Mike Purdy's Presidential History Blog
The Unusual Thing That Harry Truman and Millard Fillmore Have in Common
While almost a full century separated the births of Harry Truman and Millard Fillmore, there is one unusual thing they both share in common, besides ascending to the presidency upon the death of their predecessor. Death of Predecessor: Fillmore became president on...
Can You Name the 10 Incumbent Presidents Who Were Defeated for Election?
In our nation's history, ten incumbent Presidents have been defeated at the polls when seeking a second term in the White House. Here's the list of the unfortunate Presidents who were rejected by the voters: Election Year Defeated President Defeated by...
Do Presidential Libraries Preserve History or Egos?
There is a difference of opinion about whether taxpayer supported presidential libraries and museums are appropriate. Personally, I think they serve an incredibly valuable function to help educate the nation about its history, notwithstanding the fact that former...
Presidential History Roundup #8
What did the common people think about Lincoln’s death? Why the White House needed an extreme makeover in 1950? Where Theodore Roosevelt is looking to buy land and why? Who belongs in the presidential club of 4? Why presidential dynasties may not be a bad idea. Other interesting news about presidential history.
Why Kennedy Beat Nixon in 1960
There are countless factors that went into John F. Kennedy's razor thin electoral victory over Richard M. Nixon for the presidency in 1960. Close Race: It was a close race, with just over 100,000 votes nationally separating the two candidates. Kennedy won Illinois...
Presidential History Roundup #7
Presidential History Roundup #7: An Unlikely Presidential Friendship, Top 10 Presidential Dogs, Dynasties, New Reagan Biography, No Money to Attend Inauguration. Interesting news about Presidential history from PresidentialHistory.com. Washington Borrowed Money to...
How 2 Former Aides Shaped Lincoln’s Legacy as a Great President
20 Years in the Making: Two longtime secretaries of Abraham Lincoln spent 20 years with exclusive access to the slain president's personal papers. The research conducted by John Hay and John Nicolay resulted in them writing a 10 volume history of Lincoln that was...
What Are the Best Biographies of the Presidents?
If you are looking for finding good biographies about the Presidents, the following are some good resources to check out: Best Presidential Biographies: Stephen Floyd maintains a very helpful website in which he posts his reviews of all the presidential biographies...
How Has Presidential Campaigning Changed? 15 Campaign Ads From the Past
Washington Didn't Campaign for President: George Washington set the standard that held for years of not campaigning for President. Of course, he was the only president who won with unanimous support of the Electoral College. Front Porch Campaigns: As the years went...
5 Year Old Girl Beats Actor Kevin Spacey in Presidential Trivia
Do You Know How Many Rooms Are In The White House? Five year old Macey Hensley does. She's an expert on presidential trivia from Kansas. Appearing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on April 28, 2015, she went head-to-head with Kevin Spacey who plays the president on the...
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About Mike
Mike Purdy is a presidential historian and author living in Seattle, Washington. As an expert in presidential history, Mike runs PresidentialHistory.com as a public resource.