I am supposedly a history student. However I couldn’t tell you anything substantial about…
Martin Van Buren
William H. Harrison (I believe he did after only a month though)
John Tyler
Millard Fillmore
Franklin Pierce
James Buchanan
James Garfield (I only know he was shot)
Rutherford Hayes
Chester Arthur
Benjamin Harrison
William Howard Taft
Calvin Coolige
And most of what I know of Ford and Carter comes from Saturday Night Live reruns.
Did any of these presidents do anything that you consider important that is overlooked by casual historians?
Perhaps in the 20th century, we were somehow corrupted with the idea that presidents should liberate countries, and emancipate whole races of people as part of their duties. But did people in the 19th century only expect the president to keep the mail running, and the White House’s lawn in good condition?
Martin Van Buren is the father of the modern political party system. His directorship of the Albany Regency, and the way he got John Calhoun bounced out of Jackson’s cabinet, so the he (Van Buren) could become Jackson’s heir apparent are the art of politics being played at their best.
Chester Alan Arthur supported the passage of the Pendleton Act, which established the modern Civil Service. Thanks to Arthur’s support, who had been a master of the spoils system, what had beena purely patronage based system became one based more or less on competitive exams and merit.
Both men are fairly obscure, but I’ve read both of their biographies and they lead interesting lives (particularly Van Buren - he really is a self-made man).
I wouldn’t classify Buchanan as a forgotten President. He’s the man who sat on his hands who sat on his hands as the nation tore itself apart. I think that his presidency is very well-known by those with an interest in American history.
Calvin Coolidge is a hero of many conservatives for his hands-off approach to the economy during his term.
Taft is probably more notable for his tenure on the Supreme Court after his presidency - he was Chief Justice, and a fairly active one, who instituted some needed streamlining of the judicial system. It was the position he wanted instead of the presidency anyway, and he was delighted when Harding appointed him.
His accomplishments in the White House seemed to consist of possibly getting stuck in the bathtub, inadvertantly inventing the seventh inning stretch, and keeping a cow on the White House lawn.
Actually a quick check with an encyclopedia will tell you that the Department of Labor was created under the Taft administration, as well as the admission of Arizona and New Mexico, and a couple constitutional ammendments. In elected, rather than appointed, office he bobbled the political football with regularity. That, and the fact that his political career was intertwined with that of the flambouyant Teddy Roosevelt worked to his detriment.
Um… Carter basically founded the Mideast Peace Process and probably was its most effective participant (including Begin, Sadat, and their and his successors, with the possible exception of Rabin).
Also, he was responsible for insuring US compliance with the handover of the Panama Canal to the Panamanians. It might not seem that monumental, but it was strategically important and, IMHO, the greatest act of unselfish honesty ever committed by a major power.
Ford, well, you can be forgiven for not noticing him. I think he used to play football.
-ehj
We are the mediocre presidents!
You won’t find our faces on dollars or on cents!
There’s Taylor, there’s Tyler, there’s Fillmore, and there’s Hayes!
There’s William Henry Harrison, “I died in thirty days!”
We’re the adequate, forgettable,
Occasionally regrettable, caretaker presidents of the U.S.A.!
Garfield had a cat named after him, Coolidge was soft-spoken and left the economy alone, Taft was obese. Okay, I’m spent.
I think nobody remembers them because they didn’t directly do or oversee anything that stands out in the history books. They may have been darned good presidents (what I’ve read about Coolidge makes him sound like he did a good job), but that’s irrelevant to public memory.
Hayes is famous for his role in the election of 1876, which he “won.” Samuel Tilden of New York got 51% of the popular vote, and lost by Louisiana’s electoral votes, which (along with Florida’s and one other southern state) were in contention. Louisiana was swayed by Hayes’s promise to end Reconstruction.
As for his actual Presidency? I don’t have any Gore Vidal novels on that, so I’ve got no idea.
There were four states in contention in the Hayes / Tilden election, Oregon and the three southern states you mentioned. The parallels to the 2000 election are rather interesting:
And what about John Quincy Adams, who ran for President as the leading candidate from the Party for Electing Only People Names John Adams. (Don’t knock it, they got his father elected President!)
Also, W. H. Harrison was a hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe, over Tecumsah. That’s why they called him “Tippecanoe.” Also, I believe Benjamen Harrison was his grandson.
Yes, Benjamin Harrison was the grandson of William Henry. He wore his grandfather’s hat to associate himself with his grandfather, but it worked against him, as political cartoonists of the time had a field day drawing Harrison dwarfed under an enormous hat, implying that he didn’t measure up to “Tippecanoe”. The Cleveland backers also made up a satirical song called “His Grandfather’s Hat” lampooning him (Harrison was the guy who served the term between Cleveland’s two split terms). He pretty much deserved it - Harrison is usually regarded as an ineffectual puppet of party bosses and business interests.
Coolidge’s teenage son died when he was president, in one of those ways that make you read the story again and go “huh?”. The kid was playing tennis in sneakers without socks, and stubbed his toe, and the stubbed toe became infected and he died. In case you ever doubted the importance of proper footware…
