HISTORY BUZZ: HISTORY NEWS RECAP

By Bonnie K. Goodman

Ms. Goodman is the Editor of History Musings. She has a BA in History & Art History & a Masters in Library and Information Studies from McGill University, and has done graduate work in history at Concordia University.

IN FOCUS: PRESIDENT’S DAY

• Americans Say Reagan Is Greatest President, Poll Finds: Number 40 is No. 1. Just in time for Presidents Day, Ronald Reagan tops a list of the nation’s greatest chief executives, ahead of Abraham Lincoln, according to a new survey out Friday.
  The Gallup Poll puts Reagan, with 19 percent, in the top spot for the third time. Reagan also occupied the position in 2001 and 2005 — and he has been in the top three eight times since Gallup started asking the “greatest president” question 12 years ago.
  Lincoln garnered 14 percent, followed very closely by Bill Clinton, with 13 percent.
  John F. Kennedy, who was on top in 2000 and tied with Lincoln in 2003, came in fourth this year.
  The country’s first president, George Washington, is fifth on the list.
  Gallup said respondents are more likely to mention recent office-holders because “the average American constantly hears about and from presidents in office during their lifetime, and comparatively little about historical presidents long dead.”…. – Politics Daily, 2-18-11
• Top 10 presidents: In 2010, Siena College asked 238 presidential scholars to rank the 43 commanders in chief:
  1. Franklin Roosevelt
  2. Teddy Roosevelt
  3. Abraham Lincoln
  4. George Washington
  5. Thomas Jefferson
  6. James Madison
  7. James Monroe
  8. Woodrow Wilson
  9. Harry Truman
  10. Dwight Eisenhower
• Presidents Day history, facts and info: Presidents Day officially falls on the third Monday in February. It was borne out of a combination of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday Feb. 12 and George Washington’s birthday Feb. 22. The federal holiday is officially dubbed “Washington’s Birthday,” but is more commonly known as Presidents Day.
  Washington’s Birthday: Washington’s birthday was originally Feb. 11, 1731, by the Julian calendar. When Britain and its colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar the date was changed to Feb. 22, 1732. Celebrating the birthday America’s first president goes back to when he was still in office.
  Observing Washington’s Birthday: After Washington’s death in 1799, Congress chose to honor our first president in many ways. In 1832, Congress adjourned Feb. 22 to observe the centennial of Washington’s birth. In 1862, Washington’s farewell address to the nation was read aloud on the floor of the House and Senate on the day of his birth. The tradition still holds in the U.S. Senate today.
  Official Holiday: In the late 1870s, Washington’s Birthday joined New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day as the five observed holidays by banks and by federal employees in Washington, D.C. In 1885, Washington’s birthday was extended to all federal employees.
  Uniform Monday Holiday Law: In 1968, Congress considered the Uniform Monday Holiday Law in order to standardize days (not dates) of certain holidays on calendars. Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day and Veterans Day all became holidays observed on a Monday. Columbus Day was created with the same legislation and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was added in 1983.
  Third Monday in February: The third Monday in February was chosen as the day for Presidents Day because it falls on neither Washington’s nor Lincoln’s actual birthday. The third Monday in February occurs from Feb. 15 to Feb. 21 in any given year.
  Lincoln’s Birthday: Lincoln’s birthday was never an official federal holiday although many northern states observed Feb. 12 as a holiday. In 2011, only three states officially close their offices to observe Lincoln’s birthday–Connecticut, Illinois and Missouri. California and New Jersey used to close state offices, but in 2011 employees are reporting for work in both of those states.
  Presidents Day Celebrations: In the official Public Law, the third Monday of February is designated “Washington’s Birthday” even though Congress set the date in order to honor Lincoln as well. The name morphed into Presidents Day when businesses wanted to market big sales during the three-day weekend. Mount Vernon, Virginia, the historic home of George Washington on the Potomac River, celebrates the third Monday in February with free admission to the site along with other celebrations. – Yahoo News, 2-17-11
• Presidents Day — Listing the best and worst: Presidents Day is a combined holiday fusing what were once the separate observations of Washington’s and Lincoln’s birthdays (fused by Richard Nixon and set on the third Monday in February) They are generally regarded as our best presidents and are two of the four faces on Mount Rushmore. How do the ones who are implied by the holiday of Presidents Day (if not specifically mentioned) come out?
