Mike Purdy's Presidential History Blog
When Inauguration Day Falls on a Sunday
When Barack Obama's second term as president begins on January 20, 2013, it will mark only the seventh time in our nation's history that Inauguration Day has fallen on a Sunday. Traditionally, official inaugural ceremonies have not been held on Sundays.In two of...
Zachary Taylor’s 228th Birthday on November 24th
Zachary Taylor - 1850Taylor's birth: Zachary Taylor, the general who rode into the White House in the 1848 election based on his victories in Mexican-American War, was born on November 24, 1784, making him the third president born after the Revolutionary War...
James Garfield’s Birthday on November 19
James GarfieldThe nation's 20th president, James Abram Garfield, was born on November 19, 1831 in Orange, Ohio, just a little more than a quarter century after the Buckeye State was admitted to the Union. Today, we commemorate the 181th anniversary of his...
New Books on Presidential History
Here's a quick list of some just some of the new books on U.S. Presidential history, published in 2012:Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power: by Jon Meacham, published November 13, 2012 Ike's Bluff: President Eisenhower's Secret Battle to Save the World: by Evan...
Presidential Campaigns Devoid of Dignity
Woodrow WilsonIn accepting the Democratic presidential nomination on August 7, 1912, Woodrow Wilson stated the following:"A presidential campaign may easily degenerate into a mere personal contest and so lose its real dignity." Nasty 1912 campaign: We know that...
Presidents Elected to Second Term
The re-election of Barack Obama as president on November 6, 2012 makes him third president in a row to be re-elected to a second term, following the two term presidencies of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.The only other time our nation has had three two term...
LBJ: “The foulest deed of our time…”
Almost 40 years ago, on November 27, 1963, just days after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, the new president, Lyndon Baines Johnson, stood before a Joint Session of Congress to talk about the tragedy that had struck the nation, and to set the tone for...
The Former Presidents Quarterly
Check out this publication, The Former Presidents Quarterly, which follows the activities of our four living former presidents: Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.The website address is www.formerpresidentsquarterly.com.Mike Purdy's...
Presidential Impeachment Activity
The founding fathers included in the U.S. Constitution the right of the House of Representatives to impeach the President and other officers. Article II, Section 4 states that: "The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be...
Wilson Wins by a Whisker
Charles Evans Hughes November 7, 1916 was election day. President Woodrow Wilson was in a close battle in his quest to retain his lease on the White House. Wilson vs. Hughes: Former Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes had mounted a...
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About Mike
Mike Purdy is a presidential historian and author living in Seattle, Washington. As an expert in presidential history, Mike runs PresidentialHistory.com as a public resource.