The Unsung Presidencies

When the American People think of our Presidents, most likely, Washington, Jackson, Lincoln, Grant, or Kennedy come to mind. When you dive deeper into the 46 Men which incorporated their “self” to this executive creature, some of which left no impression upon the pages of History, who comes to mind?

Martin Van Buren: 8th President

Van Buren was the first President of Dutch ancestry. Succeeding Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren came from a humble beginning. His Father was a Dutch Farmer and tavern keeper. Van Buren studied law at fourteen and became a partner to Benjamin F. Butler in Albany, New York. He was elected as a Senator of New York, but resigned to become Governor, which under this capacity he served for only two months to then again resign to become Secretary of State in Andrew Jackson’s cabinet. From Senator, to Governor, to Secretary of State, Van Buren’s record was worthy of a Presidential bid, to which he was elected and sworn in on March 4th, 1837. As most Presidents, Van Buren inherited the political weight of his predecessor, which afforded him no time to acclimate to the intense political climate left by Jackson. Through economic struggle, Martin Van Buren was guided by sound judgment and enlightened restraint. He acted only within the scope granted by the Constitution. Not once, did Van Buren mislead his constituents, nor did he promises unobtainable solutions. Rather, Van Buren believed that the People could achieve economic prosperity by means of hard-work and adherence to economic law. He professed that Government can not manage the private and individual affairs of the People. As Historian Dr. Thomas Francis Moran described: “The People in their short-sighted way, held the President [Van Buren] responsible for all the economic ills accruing from their own foolishness.” Van Buren’s bid for a 2nd Term was denied by the people, leaving his Presidency in the pages of history.

William Henry Harrison: 9th President

Ohio’s first President and General of immense military fame at the Battle of Tippecanoe. Harrison belonged to a well known Virginian family, his father was Benjamin Harrison who was involved with Patrick Henry and future President James Monroe, in opposing the Federal Constitution (though later supported it’s adoption). Harrison, unlike many Presidents and his predecessor, studied Medicine at Hampden-Sideny College, though the progressing war between the American Indians and the Federal Government halted the continuation of his education when he was eighteen. Honorably, Harrison dedicated his skills and energy to protect the American Indians from the small pox virus and opposed their use of whisky to better their condition. Harrison continued his Military career throughout the war of 1812, then served the people in the United States Senate, and later as a foreign minister. He found a sleepy homestead in North Bend, near the great city of Cincinnati, Ohio. He served as clerk of the county Courthouse and president of the county Agricultural Society. You could consider his time in Cincinnati as a retreat from the National spotlight, nevertheless, he was summoned to the Presidency of the Untied States. Most Presidents had a form of preparation by the offices or duties held prior to this executive service, but Harrison appeared to be the outsider the Nation was looking to entrust with the sacred duties of the Presidency. Abraham Lincoln is most attributed with the humble log cabin, however, it was Harrison, while in Cincinnati, who constructed his house from logs for which his rustic homestead, he was attributed to the classic American pioneer imagery which appealed to the public of a rural wilderness and untamed Nation. In the Election of 1840, Harrison received 234 Electoral votes. His Inauguration was held on March 4th, 1841- his death was on April 4th, 1841, just one month after his oath of office. Therefore, Harrison’s short-lived Presidency left to the American People few Presidential records and an even shorter page in the book of Presidents. His service in the Military nonetheless will not be forgotten.

Millard Fillmore: 13th President

As Historians like to designate, Fillmore is considered an “accidental president” due to the death of President Zachary Taylor after sixteen months of executive service. Fillmore, though his ideologies were opposite, was comparable to Lincoln and Garflield in respects to a humbling beginning in poverty. His Education is by the standards of his time, lacking. He attended school for three months of a year as a child, his father’s library is said, by Historians, to have only consisted of two books: the Bible and Hymns. At nineteen he saw for the first time a map of his own country. He pursued the study of Law and won his first case with a payment of four dollars. Fillmore was later elected to Congress. His Presidency is defined by a catastrophic presidential enactment: The Fugitive Slave Law. Though he may have been unqualified for the Presidency, his story from poverty to the chief executive of the Republic is all the more inspiring.