#15: Buchanan, James

James Buchanan

April 23, 1791 (Gettysburg, Pa.) -- June 1, 1868 (Lancaster, Pa.)

If there were a teleplay about Buchanan's life,

John Lithgow would have to play him.
(Please disregard the puppies on the bottom of this drawing--
I couldn't find white paper and had to resort to a
notepad with puppy art across the bottom.)

• Buchanan presided ineffectually over the terrible years right before the Civil War (1857-1861). For this he wins the dubious distinction of being one of our worst presidents. Buchanan's hit list of horrors included refusing to oppose slavery--indeed he supported the infamous Dred Scott decision, and letting seven of the fifteen slave states secede in 1860-61, believing that war would only encourage more states to secede and would impede eventual peaceful settlement. He believed that "if left alone the . . . Confederate states would soon disagree among themselves, and move toward reunion." He was the original King of Wishful Thinking.


• Buchanan was born in a log cabin in Pennsylvania, son of Irish-Scot immigrants. He worked in his Dad's general store. He went on to enjoy a lengthy career as a lawyer, Congressman, and diplomat before ascending to the presidency as the Democratic party's least offensive choice for the nomination (he was abroad when the Bleeding Kansas episode occurred, so he had the benefit of having said nothing on the record about the slavery issue).


• Buchanan was the only bachelor president. He fell in love with a girl in his younger years, and got engaged. However, after a misunderstanding (World Book is frustratingly vague on this point), the young lady left Buchanan to go stay with her sister in Philadelphia. She died soon thereafter. Gossips suggested it was suicide (gasp!). In the White House, Buchanan's niece and ward, Harriet Lane, served as his hostess. She threw many balls and receptions. "Buchanan added a conservatory to the White House to provide flowers for these affairs. The most spectacular parties centered around the visit of the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII of Great Britain. The prince brought such a large party that Buchanan had to sleep in a hallway to provide proper quarters for his guests."


• Because Buchanan had one eye that was near-sighted and one that was far-sighted, he had a peculiar habit of tilting his head so that he could see better. Hence the wonky look in his official portrait.
  

THE WORLD OF PRESIDENT BUCHANAN: During Buchanan's presidency, the population of the US was about 32 million. The first Atlantic cable was laid between Newfoundland and Ireland in 1858--it failed and was not replaced until 1866; Darwin published his theory of evolution in 1859--a movie about his life would fail at the box office 151 years later; and the Pony Express system carrying mail from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, was established in 1860.


Bonus from the "B" Volume: SIZES OF BEARS
(in descending order, from largest to smallest, with average adult length)

Alaskan Brown Bear - ursus arctos middendorffi, 9 feet
Polar Bear - thalarctos maritimus, 8.75 feet
Grizzly Bear - ursus arctos horribilis, 8 feet
American Black Bear - euarctos americanus, 5 feet
Asiatic Black Bear - selenarctos thibetanus, 5 feet
Sloth Bear - melursus ursinus, 5 feet
Spectacled Bear - termarctos ornatus, 5 feet
Sun Bear - herlarctos malaynus, 3 feet

Bow tie 'round my neck / That's why they call me the gangsta mack / In the Cadillac! Yeah!

I've noticed that so far almost every president has worn a similar type of necktie. They aren't exactly bow ties of this variety, or this, but more like long scarves wrapped around the neck and tied in a bow. Obviously, the sartorial choices of our nation's forefathers aren't really a central point of interest for most historians (so what this is a propos of, I'm not exactly sure--but then again, this blog wasn't created in the pursuit of great historical truths). Still it got me thinking about neckties. How did this particular fashion persist for over half a century, while women's fashion seems to evolve more dramatically in the same period? Maybe they served a function-- like holding up collars, before good starch or collar stays were easily available? Or maybe the White House was drafty and these types of neckties warded off the humid morning chill in Washington? Or maybe they were just about vanity? Ah, to be a costume/textile historian! Where did I go astray?

This morning, I spent about ten minutes trying to teach myself how to do this:

I think I've got it down.

