What the American presidents kept silent about | Need For Science

When he heard that he had become the president of the United States, Calvin Coolidge went back to bed and continued sleeping. Lyndon Johnson liked to ask his conversationalist to follow him to the toilet and to continue the conversation with him there. Rutherford Hayes is still celebrated today as a national hero in Paraguay …

Theodore Roosevelt (1901–1909)

Theodore Roosevelt was the first American to wear a brown belt in judo. No president has achieved more in this sport, until Russian President Vladimir Putin, the holder of the eighth-degree black belt, appeared on the political stage of the world. The president of the USA was extremely proud of the skill he mastered. He built a gym in the underground rooms of the White House, and he was happy to spar with everyone who would express a wish. On one occasion, when a state ceremonial lunch took too long, Roosevelt knocked the Swiss minister to the floor, presenting one of the judo procedures to the guests.

Can it be said that such unusual behavior was a trademark of the twenty-sixth American president? Completely. Teddy Roosevelt, as he remained known to everyone, was a great fighter in both the literal and figurative sense of the word. Just as he was not afraid to enter the ring with boxing champion John Sullivan, with the same courage he coped with the difficulties on the political stage of the country he ruled.

The image of the “good uncle president” was reinforced by a hunting event. Roosevelt refused to shoot a black bear cub in the forests of Mississippi. The story of this event quickly became known, and from that moment we named the teddy bears after him — a teddy bear.

Andrew Jackson (1829–1837)

The seventh President of the United States was unique in that he looked death in the eye many times. When he candidate for president, he was in a relationship with Rachel, a woman who had previously been with a man known for violent behavior. To save the reputation and honor of his wife, who was considered immoral by many, Andrew took part in several dozen duels. The two duels had particularly serious consequences for this hearty young man.

In one duel, the opponent hit Andrew right in the chest. Jackson covered the wound from which the blood was dripping with a handkerchief, raised his gun, aimed, and killed his opponent. Because the bullet was too close to the heart, the doctors did not dare to take it out. For the rest of his life, Jackson felt severe pain in his chest. In the second duel, the shot blew his left shoulder and arm, but he did not agree to remove his arm, fearing that it would stop his military career.

Because of his military successes and past close to many Americans, he was elected the president of the United States. On the day of his inauguration, the newly elected president looked death in the eye again, this time because of the strong love shown to him by his fellow citizens. A crowd ran and pushed him onto the lawn in front of the White House. Luckily, a few friends made a hoop around Jackson at the last minute and save him from the annoyed crowd that could have crushed and suffocated him.

No matter how much Jackson enjoyed the undisguised enthusiasm of his fellow citizens, there were always those who wanted to harm him. A certain Richard Lawrence approached him in 1835 with a gun in his hand just as he was leaving the capitol. Frightened, Jackson buries himself in fear. Lawrence aimed and fired. And? Nothing happened. Lawrence raised his pistol again and fired. The president was unharmed again. The escort people finally jumped up and disarmed the attacker. Miraculously, no bullet hit Andrew Jackson — the probability is one in 125,000.

John Tyler (1841–1845) holds the record as the president with the most children — he had eight sons and seven daughters, he had the youngest child in the seventies. James K. Polk (1845–1849) suffered from diarrhea throughout his mandate. Zachary Taylor (1849–1850) let his horse named “Old Whitey” graze on the lawn in front of the White House. Franklin Pierce (1853–1857) was arrested during his mandate on charges of running over and killing an old woman with a horse, but he was released because of a lack of evidence. His successor, James Buchanan (1857–1861), was the only bachelor among American presidents, and his sexual orientation remained questionable.

William Howard Taft (1909–1913) was so obese that he could not tie his shoelaces himself, so one servant did it. Warren Harding (1921–1923) lost a valuable porcelain dish that was owned by the White House. Herbert Clark Hoover (1929–1933) did not like to meet the servants, so he introduced the following order — if the bell rang three times, it meant that he would come and the servants would get out of the way.

Richard Nixon (1969–1974)

Extremely shy as a boy, Richard Nixon did not change much when he grew up. Since he didn’t know how to approach girls, as soon as he met Patricia, he fell in love with her on the first date. He did not give her peace for the next two years. He agreed to go with her to meetings with other young men just to be near her. So much intrusiveness and perseverance bore fruit — Patrice finally relented and agreed to marry him.

To find himself in the spotlight of the political public, Nixon did not hesitate to engage in the dirtiest games. As a young congressman, he conducted an alleged investigation and “discovered” that former state official Alger Hiss was a Soviet spy. That is why he became known among politicians as a fighter against the communists. He followed a similar tactic in 1950 when he entered the race for the Senate. He accused the opposing candidate, Helen Douglas, of being a Soviet spy and declared her “completely red, all the way to her underwear.”

Richard Nixon did not change much when he became a White House resident. He remained insecure and shy, avoiding encounters with people, especially those he did not know. He spent hours alone in the office, tirelessly writing long lists of his enemies, but also trying to devise tactics on how to better manage in public. The thirty-seventh President of the United States trusted the three closest associates and only had a constant telephone connection with them: with the head of security, Haldeman, Henry Kissinger, advisor for state security, and John Ehrlichman, advisor for internal affairs.

Nixon ordered that all rooms in the White House be wired and that every conversation be recorded. Thus, during his mandate, everything was recorded on tape. Of course, he had no idea that those tapes would come to his head one day.

