Except for the one four-year term of New Englander, John Adams, the American Presidency was held by what came to be known as the “Virginia Dynasty,” four Presidents who each, remarkably, were elected to two terms, or eight years each… Read More ›
Tag Archive for ‘George Washington’
Red, White & Betsy Ross: No, She Didn’t! (Did She?) Plus Bizarre Betsyabilia
There’s good reason why Pennsylvania not only recognizes Independence Day as a national holiday, but also Flag Day as a state holiday. It ‘s all because of that Elizabeth Claypoole. Mrs. Ross, to you. Like Plymouth Rock and George Washington cutting down… Read More ›
Keeping Clean with the Presidents
Yes, as they say, politics is a dirty business. And toiling as President can prove to be grimier and filthier than any political office. They promise to be pure. They promise to clean up the mess left by the fellow… Read More ›
George Washington’s Birthday: He Spent it Dancing
It wasn’t the Twist like Jackie Kennedy loved doing, or the Dougie as Michelle Obama has illustrated. It wasn’t the foxtrot that the very large William Howard Taft moved to like a graceful battleship, nor even the frug as President Lyndon B…. Read More ›
George Washington and his….Camel?!
They told us he had wooden teeth, that he threw a silver dollar across the Delaware River and that he loved cherries (more on that next month). Is George Washington’s myth expanding to make him an animal-lover – beyond his… 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 ›
The White House New Year’s Day Reception: Good Riddance to a Miserable Tradition
Resolutions, college football bowl games, parades, gym renewals, and January first’s first-born child: New Year’s Day customs give people hope, happiness or distraction. Swollen feet, pneumonia and confrontation do not. Which explains the silent death of the legendary White House… 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 ›
The first “First Lady” Never Married the President: Recently Discovered 1860 Magazine first to Use the Title “First Lady”
Germaine Greer suggested the United States abolish it and Jackie Kennedy said it made her sound like a saddle horse, but as a recently discovered 19th century magazine article proves, the title of “First Lady” has been part of the… Read More ›
Cloroxing Martha’s Wash
The more wildly inaccurate the implication, the more ingenuous the television commercial. This morning, I saw one American classic product, Clorox brand bleach, sell itself by exploiting an American classic persona, Martha Washington. Here is a link to the commercial. Instead… Read More ›
You must be logged in to post a comment.