  Listing presidents from best to worst can be problematic when dealing with arguably the most polarizing tenants of the White House as well as with the most recent ones (as their administrations haven’t receded far enough into the past to be completely called history). Both aspects of that came to the fore in 2006 when historian Sean Wilentz held George W. Bush to be the worst U.S. President in history, citing a 2004 survey in which a sizable majority reached the same verdict. The potential problems with such a judgment being made in the middle of Bush’s term in office should be obvious….
  There have been a great many polls with Siena’s 2010 survey being its fifth. Lincoln, Washington, and FDR generally occupy the top three slots (with Jefferson and T. Roosevelt occasionally stepping in) and Buchanan, Pierce, and Harding generally occupy the bottom three slot (with a couple of entries by Andrew Johnson and William Henry Harrison — but see my cavil about the latter)…. – Gather, 2-21-11
• President’s Day History: February 21st marks the celebration of both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays, more commonly known as President’s Day.
  Washington, known as “The father of our country” is remembered for playing a significant role in drafting the Declaration of Independence.
  Lincoln, or “Honest Abe” was known as the “Great Emancipator” for signing into law the Emanciption Proclamation that freed the slaves… – Newsmax, 2-18-11
• Presidents Day: A Time to Remember the Greats: Presidents Day is ostensibly a time to celebrate the great men who helped shape the nation. It’s an oddly named holiday, if for no other reason than few would hold the presidents with equal reverence. Once upon a time, we celebrated the birthdays of Washington and Lincoln separately, an honor befitting their outsized legacies. It’s universally accepted that their accomplishments merit unequal treatment in that regard.
  It was Richard Nixon, of all people, who decided to replace Washington’s and Lincoln’s birthdays for the more generic Presidents Day, which takes place on the third Monday in February. The intent was to pay respect to all the previous office holders, though the unintended consequence has been just the opposite. For younger generations, the holiday represents little more than a chance to score some deals at the local mall; it’s doubtful that shoppers are giving thought to our greatest presidents as they troll the discount bins.
  And that’s a shame. Presidents Day should be a chance for Americans to reconnect with the past — both distant and near — and the giants of the office who transformed the country. There’s certainly no shortage of men and moments to appreciate…. – Fox News, 2-21-11
• Presidents Day 2011 – Remembering Ronald Reagan: While Presidents Day has traditionally been a day to remember two of America’s greatest presidents—George Washington and Abraham Lincoln; in recent years it has become a day to reflect upon all of the great presidents of the United States and their accomplishments. In that spirit, this Presidents Day seems to be the perfect occasion to reflect upon the presidency of Ronald Reagan, who would have turned 100 on February 6.
  While Ronald Reagan has certainly become an icon among conservative Americans, he was also quite popular among most independent voters and even a good number of “Reagan-democrats.”
