Presidents

All Thomas Jefferson Sites

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Jefferson is more controversial than his $2 bill, but like his nickel, you rely on his legacy every day.

Not only was he one of many who signed our Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, but Jefferson was the primary author. Do you believe in freedom of religion? Jefferson ensured that Roger Williams’ ideas were enshrined in our laws, writing that “no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious ministry or shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious beliefs, but all men shall be free to profess and by argument maintain, their opinions in matters of religion.” His words are etched in granite in the Jefferson Memorial above in DC.

Jefferson was our second Ambassador to France after fellow inventor Franklin, the first Secretary of State, the second Vice President to his friend and rival John Adams, and friend of revolutionary patriots like Kosciuszko, Lafayette and Patrick Henry. Jefferson first engaged Dolley Madison as official hostess at the White House. Jefferson designed Monticello—below and on the back of the nickel—which is now a World Heritage Site that includes the University of Virginia, which he also designed.

Jefferson, like Washington, was a surveyor. Together they planned the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal route and mapped & owned Natural Bridge. Jefferson scouted Harpers Ferry from the hiking trail there. He designated the Natchez Trace and hired Gallatin, who built the first national highway. Jefferson was the driving force behind Lewis & Clark’s secret mission to map the route to the Pacific. His timely opportunistic purchase of Louisiana Territory—including part or all of 15 states—is recognized at Gateway Arch and now includes his face on Mount Rushmore.

But Jefferson will forever be remembered for his failure to apply his ideal that “all men are created equal” to all men including Native Americans and slaves. While he wrote that slavery was despotism, that slaves should be free and both admired and learned from Native Americans, Jefferson perpetuated both slavery and forced native removal, believing that their fated freedoms should be left to future generations to fulfill. Jefferson supported nullification—the supposed right of states to disclaim laws they did not like—, and such failures are why traitors like Jefferson Davis were named after him, and such failures forever defame Thomas Jefferson’s historic reputation.

All George Washington Sites

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George Washington is remembered in countless places across the country, and there are 24 national park units and 2 affiliate sites that tell his story. Washington was born on a huge 4th generation family estate in Virginia on 22 February 1732. Among many skills, he was a licensed surveyor. The GW Parkway, the Potomac Heritage Trail, the C&O Canal, and the Natural Bridge are all comprised of lands he surveyed, planned development and in many cases owned.

Washington’s land-acquiring family was known to the Iroquois and Susquehannock, and the French met Washington as a colonial military representative in Pennsylvania. When the French and Indian War broke out, Washington was in the heart of it battling at his Fort Necessity. After that war, he married Martha Custis and settled at Mount Vernon. (Mount Vernon is privately owned, but the NPS protects the view across the river).

When our war broke out with England, Washington traveled to Philadelphia, where he accepted John Adams’ nomination to be commander-in-chief of the rebel colonies’ new army. Washington set up his HQ outside Boston, driving out the British. Washington ordered the creation of the Springfield Armory to supply guns, ordered cannon from Hopewell Furnace, and rebuilt strategic forts, such as Fort Stanwix. While the British navy loomed over New York City, state fortifications designed by Kosciuszko helped protect the city and would later block the pass at Saratoga. Still Washington was forced to retreat from the city, with hope for independence in tatters.

Surprising everyone on Christmas Night 1776, Washington crossed the Delaware and conducted a devastating raid on Hessian mercenaries. Setting up his HQ in Morristown and training troops in Valley Forge, everyone’s eyes were on the expected attempt to retake New York City. But Washington again surprised everyone, quick marched south and with the help of Rochambeau, defeated Cornwallis at Yorktown. The full story of the Revolutionary War is here.

After the war, Washington presided over the Constitutional Congress in Philadelphia and was elected our first President, taking his oath of office at Federal Hall in New York. The first presidency was challenging, including handling the Whiskey Rebellion with the help of Hamilton. Jefferson vehemently opposed Hamilton, sparking a two party model that continues today. Washington agreed with Jefferson on religious freedom, as evidenced by his visit and letters to Touro Synagogue.

