Presidents are people too
If they're not going to be humble, at least they could grow facial hair
Welcome back to the This Day In Esoteric Political History newsletter. Each week, a member of our team (or a friend of the show) gathers together bits of America’s past and attempts to find a throughline that might add a little understanding to our current moment.
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Here’s what happened over the week ahead in American political history…
October 10
1871: The Great Chicago Fire is extinguished after causing widespread devastation
1957: President Eisenhower apologizes to Ghana's finance minister, Komla Agbeli Gbdemah, after he is refused service in a Delaware restaurant
1973: Vice President Spiro Agnew resigns and pleads no contest to one count of federal income tax evasion
October 11
1767: Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon make their final surveying data to determine the Maryland/Pennsylvania border.
1939: Albert Einstein informs President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the possibilities of an atomic bomb.
1992 : George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Ross Perot participate in the first three-person presidential debate.
October 12
1973: President Richard Nixon nominates House Minority Leader Gerald Ford as vice president
1998: Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming, dies days after a brutal attack
October 13
1902: Theodore Roosevelt threatens to replace striking coal workers with soldiers
1979: President Jimmy Carter takes callers’ questions on NPR’s “Ask the President.”
1988: During a debate, Governor Michael Dukakis is asked if he would want the death penalty for the culprit if his wife was raped and murdered.
October 14
1912: Teddy Roosevelt is shot as he’s on his way to a speech in Milwaukee. He still gave the speech
1964: Martin Luther King Jr. wins the Nobel Peace Prize.
1976: President Gerald Ford receives the swine flu vaccine from his White House physician, Dr. William Lukash.
October 15
1789: George Washington visits New England in the first presidential tour.
1860: 11-year-old Grace Bedell suggests to Abraham Lincoln that he grow a beard via a letter.
1966: President Lyndon B. Johnson creates the Department of Transportation.
2004: Voters in the swing region of Clark County, Ohio are receiving letters encouraging them to vote for John Kerry — letters written by readers of the left-leaning British newspaper The Guardian.
October 16
1964: China detonates its first atomic bomb at the Lop Nor testing site in Xinjiang Province
1968: Tommie Smith and John Carlos raise their fists during the Mexico City Olympics
1973: Henry Kissinger wins the Nobel Peace Prize.
1995: Participants gather in D.C. for the “Million Man March” driven by their desire to see Congress act in the interests of African Americans
In which we take the above collection of events and find themes, throughlines, rabbit holes and more. This week it’s Kellie Carter Jackson’s turn at the typewriter.
This week’s newsletter is a weird, but necessary reminder that US Presidents are human beings. Stick with me.
The presidency is the most elevated office in our country, highly coveted and protected. With that, there is a tendency to forget, or at the very least marginalize, the basic humanity of those in office. I am reminded of one of my favorite This Day episodes where we covered an 11-year-old girl named Grace Bedell who requested that Abraham Lincoln grow out his beard.
Only a select number of US presidents have boasted facial hair. John Quincy Adams had killer sideburns, but no beard. Not until Abraham Lincoln do we get to see a fully-fledged beard. He opened the door for Ulysses Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield and Benjamin Harrison. We also get a handful of mustaches like Teddy Roosevelt and William Taft, but by 1913 when Woodrow Wilson is president, every US President following is clean shaven. I personally think a beard is distinguishing, but moreover the freedom to grow one’s hair is somewhat liberating and rugged. Rarely do we get to see sides of US presidents that physically or emotionally foster authentic relatability.
In 1979, when President Jimmy Carter took calls from NPR listeners, I can hear someone saying, “Hi Mr. President, first time caller, long time listener.” NPR represents the people’s radio and taking calls to hear from the people was unprecedented. During a 2-hour broadcast, Carter was asked about taxes, interest rates, inflation, prayer in schools, and general gripes and complaints. But one caller, Miss Ridge asked plainly, “Do you like your job?”
President Carter was earnest. He did like his job! He did not give answers that always satisfied, but he always followed up with questions such as “Does that makes sense? Did I answer your question?” Outside of his presidential office, few can forget Carter building homes for Habitat for Humanity or teaching Sunday Bible school to a room full of parishioners. President Carter epitomized human decency.
Finally, it is not often that US Presidents apologize. In 1957, while Ghana's finance minister, Komla Agbeli Gbedemah, was visiting the United States, he attempted to eat a meal at a Howard Johnson’s restaurant in Delaware. He was refused service because of racial discrimination. Gbedemah told the staff: “The people here are of a lower social status than I am, but they can drink here and we can't. You can keep the orange juice and the change, but this is not the last you have heard of this.” I should be clear, Eisenhower was no social activist, but as head of state, when foreign dignitaries visit, basic hospitality is essential. He not only apologized to Gbedemah, but invited him to have breakfast at the White House. Perhaps, growing a beard, taking calls, or giving an apology can seem superficial or even subservient to public demands, but I think in this day in age, it can be encouraging to read about a US President that took the time to listen to the people and exhibit an expression of humanity that illustrates their ability to be authentically relatable and acccesible.
A little more esoterica
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