presidents — Bunk History

Photo of Grover Cleveland and then a photo of Donald Trump next to each other.

Will Grover Cleveland's Second Term Foreshadow Trump's Future?

The only president before Trump to win, lose, and win again ended up decimating his own party during his second term.

by Luke Voyles via Made By History on November 21, 2024

Grover Cleveland.

How Grover Cleveland’s Grandson Feels About Donald Trump

Trump is often described as unprecedented, but in winning a non-consecutive second term, he has a significant antecedent: Grover Cleveland.

by Zach Schonfeld, George Cleveland via TIME on November 19, 2024

George Washington portrait with the outline of a father and child cut out.

Being a ‘Childless’ President Was Once Seen as a Virtue

Ask George Washington.

by Cassandra A. Good via The Atlantic on July 31, 2024

A political cartoon of Charles Guiteau holding a pistol and a sign that reads "An Office or Your Life."

Why Are Presidential Assassins Such Sad Sacks?

What would-be killers of the US commander in chief have in common is that they aren’t fervent ideologues; they’re outcasts.

by Zack Budryk via The Nation on July 22, 2024

President Ronald Reagan, pictured waving to a crowd shortly before John Hinckley Jr. tried to assassinate him on March 30, 1981.

The History of Presidential Assassination Attempts, From Andrew Jackson to Teddy Roosevelt

Before last weekend’s attack on Donald Trump, would-be assassins targeted Ronald Reagan, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and seven other presidents or candidates.

by Meilan Solly via Smithsonian on July 17, 2024

A statue of Woodrow Wilson standing next to a bald eagle in Prague.

A Statue in Prague, Four Presidents, and the Meaning of American Democracy

The histories of the U.S. and Czechia are linked by multiple presidents of both countries.

by Ben Railton via The Saturday Evening Post on July 10, 2024

Donald Trump speaking into microphone and pointing his finger.

‘I’d Rather Have 10 Ken Starrs Than One Donald Trump’

A new book explores the history of presidents who abused their constitutional power and the citizen movements that stopped them.

by Michael Kruse, Corey Brettschneider via Politico on July 8, 2024

A photograph of Joe Biden next to a photograph of Lyndon Baines Johnson imposed on a red background.

Lyndon Johnson Knew That Part of Wielding Power Is Knowing When to Let It Go

As Democrats debate whether Joe Biden should stay in the race against Trump, LBJ’s often misunderstood example looms.

by Christopher Hooks via Texas Monthly on July 2, 2024

Chief Justice John Roberts at the State of the Union on March 7.

The Supreme Court Turns the President Into a King

The conservative justices have ignored history altogether and created a shocking new precedent: The president is above the law.

by Holly Brewer via The New Republic on July 1, 2024

Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Lyndon B. Johnson.

The Border Presidents and Civil Rights

Three US presidents from the South’s borders—Truman, Eisenhower, and Johnson—worked against Southern politicians to support civil and voting rights.

by David Goldfield, Matthew Wills via JSTOR Daily on March 31, 2024

Photo of Joe Biden in front of photos of Lyndon Johnson and Harry Truman.

Other Presidents Have Retired in March of Their Reelection Year

But it didn’t work out for their parties.

by Timothy Naftali via The Atlantic on March 4, 2024

Workmen on the faces of Mount Rushmore, Pennington County, South Dakota, late 1930s. Roosevelt has scaffolding over his face.

President’s Day Is a Weird Holiday. It Has Been Since the Beginning.

How should a republic honor its leaders?

by Lindsay M. Chervinsky via The Bulwark on February 19, 2023

Ken Burns speaking into a microphone.

Shaming Americans

Ken Burns’s "The U.S. and the Holocaust" distorts the historical record in service of a political message.

by Amity Shlaes via City Journal on January 9, 2023

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

Willow, the Biden's brown cat

A Brief History of Cats in the White House

The Bidens' new cat Willow will be the first feline in the White House since the George W. Bush years, but is part of a long tradition.

by Olivia B. Waxman via TIME on January 28, 2022

Truman in car with dollar signs on eyes.

The Truman Show

How the 33rd president finagled his way to a post–White House fortune — and created a damaging precedent.

by Paul Campos via Intelligencer on July 24, 2021

Patchwork collage of Joe Biden

All the President’s Historians

Joe Biden has met with scholars to discuss his presidency and likely legacy—but what are we to make of his special relationship with historian Jon Meacham?

by Daniel N. Gullotta via The Bulwark on April 20, 2021

Picture of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln.

On Abraham Lincoln’s Convoluted Plan For the Abolition of Slavery

Although he did not openly endorse every one of the many precepts of the antislavery Constitution, Lincoln framed his positions entirely within its parameters.

by James Oakes via Literary Hub on January 13, 2021

Chester A. Arthur Is the Most Forgotten President in U.S. History

That's the conclusion of a psychology study published in the journal Sciece.

by Olivia B. Waxman via TIME on February 16, 2018

The Executive Abroad

An interactive depiction of more than a century's worth of foreign travel by U.S. presidents and secretaries of state.

by Robert K. Nelson via American Panorama on June 27, 2017

The Greatest Presidents

Historians agree on the top three. Below that, there are fascinating trends in opinion.

by Robert W. Merry via The American Conservative on February 20, 2017

Flag of the President of the United States.

Presidential Historians Survey 2017

A survey of 91 presidential historians that ranks U.S. presidents based on ten qualities of presidential leadership.

via C-SPAN on February 17, 2017

The American Presidents—Washington to Lincoln

Who were Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Lincoln, and the rest of the first 16 US presidents, what did they do, and what do they hope history has forgotten?

by Tim Urban via Wait But Why on February 19, 2014

Who Would Win in a Presidential Knife Fight to the Death?

Do successful presidents make sound knife-wielders?

by Geoff Micks via The Writings of Geoff Micks on August 22, 2012

Donald Trump; Alexander Hamilton.

Trump Is Hamiltonian, Not Jacksonian

He believes in Federalist 70’s “Energy in the Executive.”

by Francis P. Sempa via Modern Age on July 10, 2025

Collage of Richard Nixon and vintage images of mushroom clouds.

The President’s Weapon

Why does the power to launch nuclear weapons rest with a single American?

by Tom Nichols via The Atlantic on June 26, 2025

Donald Trump shakes the hand of a border patrol officer while a line of others waits to meet him.

State of Exception

National security governance, then and now.

by David Klion via The Drift on June 24, 2025

Donald Trump speaking at a rally

Witch Hunt Nation: The Endurance of a Metaphor That Burned

A brief look at the usage of "witch hunt" in American politics through the centuries.

by Alexis Coe via Study Marry Kill on May 28, 2025

John Trumbull’s painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, 1819.

Who Invented the “Founding Fathers?”

The making of a myth.

by George Dillard via Looking Through The Past on May 21, 2025

Woodrow Wilson and a panel of red stars.

Surviving Bad Presidents

What the Constitution asks of us.

by George Thomas via The Bulwark on May 16, 2025

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