Benjamin Harrison by Charles W. Calhoun

President #23, C-SPAN Historians Ranking #30 Benjamin in the middle Benjamin Harrison ran for President twice and never got the most popular votes. Republicans chose him to run because he both a famous name (his grandfather was William Henry Harrison) and he came from an important swing state at the time (Indiana). Few of us [...]

Rutherford B. Hayes by Hans L. Trefousse

President #19, C-SPAN Historians Ranking #33 He’s very big in Paraguay Rutherford Birchard Hayes was, by all accounts, an intelligent and honest man who made his way to the White House in the most controversial fashion of any President until George W. Bush. Despite his personal integrity, his reputation from historians has taken a beating. [...]

Ulysses S. Grant by Josiah Bunting III

President #18, C-SPAN historians’ ranking #23 Read this unconditionally Americans have never been shy about making their military heroes Presidents. They have ranged from the great (George Washington and Theodore Roosevelt) to pretty darn good (Andrew Jackson and Dwight Eisenhower) to the quickly dead (William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor). Ulysses S. Grant was undoubtedly [...]

Old Tippecanoe: William Henry Harrison and His Time by Freeman Cleaves

President #9, C-SPAN Historians Ranking #39 Let Me Be Brief… If you mention the name William Henry Harrison to most people, the initial reaction will be “I don’t know anyone by that name.” So, after you get past the people who are completely ignorant of the man, you might get the reaction of “Oh, the [...]

William McKinley by Kevin Phillips

President #25, C-SPAN Historians’ Ranking #16 The War With Spain Starts Mainly With the Maine While many kids grew up with toy soldiers, my childhood featured a set of plastic toy Presidents. (And much to my glee, a complete set is on display at the Smithsonian now. It includes an intact Lyndon Johnson. Our LBJ [...]