Meinders Community Library

Don’t hate me for bringing up the past. I love history, and the 250th anniversary of our nation’s independence is the perfect time to dig into the events that have shaped our country.

President’s Day was established in 1885 in recognition of President George Washington. Over the years, the date moved from his actual birthdate to the third Monday in January. It also morphed from a celebration of one president to it’s current iteration of celebrating all presidents.

And while marketers glommed on to this Federal Holiday as a great time to host a sale–get your car, mattress, washer and dryer, etc, now!–it’s a great opportunity to reflect on some of our country’s most influential figures.

Presidential Fun Facts and Trivia

• A president must be: at least 35 years old, a native born citizen of the United States, and a resident of the US for at least 14 years.

Our two youngest presidents entered the office in two different ways. Theodore Roosevelt took office in 1901 through succession. He was 42 when President McKinley was assassinated, thus thrusting him into the highest office at a young age. At 43, John F. Kennedy is the youngest elected president.

• George Washington was the first President of the United States–and the only one to have been unanimously elected. He served from 1789 to 1797.

During his lifetime, George Washington was well-known and widely respected. He won all 69 electoral votes in the first presidential election. During his time in office, he created the system of cabinets to advise the president in his decision-making. The role of these trusted advisors is still in place today.

Also modeled by Washington was the precedence for peacefully leaving office after his retirement. Long before the two-term limit was imposed (February 27, 1951), he knew it was important to the American people to experience the willing transfer of power to the next generation of leaders, as well as the need to limit career presidents from gaining too much power.

But George Washington was not perfect. He owned slaves that he did not free until after his and his wife’s deaths. Washington was not alone in being human. Regardless of their successes or their missteps, each of the following presidents have left an indelible imprint on the fabric of our lives.

• Before Theodore Roosevelt became president in 1901, the White House was called the President’s Palace, the President’s House, or the Executive Mansion.

The White House was built between 1792 and 1800. The first residents were President John Adams and his wife Abigail. It survived a fire in 1814 and another in 1829. Over the years, it has been remodeled and updated to include a tennis court, jogging track, swimming pool, movie theater, and bowling lane.

• Teddy Roosevelt was the first president to ride in a car during his time in office, while his 5th cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the first president to ride in an airplane.

On August 22, 1902 Teddy rode in an electric automobile down the streets of Hartford, Connecticut. He was escorted by men on bicycle, horseback, and other cars, thus creating the first presidential motorcade.

In January 1943, FDR flew 17,000 miles on a secret overseas trip. He traveled by airplane due to the security risks imposed by U-boats. His inaugural flight as sitting president changed the course of travel for elected officials.

• Jimmy Carter was a peanut farmer. Other professions prior to presidency include: movie stars, tailors, soldiers, publicists, and lawyers.

Probably the most unique profession leading up to the presidency was Carter’s. A peanut farmer from Georgia, Carter brought agriculture to the national stage as a “Washington outsider” who had not grown up in politics. That said, the USDA was established in 1862 by President Lincoln to support farmers during the Civil War.

• Thomas Jefferson reportedly spoke and wrote six different languages, while Woodrow Wilson was the only president to earn a Ph.D.

Wilson received his doctoral degree in political science and history from Johns Hopkins University in 1886. He had a distinguished career at Princeton University before entering politics as the Governor of New Jersey. From President of Princeton to two-term President of the Unites States, Wilson is consistently ranked in the top tier by historians. He is often recognized for significant domestic reforms and international vision.

• Abraham Lincoln was the tallest president at 6 foot 4 inches. A full foot shorter, James Madison was the smallest.

No, 300-pound William Howard Taft did not get stuck in a bathtub. Yes, John Tyler was 70 years-old when his 15th and final child was born. John Quincy Adams did not use a Bible during his inauguration, but rather swore his oath of office over a law book. He also may or may not have raised an alligator in a White House bathtub.

• William Henry Harrison’s 1841 inaugural address lasted nearly two hours. His presidency lasted only one month.

The prevailing theory of Harrison’s demise was that he became ill due to the frigid rain during his inaugural address. The following frenzied political calendar pressed upon the 9th president added to his inability to fight off the pneumonia (and/or possible typhoid fever) that had set in. On April 3rd, he pulled his attending physician close and uttered his last words, instructing his Vice President, John Tyler to understand and carry out the “true principles” of government. Just after midnight, Harrison passed away, leaving the fate of the nation in the hands of his successor.

• The United States of America has had 45 presidents over its 47 presidencies, with two presidents serving non-consecutive terms. Donald Trump was both the 45th and 47th president, while Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th.

Whether you would have voted for them or not, these forty-five men of the executive branch have guided our country with help (and push back) from the judicial and congressional branches during our 250-year quest toward freedom.

