Chris Binkert

Could it be true that a tiff between two wives likely saved Ulysses S. Grant’s life?

Julia Grant, Ulysses’ wife, and Mary Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln’s wife, had little respect for each other due to snubs and harsh words in the past. Just the month before, Mary coldly received Julia at a social call in Virgina and was appalled that Julia did not back out of the room and treat her like royalty.  On another day, the jealous Mary sniped at Julia saying, “I suppose you think you’ll get to the White House yourself, don’t you?”

So when the Lincolns invited the Grants to watch a show at Ford’s Theater on April 14, 1865, just a few days after Appomattox and the end of the Civil War, the Grants politely declined, explaining that they were set to travel out of town that  evening. No way Julia wanted to endure more time with Mary Lincoln.

Little did Grant know about John Wilkes Booth and his cabal of assassins. They had been plotting simultaneous attacks on Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson, and Secretary of State William Seward, to culminate that very night. While Booth attacked Lincoln at the theater, Lewis Powell would attack Seward, and David Atzerodt would kill Johnson.

In those days, the press regularly publicized the appearances of presidents in advance—handbills had already been printed announcing that the Lincolns and Grants were expected to attend the theater that night. With Grant at Ford’s Theater as well, Booth realized he could kill the two most visible and powerful men in the country at the same time.

The stage was set—until the Grants backed out. Their decision to decline the invitation also became public knowledge, however, and that night, as Grant’s carriage–loaded with luggage and with his family with him—moved down Pennsylvania Avenue toward Union Station, a dark rider on horseback chased them down. The rider glared at the General and rode off, only to return a few minutes later and repeat the threatening behavior.

The rider was John Wilkes Booth, exasperated and angry of losing his chance at Grant.

Meanwhile, the Lincolns still wanted company at the theater, so they invited Major Henry Rathbone and his fiancée Clara to join them for the play. A policeman, John Parker, was posted outside the door of Lincoln’s box to protect the President, but he wandered away to the saloon next door. Booth had free entry and shot Lincoln in the back of the head at close range.

Lincoln was carried across the street to a small residence, where he died of his wounds in a few hours.

After shooting Lincoln and leaping to the theater stage, Booth escaped into Virginia and was tracked for several days by 10,000 troops, detectives, and police. He was eventually caught and killed. Lewis Powell viciously attacked Secretary of State Seward with a knife. David Atzerodt lost his nerve and never approached Vice President Johnson.

Fortunately, Seward survived, although he was scarred for life on his face and neck. The surviving cabal was quickly found guilty and all hanged together on July 7, 1865 at Fort McNair in Washington DC.

In a surprising twist to this shocking, murderous plot, John Wilkes Booth’s father, Junius, had threatened to assassinate President Andrew Jackson 30 years earlier. Booth’s father wrote a letter to Jackson in 1835 saying he intended to “cut your throat whilst you are sleeping”. Jackson ignored the threat, and nothing ever came of it.

Did young John Wilkes learn his malevolent hatred from kitchen table talk with his father? We’ll never know.

What we do know is that Julia and Ulysses Grant’s decision to opt out of the theater engagement likely saved his life, allowing him to go on and become president four years later and serve two full terms in the highest office.

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.

Some say the Presidency, in modern times, requires a set of skills and a level of adaptability that far exceeds reasonable norms. The most powerful single job on earth is so complex, so pressure-filled, one wonders how the incumbents find ways to manage it all.

One overlooked factor might be whether they’re right-handed or left-handed. Surprisingly, seven of our last 16 presidents have been left-handed. At 44%, that’s way above the 12% average representation of lefties in the world. This is a new trend among presidents, as the first 19 presidents were right-handed.

Those seven left-handed presidents are Herbert Hoover, Harry Truman, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.

Why this rise of lefties in the presidency?
Researchers who have studied the general population of right-handers vs. left-handers conclude that left – handers may be more adaptable, since from an early age they’re faced with a right-handed world that forces them to learn how to navigate, get along, and thrive. Unlike right-handers, they must adapt to using scissors and bottle openers, figure out the best place to sit at a table when dining out, find a comfortable desk position, open doors and so much more.

It’s also said that left-handers are quicker thinkers since they engage both hemispheres of the brain more often than right-handers. It’s even said they’re more creative thinkers as well. These adaptable left-handed presidents can only swear on a bible, salute the flag, and shake hands with their right hands.

James Garfield was ambidextrous, meaning he could write with either hand equally well. It’s said that he could write Latin with his right and Greek with his left at the same time.

Harry Truman and Ronald Reagan were natural lefties who were forced at an early age to write use their right hand instead, since for hundreds of years myths and superstitions about the evils of being left- handed had persuaded families to turn left-handed children into right-handers.

Lest you think this trend is only for those who win the office, all these recent candidates for president were also left – handed: John McCain, Al Gore, Bob Dole (due to war injury), and Ross Perot.

