There was a rivalry between the parties, of course, but in Potter's account, it was more like the rivalry between Cal and Stanford than that between today's Republicans and Democrats. The parties had somewhat different constituencies and pledged fealty to a different set of men, but each attempted to encompass as much of the political spectrum as possible rather than merely half of it. The story of the 1850s, by these lights, is about how this changed.

With reference to David M. Potter's The Impending Crisis, Adam Cadre surveys the four antebellum presidents. [more inside]
posted by Iridic on Oct 22, 2009 - 23 comments

"What it feels like to be at the stove creating dishes for some of the most powerful people on earth." Club de Chefs des Chefs is the elite fraternity of chefs to world leaders - including those who head the private kitchens of the United States President, Prince of Monaco, Queen of England, European Commission, the Kremlin, President of France, Chancellor of Germany and Great Hall of Beijing. Barely 30 members strong, the club meets this week in Italy, for the Club's annual gala dinner and food tour. Lisa Mullins of NPR's The World interviewed a few of them by phone from Rome today (Mark Flanagan of Buckingham Palace refused to reveal the Queen's favorite dish... a kitchen policy, lest she be served it at every public event ever after). Past gatherings have happened in France, Greece, Monaco; and the 2010 meeting takes place in Hong Kong. They wouldn't have you as a member... but don't let that stop your culinary envy.
posted by pineapple on Jul 21, 2009 - 42 comments

Motivational posters inspired by Theodore Roosevelt.
posted by jbickers on May 18, 2009 - 58 comments

Drunk History: Reenactments of scenes from American history as told by very drunk people. 1 2 2.5 4
posted by freshwater_pr0n on Feb 18, 2009 - 39 comments

Today marks the 200th Anniversary of the birth of President Abraham Lincoln. Let's party like it's 1809! [more inside]
posted by grapefruitmoon on Feb 12, 2009 - 31 comments

Looking forward to Tuesday, here's a blast from the past. Videos of previous Presidential Inaugurations. The first recorded on video was McKinley's Second (March 4, 1901). [more inside]
posted by grapefruitmoon on Jan 18, 2009 - 26 comments

Electoral maps, going all the way back to the beginning.
posted by interrobang on Oct 27, 2008 - 36 comments

Forty Four Presidents and a letter to a cat. Starring: Grover Cleveland's love life! McKinley's untimely death! Truman singing! Taft in the bath! & more...
posted by jim in austin on Oct 17, 2008 - 14 comments

In honor of the Fourth, I give you the 50 States and their Capitals, the U.S. Presidents, and in hopes for a better future, what the hell, all the Nations of the World. [more inside]
posted by Navelgazer on Jul 3, 2008 - 29 comments

The 5 Most Badass U.S. Presidents of All-Time. Just in time for Presidents' Day weekend. In ascending order of badassitude: Andrew Jackson, John F. Kennedy, John Quincy Adams, George Washington and your number 1, Theodore Roosevelt. [more inside]
posted by psmealey on Feb 15, 2008 - 65 comments

Apparently, The Secret Service's code name for Barack Obama is "Renegade". Former agents told the Washington Post that military officials chose the code names without particular reference to the characteristics of the politician. Sadly, Bush's code name isn't "The Decider" but rather "Tumbler" and, later, (shockingly) "Trailblazer". If you're feeling left out, you budding Junior Secret Service Agents can make up your own.
posted by chuckdarwin on Jun 18, 2007 - 30 comments

Excerpts from and pictures of Ronald Reagan's diaries while president, with a brief intro from historian Douglas Brinkley.
posted by ibmcginty on May 24, 2007 - 15 comments

State of the Union Addresses 1790-2006 :: complete texts
posted by anastasiav on Jan 3, 2007 - 18 comments

The Portraits of 42 American Presidents from Washington to Bush on a half inch strand of Black human hair is merely one of the World Art Miracles you'll find at worldartmiracle.com, the homepage of one Jin Y.H., micro artist. The site is also noticeable for some delicious Engrish phrases, such as "The length does not arrive the half-inch" and "The microscope descends to take the work."
posted by jonson on Nov 14, 2006 - 20 comments