On the MTV show "Teen Mom," there was a necktie-related scene that brought me to tears. For the record, I don't think I've ever watched an entire "Teen Mom" episode start-to-finish because I find it too emotionally taxing and I find our nation's fascination with teen pregnancy (see, e.g., here) borderline creepy. Nevertheless, in this particular episode, one young father, Tyler, is getting ready to take Catelynn (his baby mama) out to a fancy dinner, where he plans to propose to her. When he talks to Catelynn's mother to ask for her blessing, the mother sagely advises him not to throw up. (A bit of background: this couple gave up their baby in a semi-open adoption, much to the dismay of their respective families.) Catelynn has braces and an asymmetrical 'do. Tyler looks like he hasn't hit puberty yet, and wears his hair in a spikey buzz, somewhat reminiscent of this young fellow. They both appear heartbreakingly young, which I suppose they are. For this special occasion, Tyler has put on a suit and Catelynn wears a prom dress, loads of sparkly make-up and mascara. When Tyler tries putting on a necktie he realizes that he doesn't know how to do it. Neither does his father (an ex-con, with a seriously amazing mullet). Eventually, Catelynn steps in to help, using an Internet video as a guide. The moment is unexpectedly tender: the necktie as symbol of aspiration for a more stable future. Two young people, forced prematurely into adulthood, taking on the trappings of adulthood on their own terms...

That is all for the necktie digression. The next president in the line-up, James Buchanan, sports a similar necktie to his predecessors but it's white! How dramatic. I take my kicks where I can get them.

Addendum - "The World of President Pierce"

World Book does a fun feature for each president: a blue call-out box entitled "THE WORLD OF PRESIDENT [X]" which includes all sorts of things that were happening in the years of said president's reign. Pierce's blue box (1853-1857) includes these gems which I failed to mention:

• The Republican Party was organized between 1854 and 1856! There is a lively graphic of an elephant holding a sign that says "G.O.P." I fear that I am a bad democrat because I often have pangs of envy over the Republican mascot. Donkeys are great and all, but elephants are way awesomer! They eat trees! And are totally fascinating (this link is a bit sad, but engrossing if you have time to read it).
  
• The Soo Canal connecting Lake Superior with Lake Huron opened to shipping in 1855. I am a bad Michigander. I didn't even know that a canal connected these two lakes, though now that I know it makes sense. I do know my important mnemonics, e.g., HOMES.
• From 1853-1856, Britain, France, Turkey and Sardinia fought against Russia in the Crimean War. I know nothing about this era of history: I'm adding "Crimean War" to my list of non-fiction literature topics I plan to explore as soon as I get to the bottom of the books stacked on my nightstand. Already on the list: the French quasi-presidential system and Robert Moses.
  
• In 1854, about 400,000 immigrants arrived in New York--these immigrants were not greeted by the Statue of Liberty. The copper lady wasn't completed until July 1884 in France, and she wasn't erected at her current location until October 28, 1886, when she was unveiled by President Grover Cleveland, but I'm getting waaaaay ahead of myself.
• Finally, Mr. Bessemer, an English engineer, invented the Bessemer converter in 1855. What's the Bessemer converter, you ask? Well, according to wikipedia, it was used in the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass-production of steel from molten pig iron. What's pig iron, you ask? I'm getting sleepy, oh so sleepy...
  

#14: Pierce, Franklin

Franklin Pierce

Our Fourteenth President (1853-1857)

November 23, 1804 (Hillsborough, NH) – October 8, 1869 (Concord, NH)

Jon Hamm as Franklin Pierce!

• "The personal good looks of Pierce and his brilliant speaking manner impressed all who met him." He was a lawyer who served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, and later, at 33, was the youngest Senator in the U.S. Senate. When elected president at 48, Pierce was the youngest president up to that time (woohoo).
• However, Pierce supported the Compromise of 1850 and, as president, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which made slavery possible in a large part of the West (boo), and also led to armed clashes among slavery and anti-slavery people (the so-called "Bleeding Kansas" chapter in our nation's history).
• Pierce's home life was super depressing: his wife suffered from tuberculosis and "melancholy." The couple lost two of their three sons. Most notably, Pierce's 11-year old son was killed in a railroad accident two months before Pierce's inauguration--"Mrs. Pierce collapsed from grief, and did not attend her husband's inauguration."
• After Pierce lost the presidency (his political usefulness was destroyed by his handling of the slavery issue), he started drinking and became a big critic of Abraham Lincoln (double boo).
  

