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...

The Hidden White House: 3 Lucky Winners of the Book

by Mike Purdy | Jan 3, 2014 | Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, White House

Mike Purdy and daughter, Janet Purdy On January 1, 2014, I put the email addresses of the 208 subscribers to this Presidential History Blog in a hat and had my daughter draw three names. Reconstruction of White House:  Three lucky individuals won a free copy...

Presidential Pardons

by Mike Purdy | Oct 20, 2013 | Franklin Roosevelt, Gerald Ford, James Garfield, Jimmy Carter, Presidential Pardons, Richard Nixon, William Henry Harrison

The U.S. Constitution gives the President of the United States the “power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.” (Article II, Section 2)FDR’s record breaking number of pardons: ...

What Presidents Took the Oath of Office the Most Number of Times?

by Mike Purdy | Feb 26, 2013 | Barack Obama, Calvin Coolidge, Dwight Eisenhower, Franklin Roosevelt, Inaugurations, Ronald Reagan, Woodrow Wilson

FDR’s 4th oath of officeWhen we think about which presidents took the oath of office the most number of times, obviously Franklin D. Roosevelt immediately comes to mind.  FDR was elected to an unprecedented four terms as president and took the oath of...

Outstanding Book: FDR’s Funeral Train

by Mike Purdy | Jan 7, 2013 | Deaths, Franklin Roosevelt

I recently finished reading Robert Klara’s 2010 book entitled FDR’s Funeral Train, the story of FDR’s death and the long train ride with his body that captivated the nation.  Klara writes like a novelist, but packed with historical detail so you...

Presidents Who Have Been Named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year

by Mike Purdy | Dec 21, 2012 | Barack Obama, Calvin Coolidge, Franklin Roosevelt, Gerald Ford, Herbert Hoover

Time Magazine began its Man of the Year (now Person of the Year) in 1927.  Since that time all U.S. Presidents except for three, have been named Man/Person of the Year at least once.Not Men of the Year – Coolidge, Hoover, FordCalvin Coolidge, Herbert...