The Presidents

Tomorrow is Presidents' Day in the United States. It may have started out as a conflation of Lincoln's birthday (February 12) and Washington's birthday (February 22). For many Americans it's just another generic Federal holiday.

As it happens, I've been trying to catch up on my American history and the presidencies in particular, and at the moment I'm focusing on what Ted Widmer calls "the purgatory between Jackson and the Civil War." (Widmer, Martin van Buren, p. 5.) This is a period that seems to get overshadowed by the dramas of the Revolutionary/Constitutional era and War of 1812 on one end, and the Civil War on the other end.

In fact, during the period 1836-1861, there were no less than eight consecutive Presidents (from Van Buren to Buchanan) who each served one term or less. (Two died in office.) I've taken a perverse interest in reading up on the lives and careers of these eight men, and on the events that transpired in America while they held the office of President. I may be sharing some of my notes here.