12 Strange True Facts About American Presidents

Miscellaneous Information About American Presidents

At one time George Washington had over 300 slaves.

George Washington was not America's first president. The first was John Hanson, then came Elias Boudinot, Thomas Mifflin, Richard Henry Lee, Nathan Gorham, Arthur St. Clair, and Cyrus Griffin. George Washington was the first elected by the people. The others were elected directly by the Continental Congress, sort of as fill-in presidents until the nation was cohesive enough to truly elect a president.

President Lincoln was originally in favor of slavery! His party was against slavery, and so he took appropriate actions.

David Rich Atchinson (President of the Senate) was president of the United States after James Polk and before Zachary Taylor, between noon, March 4, 1849 and noon, March 5, 1849. This is because Taylor was to take office on a Sunday, but being quite religious, waited until Monday.

President-to-be Grover Cleveland never fought in the Civil War, even though he was eligible. Being wealthy, he simply hired someone to fight in his place. This was legal at the time.

President Lincoln had a good organization technique a century before 'organizer' notebooks. He kept a special envelope on his desk labeled, "When you can't find it anywhere else, look in this."

Until he was 51 years old, Abe Lincoln was clean-shaven.

President Nixon was known to his fellow college students as "Iron Butt."

Richard Nixon's very first case as a lawyer, representing a client in court trying to recover a bad debt, he lost. He was then sued by the client for inept handling of her case.

A few days before he was shot to death, Abraham Lincoln told a friend, Ward Hill Lamon, of a disturbing dream he had. Mr. Lamon wrote it down, and so this historical account exists. In his dream, Lincoln wandered through the White House and heard many invisible people sobbing. Looking for the source of the trouble, he came upon a dead man in the East Room. He asked a guard who had died and was told it was the President.

A few hours before he died, he told another friend, William H. Crook, "I believe there are men who want to take my life... And I have no doubt they will do it... If it is to be done, it is impossible to prevent it."

A few hours before John F. Kennedy was shot to death, he told his friend, Ken O'Donnell, "If somebody wants to shoot me from a window with a rifle, nobody can stop it, so why worry about it?" When Lincoln died, President (Andrew) Johnson took his place. When Kennedy died, President (Lyndon) Johnson took his place.

Sometime around 1776 the house in which George Washington grew up burned down. Archaeologists have recently found the remains near Fredericksburg, Virginia, under another home, which was buried under yet another home which had been built on top of that.

The modern President of the United States is surrounded by Secret Service agents, reporters and photographers wherever he goes. In the White House is are lots of guards and electronic equipment. The man does not lead anything like an ordinary life. In Abraham Lincoln's time, the situation was different. There were no secret service employees. Reporters, souvenir hunters, even unemployed folks looking for work could come into the White House and speak with the President. Lincoln's pet goats grazed on the White House lawn and were invited inside occasionally.