Hall of the Presidents: a sketch experiment

What's next?

2008-09-07T10:30:00.000-07:00

So, Dear Reader: the Hall of the Presidents is complete, until January. What's next? Any suggestions? Remember, the loose requirements are:

1. They must be portraits.
2. They must be in a series (so I know when to start and stop)
3. They must have readily available source material.

Any ideas?

Forty-third President: George W. Bush

2008-09-04T22:25:00.000-07:00

We've reached the temporary end of the Hall of the Presidents! There just might be a new addition, maybe say January 20, 2009. Let's cross our fingers.

Forty-second President: Bill Clinton

2008-09-03T22:20:00.000-07:00

Are there any new facts to report about William Jefferson Clinton? He's apparently close friends with George HW Bush, collaborating with him on several charitable projects after their presidencies.

Forty-first President: George H. W. Bush

2008-09-02T22:12:00.000-07:00

The Bush family was in the politics business even before the double-presidency: George Herbert Walker Bush's father was a Senator, and his father was a steel magnate and organized the War Bonds for the first world war, and later Chief of Ordinance.

Fortieth President: Ronald Reagan

2008-09-01T22:09:00.000-07:00

Reagan was an actor, then governor of California, and then President. Here's hoping Schwartzenegger follows the same path!

Thirty-ninth President: Jimmy Carter

2008-08-31T22:05:00.000-07:00

Jimmy Carter created the Departments of Energy and Education. Who ran the schools before that? I have no idea, and so little interest in recent American history that I won't find out unless you - yes You, Dear Reader - inform me in your comments.

So?

Thirty-eighth President: Gerald R. Ford

2008-08-07T08:58:00.000-07:00

Gerald Ford not only wasn't elected President - he wasn't elected to any national office at all! After Spiro Agnew abdicated the Veep position - and then pleaded guilty to tax evasion - Ford was chosen as his replacement. Then Nixon resigned in the wake of Watergate, and Ford began his unlikely administration.

Thirty-seventh President: Richard M. Nixon

2008-07-28T16:35:00.000-07:00

I've definitely crossed the threshold now - rather than me giving you readers facts about Presidents, I should be asking you! You're certainly not going to learn much from me, a kid born during the Carter administration, right? Right.

So, then: what can you tell me about Richard Nixon?

Thirty-sixth President: Lyndon B. Johnson

2008-07-05T12:05:00.000-07:00

LBJ was Kennedy's VP, of course, and was sworn in just hours after the assassination. They couldn't find a Bible at the time, and instead Johnson was sworn in using JFK's missal.

Thirty-fifth President: John F. Kennedy

2008-06-21T12:12:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the drought, loyal readers. All the Presidents in this series have come from the National Portrait Gallery, in which Mr. Kennedy is sadly underrepresented. His most prominent portrait is by Elaine de Kooning, whos abstract expressionist style doesn't really fit with my drawing goals. Instead, I found a photograph that's included in the gallery as well.

Thirty-fourth President: Dwight D. Eisenhower

2008-04-08T20:26:00.000-07:00

I like Ike! Sure, we can thank Eisenhower for his pivotal role in WWII, for the space race, for a more powerful Social Security. But personally? I'm big, big fan of the Interstate Highway System. If you've ever driven 200 miles in less than three hours, then you should thank him too.

Thirty-third President: Harry S Truman

2008-04-06T21:55:00.000-07:00

What you already know about Harry S Truman: thirty-third President, military officer, from Missouri and had to be shown stuff, FDR's final VP, narrowly defeated Dewey for reelection, saw the end of WWII and authorized nukes in Japan.

But did you know: his middle initial doesn't stand for anything? It's not an initial, really, it's his whole middle name: S.

Also: did not really have two mouths.

Thirty-second President: Franklin D. Roosevelt

2008-04-05T22:56:00.001-07:00

FDR was one of our best-loved presidents: he saw the country through the Great Depression, another World War, and was elected four times! He was responsible for the New Deal, he supported Winston Churchill, and he brought the nation little-known senator Harry S Truman.

Thirty-first President: Herbert Hoover

2008-02-14T13:26:00.000-08:00

Hoover's presidency coincided with the Great Depression, and sadly that's just about all that we remember him for. It's too bad, really, as he was a successful mining engineer, humanitarian (organizing volunteer forces to help victims and refugees of World War I), and had a spotless career of government service.

