy Adams ran for Congress after he left office and served 12 years, staunchly advocating for abolition of slavery. Known as Old Man Eloquent, he suffered a massive stroke at his desk on the floor of Congress and died in days.  Andrew Johnson, our impeached 17^th President, was briefly Senator from Tennessee, serving 6 months before his death. And the 10^th President, John Tyler, a life-long contrarian, was elected to the Congress of the Confederacy in 1861.

Prior to 1958, ex-Presidents received no pension, forcing them to fend for themselves to pay the bills.  This situation led to financial problems for several. Sadly, James Monroe died in poverty, partly due to the large, unreimbursed personal costs of serving our country for decades.  Thomas Jefferson was ‘land rich and cash poor’, so he was forced to sell his 6,400-volume book collection to the Library of Congress for $23,950 to generate some cash.

U.S. Grant was nearly bankrupt and diagnosed with cancer. He worried about how his family would survive without financial support.  Mark Twain, in his role as a publishing entrepreneur, approached the ex-president and offered to publish his memoirs for a handsome fee. Grant wrote a highly cogent, successful book, finishing it just days before his death from throat cancer.

In fear of his past coming to light after his death, in 1886 Chester Arthur ordered his staff to burn all his papers just before he died of kidney disease 1.5 years after leaving office. This is one reason we know so little about him, and the justifiable suspicion is that some of his notorious pre-presidency activities went up in flames.

Living here in Georgia, we’ve seen up close the lengthiest post presidency in history:  Jimmy Carter’s 43 years out of office is roughly three times the average. Mr. Carter created the Carter Center to address humanitarian causes, supervise democratic elections around the world, and build houses for Habitat for Humanity.  He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, over two decades after leaving office. And he’s not done yet!

In modern days, most ex-Presidents are busy raising money for their libraries, giving speeches for a fee, and writing their memoirs for multi-million-dollar publishing deals. Who could blame them when the retirement benefit for former Presidents was only recently raised from $96,000 per year to $219,200?

However, it’s not just about the money. Several of the most recent members of the ‘most exclusive club in the world’ such as George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, have joined forces to assist in earthquake and hurricane relief efforts around the world, raising money and awareness as few others could.

Donald Trump has plunged back into national politics, earning the Republican nomination in 2024 in his effort to join Grover Cleveland as the non-consecutive presidents.

Interested in learning more about the presidents? Visit the Carolyn & James Millar Presidential Gallery on the upper level of the Booth Western Art Museum. The gallery features original letters and photographs of every U.S. president. Learn more at www.boothmuseum.org.