Whenever a president signs a bill, his writing hand style is obvious. In modern times, presidents use multiple pens to carefully sign these signature bills, surrounded by important politicians and players who supported the passing of the legislation. It’s believed that Lyndon B. Johnson holds the record, using 72 pens to sign the Civil Rights Act of 1964, handing out the pens he used to those crowded around him, including Dr. Martin Luther King.

Its hard to say if this recent trend is predictive one way or the other. With the next presidential election coming up in 2024, it will be interesting to see if any left-handed candidates appear on the final ballot. If they do, clue in on their adaptability. It just may reveal a critical factor to the benefit of us all.

One of the first things a new president must decide has nothing to do with taking oaths, signing orders, or approving nominees for office.  In truth, they make this decision before becoming president. And it’s of extreme importance to their presidency.

It’s choosing their Secret Service code name!

Since Harry Truman first selected General as his code name in the late 1940’s, presidential nominees, who get Secret Service protection, must pick a ‘handle’ from a pre-screened list created by The White House Communications Agency. The code names are designed to be short, concise, and easy to understand over a radio. We’ve all seen movies where an agent speaks into a microphone and says, for example, ‘General is on the move’.   That actually happens, and It’s considered an integral part of successfully protecting the president.

The particular handle a president chooses may fit a unique aspect of themselves, be an aspiration, make a statement, or it’s simple and straightforward.

Joe Biden decided to keep his code name from his days as Vice President:  Celtic.  It reflects his Irish ancestry.

Some are obvious. You wouldn’t be surprised that Jimmy Carter selected Deacon, or that Donald Trump picked Mogul.

Some make a statement, such as Barack Obama’s Renegade or W. Bush’s Trailblazer.

Others are simple and straightforward, like Bill Clinton’s Eagle, John F. Kennedy’s Lancer, Richard Nixon’s Searchlight, H.W. Bush’s Timberwolf, Gerald Ford’s Passkey, and Lyndon Johnson’s Volunteer.

Some seem to fit them to a tee:  Ronald Reagan chose Rawhide, and Dwight Eisenhower used Scorecard in retirement to reflect his passion for golfing.

But the 32 presidents who preceded Truman never had a code name.  I think we need to fill that gap with some fun ideas about what might have been for some of these presidents. Here goes:

George Washington:  Founder, of course.

Thomas Jefferson:  Author, naturally, for the Declaration of Independence as well as for the Charter of the University of Virginia.

John Quincy Adams:  Diplomat, honoring his service as Ambassador to Russia and his behind-the-scenes authorship of the Monroe Doctrine as Secretary of State.

Andrew Jackson: Dueler, since he was involved in over 100 duels, in one of which he was wounded and carried the bullet in his chest the remaining 39 years of his life.

James Buchanan:  Bachelor, the only one among the 46 presidents.

Abraham Lincoln:  Orator, given his eloquent speeches at his inaugurations and the Gettysburg Address.

Andrew Johnson: Tailor, his apprentice skill learned as a young man in Tennessee.

U.S. Grant:  Rider, because he was an outstanding horseman, riding dangerous missions in the Mexican War.

Rutherford Hayes: Lemonade, the only drink served at the White House during his term.

Chester Arthur:  Whiskers, noting his fashion statement of the 1880’s of very long sideburns.

Grover Cleveland: Hangman, one of the duties of a pre-presidency occupation in Erie County New York.

Theodore Roosevelt:  Rough Rider, recalling his inspired charge up San Juan Hill in 1898.

William Howard Taft: Big Bill, acknowledging his girth.

Woodrow Wilson: Dancer, since he was known to be an excellent dancer in his off hours.

Warren Harding:  Chips, reflecting his many poker games held at the White House.

Calvin Coolidge: Hat, noting his fondness to don Indian headdresses, cowboy hats, etc. for photo ops.

Herbert Hoover:  Miner, for his geology degree from Stanford and later occupation in Australia.

Franklin Roosevelt: Mariner, for his love of sailing, being Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and his lifelong model ship hobby.

Since protection is the goal of the Secret Service, Vice Presidents, First Ladies, presidential children, and significant family members all choose code names as well.  Even visiting dignitaries sometimes are assigned a code name.  Queen Elizabeth’s code when visiting the US is Kittyhawk.  Frank Sinatra’s was Napoleon, and Pope John Paul II was Halo.

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.

America has had an ‘on again/off again’ relationship with alcohol, and our presidents have been no different. In our 235-year history, with 46 men holding the office, a significant percentage of presidents (28%) did not drink at all or did rarely. In some cases, they were recovering alcoholics who fought to stay sober; in others, they stayed sober due to widespread cultural factors such as the temperance movement in the mid-19^th century.

5 of our last 8 presidents have been teetotalers, including current president Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump. George W. Bush, while not identifying as an alcoholic, readily admits he drank too much until age 40, when he stopped.  Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter drank rarely, mostly for occasional ceremonial events.