  The tribute video linked to this page does a good job of celebrating the life and presidency of Ronald Reagan. It is worth watching for anyone who is a Reagan fan. Though I certainly do consider Ronald Reagan one of our greatest presidents, I do not mean to suggest that I would rank him above the likes of George Washington or Abraham Lincoln. Our nation’s history has been marked by many great presidents (and many not so great presidents)…. – Examiner, 2-21-11
• Presidents Day: Scandals that created celebrities: In honor of Presidents Day, we take a look at a few folks who’ve achieved fame — or at least notoriety — by having their names linked to the leader of the free world…. – LAT
• Presidents Day: Celebrating Monica Lewinsky, Judith Exner and other man-made celebs: On Presidents Day we should, in theory, spend some time thinking about what our presidents have done to give us the country we have today, right? And yes, we thought about it. And then we decided that we were less interested in presidential achievements than we were in regular folks who achieved fame, or infamy, thanks to an association with a leader of the free world. In that spirit, the Ministry has compiled a Presidents Day photo gallery of average Joes — or, more often, average Janes — whose names we know thanks to high-level improprieties. CIA agent Valerie Plame, (whose relationship, admittedly, was more with the White House in general than with a president in particular) and take a trip down memory lane with the likes of Monica Lewinsky, Judith Exner, Sally Hemings and more…. – LAT, 2-21-11
• Harold Holzer: Five myths about Abraham Lincoln: No American hero, with the possible exception of George “I Cannot Tell a Lie” Washington, has been more encrusted with myth than Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln did boast virtues that required little embellishment. He rose from obscurity through hard work, self-education and honesty. He endured venomous criticism to save the Union and end slavery. He died shortly after his greatest triumph at the hands of an assassin. But tall-tale-tellers have never hesitated to rewrite Lincoln’s biography. On Presidents’ Day, it’s well worth dispelling some perennial misconceptions about the man on the $5 bill….
  1. Lincoln was a simple country lawyer….
  2. Lincoln was gay….
  3. Lincoln was depressed…
  4. Lincoln was too compassionate…
  5. Lincoln was mortally ill… –
  WaPo, 2-17-11
• Another President’s Day — for Jefferson Davis: While a few Yankees will nationally celebrate Presidents’ Day Monday as the combined birthdays of notorious good guy George Washington and an early Illinois president named Abraham Lincoln. But a real celebration occurs Saturday.
  That’s actually a day late for the 150th anniversary of the inauguration of Jefferson Davis as head of the Confederate States of America. The celebratory day has fallen into considerable disuse since roughly Appomattox Court House.
  Born in Kentucky, Davis was a U.S. Senator from Mississippi both before and after he was, appropriately enough, Secretary of War in the Democratic administration of New Hampshire’s only native-born president, Franklin Pierce (1853-57). Pierce, a lifelong alcoholic, is widely considered one of the worst presidents in American history.
  Davis actually argued against secession, though he never questioned a state’s right to depart the Union.
  On Feb. 18, 1861, Davis began a six-year term as president of the Confederate States. Like Jimmy Carter from Georgia some years later, Davis was a one-termer; actually, a less-than-one-termer, as he was arrested for treason by Union troops on May 10, 1865, a day that passes now without notice…. – LAT, 2-18-11
• Presidential party Madame Tussauds’ wax exhibit features all of America’s leaders, from Washington to Obama: What better way to celebrate Presidents Day weekend than getting up close and personal with all 43 presidents — well, their lifelike wax figures, that is.
  The Presidents Gallery at Madame Tussauds Washington opens this week with an unveiling of the museum’s new $2 million exhibit featuring wax figures of the U.S. leaders, from No. 1, George Washington, to No. 44, Barack Obama. (Grover Cleveland, for those counting, was No. 22 and No. 24.)
  “This is the only place in the world where you are able to stand next to them, put your arms around them and interact with all 44 presidents in three-dimensional fashion,” said Dan Rogoski, general manager of Madame Tussauds Washington…. – Baltimore Sun, 2-17-11
• President’s Day in New Jersey: Remembering the Roosevelts: February has morphed into Presidents’ Month. First there were Lincoln’s Birthday and Washington’s Birthday. Then came President’s Day, which provided for a three-day weekend. Before long, stores and advertisers expanded the three-day weekend to a week, and now it has become a full month’s merchandising affair.
  Similarly, the focus on Presidents, to the extent that there is one, has expanded to Presidents beyond Washington and Lincoln. Over time, the month has come to consider things “Presidential”, including our more obscure Presidents. In this spirit, our Presidential story for this month involves the name Roosevelt. Of course, we have had two Presidents Roosevelt — fifth cousins we are told.
