Fun facts about the presidency, presidents

Fun facts about the presidency, presidents
                        

“If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac River, the headline that afternoon would read: President can’t swim.” — Lyndon B. Johnson.

Let’s face it, 2020 was a very difficult year for all. It seems like all I wrote about was COVID-19, over and over again, and I got sick of it.

Then we had the election, which was interesting to say the least. No matter how we feel about the outcome, we are going to have a new president. The office of the president is unlike any other in history. Every four or eight years we have a peaceful transition of power, which is unseen in most parts of the world and throughout history. I love history and was always fascinated by the men who held the office of president.

The office of the president began in 1789; one of the first capitals was New York City. The office of president was established by the Constitution. There were no term limits until 1951 when the 22nd Amendment was ratified. It did not apply to the president in office at the time, but every following president could only serve two terms. If a president died before serving two years of a term, the vice president could finish out that term and then run for one term of their own. However, if the president served two or more years in office before the vice president took over, then they could run for two terms of their own.

One fact about each president

George Washington refused to become king.

John Adams was first to live in the White House.

Thomas Jefferson gave 6,500 books to start the library of congress.

James Madison fought in a battle in the War of 1812 while in office.

James Monroe ran unopposed for re-election.

John Q. Adams was elected to Congress when he was out of office.

Andrew Jackson aids had to pull him off of a man whose gun misfired when he shot at Jackson.

Martin Van Buren owned two tiger cubs.

William H Harrison was the last one born in the colonies.

John Tyler was the only one to die outside the U.S.

James K. Polk died four months after leaving office.

Zachary Taylor never voted.

Millard Fillmore was first to run after being out of office for four years.

Franklin Piece was in a train wreck on his way to Washington.

James Buchanan never married.

Abraham Lincoln went to school 300 days.

Andrew Johnson’s wife taught him how to read and write.

Ulysses S. Grant fainted at the sight of blood.

Rutherford B. Hayes held the first Easter egg roll on the White House lawn.

James A. Garfield was the only pastor to hold the office.

Chester A. Arthur worked between 10 and 4.

Grover Cleveland’s wife told the staff they would be back.

Benjamin Harrison was a grandson of the ninth president.

Grover Cleveland was the only one to serve two nonconsecutive terms.

William McKinley was the inspiration for the wizard in “The Wizard of Oz.”

Theodore Roosevelt had a laughing hyena name Bill.

William Taft became chief justice of the Supreme Court after leaving office.

Woodrow Wilson was a college president.

Warren G Harding was elected on his birthday.

Calvin Coolidge was sworn in by his grandfather.

Herbert Hoover donated his salary.

FDR was the last one to be sworn in on March 4 and in a later term was the first to be sworn in on Jan. 20.

Harry S. Truman walked to the bank to cash his checks.

Dwight D Eisenhower retired to Gettysburg.

JFK had a prescription rocking chair.

LBJ had a cabinet meeting in his bedroom.

Richard Nixon became a writer after leaving office.

Gerald Ford turned down two NFL contracts, from the Packers and the Lions.

Jimmy Carter filed a UFO report.

Ronald Reagan saved his future wife from being labeled a communist.

George H.W. Bush was head of the CIA.

Bill Clinton gave Theodore Roosevelt the medal of honor.

George W. Bush landed a jet on an aircraft carrier while he was in office.

Barack Obama was born in Hawaii.

Donald Trump is the only one to never be in the military or hold another political office.

Joe Biden defeated the oldest president to become the oldest president.


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