The most famous alcoholic president was U. S. Grant. While serving in remote army locations in the 1840’s and 1850’s he drank to excess out of boredom and loneliness.  He resigned his commission in 1854 due to excessive drinking.  His career was revived in the Civil War 7 years later, and while he conspicuously avoided drinking, his reputation was regularly questioned by many. His commander in chief, Abraham Lincoln, overlooked it and rewarded him for his successes on the battlefield.

These days, it’s scary to imagine a president unable to perform his duties due to overindulging, but it has happened. History tells us that Franklin Pierce’s raging alcoholism was partly due to losing all three sons in their childhood, the last one just three weeks before his inauguration. His wife was a big temperance supporter and his drinking forced them to become estranged. Upon leaving the White House, he said “there’s nothing left to do but get drunk”.

Andrew Johnson showed up drunk at President Lincoln’s second inaugural to take his oath as Vice President. Yet in 6 weeks he became president following Lincoln’s assassination. In the closing days of the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon apparently drank heavily to relieve his grief over losing his presidency.

For those presidents who did drink, they had their favorites. All the Founding Fathers drank, with hard cider, wine and rum being the most common. After his presidency, George Washington operated a distillery on Mt. Vernon, producing up to 11,000 gallons for commercial sale in 1799 the year of his death.

Grover Cleveland loved his beer, up to a gallon a day.  His overweight shape was likely one of the first presidential beer guts.

Harry Truman regularly participated in poker games and enjoyed bourbon while playing. He liked it so much he started each day with a shot of Old Granddad.

Being a Californian, Ronald Reagan’s favorite was an Orange Blossom, which is a combination of orange juice, gin, and vermouth.   John F. Kennedy enjoyed a Bloody Mary from time to time.

Two of our president’s banned drinking in the White House. James K. Polk (during the temperance movement) and Rutherford B. Hayes. Their wives were instrumental in this choice, and Hayes’ wife Lucy was widely known as Lemonade Lucy for the only drink she served.  (Official Washington was likely happy that Hayes only served one term.)  Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore, in acceptance of the temperance movement, were also teetotalers.

The passage of the 18^th Amendment in 1920, commonly called Prohibition, ushered in a period of change for the White House.  Warren Harding decided to keep drinking his whiskey, followed by Calvin Coolidge, who rarely drank. Herbert Hoover, last of the Prohibition presidents, freely drank his favorite martinis despite the law.

Calvin Coolidge rarely drank in compliance with the times.  When the 21^st Amendment passed in 1933 ending Prohibition, Franklin Roosevelt and later presidents could drink when and how they pleased.

Franklin Roosevelt drank martinis and made a regular event at the White House out of the 5 o’clock happy hour, personally mixing the drinks for his guests.   His cousin Theodore drank mint juleps, which he may have picked up from his mother Mittie Bulloch Roosevelt, who grew up in Roswell Georgia.

The public sometimes comes to know the president’s favorite drink, and the drink is named for them.  There was McKinley’s Delight (rye and absinthe), and Martin Van Buren’s Schiedam (whiskey and red wine).

In summary, presidential drinking ebbs and flows with the times, and the recent trend, interestingly enough, is toward teetotalers.

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.

January brings New Year’s resolutions for many, particularly to exercise more, lose weight and get fit. Presidents have often used sports to help them manage stress, fuel their competitive instincts, and in one noted case, lose weight.

Some presidents had very successful sports experiences early in life. Gerald Ford played Center on two University of Michigan national championship teams and had contracts offered from multiple NFL teams. Ford declined those offers to attend Yale Law School.   Barack Obama, although not a starter, was on his Punahou high school Hawaiian state champion basketball team in 1979.

However, this article will be devoted to the sports they played while in office.

Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) often sparred with a boxing partner while in office. That is until he took a punch in the eye from a much younger army captain, suffering a detached retina that left his vision blurry for the rest of his life. After that, he took up jiu jitsu instead.

William Howard Taft (1909-1913) was the first president to take up golf. In fact, he golfed so often that his mentor, Theodore Roosevelt, once urged him to play less, since “golf is perceived as an elitist extravagance.”

Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929) After the Secret Service recommended that he stop horseback riding, Coolidge had a mechanical horse installed at the White House for exercise purposes. Invented by cereal magnate John H. Kellogg, Calvin rode that horse three times a day, only quitting once the mocking and teasing wore him down.

Herbert Hoover (1929-1933) Shortly after his inauguration, Hoover took up his doctor’s recommendation to exercise more often to reduce stress and lose weight. The doctor helped him create a wholly new game that eventually became known as Hooverball. The game involved teams of 5 players using a 6-pound medicine ball. Players would hurl the heavy ball over an eight-foot net, catch it, and toss it back over.

Hoover played this game six days a week outdoors early in the morning.  Senators, cabinet members, supreme court justices, and staff would play for 30 minutes.  Hooverball is the only sport named for a president and is still played competitively each summer at his boyhood home and museum at West Branch Iowa. Oh, and he lost 20 pounds too!