  One was a Republican, the other a Democrat. One presided over the nation in the early part of the 20th century in the midst of rapidly changing times marked by an era attempting to reign in corporate power. The other led the nation in the later part of the 20th century, and faced daunting, monumental challenges — the Great Depression and World War II.
  Both Roosevelts were popular, but with very different constituencies. Both have had their names honored and memorialized — but in different ways with very interesting stories behind these honors…. – New Jersey Newsroom, 2-21-11
• Remember Your Other 5 Black Presidents: It has been said that this year was the first time a major political party in the United States nominated a woman or a Black person as its presidential candidate. For women, that is true, but some historians say Barack Obama will not be the nation’s first Black president. They say he certainly won’t be the first president with Black ancestors–just the first to acknowledge his Blackness.
  Which other presidents hid their African ancestry? Well, it’s not Bill Clinton, even though the Congressional Black Caucus honored him as the nation’s “first Black president” at its 2001 annual awards dinner. Presidents Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge all had Black ancestors they kept in their genealogical closets, according to historians…. – 2-15-08
• Virtual president’s desk enlivens JFK’s 1800s desk: A new online feature called The President’s Desk is giving people a chance to learn more about John F. Kennedy’s life and administration. The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library is introducing its latest project on Monday morning at the library’s museum in Boston…. – AP, 2-22-11
• WHITE HOUSE RECIPES FOR President’s Day: In honor of President’s Day I share some presidential recipes I rustled up. Apparently the Obama’s don’t cook their chili for hours and hours. The Fords liked blueberries in their banana bread. Lyndon Johnson preferred his barbeque sauce just so. Jackie Kennedy was not above opening a can. And Franklin Roosevelt had a favorite chicken dish with a nebulous history. Hometown Focus, 2-18-11
• This Presidents Day, A Lesson In Greatness: Presidents Day is a good time to reflect both on the accomplishments of presidents past and on the lessons of history.
  It’s also a time to honor our truly great presidents: George Washington, the father of our country; Abraham Lincoln, the great emancipator; and Ronald Reagan, the great communicator.
  Reagan, the greatest president of modern times, provides all of us a lesson in presidential leadership. True, it was his oratorical skill that made Reagan such a potent force. But it was his ideas and his unwavering belief in America’s greatness that made him great…. – Investors, 2-18-11
• ‘Today’ features long-lost Thomas Jefferson books on President’s Day ’11 (video): ‘Today’ features long-lost Thomas Jefferson books on President’s Day ’11 (video) — Appropriate for President’s Day, NBC’s Today Show featured a story Monday morning about a group of recently discovered books once thought lost from the library of Thomas Jefferson. The books have been determined to be authentically Jefferson’s, and the specific titles and notes associated with them will aid scholars and historians in filling in gaps in the history of the nation’s third president.
  Ann Lucas from the International Center for Jefferson Studies appeared on Today along with Shirley Baker, Dean of Libraries at Washington University of St. Louis. Ms. Lucas explained her scholarly search that set her on the trail of the books…. – Examiner, 2-21-11
• ‘A Great and Mighty President’ Three historians discuss the “splendid misery” that is the presidency: Patrick Henry opposed the Constitution as vehemently as he opposed tyranny. Indeed, at the Virginia ratifying convention in June 1788, he argued they were the same thing. “Besides the expenses of maintaining the Senate and other house in as much splendor as they please,” he railed, “there is to be a great and mighty president, with very extensive powers — the powers of a king.”
  Three months before, Alexander Hamilton, writing as “Publius” in the New York Packet, had defended the proposed presidency. “The executive authority, with few exceptions, is to be vested in a single magistrate,” he wrote. “If, in this particular, there be a resemblance to the king of Great Britain, there is not less a resemblance to the Grand Seignior, to the khan of Tartary, to the Man of the Seven Mountains, or to the governor of New York.”
  Both men were right. The president assumed very extensive powers. But even with them, no occupant of the office has yet resembled a king — at least not considerably. For this good fortune, we owe a large debt to the men who have held the office.
