Mike Purdy's Presidential History Blog
My Encounter with Jimmy Carter
It was 38 degrees when I left my hotel room in Americus, Georgia at 5:15 am. My destination was the Maranatha Baptist Church in nearby Plains where Jimmy Carter would be teaching a Sunday School class at 10:00 am. The church's website informed me that if I arrived...
What do You Remember About JFK?
What Do You Remember? For those of us alive on November 22, 1963, we probably remember where we were when we heard the news that President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated. What do you remember about the assassination and about JFK? What do you think about...
The Accidental President
The have been few times in history when shape of the geopolitical world changed more dramatically than during four world-shaking months in 1945: A fatal stroke ended Franklin Roosevelt’s dozen year presidency. The United Nations was founded. Nazi Germany fell after...
Will Bush Beat Ford in November?
Gerald Ford - the only president never elected as president or vice president - holds the record for presidential longevity. He died on December 26, 2006 at 93 years, 165 days. November 25, 2017: But George H.W. Bush is just months away from eclipsing the 38th...
Why is JFK Still So Popular?
It's been 100 years since John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born. It's been more than a half century since he was assassinated after serving as president for less than three years. High Marks: And yet Kennedy is consistently ranked among our greatest presidents. A survey...
Inside Thomas Jefferson’s Mind
Before Thomas Jefferson died – on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, he gave instructions for what he wanted engraved on his tombstone. Ever mindful of shaping his place in history, he hoped to be remembered by posterity for three...
Electrifying News From the White House!
Watch this "live" TV news report from September 28, 1891 about what President Benjamin Harrison required his staff to do after he had electric lights installed in the Executive Mansion. It's part of a series of short videos I've done about what it would have looked...
JFK: Famous Before His Time
If we want to understand what made John F. Kennedy an admired and glamorous president – his innate sense of ease with people, his ready smile, his wit, his razor sharp intellect, his comfort with the media, and even his proclivities for frequent sexual encounters – we...
The Secret Reason Washington Won the Revolutionary War
George Washington didn't win the Revolutionary War because he had a superior fighting force. It was a ragtag army that was always in danger of either being wiped out by an engagement with British forces, or evaporating when enlistments were up. He didn't win the war...
Inauguration Trivia
As the United States prepares for the transfer of power between presidents, it's a good time to pause and remember some interesting facts about previous inaugurations. Prior to 1937, the president was inaugurated on March 4 following the November election. That...
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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.