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) needed a swimming pool to exercise his polio-ravaged body. He had a 50-foot indoor pool built at the White House that he used regularly.

Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961) had a big passion for golf.  In 1954 he had a 3,000 square foot putting green installed on the grounds of the White House.  Ike used it almost daily to hone his game. He often wore his golf spikes into the oval office, leaving pock marks on the floor.  His successor, John F. Kennedy was astonished to see those golf spike marks and called Ike the “Duffer in Chief”.

Richard Nixon (1969-1974) had a one lane bowling alley installed at the White House and used it frequently.

Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) loved horseback riding to relax. He frequently rode at his ‘western white house’ ranch above Santa Barbara California. Queen Elizabeth, George H.W. Bush and others accompanied him on his rides. He always had a specially trained Secret Service agent ride along.

George H. W. Bush (1989-1993) had a regulation size horseshoe pit built in 1989 and played just about anyone who came along when he had the time to play.  He also rebuilt the putting green at the White House in 1991 so he could work on his short game. Golf was in his blood as his grandfather, George Herbert Walker, was president of the US Golf Association and founder of the Walker Cup.

George W. Bush (2001-2009) also was a very good golfer but stopped playing after September 11, 2001. He took up mountain biking instead, primarily at his Texas ranch.

Barack Obama (2009-2017) had the tennis court striped for basketball and used a movable hoop for pickup games.

Donald Trump (2017-2021) loved golf so much he invested in golf courses and played hundreds of rounds at his clubs while in office.

Since Eisenhower in the early 1950’s, most presidents have played golf.  Some rounds were just for fun and exercise, but others were designed to have extended time with a person they wished to persuade to their cause.

Only Jimmy Carter did not indulge in golf, preferring jogging and fly fishing instead.

What about tennis, you ask?  While the White House has had tennis courts for over a century, most presidents didn’t play much.  However, they did hold celebrity charity tennis tournaments with professionals and Hollywood types.

Playing sports and games is a great way for the president to burn off steam, reduce stress, and yes, even lose weight.  Play on!

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.

For this writer, having spent over 40 years deep-diving into a presidential hobby, meeting a president was a peak experience.

It proved to be a day of the most unusual events.

About 14 years ago, I was set to fly from Atlanta to San Francisco for business. It was going to be unusual in that I was in first class, due to the presence of the 6’5” owner of the business I worked for preferring that class vs. coach. We were all seated and expecting to push back when Jimmy Carter and his Secret Service agent entered and sat in the two seats in front of us!

As you may know, that flight is roughly five hours in length, and my head was filling with thoughts of how I might introduce myself to the president. Suddenly, the agent, who was on the aisle, and Jimmy popped up and exited the plane.

A moment later, the pilot announced there was a technical problem and we were going to switch planes. Delta just happened to have an identical plane a few gates down the concourse. We were asked to deplane and move to the other gate and to use the same seats as our original ones.

The same boarding sequence happened once again. Everyone got settled, then the president and the agent returned. However, the president didn’t sit down. Instead, he turned to me in the seats behind his, flashed his famous smile, stuck out his hand and said, “I’m Jimmy Carter, what’s your name?” I popped up to shake his hand and said, “Nice to meet you Mr. President, I’m Chris Binkert.”

Then he was gone, moving down the aisles to meet and greet everyone on the plane. It took about 20 minutes to do this, but no one was unhappy with the delay. Apparently, he always did this when flying, so everyone could get their chance to meet him and allow him to take the flight in relative peace.

I was seated on the aisle, and Jimmy was seated by the window. Therefore, I was able to peek between the seats and observe him during the flight. Not much to report, other than he read The Economist at length.

Upon landing, he and his agent were the first off the plane and gone, leaving me with a first-class experience with the only president I ever met.

Jimmy Carter’s recent passing at age 100 has flooded my mind with this chance opportunity. It also caused me to re-examine his life and accomplishments once more.

Early Days

Jimmy Carter was the first president born in a hospital, on October 1, 1924.  He lived in Archery Georgia, three miles outside the town of Plains, population 400.  His home was a Sears, Roebuck ‘kit house’ without running water or electricity until he was 11 years old.

His playmates were nearly all Black kids, most of whose parents worked on his father Earl Carter’s farm.  His father called his first born son Hot Shot. Jimmy called him Sir.  Jimmy worshipped his father and strove to always meet his very demanding expectations.  Unfortunately, his father never showed him much outward love, a burden Jimmy would later lament in poems.

Jimmy’s mother, Lillian, was a nurse. Her breezy and outspoken personality later made her a fixture in the media during Carter’s presidency.

Jimmy attended school in Plains, graduating from Plains High School. He attended a local community college in Americus, and later Georgia Tech in Atlanta before winning an appointment to the US Naval Academy in 1943.

He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1946 and sped home to Plains to marry Rosalynn Smith that same year, their first of 77 years together.