Re Your Brains is the music video to a great song (a memo between two businessmen, detailing the fact that one of them is now a zombie and intends to eat the other one's brains) by the much mefi'd Jonathan Coulton; apparently inspired by his "Flickr: the Video", fans are making DIY videos for several of his songs over at the JoCoPro (Jonathan Coulton Project). Two of my favorite non-zombie related ones are The Presidents, a mnemonic for memorizing every U.S. President in order & at least one fact about each, and Code Monkey, detailing the warm secret heart of a Frito loving coder.
posted by jonson on Sep 11, 2006 - 17 comments

McKinley Assassination Ink: "The goal [...]: to gather the largest possible selection of full-text primary source documents relating to the assassination of William McKinley and the immediate aftermath of that event, including the succession of Theodore Roosevelt to the presidency and the incarceration, trial, and execution of [anarchist] assassin Leon Czolgosz."
posted by OmieWise on Aug 18, 2006 - 9 comments

Rolling Stone One of America's foremost historians assesses George W. Bush with the cover story: The Worst President in History? Check out the respectful cover illustration.
posted by spock on Apr 20, 2006 - 163 comments

Oney Judge slipped away from the household where she was kept as a slave in 1796. Neighbors were probably involved in the escape. Although a fugitive, she managed to live out the rest of her life in safety in New Hampshire. The owners she was escaping from? You may have heard of them.
posted by gimonca on Mar 17, 2006 - 48 comments

It's all about the Hamiltons. The new US $10 bill makes it's debut on March 2nd, 2006. How will it 'stack up' against other nations' works of art?
posted by afx114 on Feb 10, 2006 - 73 comments

Beyond the Playing Field: Jackie Robinson, Civil Rights Advocate. (more inside)
posted by matteo on Jan 16, 2006 - 12 comments

Bush approves new "dead presidents." In addition to the new new silver dollars celebrating the 300th anniversary of Benjamin Franklin's birth, the US Mint will be making new dollar coins featuring all 37 dead presidents starting in 2007.
posted by Hot Like Your 12V Wire on Dec 23, 2005 - 55 comments

Audio link to the Inaugural Address delivered January 20, 1961.
posted by squalor on Nov 22, 2005 - 18 comments

John Adams is back. In a surprising twist that should amaze pundits, today's prominent politicians turn out to be reincarnations of guys from the Continental Congress. Meanwhile, in an unrelated development, 36 dead presidents are sending messages from beyond the grave. As Bill Clinton said, "Thank you for the engraved copy...It looks fascinating!”
posted by inksyndicate on Apr 20, 2005 - 21 comments

All The President's Hair - Think you might know a thing or three about US Presidents? (Alternately, have five minutes to kill?) Then try identifying some of them by their hair! Be sure to give it a few tries as there are more presidents than hairdos-to-guess per game.
posted by DyRE on Feb 16, 2005 - 15 comments

Presidential action figures are making a return just in time for the Holidays. It doesn't matter if you're a Democrat or a Republican, we could all use a little Dick Nixon to kick around come New Years.
posted by nathan_teske on Nov 29, 2004 - 11 comments

From the vantage point of my office window, one might wonder: "Presedential Library, or world's largest mobile home?"
This part of the country hasn't seen modern architecture like this, Newsweek lamented....the Clinton presidential library is an architectural tour de force that introduces the Midsouth to a structure more significant than anything it's ever seen. ..but from the vantage point of the Interstate 30 bridge, to the average columnist or cross-country trucker, didn't it kind of look like a trailer?"

For Arkansas, the grand opening of the center — which houses the Clinton Library — will be one of the biggest events in the state's history. All former presidents and President Bush will attend.
posted by thisisdrew on Nov 5, 2004 - 25 comments

"Innate intelligence has to do with capability and ignorance to do with variables such as educational opportunity and personal diligence. But the conundrum remains. Is intellect important in presidents? If Americans can't solve the question definitively in the matter of John Kerry and George Bush, we damn sure ought to make an educated guess."
posted by acrobat on Aug 27, 2004 - 30 comments

"The President wants me to argue that he is as powerful a monarch as Louis XIV, only four years at a time, and is not subject to the processes of any court in the land except the court of impeachment." - James D. St. Clair, arguing before the Supreme Court in 1974.

