Sunday, June 27, 2004
Periodic Presidents 4: Gap Presidents
It took me a while to write this on the next row in the Periodic Table of the Presidents. Notice I now say "row". Normally the chemical table of the elements is presented as a landscape, with the levels being rows, and the groups of similar elements being columns. In my Presidents table, I have it in portrait view, with the groups of similar presidents as rows, and the periods of history as columns. I do this so that it will fit well on a computer screen. If I did it like the chemical elements, it would be either scrunched up too much, or it would spread over the end of the screen on the right.
The Gap Presidents are John Quincy Adams, Chester Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, and Lyndon Johnson. (Garfield did not serve long enough to be included.) Yes, they are out of order, skipping Grover Cleveland. The table does not predict everything - see my next chapter on Expansive Presidents. These presidents are not particularly noteworthy, and they are not among those we remember most often as presidents. They were presidents at or near the beginning of a Second Turning of American history, and so they can act somewhat nonplussed about the social unrest that comes with a Second Turning. Here are my impressions of these presidents.
I don't remember John Quincy Adams very much from history texts, but I do note that he did not win a majority of the electoral votes, and he did not come in first - Andrew Jackson. Since there was no majority, all the candidates went to the House, and then Henry Clay threw his support to Adams, causing Adams to get elected. It was during John Quincy Adams' term that the Era of Good Feelings ended. An opposition party (Whig) developed, and there was quite a bit of bickering among politicians of the day.
Chester Arthur may not have expected to become President. He became such through an assassin's bullet. His administration was adequate, but he did not do much during his term to become memorable, and he was turned down by his own party for the nomination at the end of his term: the Republicans nominated James Blaine. He seemed to have been a party man and cooperated with the party bosses of the day.
Benjamin Harrison is the President coming in between the two terms of Cleveland. He is out of place here, and should have come before Cleveland. He got to the Presidency here because of the quirk in our electoral process called the Electoral College. He worked everything himself instead of delegating. He was opposed to the gold and silver standard, and made the case for gold only. Six states joined the Union during his Presidency, nearly bringing the country to its present appearance. Typical of Gap presidents, he has been described as "cold", "boring" and lacking in the type of leadership the US Presidency requires.
I do remember Lyndon Johnson from my college days. He took over the Presidency when Golden Age President Kennedy was assassinated, and he defeated Republican candidate Barry Goldwater in 1964. His administration was notable for a number of things, including The Great Society, but it is his bogging this country down in the Vietnam War for which he will be remembered.
Next: The Expansive Presidents, who display the leadership skills and the action that Gap presidents generally lacked.
The Gap Presidents are John Quincy Adams, Chester Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, and Lyndon Johnson. (Garfield did not serve long enough to be included.) Yes, they are out of order, skipping Grover Cleveland. The table does not predict everything - see my next chapter on Expansive Presidents. These presidents are not particularly noteworthy, and they are not among those we remember most often as presidents. They were presidents at or near the beginning of a Second Turning of American history, and so they can act somewhat nonplussed about the social unrest that comes with a Second Turning. Here are my impressions of these presidents.
I don't remember John Quincy Adams very much from history texts, but I do note that he did not win a majority of the electoral votes, and he did not come in first - Andrew Jackson. Since there was no majority, all the candidates went to the House, and then Henry Clay threw his support to Adams, causing Adams to get elected. It was during John Quincy Adams' term that the Era of Good Feelings ended. An opposition party (Whig) developed, and there was quite a bit of bickering among politicians of the day.
Chester Arthur may not have expected to become President. He became such through an assassin's bullet. His administration was adequate, but he did not do much during his term to become memorable, and he was turned down by his own party for the nomination at the end of his term: the Republicans nominated James Blaine. He seemed to have been a party man and cooperated with the party bosses of the day.
Benjamin Harrison is the President coming in between the two terms of Cleveland. He is out of place here, and should have come before Cleveland. He got to the Presidency here because of the quirk in our electoral process called the Electoral College. He worked everything himself instead of delegating. He was opposed to the gold and silver standard, and made the case for gold only. Six states joined the Union during his Presidency, nearly bringing the country to its present appearance. Typical of Gap presidents, he has been described as "cold", "boring" and lacking in the type of leadership the US Presidency requires.
I do remember Lyndon Johnson from my college days. He took over the Presidency when Golden Age President Kennedy was assassinated, and he defeated Republican candidate Barry Goldwater in 1964. His administration was notable for a number of things, including The Great Society, but it is his bogging this country down in the Vietnam War for which he will be remembered.
Next: The Expansive Presidents, who display the leadership skills and the action that Gap presidents generally lacked.
