Dear History Lover,

        Springtime ushers a renaissance of ideas. Opinions and ideologies alter; concrete perceptions crack; and personal truths go rogue. History At Play (HAP) takes pride in identifying historical patterns, while encouraging our History Lovers to do the same. One of the clearest trends in national widespread change correlates to perceptions of executive administrations.

        For instance, POTUS 39, the recently deceased President Jimmy Carter, experienced a meteoric rise to the White House after initially encountering dismal prospects. As a Democratic Party candidate vying for the nomination, Carter attracted a mere 4% of support from the Democratic National Committee in January 1976. Committed to aggressive touring, Carter’s national travels took him to 37 states, targeting grassroots followers and farming communities. Ultimately, the presidential underdog won nearly 300 electoral votes on Election Day in 1976. A personable and charismatic political outlier, Carter charmed not only the electorate, but also the nation. Neither Carter, nor his aides, were accustomed to traditional Congressional protocol, engendering legislative strife and a harbinger of things to come. President Carter took office amidst historically high inflation, along with skyrocketing energy prices as a result of the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973. The President and Federal Reserve attempted to ease the storm, but to no avail. The nation catapulted into major recession, accompanied by the highest U.S. unemployment rate since the Great Depression. 

        Even in foreign affairs, President Carter was ridiculed. Iran’s radical Islamic Revolution forced what had once been one of the most progressive countries in the Middle East to violently adopt a hotbed of oppressive, misogynistic, and violent Sharia martial law. The revolution was accompanied by an overthrow of the Iranian Shah, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavia, a U.S. ally, who was, unbeknownst  to many combating aggressive lymphoma at the time of the revolt.

          Usurping power, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomer, a fierce critic of the United States and ally to the former PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization), initiated a trend in Iranian-American tensions that continues to endure. After President Carter granted the deposed Shah an American visa to undergo cancer treatment in the USA, Ayatollah's radicals overran the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, holding 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. President Carter’s failure to execute a hostage release drew prevailing criticism nationwide and led to a settlement that provided each hostage a payment of $4.44 million USD, or $10,000 USD/day held in captivity (paid by U.S. taxpayers as of 2015). Carter lost the 1980 presidential election to Ronald Reagan, who received 489 Electoral votes.

         President Jimmy Carter vacated the presidency with an abysmal 39% approval rating. With the passing of time, however, nationwide approval of POTUS 39 has risen to over 50% and he, in spite of concrete fiscal and diplomatic failures, has earned a presidential legacy as a productive and caring leader.

        Originally viewed as a champion of “democracy for the common man,” POTUS 7, President Andrew Jackson, possesses a reputation that has been both revered and criticized.

        Known for his strong-willed and combative personality, President Jackson was the first president with an extensive military background since POTUS 1 George Washington. Holding office from 1829-1837, President Jackson (a.k.a. “Jackass Jackson,” named so by the opposing Federalist Party to demoralize the Democratic-Republican), was a populist hero, who frequently challenged the political establishment and shook up protocol in a manner many found unnerving.

        Take, for instance, the agenda of American exploration. Under POTUS 7, the USA expanded westward into land that was previously inhabited by indigenous tribes. Jackson, a firm believer that Native Americans resided on land manifestly destined to white colonizers, created the Indian Removal Act, forcing the displacement of nearly 50,000 natives in a Trail of Tears; a forced march of cruelty that left thousands of natives starved, frozen, and dead from illness; a U.S.-perpetrated genocide. 

          At one point, 15,000 Cherokees were forced to march nearly 100 miles (approx. 1,600 km.), in grueling conditions, to a settlement that would serve as a concentration camp. The Trail of Tears left at least 4,000 Cherokees dead along the trail. And yet, we find that this genocidal executive continues to grace the face of the $20 USD bill. Even POTUS 11, James K. Polk, and POTUS 26, President Teddy Roosevelt, can face criticism for the establishment of new government departments: That of the Department of the Interior (DOI), along with Roosevelt's establishment of the National Parks System (NPS), both of which ignored the rights of indigenous tribes and their endemic lands. Where is society's disgruntled disregard for these departments of the government?

        “Honest Abe” is, perhaps, one of the most complex U.S. Executives, for at the time he served as President-Elect, the press proclaimed that he, “...deserved the deepest disgrace that the crushing indignation of a whole people can inflict.” He was the butt of a cornucopia of jokes, serving as a punchline for jests: 

Mr. Lincoln may live a hundred years without having a good chance to die.

 (Attributed to The New York Tribune)

        Known as “The Railsplitter,” Abraham Lincoln became President-Elect with only 39.8% of the popular vote. At the time, the USA boasted a four-party political system, however, it is still considered the poorest popular showing by a winning president in U.S. History. 

        POTUS 16 was nearly devoid of White House support. He was a novice to the political sphere and considered only an average lawyer. Entering into one of the most difficult jobs in the world, with a lack of experience, in the midst of a national crisis, President Lincoln seemed to age amidst the surreal pressure. Of note, seven southern states left the Union following his election, catalyzing national turbulence before he took the oath of office. Less than two years into his administration, POTUS 16 signed the Emancipation Proclamation, considered, at the time, “national suicide” (The Chicago Times). The proclamation had zero effect on enslaved peoples in the North and exclusively targeted states opting for secession. The, now, critically acclaimed proclamation was considered dictatorial; there was no debrief, nor sense of clarity as to how it could be enacted or enforced, and it led to chaos, confusion, and the desertion of thousands of soldiers who did not understand, nor respect the President's actions. Shortly after the midterm, the “Old Northwest” (Illinois, Indiana, Ohio) considered secession, halting Union Army recruitment and catalyzing the passage of a legislative Draft Law in Congress. If it weren’t for a massive Union victory in Atlanta, largely thanks to Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman, one week prior to the election, Lincoln’s popularity may have continued to plummet. It wasn’t until his assassination that the popularity of POTUS 16 skyrocketed, leading to a venerable legacy, including his visage on the $5 USD bill and a place on South Dakota’s famous Mount Rushmore. 

        After this executive review, let us ponder the pattern of fluctuating presidential perceptions. The nation’s affections and disaffection are rendered turncoat. The only constant we have, as humans, and as a nation, is change.

Historically Yours,