  No man had a greater influence on the presidency than its original occupant. “The office of the presidency was not only forged by George Washington,” says historian Ron Chernow, who recently published a one-volume biography of the first president. “One can make the argument that the office was forged for George Washington.” At the Constitutional Convention in 1787, most delegates assumed he would be the first executive, and they outlined the president’s responsibilities in the Constitution with him in mind — that is to say, rather vaguely. Unlike the lengthy Article I, which enumerates the legislature’s tasks, Article II is short and vague.
  “That was extremely important,” Chernow adds, “because we had just fought a war against the abuse of executive power. Washington’s presence at the Constitutional Convention and this assumption emboldened the delegates to create a very powerful office, one so powerful that Thomas Jefferson and others were alarmed by its scope.”
  Washington wielded that power effectively: creating a national bank, negotiating an unpopular treaty with Great Britain, and extinguishing the Whisky Rebellion in western Pennsylvania. But he also answered a fundamental question — one whose answer we take for granted today: How is a president supposed to act? “Washington decides that, basically, the president won’t stop by your house for dinner,” Chernow quips. “The office would have a certain dignity and detachment.” Americans still afford their presidents that dignity. Notice last year’s kerfuffle over comedian Jon Stewart’s calling President Obama “dude.”… – NRO Online, 2-19-11 — Download
• Jimmy Carter recounts his presidency: The 39th U.S. president celebrates Presidents Day before a large crowd in his hometown. Former President Jimmy Carter gave a standing-room-only crowd the ultimate civics lesson Monday at the Plains High School Museum. What better way to celebrate Presidents Day than hearing from a former American president? With the auditorium packed full of students from across the state of Georgia and tourists from Florida, Alabama and South Carolina, the nation’s 39th president recalled the highs and lows of his four-year administration….
  “I know this might sound strange, but this is the first time since 1981 that we’ve been back home that the park services has allowed me to speak from this stage,” Carter said. “Presidents Day has always been special to me because I proposed to Rosalynn on Presidents Day 65 years ago.”
  “I said then that the days of racial division of America were over, that no black child would ever again be denied the opportunity to succeed and thrive in America,” Carter said. “I’ve always said Harry Truman was my role model, and when he ended racial discrimination in the military you have to remember that was eight years before anyone had ever heard of Rosa Parks.” “That decision took a great deal of courage, and I am convinced that if it were not for Harry Truman and Martin Luther King Jr., I would have never been president.”
  “Foreign policy was always my favorite part of the job because I did not need permission to invite (Egyptian President) Anwar Sadat and (Israeli Prime Minister) Menachem Begin to Camp David,” he said. “It was a difficult time. Israel had already been in four recent wars with its neighbors, and all four were led by Egypt.” “Anwar Sadat is my favorite foreign leader of all-time,” said Carter.
  “Those 444 days were the biggest burden ever placed on me,” Carter said. “From Nov. 3, 1979 until the moment I left office, it was with me. Some said I should have bombed Iran, but that would have resulted in the loss of hundreds of innocent lives, and they would have executed our people. I wouldn’t risk that. “At 10 a.m. the day I was to leave office, I was told that our people were sitting in a plane on a runway waiting to take off, but (Ayatollah Ruhollah) Khomeini would not authorize it to leave as long as I was in office. The plane took off five minutes after (Ronald) Reagan was sworn in.”
  “Being President of the greatest country in the world was a wonderful honor and a public and private privilege,” Carter said. “I’d like to say thank you to the American people for giving me this wonderful honor.” – Albany Herald, 2-22-11

  QUOTES

• “No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand, which conducts the Affairs of men more than the People of the United States. Every step, by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency.” – George Washington
• “Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people, who have a right, from the frame of their nature, to knowledge, as their great Creator, who does nothing in vain, has given them understandings, and a desire to know.” – John Adams
• “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent. ” – Thomas Jefferson
• “Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.” – James Madison
• “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. ” – Abraham Lincoln
• “In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility – I welcome it.” – John F Kennedy
• “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.” – Ronald Reagan