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From the Editor’s Desk

When most people think of Presidents’ Day, they think of a couple things: one is

probably the Macy’s Presidents’ Day sale. Or the one at Sears. Or Best Buy’s, or

the companies all across the nation using this national holiday for marketing

purposes. If you do think of our Presidents, you may think of George Washington

or Abraham Lincoln, whose birthdays are days after and before this holiday. You

may think of Washington’s wooden teeth and the cherry tree or Lincoln’s log cabin

or stovepipe hat. But if you’re like me this Presidents’ Day holiday, you’re

thinking of a country that has gone on for 200+ years. In those years, just 43 men

have served this country as the head of state. And they weren’t king or emperor or

czar, as our founders could have made them. They have been Presidents. On this

holiday, which was originally made to honor our first chief executive, and to a

lesser extent, our 16th, why don’t we think of all 43 of the men who have held the

office of President of the United States.

To help, I’ve put together a list of all the Presidents, with their name, number,

term, party, picture, and…one fact for each President.

I hope you enjoy it, and maybe learn something new!

And have a fabulous Presidents’ Day,

Gabe Fleisher

Editor-in-Chief

Wake Up To Politics

George Washington, 1st President

No Party

1789-1797 Appointed the most Supreme Court Justices of any Presidents – 11. Then again, he did

appoint the whole first court.

John Adams, 2nd President

Federalist

1797-1801 Is the only President to be defeated by his own Vice President.

Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President

Democratic-Republican

1801-1809 A lover of all things France and food, Jefferson brought French fries to America.

He also proved tomatoes weren’t poisonous, and was rumored to have brought

ice cream from France, but he wasn’t actually the first to eat it in the 13 colonies,

although he introduced it to many Americans.

The Presidents of the United States…

James Madison, 4th President

Democratic-Republican

1809-1817 Was the first President to wear pants – all of his predecessors wore the common

knee breeches of the day, while Madison bucked the trend by putting on

trousers.

James Monroe, 5th President

Democratic-Republican

1817-1825 Only President with a foreign capital city named for him – Monrovia, Liberia.

John Quincy Adams, 6th President

Democratic-Republican

1825-1829 Read the Bible cover to cover each year – making him the book’s most avid

Presidential reader.

Andrew Jackson, 7th President

Democrat

1829-1837 Is the only President to be a prisoner of war, at age 13 he and his brother were

captured by the British in the Revolutionary War.

Martin Van Buren, 8th President

Democrat

1837-1841 Married his first cousin once removed, Hannah Hoes.

William Henry Harrison, 9th President

Whig

1841 Was the first President to campaign actively.

John Tyler, 10th President

Whig

1841-1845 His wife started the tradition of playing “Hail to the Chief” for the President.

James Polk, 11th President

Democrat

1845-1849 Surprisingly,is the only President to have previously served as Speaker of the House.

Zachary Taylor, 12th President

Whig

1849-1850 Against his objections, his daughter married Jefferson Davis, although she died

before she could become First Lady of the Confederacy. After her death, Davis

actually served under General Taylor in the Mexican-American War. This kind of

makes Taylor the father-in-law of another President.

Millard Fillmore, 13th President

Whig

1850-1853 If you’ve ever heard the name of our 13th Chief Executive, you’ve probably wondered

how he got his name – Millard was his mother’s maiden name.

Franklin Pierce, 14th President

Democrat

1853-1857 Only President to go a full term with no changes to his Cabinet.

James Buchanan, 15th President

Democrat

1857-1861 Despite the fact that he is remembered negatively for his views on slavery,

secession, and the Civil War, he had the first African-American artist at the White

House – Thomas “Blind Tom” Wiggins.

Abraham Lincoln, 16th President

Republican

1861-1865 Is the only President to have gotten a patent – in 1849, for an invention that could

lift boats over obstructions in a river. The patent document wasn’t discovered or

known until 1997.

Andrew Johnson, 17th President

Democrat

1865-1869 Johnson and his wife Eliza were married by Mordecai Lincoln, Abe’s first cousin

once removed.

Ulysses Grant, 18th President

Republican

1869-1877 Grant was the first President of just three to have both of his parents live to see

him become Chief Executive. Neither of them actually attended either of his

inaugurations, but Grant’s father did visit the White House more than once.

Rutherford Hayes, 19th President

Republican

1877-1881 Signed legislation allowing women to argue cases before the Supreme Court.

