Presidential Anomalies
There has been a very unusual historical occurrence involving the presidency since the early 19th Century. Every candidate that had run for the office of President of the United States in an election year at the beginning of a decade has either been assassinated, died, or had been shot while in office. This historical anomaly is very peculiar going into the election of 2000, and should perhaps give the respective candidates pause.
Starting with the election of 1840, candidate General William Henry Harrison was easily elected as the celebrated military hero of the most recent Indian Wars. The hero over the Indians at the battle of Tippencanoe, became president and John Tyler became vice president. During his inauguration ceremony the weather was cold and rainy. The new President contracted pneumonia and died only one month into his term.
In 1860, candidate Abraham Lincoln was elected President and had to preside over America’s greatest crisis. He was reelected in 1864 and saw the Civil War come to a successful conclusion. At his second inaugural address, Lincoln said “with malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; bind up the nations wounds.” Shortly after the war’s end, a fanatical Confederate sympathizer, John Wilkes Booth, assassinated him.
In 1880, Ohio Congressman James A. Garfield won the election despite a very slim lead in popular votes, however, won easily in electoral votes. He was in office less than four months when President Garfield was fatally shot by a disappointed office seeker. His Vice President, Chester A. Arthur, succeeded him.
In 1900, the Republicans re-nominated William McKinley, who was given credit for the economic prosperity, and pledged to maintain the “full dinner pail.” During his presidency the United States had embarked on an imperialist policy after the Spanish-American War.
At a business exposition in Buffalo, New York, President McKinley was assassinated sex months after his second inauguration by an anarchist.
In 1920, Senator Warren G. Harding captured the public mood with his promise of a “return to normalcy.” An easygoing man, Harding possessed a limited understanding of national problems. President Harding was an honest but pilable man who, like President Grant was unable to protect his postwar administration from scandal. His presidency has been recognized as one of the most scandal ridden prior to Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton.
James Garfield is one of the lesser known presidents of the 45 that have successfully been inaugurated. Yet, he is significant along with three presidents: Abraham Lincoln, WIlliam McKinley, and John F. Kennedy. They were all assassinated while in office. This list doesn’t include Theodore Roosevelt because he survived the attempted assassination and was out of office by then. James Garfield was assassinated by Charles Guiteau, but the bullet didn’t kill him. The lack of medical support given to Garfield after the accident is what led to his death on September 19th, 1881, in Elberon NJ, 80 days
...he end, the analysis conducted above makes it clear that neither Neustadt’s nor Skowronek’s theories are unified theories of the Presidency which are capable of explaining the full range of variation as it pertains to Presidential records and histories. Rather, each theory is best conceptualized of as representing a single sphere of the Presidency, and each thus serves to potently explain Presidentially-related phenomena which fall within their scope conditions and reach. With this in mind, it is difficult to conceive of a single theory being capable of explaining the full gamut of variation associated with the Presidency. Rather, and as elaborated upon above, each is most successful in the context of its scope conditions, and theoretical hybridization likely represents the best pathway towards explaining the full gamut of variation associated with the Presidency.
James Garfield is one of the lesser known presidents of the 45 that have successfully been inaugurated. Yet, he is significant along with three presidents: Abraham Lincoln, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy. They were all assassinated while in office. This list doesn’t include Theodore Roosevelt because he survived the attempted assassination and was out of office by then. James Garfield was assassinated by Charles Guiteau, but the bullet didn’t kill him. The lack of medical support given to Garfield after the accident is what led to his death on September 19th, 1881, in Elberon NJ,
The Great Depression hit the United States while Hoover was serving his first and only term as president. In the end, the public saw Hoover as a man who began his presidency as a liberal, but who’s beliefs began to resemble those of a conservative towards the end of his term. The Progressive Age had come to an end by 1910 and big business thrived as Harding, Coolidge, an...
He was the 11th president and the youngest in the U.S.A at that time .James won seven straight terms in the House and became Speaker of the House. Polk was the first president to voluntarily
A successful president’s legacy is measured by his ability to address issues of public concern, rid the government of corruption, create reliable foreign affairs with existing countries and most importantly, act as a voice of the people. However, it appears that Warren G. Harding was more concerned with striving to satisfy many of his cabinet members priorities, without weighing the negative consequences it could have on his presidency. Additionally, his successor Calvin Coolidge was caught in the web of political corruption and sexual scandals that had surrounded Harding’s presidency. Many historians have accurately depicted Warren G. Harding as one of the least consequential president’s due in part to his various political scandals that defined his term; whereas Calvin Coolidge has been wrongly tarnished with the same reputation as his predecessor without sufficient evidence.
A. Garfield. Garfield was our twentieth President of the U.S. He was also the second to be assassinated while still in his term. He was killed by Charles Guiteau, a crazy person seeking office, on July 2nd, 1881. Since he had such a short term as President because of his death many people do not understand the true influence Garfield had on people in his life.
