1. February's famous pair
C. Curriculum changes ahead
1. FEBRUARY'S FAMOUS PAIR
A.THE FIRST AND FORGOTTEN?
Everybody knows George Washington was the first president and his birthday is Feb. 22, but John K. Alexander, UC professor of history and expert in constitutional and early American history, fears that Washington simply does not receive the kind of attention his contributions warrant. "There are fewer visitors to Mt. Vernon than there used to be, for example," he said. Alexander notes that "the very fact that Washington was willing to serve as the first president was crucial to the creation of our new constitutional system of
government, especially with about one-half of the people opposed the new constitution." He also points out that Washington took steps not merely to free his slaves upon his death but also to provide educational opportunities for the young and what could be called retirement benefits for the older ex-slaves.
Contact: 513-556-2137
B. LESSER KNOWN LINCOLN LORE
Christopher Phillips, UC assistant professor of history who specializes in Civil War history, offers these little known facts about our much-revered president, Abraham Lincoln. He detested the nickname "Abe." He enjoyed bawdy jokes and told them often in discreet company. Though born in a slave state -- Kentucky -- he detested slavery. Throughout his career as a practicing lawyer in Illinois, he defended slave owners on several occasions. They were often Kentuckians trying to retrieve their fugitive "property" from Illinois. Although he was known as "The Great Emancipator," Lincoln supported colonization for African Americans until he was elected president.
Colonization was a process by which freed slaves and free blacks would be repatriated to other countries. Also, his Emancipation Proclamation freed few slaves because its scope was limited to the southern slave states in rebellion. It excluded
the slave states that did not leave the Union (Kentucky, Missouri, Delaware,
and Maryland). So, slaves continued to be held legally behind Union lines.
Contact: 513-556-5001
2. OTHER PRESIDENTIAL TRIVIA
A. THE BUSH-ADAMS IRONY
According to UC associate professor of history Geoff Plank, President George W. Bush and John Quincy Adams ironically have more in common than their presidential dads. Bush and John Quincy Adams, the eldest son of John Adams, are the only U.S. presidents who followed their father's footsteps into the presidency. Bush recently told members of the news media he is reading a biography of John Quincy Adams, who was elected president in 1824. Adams, like Bush, did not win a plurality of the popular vote, Plank said. Unlike Bush, he didn't even win the number of electoral votes needed to become president. The electoral college vote split among four candidates, so Adams was actually elected in the House of Representatives. Al Gore might be interested to note that four years later, Jackson trounced Adams in the election. Unlike other U.S. Presidents, John Quincy Adams later served in the House of Representatives, where he "had a more effective career and became a leading anti-slavery congressman," Plank said.
Contact: 513-556-2639
B. WILSON, HARDING AND LBJ
The encyclopedia Britannica lists 28th president Thomas Woodrow Wilson as the
only president who was formerly a professor and the first president to earn a
PhD -- his academic background was in history and political science. David
Meredith, director of enrollment management for the UC Honors Scholars
program, says election-year mudslinging has a long history in presidential campaigns.
When Ohio native Warren Harding ran against James Cox and Eugene Debs in 1920,
Meredith says rumors were spreading about Harding's ancestry. "The rumors
questioned whether Harding was of 'Negro ancestry' as it was called back then.
Meredith also points out the wry sense of humor of Lyndon Johnson, who named
his two beagles "Him" and "Her." Johnson was heavily criticized by the press
when he was photographed picking up the beagles by their ears.
Contact: 513-556-6274
3. OTHER ADMIRED PRESIDENTS
A. WHO'S NUMBER TWO?
Most presidential scholars agree that Abraham Lincoln was the greatest U.S. president. And in second place? "There's a bit more disagreement, but the collective judgment of scholars is that Franklin Roosevelt ranks No. 2," says Norman Thomas, a UC professor emeritus of political science and expert on the presidency. "That is because of his dealing effectively with the Great Depression and with World War II. In a very real sense, the modern state we live in today is the result of the contributions he made."
