Contents
26 Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)
- Full name: Theodore “T.R.” Roosevelt, Jr.
- Born: October 27, 1858
- Died: January 6, 1919
- Age at inauguration: 56
- Political party: Republican
- Known for: Roosevelt survived an assassination attempt with great luck. The bullet he was shot with ”only” lodged in his chest because its velocity was much decreased after first going through his steel eyeglass case and a 50-page speech. His face is one of five presidents shown on Mount Rushmore, regularly considered in the top 5 of all-time best US Presidents
- What you may not know about Roosevelt: After being shot and with the bullet still lodged in his chest, Roosevelt still held his 90-minute speech. He said: ”I give you my word, I do not care a rap about being shot, not a rap.”
No man is above the law and no man is below it: nor do we ask any man’s permission when we ask him to obey it. -Theodore Roosevelt
27 William Howard Taft (1909-1913)
- Full name: William Howard Taft
- Born: September 15, 1857
- Died: March 8, 1930
- Age at inauguration: 51
- Political party: Republican
- Known for: The only person to have served as President and later as 10th Chief Justice of the United States. He also saw the 16th Amendment come into effect, which made it possible for the congress to levy income tax and spend it however it sees fit, instead of having to distribute it among the states.
- What you may not know about Taft: Taft was the largest President ever in office. He required a special bathtub in the White House, as he got stuck in the regular tub.
Don’t write so that you can be understood, write so that you can’t be misunderstood. -William Howard Taft
28 Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)
- Full name: Thomas Woodrow Wilson
- Born: December 28, 1856
- Died: February 3, 1924
- Age at inauguration: 42
- Political party: Democratic
- Known for: His involvement in World War I and the peace treaty negotiations on France. Wilson actually campaigned for a second run in office with the slogan “He kept us out of war”, but during his second term the US neutrality was blown up together with German submarine attacks on US ships in the North Atlantic.
- What you may not know about Wilson: Wilson only learned to read when he was 10 years old. He fully made up for that as academic and university president and made a fine career for himself.
Liberty has never come from Government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of it. The history of liberty is a history of limitations of governmental power, not the increase of it. -Woodrow Wilson
29 Warren G. Harding (1921-1923)
- Full name: Warren Gamaliel Harding
- Born: November 2, 1865
- Died: August 2, 1923
- Age at inauguration: 43
- Political party: Republican
- Known for: Harding fought for African-American rights and had great responsibility for fiscal success, but his administration was covered in so many scandals that his presidency is considered at the lower ranks. Two years into his presidency term, in August 1923, he suddenly died in office of natural causes.
- What you may not know about Harding: There are a lot of rumors and allegations surrounding Harding, including extramarital affairs with four women, so-called bacchanalian orgies, ties with the Ku Klux Klan, but none if it is firmly proven and some historians highly doubt the allegations.
America’s present need is not heroics but healing; not nostrums but normalcy; not revolution but restoration.– Warren G. Harding
30 Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)
- Full name: John Calvin Coolidge, Jr.
- Born: July 4, 1872
- Died: January 5, 1933
- Age at inauguration: 48
- Political party: Republican
- Known for: Coolidge was a no-nonsense president. He basically didn’t say much, accept when he had to speak in public. There’s actually not much to say about him, except that by running an efficient office he restored public confidence in the White House, especially after the many scandals of his predecessor. He was a popular president, mostly because of his ability to express the opinions of the average Joe.
- What you may not know about Coolidge: Coolidge was the first to answer radio broadcasting industry’s years of lobbying for federal regulation of broadcasting. This essentially meant that the commercial broadcasting channels got that own, non-overlapping frequencies. In 1927 Coolidge signed the Radio Act, which declared airwaves as public property and should be regulated under federal control. These changes paved the way for the modern broadcasting regulation in the US.
Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. -Calvin Coolidge