The electoral college unanimously elected Washington as the first president of the united states. Washington was offered a big salary as the president but he declined it because he was about the good of the people. Washington did not join a party even though he was republican so they came up with two factions the first party system and the federalist party. Washington retired presidency in march 1797 and returned to Mount Vernon with a profound sense of relief. he focused on his plantations and other business interests. Washington became a senior officer of the united states army after becoming broke from his farm and served in it until his death. Washington was checking his plantations on horseback during rain, hail, and snow and went to bed in his wet clothes the next morning when he woke up he had a severe sore throat and became increasingly hoarse as the day went on. Washington went out the next day and worked in the rain and hair then in the middle of the night woke up and could barley breath he called three doctors in as they were trying to figure out what was wrong with him and save him he died in his bed. George Washington was a great president and even after he retired he still served our country in the military until his
One man’s bullet would force him into the presidency, and but for one man’s vote he would have been forced out.
The turning point of the war was reached in less than a year later(1863), this would cause the North to win the war. General Lee advanced into the North again, and this time him and his Confederate forces were defeated at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in July 1863. The Confederate forces were hard to win against because they won many of the war battle that they fought in, so with this win the North was definite to win. More than 50,000 troops were injured or killed in the Gettysburg battle, Lincoln honored union losses in his famous Gettysburg Address, to let the people know those who fought in the war sacrifice their life for a better future for us. The day after the Battle of Gettysburg ended, General Ulysses S. Grant took Vicksburg, father to the west, giving the North control over the Mississippi River valley. During Sherman’s “March to the sea,” his forces destroyed all Confederate sources of supplies and they even burned the city of Atlanta to the ground. Lincoln won his second election in 1864 and by 1865 Confederate forces were finally winding down. With the winding down of the Confederate forces, this allowed general Grant to advance on the Confederate capital of Richmond. Confederate forces were surrounded and forced to retreat leaving Richmond vulnerable to attack. On April 9, 1865 general Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox(town in Virginia), virtually ending the civil war. Less than one week later, President Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes
The presidency of the United Sates of America has been an evolving office since the term of our first president, George Washington. This evolution has occurred because of the changing times and the evolution of society itself, but also because of the actions of the men who have become president. Starting in the 20th century, most have referred to the presidency as the modern presidency due to changes in both a president's power and the way that the office itself is viewed. As the office of the president has evolved so has who can become president evolved. Yet, even today there are certain individuals who because of their gender or race have yet to hold the office of the presidency. The men that have been president in our modern era have all had faults and greatness, some having more of one than of the other. The modern presidency is an office that many aspire to, but that few hold. The evolution of the office of the presidency has been one from that of a traditional role to that of a modern role that is forever evolving.
These accomplishments were not without trials, however, and Roosevelt knew that in order to uphold his reputation of being willing to take action he would have to compromise. His presidency begun as a compromise, with Roosevelt promising to uphold Mckinley’s policies after his assassination. Roosevelt brought about a new set of progressive beliefs, wanting to restore democracy and end corruption. Roosevelt oftentimes valued relationships over action, frequently trying to please the Republicans but still stay true to his beliefs. He made balanced decisions, trying to regulate big business but not outright challenging the status of big business. (Milkis, Impact). Doing so kept him on the good side of republicans, which won the second term nomination for him (Jaycox). His decisions to please everyone were not in vain, and did give him some major benefits. It became apparent that these efforts paid off, as Americans started calling him “Steward of the Whole People” (Jaycox) due to his constant balance in pleasing everyone. Roosevelt understood that alienating groups of people would be to his detriment, and prioritized opinions over pushing his
On September 5, 1901, Leon Czolgosz entered the Pan-American exposition. He blended in with the crowd, and surveyed the security, grounds layout, and crowds. An enormous crowd was gathered to see President McKinley, and Leon pushed his way through the masses until he was close enough to hear the speech. Leon pushed his way through the crowd, determined to get close enough to shoot the President. A security guard blocked his chance, and the President was escorted away (Assassin Arrived... 1).
After retiring from the presidency, Grant took a long trip around the world. Returning in 1879, he became an unsuccessful candidate for the presidential nomination, which went to James A. Garfield. In 1881 Grant moved to New York City, where he became a partner in the Wall Street firm of Grant and Ward; “he was close to ruin when the company collapsed in 1884.”(Ulysses S. Grant: A Politician, 45) To provide for his family, he wrote his memoirs while fighting cancer of the throat; he died at Mount Gregor, New York, on July 23, 1885.
The two most discussed assassinations out of the four within the position of the United States President are that of Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. There are many similarities between the two and there are also some differences. There are many similarities associated with the assassination of Lincoln and Kennedy. They were both assassinated on the same day, and the men that were caught for the crime were born a century apart from each other and they were both killed before their trials. A difference between the two men is Lincoln was poor and worked his way to the top and Kennedy was born into a wealthy family in which his father was a large political figure. Both men had different struggles but they were similar in many ways.