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Ronald G. Shafer

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Engraving of President William Henry Harrison

This President was Widely Attacked for Being Too Old to Run — at 67

In 1840, William Henry Harrison was mocked for his presidential run at age 67 — 15 years younger than President Biden would be at the start of a second term.
by Ronald G. Shafer via Retropolis on November 12, 2023
An honor guard displays the colors of Fort Bragg, as part of the ceremony earlier this month to rename it to Fort Liberty.

Who Was Fort Bragg Named After? The South’s Worst, Most Hated General.

Mike Pence and Ron DeSantis say they would restore the Fort Bragg name if elected. Its namesake was a “merciless tyrant” who helped lose the Civil War.
by Ronald G. Shafer via Washington Post on June 16, 2023
Horatio Greenough's statue of George Washington in a toga.

The First Statue Removed From the Capitol

Long before monuments to enslavers were removed, lawmakers decided to relocate a scandalous, half-naked depiction of George Washington in a toga.
by Ronald G. Shafer via Retropolis on January 22, 2023

When the House Needed Two Months and 133 Votes to Elect a Speaker

Kevin McCarthy's struggling bid to win the speakership has nothing on the epic 1856 contest that pitted abolitionists against proslavery members of Congress.
by Ronald G. Shafer via Retropolis on December 30, 2022
Portrait of Aaron Burr, an American politician and lawyer who was the third vice president of the United States, serving during Thomas Jefferson's first term (1801-1805).

A Former Vice President Was Tried For Treason For an Insurrection Plot

Aaron Burr was the highest-ranking official to stand trial for treason, which some people have invoked now amid probes into ex-president Donald Trump.
by Ronald G. Shafer via Retropolis on September 26, 2022
Side-by-side presidential portraits of George Washington, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush

The Presidents Who Hated Their Presidential Portraits

Theodore Roosevelt said his made him look like “a mewing cat.” Lyndon Johnson called his “the ugliest thing I ever saw.” Ronald Reagan ordered a do-over.
by Ronald G. Shafer via Retropolis on September 7, 2022
Charles Joseph Bonaparte formal portrait photograph.

The Architect of the FBI Was Napoleon’s Great-Nephew, Charles Bonaparte

A history of the bureau and its place in the federal government.
by Ronald G. Shafer via Retropolis on August 15, 2022
John D. Rockefeller Jr., right, was the country's biggest taxpayer in 1923, when public disclosure of tax payments was required by law. President Calvin Coolidge, left, pushed Congress to repeal the disclosure law in 1926. This photo was taken in 1925.

Americans’ Taxes Used To Be Public — Until the Rich Revolted

Thanks to the efforts of wealthy taxpayers, the "big reveal" of the 1920s was extremely short-lived.
by Ronald G. Shafer via Retropolis on April 18, 2022
Illustration of armed men in a large mob surrounding Orleans Parish Prison

The First Columbus Day Was Born of Violence — And Political Calculation

President Benjamin Harrison promoted the holiday after a mob killed 11 Italian Americans and set off a diplomatic crisis.
by Ronald G. Shafer via Retropolis on October 10, 2021
Franklin D. Roosevelt signing the Social Security Act with Frances Perkins behind him.

The Woman Who Helped a President Change America During His First 100 Days

Frances Perkins was the first female Cabinet secretary in U.S. history, paving the way for the record number of women serving in President Biden’s Cabinet.
by Ronald G. Shafer via Washington Post on March 14, 2021
Richard Mentor Johnson.

He Became the Nation’s Ninth Vice President. She Was His Enslaved Wife.

Her name was Julia Chinn.
by Ronald G. Shafer via Washington Post on February 7, 2021

‘Lock Me Up’: The Last Man to be Arrested for Defying Congress During an Investigation

In 1935, the case went to the Supreme Court, which upheld the Senate’s power to jail a recalcitrant aviation industry lawyer.
by Ronald G. Shafer via Washington Post on December 2, 2019

"He Lies Like a Dog": The First Effort to Impeach a President Was Led by His Own Party

Long before President Donald Trump, there was President John Tyler.
by Ronald G. Shafer via Washington Post on September 23, 2019

They Were Killers With Submachine Guns. Then the President Went After Their Weapons.

Franklin Roosevelt’s National Firearms Act of 1934 was aimed at John Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde, and other murderous gangsters.
by Ronald G. Shafer via Retropolis on August 9, 2019

What Could Go Wrong for Trump on July 4th? In 1970, Protests and Tear Gas Marred the Day.

"Honor America Day" was designed to showcase support for President Nixon at a time of bitter division.
by Ronald G. Shafer via Retropolis on July 2, 2019

The Lincoln Memorial as a Pyramid? That Wasn’t the Craziest Idea Pitched a Century Ago

Congress had the final say on the design for the slain president’s monument. The competition was intense.
by Ronald G. Shafer via Retropolis on May 29, 2019
"Fleet" Walker (middle row, far left) poses with Oberlin College's first varsity baseball team in 1881. Walker went on to become the first African American major leaguer.

The First African American Major League Baseball Player Isn’t Who You Think

As the country celebrates Jackie Robinson Day, let’s consider the career of Fleet Walker.
by Ronald G. Shafer via Retropolis on April 15, 2019

The Strange History of the House’s 181-Year-Old Ban on Hats — and the Push to Overturn It

There isn’t any rule against tobacco spitting on the House floor, but there is one against wearing a hat.
by Ronald G. Shafer via Retropolis on January 4, 2019
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