The court didn't agree, returning an 8-0 decision and as a result, thirty years ago today Richard Nixon announced his resignation. The next day at 11:35AM it became official and Gerald Ford, the first unelected Vice-President in history was sworn in under the provisions of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution as the 38th President of the United States.

But what if Nixon had chosen to respond differently? What if he had vowed not to resign? Article II of the Constitution makes the President the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy. Could the Supreme Court really have forced Nixon to comply with their order? What if the President had viewed the Court's order as an attempted coup d'etat?
posted by snarfodox on Aug 8, 2004 - 17 comments

Letters from the Presidents.
posted by armage on Aug 4, 2004 - 4 comments

Lyndon Johnson orders Haggar slacks. (via Political Wire)
posted by XQUZYPHYR on Aug 3, 2004 - 29 comments

US Presidents: Lists and Records. For Presidential Historians and Trivia addicts only. More inside
posted by psmealey on Jun 16, 2004 - 5 comments

Harrison became president in 1841. He was in Washington on March 4, 1841. He was 67 years old when he was president. Harrison died in April 4, 1841. He died in office. That was William Henry Harrison. I miss William Henry Harrison. He would make a good President or delegate today. I think he should be on all dollars.
posted by dfowler on Jun 2, 2004 - 24 comments

major ongoing scandals - a list "there have been an amazing number of investigations of Republicans since Bush took office, some of which directly involve the White House." Is this, in fact, an unusually long roster of scandals as compared to the scandal tallies of past presidential administrations?
posted by troutfishing on Mar 23, 2004 - 25 comments

bush in 30 seconds the finalists are in ... i wish bradley had given it a shot. [ quicktime required ]
posted by specialk420 on Jan 5, 2004 - 39 comments

The President Calling: American Radioworks (MPR) explores the secret phone tapes of Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon. AFAIK, the content is all previously available, but online, they've packaged and annotated it for ease of use. It's not exhaustive, but the moments picked out are often illuminating, showing "how each man used one-on-one politics to shape history." You might want to start here.
posted by soyjoy on Nov 20, 2003 - 5 comments

Other U.S. Presidents have dabbled in poetry (that is, if they weren't busy winning Pulitzers before hitting the Oval Office). But Our Fearless Leader's poem has been rejected by the Missouri Review. "While we realize that the phrase 'lump in the bed' has a personal meaning that is meant to be endearing (please give the First Lady our regards), we fear that it portrays a, shall we say say, less than progressive attitude toward women." Is there any hope for Bush's literary inclinations? And what does this mean for the future of Presidential dignity?
posted by ed on Oct 14, 2003 - 21 comments

Medical histories of American Presidents - Washington "exuded such masculine power as frightens young women just wakening to the opposite sex." Jefferson had all his teeth when he died at 84. Wilson's handshake was described as "a ten-cent pickled mackerel in brown paper." Taft was once laid up for a few days after a bug flew into his eye. Facts & trivia about presidential health.
posted by madamjujujive on Sep 28, 2003 - 15 comments

Even Presidents need to apologize from time to time. Other lesser politicians and business people need to learn the fine art of apology as well. There are sorry poems [warning: bad midi music]. And of course, for those who can’t think of anything to say, there’s an apology generator
posted by Outlawyr on Aug 26, 2003 - 25 comments

Striking, unconventional portraits of American presidents and their wives by Tina Mion.
posted by mikrophon on Jun 3, 2003 - 9 comments

Guess who wants presidential term limits to be repealed... Putting aside your feelings for Bill Clinton (or Ronald Reagan for that matter), should the U.S. president be allowed to serve more than two terms?
posted by Durwood on May 29, 2003 - 50 comments

Mr. Bush goes to Palestine Everyone in the White House must be incredibly giddy. The most incredible political and cultural schism in the world may finally be patched up in the event of a successful round of talks done Texan style--face to face and man to man. George W. Bush will be leaving shortly for a trip to the Middle East to take a crack at solving a little disagreement among the neighbors.