Throughout his mandate, he had personal spies known as plumbers (allegedly, they went to the scene to fix plumbing malfunctions). In June 1972, after entering the Democratic Party premises at the Watergate Hotel without permission, five Nixon plumbers were arrested. Although he used all possible connections to cover up the case and distance himself from involvement in this spy affair, he did not succeed. The recordings finally judged him — because of the “Watergate” affair, Richard Nixon had to resign and resign from the position of president.

Abraham Lincoln (1861–1865), known for his extremely shrill voice, was the first president to lose his life in an assassination.

Ulysses S. Grant (1869–1877) changed the name to Hiram Ulysses Grant because he was ashamed of the acronym “hug” which formed the baptized name.

Chester A. Arthur (1881–1885) was a great fashionista — he changed several times during the day. Benjamin Harrison (1889–1893) was the first president to experience the introduction of electric lighting in the White House, but he never dared to turn the lights on or off on his own, but always called the servants.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969)

Lyndon Johnson enjoyed his superiority, which was emphasized by his appearance — he was almost a meter and ninety tall and weighed over 100 kilograms. He liked to lean over his interlocutor and put it in his face. Knowing how powerful he was, he had an unusual habit of being followed to the toilet by his interlocutors. While in the cabin, he continued to talk to them. When he went to his property in Texas, he usually went by car and always drove someone. Going down the steep slope that led to the lake, he would pretend to have lost control of the vehicle and screamed, “The brakes aren’t working! We’re done!” Of course, the people in the car were distraught. And when the car landed in the water, Johnson would start laughing because it would soon turn out that he was the proud owner of a vehicle designed for driving on water.

The thirty-sixth president of the United States loved to ride in a helicopter to the extent that the chair he was sitting in his office was actually a plastic green seat from a helicopter, with a built-in ashtray. If there had been a flood in the White House, that chair could have floated on the water.

John Adams (1797–1801), the second president of the United States, “sputter” as he spoke because he refused to wear an artificial jaw.

John Quincy Adams (1825–1829) often liked to bathe naked in the river Potomac. He was once surprised by a journalist he interviewed while bathing in a river.

William Henry Harrison (1841) was the first president to receive more than a million votes. He set a record in the longest address after the oath — his speech lasted 105 minutes. Unfortunately, he got pneumonia and, after only 31 days spent in the White House, died.

Calvin Coolidge (1923–1929)

One of the most uninteresting and boring presidents was Calvin Coolidge. His wife Grace often retold an anecdote from his youth. On one occasion, a girl approached him and said that she bet that she would extract more than two words from him. He looked at her and replied, “You lost!”

Calvin Coolidge loves to sleep the most. He would definitely go to bed earlier in the evening and not wake up until he slept for eight hours. But that was not enough for him, so he spent two to three hours in bed in the afternoon. The sleep also marked the act of his appointment as president. Namely, one night, messengers arrived at the estate in Vermont, where Vice President Coolidge was visiting his father, and told him that President Warren Harding had died. The law required Coolidge to take the presidential oath immediately. Calvin’s father was a village clerk, so the act could be carried out on the spot. He took the oath in the living room, under the light of a lamp, and then returned to bed and continued to sleep the dream of the righteous.

Rutherford B. Hayes (1877–1881)

In the city of Delaware, in the federal state of Ohio, a metal plate was placed on which it is written that the nineteenth American president was born in that place. Now there is a gas station. The inhabitants of Paraguay think that it is insulting that Hayes was not given a greater honor, because he is respected in their country as a national hero. Paraguay is flooded with memories of Hayes: from monuments erected in many cities, called streets, to Villa Hayes, which is located in the middle of the Hayes area.

Why did Rutherford Hayes deserve such respect in Paraguay? From 1864 to 1870, Paraguay waged a bloody war against Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay in which two-thirds of the population was killed. Even after the end of the war, these three countries did not leave Paraguay alone — they wanted the southeastern province of Chaco. Unable to reach an agreement, diplomats from all four countries turned to Washington. It is easy to conclude that President Hayes mediated in favor of Paraguay. That is why in this country, in Willie Hayes, every fifty years, a big celebration is held in honor of the nineteenth president of the United States.

Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961) hated cats; when he retired and arrived in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, he would shoot any cat that approached his house.

John F. Kennedy (1961–1963) lost patience halfway through the film and almost none watched to the end.

Gerald Ford (1974–1977) was a mannequin in his youth; his photograph graced the cover of Cosmopolitan magazine. George H. W. Bush (1989–1993) will be remembered for the infamous episode when he vomited on the Japanese Prime Minister.

Bill Clinton (1993–2001) experienced that his oath was first transmitted over the Internet; due to an extramarital affair, he is the first president to end up in court.

Thomas Jefferson (1801–1809)

Although the Declaration of Independence is the most important document by which America officially put an end to the “marriage” with Great Britain, it is a misconception that the most influential people in the United States participated in writing that act, on the contrary. While senior civil servants had “smarter jobs”, the writing of the document was entrusted to Thomas Jefferson, who, at the age of thirty-three, was one of the youngest in Congress.

Jefferson sat day and night in an apartment on the second floor in Philadelphia and chose every word carefully. No wonder he cared about every comma in the sentence, because when the document was presented and debated in Congress, Jefferson fought for every word. Although only a quarter of the text was thrown out, he had the press that he was mutilated, but there was nothing he could do. One of the parts that have been omitted is the paragraph that talks about the danger of slavery.

Although he stated years after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence that his work had been desecrated, in the end, he reconciled and demanded that it be engraved on his tombstone that he was the author of that important document.

by: Mr. Marija Simic

Originally published at https://www.needforscience.com on May 29, 2020.