James Garfield, 20th President

Republican

1881 Impressed people by writing in Latin with one hand…while he wrote in Greek

with the other.

Chester Arthur, 21st President

Republican

1881-1885 The house in Manhattan where Arthur lived for most of his adult life now has a

Mediterranean deli on its first two floors and apartments on its other three.

Grover Cleveland, 22nd and 24th President

Democrat

1885-1889 and 1893-1897 Vetoed the most bills of any other President, except FDR (who of course had much

more time) – a total of 584

Benjamin Harrison, 23rd President

Republican

1889-1893 On June 6, 1892, became the first sitting President to attend a Major League Baseball

game, when the Reds beat the Washington Senators in a game that went on for 11

innings.

William McKinley, 25th President

Republican

1897-1901 While he wasn’t really the first President to ride in a car, McKinley was the first Chief

Executive to ride in a self-propelled vehicle – the ambulance from after he was shot. He

died eight days later.

Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President

Republican

1901-1909 Is the only President to have received the Medal of Honor – meaning he both

received and awarded America’s highest military honor. President Clinton awarded

TR the Medal for his service in the Spanish-American War posthumously in 2001.

William Taft, 27th President

Republican

1909-1913 First President of two to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Woodrow Wilson, 28th President

Democrat

1913-1921 Only President to have stayed in D.C. after leaving office, and the only one to be

buried there – his body rests in the National Cathederal.

Warren Harding, 29th President

Republican

1921-1923 He is the last President to have no children, there being only five others, including

George Washington, the “Father of His Country,” and James Madison, the “Father of

the Constitution.”

Calvin Coolidge, 30th President

Republican

1923-1929 His favorite food was pancakes.

Hebert Hoover, 31st President

Republican

1929-1933 He has more than Hoovervilles and Hoover vacuums - this President is the

namesake of the asteroids Herberta and Hooveria. While four other Presidents got

asteroids named for tem, Hoover is the only one with two.

Franklin Roosevelt, 32nd President

Democrat

1933-1945 First President whose mother decided to vote for him. No, no, the other ones

supported their children, but no Mother-in-Chief would have been able to vote

until Warren Harding’s mom, but his wasn’t alive. Neither were any others from

Harding to FDR.

Harry Truman, 33rd President

Democrat

1945-1953 Nine Presidents never graduated from college, but Truman is the most recent as

well as the only one from the twentieth century.

Dwight Eisenhower, 34th President

Republican

1953-1961 First President to appear on color television.

John Kennedy, 35th President

Democrat

1961-1963 JFK is the only President who had a grandparent live to see him take office –his

maternal grandmother actually outlived him as well, in addition to both his parents,

if that gives you an idea of how young he was when he was killed.

Lyndon Johnson, 36th President

Democrat

1963-1969 He had a button on his Oval Office desk that alerted a military aide to bring him

his favorite drink, Fresca.

Richard Nixon, 37th President

Republican

1969-1974 He is the only person to have been elected to two terms as Vice President as well as

two terms as President – the irony is that he had to resign and didn’t get to actually

serve the last two and a half years of his Presidency.

Gerald Ford, 38th President

Republican

1974-1977 Only President to have been employed by the National Park Service, having been

a ranger at Yellowstone National Park.

Jimmy Carter, 39th President

Democrat

1977-1981 First President to be born in a hospital.

Ronald Reagan, 40th President

Republican

1981-1989 Only President to have led a labor union.

George Bush, 41st President

Republican

1989-1993 H.W. had a pretty impressive pre-presidential résumé: Congressman, UN

Ambassador, Chair of the RNC, the post that was the predecessor to Ambassador

to China, Director of the CIA, Vice President, and two-time Senate nominee.

Bill Clinton, 42nd President

Democrat

1993-1997 On his last day in office, he pardoned his half-brother.

George W. Bush, 43rd President

Republican

2001-2009 Bush is the only President to have gotten an MBA (Master of Business

Administration), which he earned from Harvard Business School.

Barack Obama, 44th President

Democrat

2009-2016 Obama is a big comic book collector – he has Spider-Man and Conan the

Barbarian in his collection.

Email me with any questions, comments, or tips on any of the facts or Wake Up To Politics in

general. Also if you have had any trouble receiving or opening today's or other editions of Wake Up

To Politics or would like me to add anyone to the Wake Up mailing list (it takes a little bit, but I

will do it), please email me as well! Have a great President!