I Wish I Knew That: U.S. Presidents: Cool Stuff You Need to Know (12 page)

Born

January 29, 1843 Niles, Ohio

Political Party

Republican

Vice Presidents

Garret A. Hobart Theodore Roosevelt

First Lady

Ida

Children

Katherine and Ida

Pets

Washington Post, a Mexican parrot, who could whistle “Yankee Doodle”

Firsts and Lasts

The last president to have served in the Civil War, William McKinley kept his army rank as his nickname for the rest of his life: “The Major.”

The Spanish-American War

When McKinley became president, Cuba was still a Spanish colony, but Cubans desperately wanted their independence. Many Americans lived in Cuba, so when riots broke out, McKinley sent the battleship U.S.S.
Maine
to Havana to protect the Americans and their property. Three weeks later, the
Maine
exploded and sank in Havana Harbor. American newspapers insisted that the ship had been sunk on purpose. Even though the U.S. Navy reported that it was an accident, America declared war on Spain and the Spanish-American War began.

It didn’t last long. Within four months, the United States had destroyed the Spanish fleet and taken control of Spain’s global empire, including Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam. The U.S. soon added the Sandwich Islands (later renamed Hawaii). America was set to enter the 20th century as a global power.

PRESIDENTIAL FIRST

William McKinley’s inauguration in 1897 was the first presidential inauguration to be filmed.

Assassination

McKinley picked a new vice president to run with him for his second term—Theodore Roosevelt, a hero from the war who was now governor of New York. McKinley won re-election and was very popular, but not with everyone.

FUN FACT

First Lady Ida McKinley refused to allow the color yellow in the White House. She even had the yellow flowers in the garden removed.

Less than a year into his second term, McKinley was shaking hands with a line of people at a fair in Buffalo, New York. All of a sudden, a man with a bandaged hand stepped up and shot McKinley twice. He had hidden a gun in the bandage. The president took both bullets in the chest and slumped down into the arms of his bodyguard. He managed to tell his guard not to hurt the gunman, and to be careful how they gave this news to the First Lady, who suffered from delicate health.

Eight days later, McKinley died. His vice president, Theodore Roosevelt, was sworn-in as the 26th president of the United States.

26th President ~ 1901–1909

THEODORE ROOSEVELT

Teddy

“It is no use to preach to [children] if you do not act decently yourself.”

Born

October 27, 1858 New York City, New York

Political Party

Republican

Vice President (2nd Term)

Charles Warren Fairbanks

First Lady

Edith

Children

Alice, Theodore, Kermit, Ethel, Archibald, and Quentin

Pets

Horses, dogs, snakes, lions, bears, and a hyena

A Tough Beginning

Born to a well-to-do New York family, Theodore Roosevelt was a scrawny and sickly asthmatic boy who was picked on at school. With his father’s help, he soon discovered the benefits of hard exercise and by the time he was a teenager, he was strong enough to box and wrestle at Harvard College. He graduated, married, and entered politics.

Then tragedy struck. On the same day, in the same house, his wife and his mother died within hours of each other. Theodore went out to the Western frontier to recover from his grief. He herded cattle, hunted grizzlies, and even chased outlaws.

The Rough Riders

After two years he returned to New York and married an old childhood sweetheart, Edith, and got back into public service. When the Spanish-American War broke out, Roosevelt put together a hand-picked elite cavalry unit composed of Ivy League football players, New York City policemen, and, from out West, cowboys, sheriffs, prospectors, and Native Americans. They were called the Rough Riders. In a daring raid, they captured San Juan Hill in Cuba and became heroes.

PRESIDENTIAL FIRST

Theodore Roosevelt was not only the first president to ride in an automobile, but also the first president to travel outside the country when he visited Panama.

A Forward-thinking President

As president, Roosevelt filled the job vigorously with his own ideals and visions. He believed that ordinary people should not be cheated by big companies. The first environmentalist president, he set aside nearly 200 million acres for national forests, reserves, and wildlife refuges. (The “teddy bear” is named after him.) He helped end the war between Russia and Japan in 1905 by negotiating a peace treaty that was acceptable to both countries. A believer in equality, he was also the first president to invite an African-American, Booker T. Washington, to the White House for dinner.

FUN FACTS

Theodore Roosevelt was the first American to win a Nobel Prize. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 for negotiating a treaty that ended the Russo-Japanese War.

Roosevelt officially gave the White House its current name in 1901.

When he left office, he went on an extended safari in Africa and collected hundreds of specimens for the Smithsonian museums.

MONUMENTS TO OUR PRESIDENTS

MIGHTY MOUNT RUSHMORE

Presidental Faces Carved with Dynamite

The Sioux Indians who lived in South Dakota called the mountain Six Grandfathers. The faces of four American presidents looking out over the Black Hills are carved into the face of the nearly 6,000-foot-high peak that is today called Mount Rushmore.

A Famous Sculptor

In 1924, Gutzon Borglum, a famous sculptor who created a memorial to Civil War soldiers in Georgia, was asked by officials in South Dakota to create a memorial that would bring tourists to the area. The design was supposed to be a parade of famous frontiersmen carved in rock. But Borglum thought the memorial should represent the whole country, and he proposed portraits of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and Theodore Roosevelt.

The Work Begins

He chose a site where the sun would shine on his work most of the day. Using scale models, Borglum drew the presidents, transferred his measurements to the mountain, and told his crew where to cut. Most of the sculpting was done by miners. Using jackhammers and dynamite, they removed some 400,000 tons of rock, cutting to within three inches of the final surface. So skilled were they, even in cutting the eyes and lips, that the sculptor’s hammer and chisel were used very little.

When mistakes happened or when there were bad spots in the rock, Borglum changed how he arranged his figures. One cutting mistake, for example, ruined Jefferson’s head, which was supposed to be on the right side of Washington. The men blasted the mistake away and then carved Jefferson on Washington’s left.

Son Completes the Dream

The project took 14 years to complete and cost $1 million. Borglum died in 1941, before his dream of creating of the world’s biggest sculpture was finished. His son, Lincoln, completed the final work.

Not everyone was happy with the completed monument. The Sioux Indians felt that their native land had been wrongly taken for the monument. Some people thought it spoiled the natural beauty of the area. But most people are awed by its size, beauty, and its importance.

FUN FACT

More than 2 million people visit Mount Rushmore every year.

27th President ~ 1909–1913

WILLIAM H. TAFT

Big Bill

“Politics, when I am in it, makes me sick.”

Born

September 15, 1857 Cincinnati, Ohio

Political Party

Republican

Vice President

James S. Sherman

First Lady

Helen “Nellie”

Children

Robert, Helen, and Charles

Pet

Pauline, the last milk cow kept at the White House

A Big President

Young Bill Taft’s parents put a lot of pressure on him growing up. His father had been President Grant’s attorney general and he expected great things of his son. Some historians suggest that this pressure from his parents had something to do with Taft’s extraordinary weight.

By the time he won the presidency, Taft weighed about 332 pounds. He had to have a new bathtub installed in the White House because he got stuck in the old one (six men had to pull him out). People joked about his size. “That Taft is a real gentleman,” said one joker. “He got up on a streetcar and gave his seat to three ladies.”