Contact: 513-821-8590
B. IN PRAISE OF LBJ
"One of the most interesting presidents, I think, was Lyndon Johnson," says Norman Thomas, UC professor emeritus of political science and expert on the presidency. "He probably could never have won office on his own, simply because of his deep Southern background, which at the time would have been a strong negative, and because he had a reputation as a real political wheeler-dealer." But Thomas sees a strong legacy for Johnson. "In my own judgment, he did more to advance racial equality than any president. It was ironic, because this was a guy from the Deep South, the Hill country of Texas."
Contact: 513-821-8590
C. ONE-TERM STANDOUT
The one-term presidency of Jimmy Carter is often cited as an unsuccessful one, but Jim Cebula, professor of history at UC's Raymond Walters College, views Carter as one of most significant presidencies of the modern era. "As time goes by, Jimmy Carter will stand out as a seminal president," said Cebula. Even though the post-Cold War years had not yet begun, Carter encouraged the nation to take new approaches to foreign policy, emphasizing the importance of democracy and human rights rather than military dictatorships. He also sounded the call to a lot of new issues: the environment, workplace standards for occupational safety and health, alternative approaches to energy, the Third
World. He suggested nongovernmental organizations as opposed to bureaucracy to solve social problems.
Contact: 513-631-1337
D. NO DEGREE? NO PROBLEM!
One president whose stature continues to grow is Harry Truman. Norman Thomas, an expert on the presidency and UC professor emeritus of political science, says Truman "was a man who came to the presidency without a strong reputation and yet has established himself with historians as one of our best presidents." Historians like Truman for the leadership he provided in the post-World War II period, especially for how he
dealt with the international communist threat. "Truman provided the necessary leadership that allowed the U.S. over the next 40 years to win the Cold War," Thomas says. An interesting fact about Truman is he's the last president not to have earned a college degree.
Contact: 513-821-8590
4. WOMEN IN THE WHITE HOUSE
A. "PRESIDENT BARBIE"
The White House Project, supported by the Ms. Foundation, works to foster the entry of women into positions of leadership, including the U.S. Presidency. Last year, the project launched President Barbie in partnership with Mattel. The White House Project also offers a curriculum designed for girls in grades K-6 for use by teachers and parents to encourage today's young females to think about the possibilities of becoming president someday. The curriculum, called "Welcome to the White House, Ms. President," includes role-playing exercises and other activities. It can be found on the web at http://www.thewhitehouseproject.org.
Contact: Marie C. Wilson or Vivian Todini, The White House Project, 212-742-2300
B. THE GENDER FACTOR
When, if ever, will the United States see its version of a Margaret Thatcher in the Oval Office? With a record 13 women now in the U.S. Senate and plenty of other female leaders around the world, it seems like the U.S. is overdue for a woman president. "Maleness" ranks low as a quality sought in presidential candidates, according to a survey UC political communication researcher Judith Trent has conducted at the New Hampshire primary for the past four presidential election seasons. But it does rank high among one group of voters: white male Republications.
Contact: 513-523-4484
C. BELVA ANN FOR PRESIDENT
Victoria C. Woodhull usually gets credit for being the first female to run for president of the United States, but according to Warren Lashley, retired associate professor of communication at UC, the lesser-known Belva Ann Bennett McNall Lockwood was the nation's first "legitimate" woman presidential candidate. Mentioned on an episode of "West Wing," Lockwood sought candidacy through the Woman's Equal Rights Party in 1884, while Woodhull was a self-proclaimed candidate in 1872. Lockwood actively campaigned for electoral votes and won some, while Woodhull did virtually no campaigning and received no electoral votes. Lockwood was also the first woman to be admitted to practice law before the U.S. Supreme Court (1879) and the first woman to practice law before the U.S. Court of Claims (1879), a milestone she achieved through
legislative battle. Lockwood died in 1917, three years before a U.S. constitutional amendment granted women voting rights.