He entered the submarine service and served on multiple ships in the Atlantic and Pacific regions.  In 1952, he began an association with legendary Admiral Hyman Rickover, father of the country’s initial nuclear submarine force.

Jimmy’s father Earl passed away in 1953 from pancreatic cancer, causing Jimmy to resign his commission and return to Plains to run the family’s peanut business.  Rosalynn was devastated by his decision, and thought moving back to Plains was a “giant step backwards”.

In the late 1950s Jimmy began his political career, methodically rising from local offices to governor from 1971-1975, and then to the pinnacle office of president in 1976, defeating incumbent Gerald Ford.

His Presidency

His achievements in office were substantive, leading some of his biographers to claim that his presidency is underrated and likely to improve over time, much like Harry Truman, Jimmy’s favorite president.

Foreign Policy

Carter’s best-known achievement in foreign policy surely is the Camp David Accords, where Jimmy spent 13 days brokering and enabling an enduring peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, one that recast the dynamics of the Middle East ever since.

In foreign affairs he also officially recognized China, establishing ongoing diplomatic relations. Controversially, he agreed to return the Panama Canal to Panama, which in his mind was strategically critical to ensure its ongoing peaceful operation in our interests.

Jimmy Carter was the first president to put human rights at the center of his foreign policy, calling out rogue states and harsh practices as a matter of the normal course of diplomatic relations.  He put an exclamation mark on that policy by withdrawing the USA from the 1980 Olympics held in the Soviet Union due to the Soviet Union’s 1979 invasion of Afghanistan.

Domestic Policy

On the domestic front, he was well ahead of his time in putting the environment on the table and creating the Department of Energy in 1979 to give focus and heft to what he perceived as an existential threat to the world. He added solar panels to the roof of the West Wing to visually support the use of alternative energy sources.

He approved 10 new national parks and set aside hundreds of millions of acres of land for preservation, more than any other president by far.

If you have flown anytime since the 1980’s you benefitted from Carter’s deregulation of the airline industry, allowing for more competition and removing the federal government from setting fares and routes.

On the other hand, the 444 day Iran hostage crisis, a failed hostage rescue attempt, high inflation, a poorly received “malaise” speech on conserving energy and, finally, the challenge from Ronald Reagan in 1980 proved impossible for him to earn a second term. He carried only 6 states in the 1980 election.

That said, he gets credit for making decisions in the best interest of the country despite likely blowback at the next election.  His appointment of Paul Volcker as the head of the Federal Reserve in 1979 was such a decision.

Volcker’s solution to reduce high inflation (11%) was to raise interest rates to punishing levels, a position well known to Carter in advance. Knowing that such painful rates would hurt him at the polls in 1980, he went ahead with the appointment.  Volcker did get rates down significantly to 3%, but only after Carter lost to Ronald Reagan in 1980.

Carter also appointed many persons of color and women to the federal bench, far more than any other president up to that time.

Rosalynn

It’s hard to think about Jimmy without also considering Rosalynn, his wife of 77 years.

Rosalynn was a determined, and some say, shrewd politician in her own right.  She campaigned hard for Jimmy in the 1976 national election, and broke tradition when she exited the limo to walk hand in hand with Jimmy and youngest daughter Amy down Pennsylvania Avenue after the swearing in ceremony.

Jimmy valued her opinion and considered her a “full partner” in every aspect of their lives.  Knowing her intense interests, he allowed her to sit in on cabinet meetings as an observer. This too was unprecedented.  She pushed hard for her own agenda, principally for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, and various efforts to promote better mental health in the country. Rosalynn passed away in 2023 at the age of 96.

Post Presidency

Jimmy Carter spent 43 years, after leaving office in 1981, creating a modern template for a successful and engaged post-presidency. From building Habitat for Humanity homes, to supervising elections in far-off democracies, to nearly extinguishing deadly Guinea worm disease in Africa, Jimmy Carter, via his personal service and The Carter Center, put forward a humble yet determined effort to make a difference in the world by artfully using “The Presidency” as his calling card and platform of influence.  He wrote books to pay the bills, declining to serve on corporate boards or giving speeches for millions of dollars.

Ever in full partnership with Rosalynn, Jimmy engaged in most of these efforts with her by his side, except for book writing.  Early on, they were both writing and decided to ‘help edit each other’s work’.  That only led to arguments, and they never tried that again! Jimmy ended up writing more books than any other modern president.

Carter knew full well that he couldn’t have done all this without the support of many.

One symbol of his gratitude was his decision to pose for a photo with all his Secret Service Agents immediately after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway, his way of recognizing their service and helping him in his post presidency.

His Secret Service code name was Deacon, in recognition of his lifelong commitment to his faith community. He regularly taught Sunday School at the Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains for decades.

Carter also believed in reconciliation.  Carrying grudges was not his style.  For example, Jimmy became very close friends with Gerald Ford, the man he defeated in the election of 1976.  In the heat of the election, they had frequently dumped harsh, personal attacks on each other.   Jimmy started the reconciliation process with Ford in the first words of his inaugural address, thanking Ford for his service and “healing our land.”   They became very close friends, and Jimmy gave the eulogy at Ford’s funeral in 2007.