Unfortunately, Washington refused to use his power to end slavery. Washington had initially opposed black people joining the Continental Army and had tried to reclaim one of his slaves—Oney Judge—who escaped from his presidential home in Philadelphia, but he freed his slaves in his will. Ironically, it was a slave named Selina Gray, descended from Martha Washington’s slaves, who saved many of Washington’s most precious artifacts during the Civil War.

Amid countless places named after George Washington, the Washington Monument on the National Mall stands alone, the tallest stone structure, tallest obelisk and tallest monumental column in the world. And George Washington’s face is carved into the sacred Black Hills at Mount Rushmore. No other president is as well memorialized by our national parks as our first.

All Abraham Lincoln Sites

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Abraham Lincoln is remembered in the name of four national park sites and one national heritage area, and he is an integral part of at least four more sites, not to mention numerous other national and state sites, landmarks, parks and much more.

Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area is in Illinois, and it includes hundreds of waysides, visitors centers, historic sites, debate sites, Lincoln’s impressive tomb in Springfield, tour routes, museums and more. The Lincoln Home and the nearby Presidential Library & Museum are key partners with the non-profit that preserves his legacy and cooperates with towns and others who celebrate Lincoln and promote Lincoln tourism.

The NPS recognizes the following four sites as integral to understanding his legacy, but many of the Civil War sites and more are part of the full story, particularly Gettysburg and Appomattox. There’s even a Lincoln story (photo above) in the defense of Washington DC.

If you’re looking for trip ideas, consider a road trip in an electric vehicle focusing on Lincoln!

Ford’s Theatre

“By God, that will be the last speech that he will ever make!” John Wilkes Booth A Shakespearean actor, infuriated…

Lincoln Memorial

Carl Sandburg reported that Lincoln felt that the important monument was not the marble one but the “more enduring one…

All Teddy Roosevelt Sites

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The park service commemorates six parks for Teddy Roosevelt, from his childhood home in NYC, to the ranch in North Dakota where he mourned, to his family home on Oyster Bay, to the room where he was sworn in after an assassination, to the DC island that celebrates his legacy and to the monument that rightly places him among our greatest presidents. The carbon crisis threatens to end the environment Teddy Roosevelt saved for us, so he would want us to switch to electric vehicles to enjoy all his parks, as I did.

At least a dozen current National Parks began with Teddy Roosevelt protecting their land, besides his namesake park above. His friendship with John Muir inspired our entire national park system. We owe a debt that we can only repay by continuing his legacy of preservation for the future.

As President, Teddy Roosevelt protected 230 million acres for us in 20+ states, including national forests, rivers, preserves and more, such as around the beautiful San Luis Valley. He’s directly responsible for all the units listed below, plus others, as well as for signing the Antiquities Act by which presidents still designate national monuments.

“The civilized people of today look back with horror at their medieval ancestors who wantonly destroyed great works of art, or sat by slothfully by while they were destroyed.
We have passed that age, but we are, as a whole, still in that low state of civilization where we do not understand that it is also vandalism wantonly to destroy or to permit the destruction of what is beautiful in nature – whether it be a cliff, a forest, or a species of mammal or bird.
Here in the United States we turn our rivers and streams into sewers and dumping-grounds.
We pollute the air, we destroy forests and exterminate fishes, birds and mammals – not to speak of vulgarizing charming landscapes with hideous advertisements.
But at last it looks as if our people were awakening.
Above all we should realize that the effort toward this end is essentially a democratic movement!
Now there is a considerable body of opinion in favor of our keeping for our children’s children, as a priceless heritage, all the delicate beauty and all the burly majesty of the mightier forms of wildlife.
Surely our people do not understand, even yet, the rich heritage that is theirs!”

Teddy Roosevelt, 1913

Roosevelt Campobello International Park

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The park is in Canada, but the bridge to the Campobello Island is from Maine. I use my passport card for trips like this, where I just drive across the border for a few hours. I also crossed the border into Juárez in January, so this is my third country by EV. The park is an affiliated park, jointly run by both the US and Canada. Obviously, the staff are very nice, polite and helpful.

