I Wish I Knew That: U.S. Presidents: Cool Stuff You Need to Know (9 page)

The Lawyer from Springfield

Mary met Abraham Lincoln when he was a successful lawyer in Springfield, Illinois, where she was living with her sister. She was charmed by him and he won her heart. They were married and had four children: Robert, Edward, William, and Tad. She was known as a very loving and caring mother who was devoted to her family.

Friends and Enemies

As First Lady, Mary enjoyed having parties. She loved to spend time—and often too much money—making the

White House beautiful. But she did good deeds like reading to the injured soldiers in the hospital and bringing them food and presents. Her son Tad often came with her. She had a strong will, and as First Lady, she made both friends and enemies while her husband was president.

Assassination

Five days after the end of the Civil War, President and Mrs. Lincoln went to see a play at Ford’s Theatre in Washington. An actor, John Wilkes Booth, who was angry about the war, came up quietly behind the president as Mary held his hand during the play. Booth shot the president, who died the next morning. Mary Lincoln was never the same after that night.

Together Again

Her life after the president was killed was a sad one. Three of her children had already died, and only her son Robert was left to take care of her. Mary Lincoln suffered from terrible headaches and spent the rest of her life trying to find help for her poor health. When she died, she was buried next to her husband wearing the ring he gave her. On the inside of the ring was written “Eternal Love.”

FUN FACTS

Mary learned French at Mentell’s Academy for Girls in Lexington, Kentucky. She knew it very well and spoke French all of her life. It came in handy when she spent time living in France.

Mary Todd received 12 years of schooling—an extraordinary amount for a girl of her time. Her father strongly believed in education, not only for boys but for girls as well.

17th President 1865–1869

ANDREW JOHNSON

The Veto President

“The goal to strive for is a poor government but a rich people.”

Born

December 29, 1808 Raleigh, North Carolina

Political Parties

Democrat and Unionist

First Lady

Eliza

Children

Martha, Charles, Mary, Robert, and Andrew

Pets

President Johnson left food crumbs out at night for a family of mice living in his walls.

A Loyal Senator

When the Civil War broke out, Andrew Johnson, a senator from Tennessee, was the only Southern senator to stay at his job in Washington and not side with the South. Northerners loved him for it. It’s not that he was against slavery, however (he owned slaves himself). He just believed the country should stay united. Lincoln rewarded him by making him vice president for his second term.

The Wrong Man for the Job

If Lincoln was one of our best presidents, Johnson was one of the worst. Inheriting the huge job of rebuilding the country from the ashes of war, Johnson went right to work making a mess of it. While Congress was on vacation, he started handing out pardons by the thousands. He let the South set up something called “Black Codes,” which were just new ways to keep African-Americans under white people. Then Johnson started to veto laws Congress passed to protect ex-slaves and even encouraged Southern governors not to cooperate with Congress. One positive accomplishment: His administration bought Alaska from Russia for $7 million.

PRESIDENTIAL FIRSTS

Andrew Johnson was the first of two presidents to be impeached. Bill Clinton is the only other president who has been impeached.

Andrew Johnson was the first—and only—president to serve as senator after leaving the presidency. He became a U.S. senator from Tennessee in 1875, but died a few months after starting his term.

Impeachment

Three years into his term, Congress had had enough and put him on trial, “impeached” him, for illegally firing a government worker. He barely escaped getting kicked out of office by one vote. He left office a bitter man.

18th President ~ 1869–1877

ULYSSES S. GRANT

Unconditional Surrender Grant

“I have never advocated war except as a means of peace.”

Born

April 27, 1822 Point Pleasant, Ohio

Political Party

Republican

Vice Presidents

Schuyler Colfax Henry Wilson

First Lady

Julia

Children

Frederick, Ulysses, Ellen, and Jesse

Pets

Jeff Davis, Cincinnatus, Egypt, St. Louis, Julia, Reb, and Butcher Boy, all horses

From the Military to the Presidency

When the Civil War ended, Ulysses S. Grant was a hero in the North. He had risen to the highest military rank since George Washington. He won the presidency in 1868, thanks to the votes of many freed slaves, but his genius in war did not automatically make him a good president.

A Name Change

Born Hiram Ulysses Grant, he was the son of a leather tanner and never had much interest in leather tanning or school. His father got him into West Point and when he signed in, they put his name down as Ulysses Simpson Grant. Grant preferred the name, since it echoed the initials of his country, so he kept the name change. His best subjects were horsemanship and math.

Civil War Hero

Grant fought in the Mexican-American War alongside his West Point classmate Robert E. Lee and later faced off against Lee in the Civil War. He accepted Lee’s sword in surrender at Appomattox to end the Civil War. As the general who led the North to victory over the South, Grant was hugely popular in the North.

FUN FACTS

Ulysses S. Grant had been invited to Ford’s Theater with Abraham Lincoln on the night that Lincoln was assassinated, but Grant didn’t go because his wife insisted they visit their children in New Jersey instead.

Ulysses S. Grant was tone deaf. He supposedly knew only two songs, saying, “One is Yankee Doodle and the other is not.”

Too Many Scandals

As president, Grant was bewildered by the political process in Washington, D.C. and without realizing it, let several dishonest men take advantage of his trust. One scandal after another rocked his two terms. Though he was not personally involved in the scandals, he didn’t always put distance between himself and those who caused the scandals, so people began to see him as weak and ineffective. Grant said that when he left office, he felt like a kid getting out of school.

The Final Years

After leaving office, Grant lost all his money in a financial scandal. Learning that he was dying of cancer, Grant spent his last years writing his memoirs to pay off his debts and leave money for his wife, working on his book up until a week before he died. The book was an instant best seller, and made half a million dollars for his surviving family.

WHITE HOUSE WEDDINGS

THE MARRIAGE DIDN’T LAST

More than 30 weddings have taken place in the White House since Dolley Madison’s sister, Lucy, married Thomas Todd in 1812. But the most influential occurred on May 21, 1874, when President Grant’s 18-year-old daughter Nellie Grant married Algy Sartoris.