Jimmy believed that “faith in something is an inducement not to dormancy but to action.”  As his life demonstrated, he took this belief with him every day, trying to take actions to better humanity as he found it.

It’s easy to find out more about Jimmy Carter by visiting his Library and Museum in Atlanta, or his National Historical Park in Plains. It’s worth your time.

Rest in peace, Mr. President. I consider it a privilege to have met you once on a plane ride.

As a country, we celebrate the peaceful transfer of power from one president to the next every four or eight years.  It’s one of the hallmarks of our democracy.

But just because Inauguration Day has witnessed a peaceful transfer doesn’t mean it has lacked drama, snubs, personal insults, bickering, and outright escape.

It’s important to put this day in historical context.  Since 1933 and the passage of the 20^th Amendment, January 20 has been Inauguration Day. For the prior 148 years, it was held on March 4. It took an Act of Congress and ratification by the states to shorten up the lame duck period once our transportation systems allowed for speedier transitions.

Let’s look at some of those dramas, snubs, and insults.

Our second President, John Adams, refused to attend the inauguration of his successor, Thomas Jefferson, in 1801. The brutal campaign and name calling by Jeffersonians apparently turned off Mr. Adams and he escaped town in his carriage just after midnight rather than see his rival take his place. Interestingly, Adams son, 6^th President John Quincy Adams, also refused to watch his bitter rival, Andrew Jackson, sworn in as well.

The Adams men were crusty types, but John Quincy was not the last President to fail to show for the event.

In 1869, Andrew Johnson, having been defeated for re-election by war hero Ulysses Grant, did not attend, since he felt snubbed by Grant’s refusal to ride with him to the Capitol ceremony.  Johnson, the first to be impeached, was despised by many, and Grant was one of them.

Andrew Jackson’s inauguration in 1829 and the following open house led to mayhem when 20,000 people descended on the White House to celebrate. They broke furniture, spilled food and drink, ripped curtains for souvenirs, and forced Jackson to escape the crush by exiting via a window while his butlers placed tubs of drinks on the lawn to lure the boisterous crowd outside.

Politics had much to do with Herbert Hoover’s frosty ride to the Capitol with Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. They didn’t say a word to each other the whole ride. Roosevelt was determined to hang the Great Depression around Hoover’s neck and had refused to discuss any federal initiatives to mitigate the economic suffering between election day and inauguration day. FDR was not about to toss Hoover a lifeline, preferring to let him take the fall instead.

As you might expect, there are several traditions that take place on inauguration day, including luncheons after the swearing in, parades, and nighttime balls. One of those traditions was broken by Dwight Eisenhower in 1953. The outgoing president and first lady host a small coffee and tea reception in the White House before motoring to the Capitol.  Harry and Bess Truman had it all set up and ready to go, but the Eisenhower’s refused to come inside because they arrived late.  Truman was insulted and they bickered back and forth the whole ride to the event.

Inauguration day requires a major speech by the president, and the timing and context of the transition has made for both dramatic and unfortunate history.  For drama, it’s hard to beat FDR’s “All we have to fear is fear itself” with respect to the Great Depression, or JFK’s “Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country”, as he called for the torch to be passed to a new generation.

Unfortunately, the longest inaugural address was given by William Henry Harrison in 1841. A monster at over 8,400 words and 2 hours, it’s said that he gave the speech without a coat in a sleet storm to show that at age 68 he was fit to handle the presidency. Sadly, he caught pneumonia and was dead within a month.

Our most recent inauguration was in January 2021.  Joe Biden was sworn in; however, Donald Trump did not attend.

Those in the know will be looking for any insider drama this coming January 2025. It’s part of the fabric that endures to make the peaceful transfer of power a foundational principle for all time.

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.

It seems that presidents cannot just go by their given name.  Once their ‘hat is in the ring’, their followers and opponents both seek to use nicknames to define them, honor them, or deride them.

In modern terms, nicknames can be viewed as a form of branding by positioning the man or woman in a certain light.  Politicians seem to naturally grasp the advantages of a good nickname.

Let’s walk through some of the best presidential nicknames and point out some exceptional choices and recent trends.

Father of our Country, George Washington’s (1789-1797) nickname, is one of honor and respect for his defining role in our evolution as a nation.

Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809):  it’s hard to beat Father of the Declaration of Independence, but he was also known as the Sage of Monticello as well.

In a similar way, Jefferson’s successor, James Madison (1809-1817) was known as the Father of the Constitution.  Due to his short 5 ‘4” stature, he was also called Little Jemmy.

Andrew Jackson (1829-1837) had two nicknames: the most prominent was Old Hickory, given by his army troops who knew him as a stout fighter as strong as hickory.  Jackson also was known as Jackass.  He actually embraced the name and ultimately his Democratic Party adopted the image of a jackass as its symbol.