The Roosevelts used to vacation here in summer, and one of their children was born here. FDR came down with polio here in his 30s, although he likely contracted it before arriving. The house tour is fascinating with various toys and artifacts of their summers, and there’s a large nature preserve which has exceptional views at Liberty Point. However, my favorite part is the Tea with Eleanor.

At 11 and 3 (Atlantic time is 1 hour ahead of Maine), the staff give visitors free tea and cookies in one of the cottages while they present the life and achievements of Eleanor Roosevelt. They describe her trip to Tuskegee, her wartime work with the Red Cross, her friendship with Mary McLeod Bethune, her concert at the Lincoln Memorial for Marion Anderson, and here work on the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to name a few. One of my favorite park experiences.

Sagamore Hill National Historic Site

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After Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley were assassinated, Teddy Roosevelt was the first to receive Secret Service protection. At 42, Teddy is our youngest president, the war hero who led a cavalry charge up San Juan Hill in Cuba during the Spanish-American War, becoming the only president to earn the Medal of Honor, posthumously. A student of our weak navy in 1812, Roosevelt not only built new ships, but projected them in force around the world, building the Panama Canal in part to enable America to shift fleets between oceans rapidly. He was the first American to win the Nobel Peace Prize, for negotiating the end of the Russo-Japanese War, after bringing the parties together here at Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay on Long Island in New York.

The north wing above is the trophy room of his life and presidency, and many of the artifacts were gifts, including the tusks given by the King of Abyssinia (Ethiopia), the Remington bronze Bronco Buster given by his regiment, the samurai doll given by Admiral Togo, the swords given by the Emperor of Japan and the carpet from the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). The hat and saber on the elk horn on the left are from Teddy’s rough rider gear. Roosevelt shot most of the animals displayed, including the Cape buffalo—the most dangerous of the big 5 safari animals—over the entryway mantle, but the the polar bear hide in the living room was from North Pole explorer Robert Peary and the Siberian tiger hides were gifts from the Empress Dowager of China, including one in daughter Alice’s room after she threatened to run away unless she got it.

The children recalled being “expected to have fun, and we did”. Thomas Edison, John Muir and first solo circumnavigator Joshua Slocum were a few of the many guests with standing invitations to dinner, so long as they helped educate Teddy’s kids. The kids took boats out into the bay, traipsed through the woods, rode horses, learned to shoot, raced and played, ate fruit from the orchards and drank milk from their dairy. They were small witnesses to history, as Roosevelt ran the country from the Summer White House and met a constant stream of dignitaries.

For Teddy, his birthplace in New York was where his mother and first wife died, and his ranch in North Dakota was where he grieved and grew. After death, he would be remembered on Mt Rushmore and on his island in the Potomac. But, as much as he loved world travel, Teddy lived his happiest days here with Edith and his family. Edith held his life together, supported him and his presidency, lived here for almost thirty years after his death and is buried next to him on the property.

“Well, my dear, I was married to Theodore Roosevelt.”

Edith Roosevelt on being asked why she never remarried.

James A Garfield National Historic Site

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For some reason, the volunteers giving the tour did not appreciate my ‘Dad joke’ references to the cat from the comics (no relation). James Garfield was a veteran of Shiloh and Chickamauga and an effective General. He was also a large man, a skilled orator and quite intelligent, devising mathematical proofs, etc. At the 1880 Republican Convention, Garfield went to support John Sherman, of the Sherman Antitrust Act, but Sherman couldn’t win the nomination. After over 30 failed ballots, someone proposed Garfield, and he became the nominee. Garfield built a path from the railroad line at the back of his Ohio property to his front porch and invited all comers to hear him speak. This new ‘front porch’ campaign was a hit, and he won.

After only a few months in office, Garfield was fatally shot in the back by a failed applicant for a Civil Service job. It took months for him to die, and a rich friend raised a considerable amount of money to take care of his widow. So, the most significant policy which arose from his brief administration was to reform the Civil Service process, so that the President wouldn’t have to meet anyone who wanted a job and hand them out (often corruptly). They also granted pensions to the widows Garfield and Lincoln.

