Presidents — They’re Just Like Us!
Have you ever seen those celebrity magazines near the checkout at a grocery store? If so, you’ve probably noticed that they often have features showing various celebrities doing relatable, “everyday” sort of things. (“Stars…they’re just like us!” seems to be a common title.)
How much celebrities really are “like us” is up for debate, but it prompted a fun idea for our team’s annual Presidents’ Day message. What about presidents? They are some of the most powerful people in the entire world, so how much are they like us?
A few minutes’ worth of research quickly revealed the answer: Sometimes, a lot more than you’d think! So, in honor of the holiday, here are our five favorite examples of how past presidents shared the same foibles, made the same mistakes, and indulged in the same pleasures as the rest of us.
They forget to return overdue library books! We start with our first president, for whom Presidents’ Day is really all about as it’s technically his birthday. Back in 2010, the staff of the New York Society Library was reviewing their inventory from the 1700s when they noticed a discrepancy: A book called The Law of Nations had been checked out on October 5, 1789. But it had never been returned…nor any overdue fee charged.
Their puzzlement turned to astonishment when they saw the name of the person who had checked the book out: President George Washington.
The library’s ledger reads like a who’s who of early American history: John Jay, Aaron Burr, Alexander Hamilton, and others had all borrowed books there. But only the president had failed to return his. Which meant that, technically, he owed the library over $300,000 in late fees!1
When the staff at Mount Vernon — the president’s former-home-turned-museum, learned of this — they reached out to the library and offered to “replace the book with another copy of the same edition.” So, finally, 221 years later, the Law of Nations returned to the shelves.
Remember that next time you forget to return a library book or pay an overdue fine. At least you aren’t as bad as George Washington!
They have a sweet tooth! In 1785, Thomas Jefferson was assigned to be the country’s second ambassador to France. (As a result, he missed out on the Constitutional Convention.) He stayed there for four years, returning with a mastery of French, the ability to write secret coded messages using a cipher he had created…and a lifelong passion for ice cream.
Jefferson was not the first person to introduce ice cream to America, as is sometimes claimed. But he can claim to be the author of the oldest written ice cream recipe in America. The recipe, written in Jefferson’s own handwriting, still exists today. (I’ve included a link to it below.2) Jefferson was so fond of ice cream that he brought all his equipment to the White House, frequently serving it whenever he had guests. Many of those guests were so impressed that they wrote about it in their letters, and the dessert soon spread. So, the next time you walk down the freezer aisle at the supermarket, give silent thanks to Jefferson for enshrining the basic rights we all hold dear: Life, liberty, and the pursuit of ice cream. (AKA “happiness.”)
They get speeding tickets! In 1903, Theodore Roosevelt said, “No man is above the law and no man is below.” If only President Ulysses Grant had known that. Because in 1872, he was given a speeding ticket for driving his carriage too fast!3
As the story goes, Grant “often engaged in a speed contest with his friends.” One day, a local police officer named William West — a former enslaved man who had served under Grant’s command in the Civil War — had enough. The first time he caught President Grant in the act, he let him off with a warning. But the very next day, West pulled the president over again…and this time, charged him $20 “in collateral” and told him to go appear before a judge. Grant never did appear in court…but he also never regained his $20.
They’re protective of their pets! The White House has been home to many a “First Dog” over the decades, and all of them were very Good Boys. (There have also been other animals, from John Quincy Adams’ pet alligator to a raccoon owned by Calvin Coolidge.) But sometimes, the president’s dog can be used as a political punching bag.
Take the case of Franklin D. Roosevelt and his Scottish terrier, Fala. In 1944, a fake rumor surfaced that Roosevelt had accidentally left Fala in Alaska and had sent a Navy destroyer to retrieve him at taxpayers’ expense. Roosevelt was furious — probably as much by the idea he would have forgotten his pet as he was with the idea of wasting money. In a speech, he lit into his critics, saying, “You can criticize me, my wife, and my family…but you can’t criticize my little dog.”4 (Some historians believe that people were so touched by this that it helped Roosevelt win a fourth term.)
They lose their temper on the golf course! Our final story is especially relatable to anyone who has ever gotten fed up with golf. That was a common occurrence for President Dwight Eisenhower.
Eisenhower was a member of the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. (The same club that hosts the Masters Tournament every year.) Near the 17th hole of the course stood a large and beautiful pine tree that became known as “the most famous tree in golf” …due to all the times Eisenhower hit it. Finally, in 1956, the aggravated president demanded the tree be cut down. Not wanting to offend the leader of the free world, the chairman decided instead to declare the meeting adjourned.5
We hope you enjoyed these stories. And remember: The next time we all lose a library book, eat a little too much ice cream, or blame the terrain for missing that drive in golf…we can console ourselves with the fact that we’re just “acting presidential.” Happy Presidents’ Day!
1 “Washington’s library book returned,” The Guardian, www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2010/may/20/george-washington-library-book
2 “Ice Cream,” Monticello.org, www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/ice-cream |
3 “Was Grant Arrested for Speeding?” NPS, www.nps.gov/articles/000/was-general-grant-arrested-for-speeding-in-washington-d-c.htm|
4 “Presidential Pets,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_pets|
5 Owen, David “The Making of the Masters: Clifford Roberts, Augusta National, and Golf’s Most Prestigious Tournament,” Simon & Schuster, 1999.