Contact: 513-556-4472
D. SHOW THEM THE MONEY
Three new female U.S. Senators were elected last November, including Hillary Clinton of New York, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan and Maria Cantwell of Washington state, bringing the number of woman senators up to 13. Yet Elizabeth Dole's bid to win a major party's nomination as a presidential candidate failed. What's keeping women from the top? Judith Trent, UC professor of communication who is writing a book, "Women Campaigning for Political Office: Communication Concepts and Issues" (Louisiana State University Press) says the problem is money. "Elizabeth Dole started too late. If a woman candidate is going to be successful in a bid for the presidency, she has to tap the major money sources about a year earlier than Elizabeth Dole did," Trent said. Judging from the success of some female Senators in the fund-raising realm, it's possible that a woman could soon raise the same kind of sums that male presidential candidates have, Trent said.
Contact: 513-523-4484
E. A SYSTEM THAT CHANGED
The reason the United States has not seen its version of a Margaret Thatcher in the nation's highest office is that we don't have a parliamentary system like the United Kingdom, where the internal politics of parties is strong, says Jo Freeman, attorney, author and political scientist. Freeman is the author of "A Room at a Time: How Women Entered Party Politics." "How we pick our presidential candidates is not a responsible party system," she said. In the 1970s, the major party candidates were selected through primaries, but in the 1990s, they were selected by the fund-raising race the year before the primaries, she said.
While women were just beginning to make headway into the political party pipeline in the early 1960s, our way of choosing a president changed and the party system became weaker. One woman Freeman doesn't think has a viable chance for the presidency: Hillary Clinton. "What makes her a winning candidate in New York disqualifies her in too much of the rest of the nation."
Contact: 718-693-3384
F. CULTURAL FACTORS AT WORK
One primary reason why no woman has ever seriously contended for the White House has to do with cultural factors in our country, believes Jane Anderson, UC political scientist who teaches about women in politics. The problem isn't just with the presidency. "We have a lack of female governors in our history. We've only had 18 total. There's a hesitancy in our country to accept women as chief executives"-- whether in business or politics. Anderson says America is uncomfortable with women who come across as strong and assertive. So from where might the first serious female presidential candidate emerge from? "I think our best shot is probably out of a governorship," Anderson says. "I think the real glass ceiling for women on this issue is the need to be able to demonstrate in a different context real executive ability."
Contact: 513-325-4659
5. MODERN ISSUES IN EDUCATION, POLITICS
A. CHANGED PERCEPTIONS
The presidency isn't what it used to be -- at least in the eyes of some Americans, feels George Bishop, a University of Cincinnati professor of political science. "The president is no longer the all-powerful figure he once was. The office had a certain mystique about it prior to the Watergate era, especially during JFK's presidency, and one could argue that the Clinton era has stripped that away even further. The president was above it all, not like the rest of us and America's answer to royalty. Now, the presidency has been humanized to an extent we never dreamed of," Bishop said.
Contact: 513-556-5078
B. TELL NO TALES
Vanessa Allen-Brown, UC associate professor of educational foundations, says she hopes presidential history is taught from a more inclusive perspective today, compared with the "fairy tale" aspect of presidents that were taught to the Baby Boomers in their early school years. "My daughter is a kindergartener, so of course I would want to curtail some content for children her age. However, I don't want her coming home talking about George Washington cutting down a cherry tree..." Allen-Brown says telling the entire story about our past presidents allows children to see them in terms of their faults and
contributions. "Showing that they're human makes them much more interesting and
I think their story can hold a child's attention much longer. It also gives us the opportunity to explore how human nature has not changed, it's remained constant down through the years."
Contact: 513-556-3625
C. CURRICULUM CHANGES AHEAD
Keith Barton, UC associate professor of teacher education, says the history of our presidents is taught in about the same manner in lower level grades as it has been for decades. "On the elementary level, there's not a lot of attention to the real historical context or the actual significance of our presidents in history. They're portrayed more as mythical stories and around holidays that honor presidents, children might do word searches or coloring activities." Barton says that tradition continues because the presidents are promoted as our nation's heroes, so there's resistance about approaching their history in a realistic manner. He predicts that with new state tests in Ohio and other states that more attention to teaching history will be given in the primary grades. In the future, they'll need a more complete historical study from an early age."
Contact: 513-556-3384
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