How Well Do You Know Your Presidents?
President’s Day falls on February 21st this year. Traditionally, this day celebrates the February birthdates of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. The GSU Library has several new books about Washington and Lincoln, respectively, including:
- Inventing George Washington: America’s Founder, in Myth and Memory, by Edward G. Lengel
- Washington: A Life, by Ron Chernow
- The Great Virginia Triumvirate: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, & James Madison in the Eyes of Their Contemporaries, by John P. Kaminski
and, to learn more about Abraham Lincoln:
- Lincoln’s Enduring Legacy: Perspectives from Great Thinkers, Great Leaders, and the American Experiment, edited by Robert P. Watson, William D. Pedersen, and Frank J. Williams
- Abraham Lincoln, Esq.: The Legal Career of America’s Greatest President, edited by Roger Billings and Frank J. Williams
- The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery, by Eric Foner
But how much do you know about the less-celebrated presidents? The James K. Polks, the Grover Clevelands? The journal Presidential Studies Quarterly, available through the GSU Library, offers scholarly discussions of U.S. presidents in history, including, but also going beyond the big names to explore the full range of presidential history.
We also have a range of books that delve deeper into the historical campaigns, careers, and achievements of U.S. presidents. See for example:
- A Country of Vast Designs: James K. Polk, the Mexican War, and the Conquest of the American Continent, by Robert W. Merry
- By One Vote: The Disputed Presidential Election of 1876, by Michael F. Holt (about the controversial election of Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876)
- Minority Victory: Gilded Age Politics and the Front Porch Campaign of 1888, by Charles W. Calhoun (about Grover Cleveland’s 1888 election campaign)
- Party over Section: The Rough and Ready Presidential Election of 1848, by Joel H. Silbey (about the election of Zachary Taylor in 1848)
For more information about your favorite—or not so favorite—Presidents, check out our U. S. Presidential Research research guide, or search in GIL or GIL-Find, or one of our History or Political Science databases.