Tag Archives: Hail to the Chief

Author in Chief

Posted on April 24, 2026 by smellincoffee

“History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it,” said Winston Churchill, and write it he did – histories of the World Wars and the Anglo-American people. Across the pond, American executives were also doing their writing. … Continue reading →

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Inside Camp David

Posted on April 23, 2026 by smellincoffee

President Herbert Hoover found himself homesick during his term in office in D.C, and decided to buy some land with his own money to develop as a mountain retreat. While security concerns did add some infrastructure, like telephone lines, the … Continue reading →

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The Say Hayes Kid

Posted on March 30, 2026 by smellincoffee

In my Hail to the Chief series, I am embarking on a Trilogy of Unknowns: Rutherford Hayes, James Garfield, and Chester A. Arthur. The only one I’d recognize in a lineup is Arthur because of his wonderful lambchops: they know … Continue reading →

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Sam Grant

Posted on March 27, 2026 by smellincoffee

Ulysses Grant opens with Josiah Bunting III’s rueful observation that Grant is almost always thought of “General Grant”, never president — despite being the only man between Lincoln and Wilson to serve two consecutive terms. Bunting attributes this to both … Continue reading →

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Andrew Johnson

Posted on February 23, 2026 by smellincoffee

Andrew Johnson is one of those presidents who can’t get away with merely being forgotten; he is no Pierce or Fillmore, whom the general public knows nothing about. If Johnson is mentioned, his reputation is closer to that of his … Continue reading →

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With Malice Toward None

Posted on February 20, 2026 by smellincoffee

As part of my US Presidents course of reading, and in combination with my obsessive 1840s – 1860s dive,  I’ve read two biographies of Abraham Lincoln this year –   one hailing him a saint, the other a brute. Both … Continue reading →

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“The Personification of the Nation’s Story”: John Quincy Adams

Posted on January 29, 2026 by smellincoffee

In his biography of Abraham Lincoln, Jon Meacham referred to John Quincy Adams — hereafter referred to as Quincy, following John Adams’ practice — as “the personification of the nation’s story”. That’s a hell of a epithet, one so striking … Continue reading →

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James Monroe

Posted on January 23, 2026 by smellincoffee

What do I know of Jimmy Monroe? I retain from Founding Rivals some notion of Monroe as a fundamentally military man, in opposition to his strictly-political allies like Jefferson and Madison, and that he was the last of the “Virginia … Continue reading →

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Brookhiser on Madison

Posted on January 19, 2026 by smellincoffee

Interestingly enough, it was James Madison who prompted my interest in reading presidential biographies. Early in the blog’s history, I happened upon Founding Rivals, a history of the dynamic between Madison and Monroe: both were members of the Revolutionary generation, … Continue reading →

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John Tyler: The President Without a Party

Posted on January 2, 2026 by smellincoffee

I was instantly intrigued by John Tyler when I learned that his entire Cabinet, with the exception of the Secretary of State, had resigned on him in protest of his actions and that he had been declared excommunicate by his … Continue reading →

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