William McKinley is often seen as an important transitional President – at least to those interested in studying some of the real stories behind the headline version of history. It’s true he didn’t have the charisma or excitable speaking style of… Read More ›
Theodore Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt’s Mysteriously Missing Grandfather & was she part-Italian?
Despite her being born forty-five years before Jacqueline Kennedy, there is a similar pattern in the story of Eleanor Roosevelt‘s Irish immigrant heritage. It illustrates less the shame of humble origin than how the power of incredible wealth can lead people… Read More ›
Presidential Princess Alice Roosevelt Longworth, Her Little Thank You Note & A Rare Recording of Her Voice
Fill what’s empty, empty what’s full, and scratch where it itches. Alice Roosevelt Longworth The bigger perspective, a rational cynicism, a sense of the ridiculous,… Read More ›
First Ladies & the State of the Union Address: Private Speech Editors and Public Policy Symbols
Tomorrow’s State of the Union Address, delivered by President Barack Obama on Capitol Hill, may seem like it has always been a part of American life, but in fact it is one custom of the American Presidencybegun by George Washington… Read More ›
Playing Presidents: Good History vs. Good Drama and the Actor JFK wanted to play Him, Part II
With so many events to bend into two hours, presidential biopics offer less chance to plumb the character of a President than do those films which focus on a specific conflict from their life. Critics faulted Amistad (1997) on both… Read More ›
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