Garfield’s widow, now rich, added 20 rooms or so to her house and built a private Presidential Library upstairs, a first. The house is mostly filled with authentic items and is remarkably well restored. The room above is the best lit and shows the finery. The library no longer contains Garfield’s papers, but it contains many books, prints and busts of authors, and Garfield’s congressional desk. Based on his Congressional career, one could argue that Garfield would have been a good President, supporting African American suffrage, voting for Johnson’s impeachment, etc., but it’s neither clear nor a flawless record. We’ll never really know.

“I’m feeling down.
Down, down, down.
Down, dooby down-down.”

Garfield

Eisenhower National Historic Site

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Ike didn’t really like his “stuffy” living room above, but it contains some wonderful gifts from around the world, including Prague above the mantle, Korea, Iran and Grant’s fireplace from the White House. Ike preferred to chat with de Gaulle and Khrushchev in his enclosed porch. My favorite room is the den, which is more of a library, but it’s harder to photograph.

The house is well-preserved in 1950’s style, with almost all original artifacts, since the Eisenhowers lived here until it was given to the park service. Mamie’s home furnishings and decor recall her devotion to Ike, their family and all their guests. Much of the site is devoted to the farm & ranch—blue ribbon Angus cattle—, with various barns and related buildings, but there are a few less common features, such as a putting green, skeet range, helipad and Secret Service office.

The ranger didn’t know that Ike was a cheerleader, but she did explain what this place meant to Ike and why they chose it as their only real home as opposed to the dozens of places they lived temporarily. Ike trained the army’s WWI tank corps here in Gettysburg, and he loved to study the battlefield. That explains a lot.

George Washington Birthplace National Monument

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George’s great grandfather owned 10,000 acres of Virginia tidewater. The three places Washington lived before he became a national figure were all managed by private foundations, but now the park service runs his birthplace where he lived until he was 3 or 4. There’s a small site in town that covers his boyhood. And then there’s the very popular Mount Vernon site, with living history and the beautiful original home restored to how it looked when George & Martha lived there. The tours at Mt Vernon are in depth and excellent, but this site is quiet and peaceful.

Both George & Martha inherited slaves before their marriage, and many of them had families together at Mount Vernon. The slaves they owned when they died (mostly George’s) were freed around 1800, but Martha’s slaves reverted to a male heir and wound up at Arlington House, where they worked for Robert E. Lee, until freed by that heir’s will in 1862. If only George could have used his office to free all the slaves, he could have saved Martha’s slaves from broken families and generations of more misery and also averted Civil War. One descendent of Martha’s slaves nevertheless saved important artifacts of George Washington’s life when the Union took Arlington House.

George’s birth site doesn’t get as many visitors as Mount Vernon upriver, but it is beautiful and educational. The old park film is still good, and the hiking includes a lovely 1 mile nature trail near the shore. The buildings are from the wrong era, so I skipped the inside tour. The obelisk above was moved to the entrance at a time when they realized that they didn’t know exactly where George was born on the site, but the park service has now found the foundation of the house that was here at the time of his birth. They’re still deciding how to present or restore it, but in the meantime enjoy viewing the fields, farm animals and the Potomac.

The White House

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I took the tour! After standing outside the fence last year, I finally got organized and made a reservation. You need to make reservations through your Congressperson—even if you didn’t vote for them—to request a date within 3 weeks to 3 months in advance. Tours are currently given Tuesday through Saturday mornings, and they’re very popular. I requested any date in April, and they said no, the first available was in May. They confirm 2-3 weeks before. So, I changed my schedule, and a few months later, I’m walking through the East Portico, through the historic red, green, blue and other historic rooms. The best experience is to download the WHExperience App from the Historical Society and get all the details on your phone. The staff inside will answer questions and reveal a few fascinating stories, but they’re also there to make sure people behave. It’s difficult to imagine a more historic site, since the residents literally make history. I enjoyed both the recent photographs and the historic portraits.

If you can’t get a reservation, you can peer through the fence on either the north or south sides—pedestrians are once again allowed to walk up to the fence to take a decent photo. There is also a visitor center (no reservations needed) near the East Gate with a movie, detailed model and exhibits. Oh, and my sister reminded me to always put the park site location in my posts—she’s in Real Estate and location is very important—, so, the White House is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, in Washington DC. Thanks!