True to political form, Jackson’s Tennessee protégé James Polk (1845-1849) was called Young Hickory during his campaign for the White House.  Young Hickory promised to only serve one term, bowing out after four years and dying 90 days later.

Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865) had multiple nicknames bestowed upon him. He was known as the Rail Splitter due to one of his early jobs, Honest Abe, and The Great Emancipator due to his authorship of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881) was known as His Fraudulency, due to the nature of the election that put him in office.  The 1876 race between Hayes and Tilden was so close and rife with fraud and voter intimidation that the election was tossed to a special group of Representatives and Supreme Court Justices called the Electoral Commission for a decision. Hayes won by an 8-7 vote, with political drama and shenanigans abounding, thus conferring Hayes with his nickname.

Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) also had multiple nicknames. He was the first president to consistently go by his initials, TR, since he signed memos and letters with his initials. He also was known as the Hero of San Juan Hill for his valor in the Spanish American War, and as the Trust Buster, for his work to break up corporate behemoths like Standard Oil.

Theodore’s cousin, Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945), also went by his initials, making FDR synonymous with his Great Depression-fighting programs and war efforts spanning four successful elections.

“I like Ike” had immediate traction with the public in the election of 1952 for Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961). They used his childhood nickname to spin a memorable slogan for both his election runs in the 1950’s.

This period saw a boom in the use of initials as presidential nicknames. Ike was followed into office by John F. Kennedy (1961-1963), also known as JFK.  Kennedy was followed into office by Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969), better known as LBJ.  Johnson used his initials for campaign slogans too, such as “All the Way with LBJ”.

James Earl Carter Jr (1977-1981) was the first president to officially go by a nickname for all his duties. Of course he went by Jimmy, and he has embodied the Jimmy nickname to help define himself.  Somehow James Earl Carter just doesn’t have the same ring as Jimmy. (As of this writing, Jimmy remains in hospice in Plains, and is now just a few weeks away from his 100th birthday!)

Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) also had multiple nicknames.  He was known as The Great Communicator, due to his exceptional public speaking skills honed during his acting career.  He also was known as Dutch, nicknamed by his father.  Finally, Reagan was known as The Gipper, for his movie role as George Gipp, a Notre Dame football player.

William Jefferson Clinton (1993-2001) was widely known as Bill. However, he acquired some extra nicknames too:  Bubba, reflecting his southern charm; Comeback Kid, honoring his political redemption in the 1980’s; and Slick Willie, owing to his skill at talking extemporaneously and effectively on nearly any topic that came up.

A very recent trend is to use their number in presidential history as a nickname. It began with George H. W. Bush going as “41”, followed by his son, George W. Bush going as “43”, and later with Donald Trump going as “45”.

It’s fair to assume that all future presidents will have a nickname or two, just like their predecessors.

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.

There are many reasons why the presidency has vaulted to the heights of pop culture in modern times. One of the contributing factors has been Hollywood and its ongoing portrayal of these men and the dramatization of key events surrounding their time in office.

Movies about the presidents are never big at the box office like Star Wars or a Marvel film. However, some of them have provided a vehicle for best actor performances, memorable casts, and enduring popularity.

To be clear, I’m talking about movies featuring stories about real presidents, not fictional presidents like Harrison Ford (Air Force One), or Kevin Kline (Dave).

Topic

The dramatization of actual presidential crises can make for memorable movies. 13 Days, starring Bruce Greenwood as John F. Kennedy, Steven Culp as brother Robert F. Kennedy, and Kevin Costner as Kenny O’Donnell, is among the best at showing the palpable tensions over our nuclear confrontation with Russia in 1962.

All the President’s Men takes a deep dive into Richard Nixon’s Watergate misadventure that resulted in his resignation in 1974. Nixon himself never appears in the movie, with all the drama built around journalists Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) and their work to uncover one of the greatest presidential scandals of all time.

Featured President

The list of presidents whose stories were featured in major films is a long one. Literally hundreds of movies have been made about these men.

The standouts, with multiple movies, includes Washington (Forging of a Nation and We Fight to Be Free), John Adams (HBO series John Adams and The Adams Chronicles), Lincoln (Lincoln and Young Mr. Lincoln), Theodore Roosevelt (The Wind and The Lion and Rough Riders), Franklin Roosevelt (Pearl Harbor and Sunrise at Campobello), John F. Kennedy (JFK and 13 Days), Richard Nixon (Frost/Nixon and All the Presidents Men), Bill Clinton (Primary Colors and The Special Relationship), and George W. Bush (W and Vice).

Actors

A wide range of actors have played a president in a major motion picture. One of the most recognized is Daniel Day-Lewis’ portrayal of Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln in 2012 for which he won the Best Actor award.

