william jefferson clinton

Normally I write about my miniature Presidents on this Blog -
the Presidents of the United States - that are part of a set
of small Presidents that my mother once collected from the
grocery store - then gave to me.

Today I would like to digress from that - and write about a
President that is NOT in my Miniature Collection of Presidents -
and in my mind - a President who is - in fact - of Great Stature.

William Jefferson Clinton - the 42nd President of the United States -
aka Bill Clinton - according to my book - THE PRESIDENTS OF THE
UNITED STATES - by Frank Freidel and Hugh Sidey - White House Historical
Association - Scala Publishers - during his administration - 'enjoyed
as much peace and economic well being as at any time in its history.'

And Freidel and Sidey go on to say that former President Clinton could
'point to the lowest unemployment rate in modern times, the lowest
in 30 years, the highest home ownership in the country's history,
dropping crime rates in many palces' and that he 'proposed the first
balanced budget in decades' - acheiving a budget surplus.

One of his most ambitious programs - that he and First Lady Hillary
Clinton worked tiressly on - Health Care Reform - failed. But in
Robert Allen Rutland' book - The Democrats -From Jefferson to Clinton -
it is pointed out that the Republicans - citing the Health Care
Program as a bureaucratic nightmare - spent $200 million 'on lobbying
campaign to stop the ambitious campaign.

Rutland also points out in his book - that after two years in office,
Bill Clinton 'had an impressive record of accomplishments.'

Bill Cllinton was born on August 19th, 1946 in Hope Arkansas.

In 2009 - Bill Clinton was named - along with former President
George H.W. Bush - a United Nations Special Envoy to Haiti.

He is the creator of the William J. Clinton Foundation to address
issues of Global Importance.

Two books which President Clinton has authored are:

My Life (2004 )

Giving: How Each Of Us Can Change The World (2007)

ulysses s. grant

In researching this post on Ulysses S. Grant - I turned to
three different books - in order to get a handle on our
18th President of the United States.

First - I read - in THE COMPLETE BOOK OF U.S. PRESIDENTS by
William A. Degregorio - that Ulysses S. Grant - after becoming
President - found himself surrounded by scandal. But William
Degregorio writes that Grant was himself 'rigidly incorruptible'
but in spite of his strong inner character - his administration
was certainly 'marked by major scandal.'

This - perhaps - is how we remember Ulysses S. Grant - as President.

But the book PRESIDENTS - written by Dorling Kindersley - in associaton
with the Smithsonian Institution - it says that Ulysses S. Grant
was a National Hero - as the leading Union General - in the Civil War.

And Dorling Kindersley goes on to say that when he found himself
positioned for the Presidency - Grant really had no political acumen - nor had he had any experience in politics - and he had 'no real desire
to use the full powers of his high office.'

In the end - it was what I read in the book - THE PRESIDENTS OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - by Frank Freidel and Hugh Sidey - that
convinced me that Ulysses S. Grant was a man of Great Character -
in that - in the end - he stepped up and showed that he knew What Was Right - for Freidel and Sidey's book says that President Ulysses S.
Grant - knowing that he was dying of throat cancer - wrote his autobiography - so that his family would be provided for after he
died - and finished the book only shortly before his demise.

Ulysses S. Grant is buried at Grant's Tomb - in New York City.

james garfield

As the last of the Log Cabin Presidents - James A. Garfield
attacked Political Corruption - and won back for the Presidency
a measure of Prestige it had lost during the Reconstruction Period.

This is what we are told in the first paragraph in the Essay about
President James A. Garfield - in the Book by Frank Freidel and
Hugh Sidey - THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA -
The White House Historical Association in association with
Scala Publishers.

And this Book also tells us that James Garfield - An Exclusive
Member of The Club Of Presidents SHOT TO DEATH WITH A HANDGUN
- was only President of the United States for six months -
before he died - on September 19th, 1881.

So James Garfield's Legacy is not so much what he did as President -
but what he was as a Man.

In Joseph Nathan Kane's FACTS ABOUT THE PRESIDENTS - From Washington
To Johnson - we learn that James Garfield was born on November 19th,
1831 - in Orange, Ohio - and he was a Teacher by Occupation.

~James Garfield was the first President whose Mother was at his
Inauguration

~he was the second President who was survived by his Mother

~he was the first President to review an Inaugural Parade from a
stand in front of the White House

~James Garfield was a Professor of Ancient Languages and Literature,
Hiram College, Hiram,Ohio

~from 1857-1861 James Garfield was president of Eclectic Institute
of Hiram College where he taught Latin, Greek, History, Mathematics,
Philosophy, English Literature and English Rhetoric

Now what we are looking at here - folks - IS THAT ALTHOUGH
JAMES GARFIELD DID NOT LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO REALLY MAKE HIS
MARK IN HISTORY AS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES -

this I do know.

HE WAS SHARP.

How do I know that?

I know that because I read once that James Garfield could -
amd often did at Dinner Parties - Write In Greek With One Hand
And Latin With The Other - AT THE SAME TIME.

and well - That's Good Enough For Me.


James A. Garfield was the 20th President of the United States.

He died in Elberon, New Jersey - and was buried at Lake View Cemetery,
Cleveland, Ohio.