Volume 46 - No. 23
June 9, 2016
By Friedrich Gomez
There have been 43 U.S. Presidents in our country’s relatively young history (actually 44 if you count Grover Cleveland’s non-consecutive terms), yet there is much about them which is not commonly known. Such delicious details were never mentioned in mainstream history books. As a consequence, we might be shocked if we were to meet them, face-to-face. If we were to step into a time machine and journey back to the era of our Founding Fathers there may be some unexpected surprises waiting for us; things we may have overlooked or perhaps just took for granted.
For example, most scholars are in full agreement that George Washington and many of his contemporaries, such as Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, et al, most likely had British accents! Historians point out that during the mid to late 1700s, “The colonials would have been expected to have spoken with a discernible British accent during this time, even with the influx of settlers from other parts of Europe.” Well, how about that? That makes perfectly sound sense, but, I just never thought it through. Now that we’re going down that road, what other unexpected surprises might we experience?
GEORGE WASHINGTON. Aside from being our very first U. S. President, Washington was notable for other, lesser known, facts. For instance, he initially refused to accept his presidential salary (something unheard of in contemporary times!). But, he acquiesced and received his annual $25,000 salary. On record, George Washington was also the wealthiest American president in history. His total assets were estimated at well over $500-million! Many myths surrounded our first president, such as the still-widely repeated belief that he had wooden teeth. This, of course, was not the case. While it is true that George Washington wore dentures, they were, in fact, made of an admixture of gold, ivory, lead, and animal teeth. However, it was no rumor that Washington was, physically, among the most powerful of all our presidents. His brute strength enabled him to bend a horse shoe with his bare hands! THOMAS JEFFERSON. Jefferson, our 3rd American president, was among the most intellectual figures of his day, along with Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and others. Aside from being the primary author of our Declaration of Independence, he was also president of the American Philosophical Society. He possessed a scientific mind and was forever fascinated with linguistics (the study of languages). The Paper - 760.747.7119
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This fascination motivated Jefferson to read, write, and speak several languages (fluently), such as French, Greek, Italian, and German. Jefferson was an eclectic inventor and invented an early version of the swivel chair, a forerunner of presidential chairs today. He is the only American president to have founded a seat of higher learning, the University of Virginia. His intellectual prowess has long been recognized by historians. When President John F. Kennedy saluted Nobel Prize laureates at a White House dinner, Kennedy rose and with chalice in hand toasted Jefferson in front of the greatest luminary minds at the dinner table, “This is the greatest gathering of human intellect, since Thomas Jefferson dined alone!” JAMES MADISON.
Our 4th U.S. President, James Madison, holds the distinction of being Princeton’s first student to graduate from their hallowed halls. While he was an academic pioneer in this regard, he was also the most diminutive, standing only 5’ 4” in height. His remarkably small stature made him the shortest of all U. S. Presidents and his weight of less than 100 pounds was less than the average American teenage girl! JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. John Quincy Adams was, clearly, not bashful in being seen in his ‘birthday suit.’ In fact, he was quite proud of himself in the raw, as the old expression has it. Adams would often go skinny dipping, without the slightest hesitation, in the Potomac River, preferring a dip in the early morning hours. This ritual of swimming in
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Washington D. C.’s main waterway – always in the nude – became a wellknown practice of our 6th U. S. President of the United States!
ANDREW JACKSON. President Andrew Jackson, nicknamed Old Hickory was, certainly, among the most physically powerful of all our U. S. Presidents. But, along with his brute strength, he had a temper to match. He is one political figure you should best stay on his good side. Prior to his presidency, on May 30, 1806 Jackson killed a man in a duel; the man had accused him of cheating on a horse race wager and then the same man insulted Jackson’s wife, Rachel. Historians describe Andrew Jackson as, “Argumentative, physically violent and fond of dueling with pistols as a solution to social conflicts.” Jackson was also a most fearless man, which made him even more formida-