Other A-List actors include Cliff Robertson (JFK in PT 109); Nick Nolte (Thomas Jefferson in Jefferson in Paris); Anthony Hopkins (Richard Nixon in Nixon and John Quincy Adams in Amistad ); John Travolta (Bill Clinton in Primary Colors); Robin Williams (Eisenhower in The Butler, and Theodore Roosevelt in Night at the Museum); Paul Giamatti (John Adams); Josh Brolin (George W. Bush in W); Bill Murray (Franklin Roosevelt in Hyde Park on the Hudson); John Cusack (Richard Nixon in The Butler); and Woody Harrelson (Lyndon Johnson in LBJ).

Directors

As you might imagine, movies about a president can attract top name directors as well. Stephen Spielberg has done it twice:  Amistad in 1997 and Lincoln in 2012.

Oliver Stone directed JFK, Rob Reiner took on LBJ, Robert Altman did Secret Honor (about Nixon), John Ford directed Young Mr. Lincoln, and Roger Michell did Hyde Park on the Hudson.

You may wonder about Ronald Reagan, whose claim to fame prior to the presidency was as a successful Hollywood actor. Few movies have yet to be made about his presidency, but you can find Alan Rickman playing Reagan in 2013’s The Butler, with Jane Fonda playing Nancy Reagan. There’s also a documentary-style production from 2011 called Reagan by Eugene Jarecki.

My Favorites

One way to judge how well you like a movie is how many times you’ve seen it.  For me, Lincoln with Daniel Day Lewis, Amistad with Anthony Hopkins, and John Adams with Paul Giamatti are among my favorites, seen multiple times over the years.

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.

Quick:  how many one term presidents are on Mount Rushmore?

Answer:  none, as Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt all served more than 4 years. By definition of being on Mount Rushmore, they were impactful presidents.

Surprisingly, half of our presidents served one term or less in office. Yes, twenty three of our forty-six presidents had a short time to implement their policies and make a difference.

Among those short-term presidencies, which one was the most impactful?

It’s easy to eliminate William Henry Harrison, since he died only 30 days into his presidency. Five of these men (Tyler, Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, Arthur, and Ford) were vice presidents who ascended to the oval office in an abrupt way due to the death or resignation of the president. They served out the term in unremarkable fashion not to be re-elected.

However, one man became the first ‘dark horse’ candidate to win the White House and did so in part by pledging he would only serve one term and quit.

James K. Polk, Democrat from Tennessee, was little known outside his home state despite having served as the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. In the presidential election of 1844, the Whigs nominated Henry Clay, a nationally known politician from Kentucky. Polk won the Democratic nomination, beating former president Martin Van Buren and earning the long shot chance to beat Clay.

In the campaign, Polk embraced westward expansion as his primary policy. The annexation of Texas was a hot topic at the time, and Clay came out against it. Polk, better reading public opinion, was fully behind having Texas come into the union. He also endorsed another hot geographical dispute of the day, the Oregon Territory. He agreed we ought to have the northern border as “54/40”, just short of then Russian Alaska. The slogan was “54/40 or Fight”.

Polk also helped his campaign by positioning himself as Young Hickory, a nod to his Tennessee mentor, former president Andrew Jackson. Polk beat Clay 170 to 105 in the Electoral College and took the oath of office on March 4, 1845.

About that time, newspaper editor John O’Sullivan coined the term Manifest Destiny, an all-encompassing concept meant to embrace and encourage westward expansion. The concept assumed the American people’s special virtues and institutions were worthy of replication in the west, the mission to redeem and remake the west in the image of the agrarian east was desirable, and an irresistible destiny was at hand to accomplish coast to coast flourishing of the American way of life.

Newly sworn in President Polk was only too happy to oblige.

Texas was annexed in 1845. The Oregon territorial dispute with Britain was resolved in 1846 at the 49^th parallel, bringing all of today’s Washington State and Oregon into the Union.

And Polk wasn’t done yet.

He coveted the vast Mexican held territory of California, Arizona and western New Mexico plus today’s Nevada, Utah, and western Colorado. The question was, how to acquire it?

Mexico and Texas had long disputed the southern border. Mexico believed it was the Nueces River. Texas thought it was the more southern Rio Grande. In 1846, President Polk, as Commander in Chief, purposely positioned armed forces in the disputed territory. When a small fight broke out and some soldiers died, Polk went to Congress for a declaration of war. He won overwhelming support, and the armies, led by Winfield Scott and Zachary Taylor, won the war by finally taking Mexico City.  The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 ceded all the Mexican controlled land that Polk wanted for $15 million.

By the end of his one term, James Polk had added immense territories to our country, expanded our coverage to the Pacific Ocean and filled in nearly all the spaces we now know as western states.

Like Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase agreement with Napoleon in 1803, Polk had a vision of American expansion ‘from sea to shining sea’. That Polk resorted to expansion primarily by force vs. agreement in the case of Mexican possessions remains a much-discussed strategy.

Either way, the one term presidency of James K. Polk goes into the books as the most impactful in our history. Polk, a workaholic, died at age fifty-three, just 90 days after Zachary Taylor succeeded him in 1849.

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.