Culture Focus: American Presidents

In the U.S., next Monday is a national holiday called “Presidents’ Day.” It is a day set aside to honor those men who have served our country in the highest position of leadership. Originally, February was noted for having the birthdays of two of our most well-known Presidents: Abraham Lincoln (February 12) and George Washington (February 22). Several years ago, it was decided that rather than taking two separate days off that were relatively close together, it was better to combine them into one holiday that could honor all the Presidents. Thus, Presidents’ Day was born. It is a holiday where schoolkids, banks, and government workers (including the post office) get a day off, but most everyone else works.

We like to say that any child can grow up to be President, but in reality there are some eligibility requirements that a potential candidate must meet. According to the U.S. Constitution, a President must be at least 35 years old, a natural born citizen, and have lived in the United States for at least 14 years.

A President can be elected to office at most twice. Franklin D. Roosevelt served four terms, but after his presidency, the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, instituting presidential term limits.

If the President becomes sick or otherwise unable to fulfill his duties, the Vice President is authorized to take his place until he recovers. This is how Gerald Ford became President in 1974, making him the only man to serve as President without being elected either to that office or the office of Vice President. Ford was appointed Vice President in 1973 by President Nixon when Nixon’s original Vice President, Spiro Agnew, resigned. Nearly a year later, Nixon himself resigned, and Ford became President.

Other Presidential trivia:

• William Henry Harrison (9th President) served the shortest presidency. He gave a lengthy inaugural speech (105 minutes) outdoors in March without wearing a hat or overcoat. Consequently, he developed pneumonia and died about 32 days after being elected.
• John Tyler (10th President) was the president with the most children – 15!
• James Buchanan (15th President) was the only President that never married.
• Grover Cleveland (22nd President) was the only President to be married while in the White House. He was also the only President to serve two non-consecutive terms (22nd President and 24th President).
• Teddy Roosevelt (26th President) is the one from whom we get the name of the child’s toy “teddy bear.” He was also the first President to call the Presidential residence the “White House” – before that, it had been called the Executive Mansion, or the President’s House.
• William Taft (27th President) was the first President to own a car.
• Harry S Truman (33rd President) used to get up at 5 a.m. to practice the piano for two hours.
• John F. Kennedy (35th President) was the first Roman Catholic to be elected President. He was also the youngest elected President.
• Ronald Reagan (40th President) was the oldest elected President.