Thirtieth President: Calvin Coolidge

2008-02-13T13:23:00.000-08:00

Coolidge was Harding's VP, and assumed the office after the President died. He was reelected for the next term. He was notoriously shy.

Twenty-ninth President: Warren G. Harding

2008-02-12T13:20:00.000-08:00

Warren G. Harding was widely considered good-looking, so you can assume I haven't done the man justice.

Twenty-eighth President: Woodrow Wilson

2008-02-11T13:16:00.000-08:00

As a former professor, Woodrow Wilson was noted for his quiet fair-mindedness. He was nominated by his party because they expected him to be easy to dominate, but surprised them with a reforming streak that endeared him to the American public. He was reelected for a second term, and tried to keep the US out of World War I.

Twenty-seventh President: William Howard Taft

2008-02-10T13:13:00.000-08:00

The march of mustaches continues!

Twenty-sixth President: Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.

2008-02-09T07:38:00.000-08:00

Teddy Roosevelt! Oh man, it's tough to draw the 'Rushmore Presidents.' Everybody knows exactly what they should look like.

Twenty-fifth President: WIlliam McKinley

2008-02-08T17:16:00.000-08:00

Another assassination! Being President was a dangerous time between the Civil War and the turn of the century.

Twenty-third President: Benjamin Harrison

2008-02-07T00:01:00.001-08:00

We just recently learned about Rutherford B. Haye's disputed election (Hayes lost the popular vote but won the needed electoral votes through a congressional committee and some backroom dealing), and now we come to another dynastic President, whose family connections got him into the running, and then helped him win a rigged election. Our modern-day election worries seem tame by comparison.

Benjamin Harrison was Old Tippecanoe's grandson (I think you can see the resemblance), and had a rather undistinguished political career before his candidacy for President. In the election of 1888, groups of electors literally sold their votes to the Republican party in New York and Indiana. The fraud was exposed at the time, known now as the Blocks of Five. Despite this blatant fraud and losing the popular vote by a wide margin, Harrison took the office anyway. He was promptly replaced at the end of his term by the rightful victor, Chester A. Arthur.

Twenty-second (and Twenty-fourth) President: Grover Cleveland

2008-02-06T15:23:00.000-08:00

As every schoolchild knows, Grover Cleveland is our only President to have served two non-consecutive terms in office. He was defeated in 1888 by Benjamin Harrison, and then returned in 1892 to oust Harrison from office. Cleveland's early career included being the Sheriff of Erie County, the Mayor of Buffalo, and the Governor of New York.

Little-known fact (at least to us po' folks): Grover Cleveland used to be on the One Thousand Dollar Bill.

Twenty-first President: Chester A. Arthur

2008-02-05T14:52:00.000-08:00

Do we need to disuss anything beyond this President's admirable facial hair? Probably not.

Twentieth President: James A. Garfield

2008-02-04T09:33:00.000-08:00

James A. Garfield was the second President to be assassinated, and served the second-shortest term in office (after Ben Harrison, who caught a cold at his inauguration). He was shot by Charles J. Guiteau, who then exclaimed, "I did it and I want to be arrested! Arthur is President now!"

Nineteenth President: Rutherford B. Hayes

2008-02-03T09:05:00.000-08:00

Rutherford B. Hayes! Hayes gets presidential points for 1. his very-fun-to-say name, and 2. his excellent facial hair. Chosen to counter Grant's notoriously corrupt administration, he was famous mostly for being inoffensive.

Hayes' election might ring some bells. His opponent in the election, Samuel J. Tilden won the actual popular vote (by around a quarter million), and the counts were hotly contested. At the time, a candidate needed 185 electoral votes to win: Tilden had 184, Hayes had 165, and 20 electoral votes from four states (one of them Florida) swung in the balance, contested based on charges of fraud and intimidation. A congressional committee was formed to give out the disputed votes. The committee was formed of 7 Republicans, 7 Democrats, and a supposedly 'swing' voter, Supreme Court Justice Bradley. Bradley, who was known for Republican leanings, tipped the scales to Hayes, but not before back-room deals assured both sides that Hayes would end the military occupation of the South.