Ball of Fire

Much like the furniture sale at Art Van, my Presidents Day wishes are being held over until today... so Happy Presidents Day! I was sick this last week and not able to muster much energy for this admittedly ambitious (inane?) project. But then, dear readers (mom and dad), I happened to catch one of my very favorite movies on television: Ball of Fire, the 1941 Howard Hawks/Billy Wilder classic, starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. I have love, love, loved this movie since I was 16 years old. I first saw it while volunteering at a nursing home run by nuns--who incidentally tried more than once to lure me into their order with gifts of little gold-plated guardian angel pins. At this nursing home, many of the old lady wards suffered from dementia, but would gladly wile away hours watching American Movie Classics, with occasional commentary by Nick Clooney, father of George and a fox in his own right. This particular classic film is about eight professors writing an enclycopedia (!) who, upon reaching the "S" volume, discover that they must venture outside their ivory tower in order to complete an entry on "slang." The youngest professor (and the resident lexicographer/grammarian) meets and is instantly enchanted by Sugarpuss O'Shea, a nightclub singer and girlfriend to a local mob boss. Worlds collide and hijinks ensue. It's magical! And hilarious! Two thumbs up! The movie reminded me why I acquired this old set of World Book in the first place: namely, the charm of something so completely obsolete. Just imagining a team of gray-haired, rolly-polly professors, slaving away at something that is already a superannuated relic before it even hits the printing press somehow warms my heart. The movie also reminded me how much I love any story in which the protagonist is essentially a group of persons. Here the professors each offer vital expertise in different areas: Freudian psychoanalysis, botany, Greek mythology... In the end, the combination of this knowledge is what saves the group from imminent danger. Sort of like The Goonies or X-Men. Ai ai ai. Weak analogy. So weak.




Later, I'll be adding an entry for Franklin Pierce, numero catorce, a "doughface" and the only president from New Hampshire. Frankly (and with apologies to the Fillmore/Pierce/Buchanan fans), these antebellum presidents are starting to bore me, but I'll press on. Mr. Lincoln awaits just around the corner.

#13: Fillmore, Millard

Millard Fillmore, our Thirteenth President
January 7, 1800 (Locke, New York) - March 8, 1874 (Buffalo, New York)

• Fillmore signed the Compromise of 1850, the series of laws passed by Congress that abolished the slave trade in the District of Columbia, admitted California as a free state, and organized the territories of Utah and New Mexico with no reference to slavery. It also established a stricter fugitive slave law. This Compromise is credited with staving of civil war for ten years, but it also was a huge concession to the South.
• Fillmore was a self-made man. He spent part of his childhood as a clothmaker's apprentice. The master treated him so badly "that the boy once threatened him with an axe." At age 19, Fillmore bought his freedom from the apprenticeship for $30. He also bought the first book he ever owned: a dictionary. He went on to study law with a local judge.
• Fillmore was elected with Taylor on the Whig ticket. They won in part because the slavery issue split the Democratic vote--many voted with the Free Soil party. Fillmore took office when Taylor died: the second vice president to inherit the presidency in this way.
• Fillmore married one of his teachers, Abigail Powers, the daughter of a baptist minister. "He was 19 and she was 21, and they fell in love." They had two children and lived in Buffalo. Mrs. Fillmore died one month after her husband left office (he was not re-elected). He remarried five years later in Buffalo, where he continued to be active in politics, opposing Abraham Lincoln's policies.
  
• During Fillmore presidency, "Amelia Bloomer wore long pantaloons to draw attention to the woman suffrage movement. Many of her followers copied her costume, and they became known as 'Bloomer Girls.'" Also, school attendance became compulsory in Massachusetts--the first law in the country of its kind.
  

#12: Taylor, Zachary

Zachary Taylor
November 24, 1784 (Barboursville, Virginia) - July 9, 1850 (the White House!)

• Zachary Taylor "served his country for 40 years as a soldier and for 16 months as President": he fought in the War of 1812, was promoted to Major, then sent to Florida in 1837 to fight the Seminole Indians, and in 1846 he went to the Rio Grande with thousands of troops to fight in the Mexican War, then was elected prez in 1849. He died in office in 1850 and was succeeded by Vice President Millard Fillmore.
• Zachary grew up on "the dark and bloody ground" of Kentucky's frontier. No schools, some tutors. He "gained much practical knowledge by working on his father's farm."
  
• Taylor won the presidency on the Whig party ticket. During the campaign, neither the Democrats nor the Whigs talked about the slavery issue--only the Free Soil Party led by former president Martin Van Buren campaigned on it.
• Under Taylor's presidency, debates over slavery heated up and came close to bringing about civil war. Southerners demanded compromise before California could be admitted to the union. Taylor refused and as a result California was not admitted until Fillmore succeeded to the presidency.
• Mrs. Taylor did not like the fact that her husband ran for President. "She viewed it as a plot to deprive her of his company." She did not participate in social life at the White House, so hostess duties passed to her daughter Betty.
  

I also learned that a Tayra (TY ruh) "is a large member of the weasel family. It lives in tropical forests from Mexico to Argentina. . . . Tayras wander through the forests . . . eat birds, small mammals, and fruits."