In a way, he is as much the son of Jimmy Carter as he is of Ronnie Reagan. Just a simple man, with more than a few complicated plans, a big, broad smile, and a ten-gallon hat. But will his down-to-earth working man's values be able to put an end to a simmering and increasingly, explosive animosity? Assuming everything works out for the United States and the world in general, is it actually possible that this man could go down as one of the most influential presidents of all time? Or will he ultimately fail like the others that failed before him?
posted by Hammerikaner on May 28, 2003 - 53 comments

The First Eight Presidents
John Hanson (November 5, 1781 - November 3, 1782), Elias Boudinot (November 4, 1782 - November 2, 1783), Thomas Mifflin (November 3, 1783 - June 3, 1784), Richard Henry Lee (November 30, 1784 - November 22, 1785), John Hancock (November 23, 1785 - June 5, 1786), Nathaniel Gorham (June 1786 until January 1787), Arthur St. Clair (February 2 , 1787 - January 21, 1788), and Cyrus Griffin (January 22, 1788 – April 29, 1789)--under The Articles of the Confederation.
Everything you know is wrong--George Washington was the 9th President
--or 8th, depending on how you call it on John Hancock's term. [More inside]
posted by y2karl on Nov 7, 2002 - 28 comments

Data Archives from the American Presidency Project Fascinating statistical data about a variety of subjects, and not just trivia either. Includes data, for example, about Congressional concurrence with the President, number of Presidential vetos, number of first-year requests, etc. Good information for acquiring an overall understanding of our current political situation.
posted by oissubke on Nov 6, 2002 - 6 comments

A Survivor's Guide for Presidential Nominees.
"It isn't easy to say no to the president of the United States, even if he lacks the legendary persuasive powers of a Lyndon B. Johnson."
posted by the fire you left me on Oct 4, 2002 - 3 comments

Bush approval ratings in low 80's; "disapproves" rising. Is the growing Enron debacle catching up with George W.? The president's job approval ratings, once above 90%, are now threatening to fall below 80%, while his disapproves are at their highest since 9/11.

By any measure, his numbers are still good--but they do seem to be heading south. Is this temporary? Or is it the anticipated post-attack "correction," as Franzen might say?
posted by busbyism on Jan 17, 2002 - 32 comments

Through rose-tinted spectacles? It's media waffle for a quiet news day, and comes on the back of a wave of nostalgia, but Reagan's "victory" in this latest poll feels like the triumph of selective memory, and of the desire to reassociate the presidency with jelly-bean eating. (FDR trails in fifth, and there's no mention of Woodrow Wilson, though Carter and Nixon get a look-in.) Which makes me wonder: does the US have a clear sense of its history, as far as Presidents are concerned?
posted by holgate on Feb 19, 2001 - 15 comments

Clinton opts not to become the first prexy since Garfield and Harding (who? kidding) not to visit Nebraska during his term in office. Obviously, he's trying to avoid the dreaded curse: "Both Garfield and Harding died before completing their terms." Coincidence or Illuminati subterfuge?
posted by highindustrial on Nov 29, 2000 - 8 comments

"Mister President! Duck!" - I've always wanted to say that. =)
posted by ZachsMind on Nov 9, 2000 - 2 comments

NYTimes.com reports (or does it?) Bush winning KY and IN
I think this is some kind of mistake, rather than an off-sides. Explanations?
posted by rschram on Nov 7, 2000 - 7 comments

In the spirit of the American Memory Digital Library or Duke's Digital Scriptorium, the American Museum of the Moving Image has a new exhibit called The Living Room Candidate- a comprehensive collection of presidential campaign ads since the 1950's.
posted by kidsplateusa on Oct 23, 2000 - 6 comments