CALVIN COOLIDGE
Born in Plymouth, Vermont, on July 4, 1872, Coolidge was the son
of a village storekeeper. After graduating from Amherst College,
he entered the law and politics, slowly w orking his way up the
political ladder as a Republican. He served as councilman from
Northampton, then Governor of Massachusetts. In 1920 he was
Warren G. Harding's Vice Presidential running mate. Harding won
but died three years later and Coolidge became President. Coolidge
was elected President in his own right in 1924. A steadfast
conservative, he championed isolation in foreign policy, tax cuts,
and limited aid to farmers. Coolidge did not run for a second term in
1928 and handed off the Presidency to fellow Republican, Herbert
Hoover. Coolidge designated Castillo de San Marcos National
Monument, October 15th 1924, Fort Matanzas National Monument,
October 15th 1924; and Fort Pulaski National Monument on October
15th 1924. Coolidge died in January, 1933.
HERBERT HOOVER
Born in Iowa in 1874, Herbert Hoover grew up in Oregon. He enrolled at
Stanford University when it opened in 1891, graduating as a mining
engineer. A self-made millionaire, Hoover entered government service
after the United States entered WWI. President Wilson appointed Hoover
head of the Food Administration. After the Armistice, Hoover, a member of
the Supreme Economic Council and head of the American Relief
Administration, organized shipments of food for starving millions in central
Europe and Russia. He served as Secretary of Commerce under
Presidents Harding and Coolidge and won the Presidency in 1928 when
America's economic success seemed all but certain. However, the false
prosperity under Coolidge evaporated, and Hoover presided over the worst
depression in American history. Hoover became the scapegoat for the
depression, even though he was stymied by Republicans in Congress
when he sought relief for the beleaguered country. Hoover designated the
George Washington Birthplace National Monument in January 23rd 1930.
He died at 90 in New York City on October 20, 1964.
FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT
Franklin Delano Roosevelt became the nation’s
32nd President at the height of the Great
Depression in 1933. His immortal words spoken
at his inauguration, "The only thing we have to
fear is fear itself," set the tone for a vigorous
presidency and brought hope to the American
people. FDR was born in 1882 at Hyde Park,
New York. After marrying his cousin Eleanor,
he entered politics. Polio nearly ended his
political career in 1921, but his determination
overcame the setback. On May 26th 1936 he
established Fort Frederica National Monument,
and on December 23rd 1936 he established
Ocmulgee National Monument. FDR is the only
U.S. President ever to serve more than two
terms, being elected four times to the
Presidency. FDR guided the nation through the
Great Depression and through WWII, dying in
office in 1945 just before the war ended.
HARRY S. TRUMAN
Harry S. Truman, the nation’s 33rd President
was born in Lamar, Missouri, in 1884, where
for 12 years he prospered as a farmer. An
artilleryman during WWI, after the war he
went into Missouri politics and was elected a
U.S. Senator in 1934. In 1945 Truman
became President of the United States upon
the Death of FDR and led the nation for tw o
terms until 1953. Truman brought America
onto the world stage as a Super Power
following WWII. As a world leader, his
introduction of the Marshall Plan saved
Western Europe from Communism. In 1948
Truman designated the Fort Sumter National
Monument on April 28th, 1948. Truman died
in 1972.
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER
Dwight D. Eisenhower brought his prestige
as Supreme Allied Commander of Europe during WWII to the Presidency in 1953 and
served two terms until 1961. As a result of his leadership, he was able to say when he
left the office, "America is today the strongest, most influential, and most productive
nation in the world." Eisenhower, known as ‘Ike’, was born in Texas in 1890, and
attended West Point. A career Army officer, he served under the celebrated generals
John J. Pershing and Douglas MacArthur. After Pearl Harbor, Ike commanded the Allied
Forces landing in North Africa in November 1942, and on D-Day, 1944, he was Supreme
Commander of the troops invading France. President Eisenhower designated the Booker
T. Washington National Monument on April 5th 1956. Dwight Eisenhower died in 1969.
JOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, on May 29,
1917. After graduating from Harvard in 1940, he entered the Navy where he
became a hero after leading the survivors of his PT Boat, sunk by a Japanese
destroyer, to safety. After the war, Kennedy entered politics, rising through
the ranks from Congressman to Senator and finally becoming President in
1960. His presidency is perhaps best known for two events. In his inaugural
speech, President Kennedy made the immortal statement, "Ask not what your
country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." The second
event, the Cuban Missile Crisis, brought the country to the edge of war with
the Soviet Union. However, Kennedy's brinkmanship forced the Soviet Union
to remove its missiles from Cuba. Kennedy established the Russell Cave
National Monument on May 11th 1961 and the Buck Island Reef National
Monument on December 28th 1961. Attending a parade in Dallas, Texas, on
November 22, 1963, President Kennedy was assassinated by a sniper.
RONALD REAGAN
Ronald Wilson Reagan
Tampico, Illinois. After
College, he became a
screen test landed him a
two decades he
Hollywood, Reagan ran
and served two terms.
Ronald Reagan served
the Cold War, which
end of World War II, and
aimed to reinvigorate the
reliance upon
was born on February 6, 1911, in
working his way through Eureka
radio sports announcer. Then in 1937, a
job in Holly wood, where for the next
appeared in 53 films. Leaving
successfully for Governor of California
Elected to the Presidency in 1980,
two terms and presided over the end of
had dominated world politics since the
the so-called Reagan Revolution, which
American people and reduce their
Government. Reagan established the
Poverty Point National Monument on October 31st, 1988.
WILLIAM JEFFERSON CINTON
Bill Clinton was born on August 19, 1946, in Hope, Arkansas. Clinton
graduated from Georgetown University, won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford
University in 1968, and received a law degree from Yale University in 1973.
He entered Arkansas politics in 1974, losing his campaign for Congress in
Arkansas's Third District. Clinton was elected Arkansas Attorney General in
1976, and won the governorship in 1978. After losing a bid for a second term,
he regained the office four years later, and served until he defeated incumbent
George Bush and third party candidate Ross Perot in the 1992 presidential
race. He left office in 2001. During his administration, the U.S. enjoyed more
peace and economic well being than at any time in its history. He was the first
Democratic president since Franklin D. Roosevelt to win a second term. Clinton
designated the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument on January 17th
2001.