Want to learn more about the presidents not featured here? Your local library has a robust biography section for readers of all ages. Need a new couch? Wait until February 16th. I’m sure there will be a President’s Day Sale somewhere nearby!

until next time, keep reading, keep learning, and keep growing~ jody

Common sense should help us break down big words into bite-sized pieces such as semi (half) + quin (five) + centennial (100) to get the right answer: 250 years. However, if you never learned or have already forgotten how to string together semi, quin, and centennial, you are not alone. Sometimes common sense isn’t so common after all.

So where did the phrase come from, how has it been used throughout our country’s 250 years of independence, and how can we unite through our common experiences as we move to celebrate our country during the semiquincentennial?

Let’s start with the history. Aristotle came up with “sensus communis” as a way to compile information provided by the five senses to get a more cohesive or unifying impression. The sixth sense was born.

More than 400 years later, Cicero took this idea one step further and added the community aspect to it, thus creating a shared, social understanding.

In the 14th century, we see the phrase used to denote an “ordinary understanding” that everyone should agree upon because the impressions are so simple or ordinary to grasp. This said, I’m a firm believe that today’s version of common sense is actually a broken concept–keep reading to find out why.

By the late 1600’s, reasoning and judgement had been added to the mix of ordinary thinking, and common sense took on political import in settling issues or finding agreement.

Enter January 10, 1776. Thomas Paine published his pamphlet Common Sense, arguing for independence from Britain. At this time, Paine transformed common sense from a philosophical concept or political tool into a powerful call to action.

Under Paine’s not so gentle nudging, thirteen colonies reasoned their way to agreement. On July 2, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia and adopted on July 4–a day many Americans celebrate as a day of freedom.

The rationalization for this monumental act of treason against the crown? Common sense, or the “self-evident” truths penned primarily by Thomas Jefferson.

Since then, the phrase common sense has been used as a tool for motivation and condemnation. We bandy the word around with a sense of superiority and disgust when talking about people who should have known better. “It’s just common sense.”

We use it to pressure others to our way of thinking, stating opinion as fact and adding a quick, “It’s just common sense.”

We do this to our family, to our friends, to our coworkers, to those we serve, and to those who serve us. We use it to put an end to uncomfortable conversations and to justify our actions.

I was fairly young the moment I realized the falsity of this phrase in its current iteration. When I was in the fourth grade, we pulled up to a car wash bay with the garage door closed against the Midwest winter cold. My dad told me to open it. I got out and frantically searched for a door knob before crawling back into the front seat in defeat.

My dad shook his head and said, “All you had to do was push the button.” Until that moment, I hadn’t seen the tiny, red button pulsing about a foot over my head. Until that moment, I’d never had/seen/used an automatic garage door in my young life. The only doors I’d opened to that point used a knob. My dad continued, “How are you going to survive if you don’t use your common sense?”

My 9ish year old self inherently understood that I could not extrapolate a “common” understanding for something I had never been taught or experienced.

The second my dad got out of the car and showed me how to open a car wash door with nothing more than his pointer finger, I earned “ordinary understanding” of how automatic garage doors worked. I was inducted into the how-to-open-a-car-wash-and-other-similar-doors-with-a-finger common sense club.

My perceived lack of common sense cost me embarrassment, defeat, a small spark of anger, and a sense of not being good enough or smart enough. All because I had not lived and learned the same “common” journey my dad had. It made me tentative to bump up against new things for fear of not knowing what everyone else in the world could effortlessly figure out. It made me diligent about becoming a life-long learner, so as to never be that inept again.

Two-hundred-fifty years ago, Common Sense started a revolution in its quest for freedom. Since then, we have been a nation that pulls together and pulls apart. We have hurt and been hurt. We have advocated for and we have advocated against our family, our neighbors, our government, and our friends.

While we have traveled far on many different paths, no journey has been common, nor has it been wholly unique. Instead, we have traveled–together and separately–toward a destination of equality and freedom.

This year, America will celebrate the past 250 years. That history is bright, and beautiful, and amazing. It is also dark and damaging, with some chapters hidden so far in the shadows as to be nonexistent. Regardless, it is our history. We cannot change it. We can only understand it and our role within it.

During the semiquincentennial, there will be an abundance of dates and people to remember, celebrations, events, parades, toasts, and speeches. As a semi-professional knowledge seeker, I ask that you tap into Aristotle’s “sensus communis” to use all the information at your disposal to better understand the bigger picture. Take the time to (re)learn what those inherent, self-evident, human rights and freedoms meant in 1776 and explore what they mean to you personally today.

This year, give yourself permission to question before doing. Figure out which moments over the past 250 years you want to celebrate and why. Then, carry on joyously, raucously, and whole-heartedly in the way that feels right to you.

To learn more about the history of America’s independence, stop by your local library or check out the National Constitution Center online.

until next time, keep reading, keep learning, and keep growing~ jody