Mike Purdy, Author at Presidential History

Did Eisenhower’s Wife Tilt the 1960 Election to JFK?

by Mike Purdy | Nov 3, 2014 | Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Wives and Mistresses

After an almost fatal heart attack and stroke during his presidency, Dwight Eisenhower was not in the best of health as his two terms came to a close in 1960. Ike’s wife, Mamie, was justifiably concerned about the President’s health. Oldest man in the...

The Ever Expressive Face of Former President Bill Clinton

by Mike Purdy | Sep 25, 2014 | Bill Clinton

Here is a series of 13 pictures of former President Bill Clinton displaying a wide range of facial expressions. The photographs were taken on October 28, 2010 by David Cross at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, and are used with permission. Thank you, David. See...

Before the White House…Philadelphia had the President’s House

by Mike Purdy | Sep 3, 2014 | George Washington, John Adams, White House

With a brokered deal in which regional interests competed for the permanent capital of the fledgling new United States of America, it was decided that the temporary capital for ten years would be located in the city that had birthed the Declaration of Independence and...

Could Theodore or Franklin Roosevelt Have Been Elected President Today?

by Mike Purdy | Aug 13, 2014 | Franklin Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, Wives and Mistresses

The news media of the 21st century is very different from that experienced by Theodore Roosevelt at the turn of the 20th century or Franklin Roosevelt in the Depression and World War II era. One scholar’s opinion: Longtime FDR scholar and author, Geoffrey...

Watch Nixon’s Resignation Speech from 40 Years Ago

by Mike Purdy | Aug 9, 2014 | Richard Nixon, Terms of Office

On August 9, 1974, Richard M. Nixon became the first President to resign. Click here to watch his historic resignation speech from August 8, 1974. Mike Purdy’s Presidential History Blog © 2014 by Michael E. Purdy...