Tag Archives: American presidency

The American Presidents: My Favorite Cinematic Portrayals

Every third Monday in February, our government sets asides a day we call President’s Day, to honor those who have held the office of President of the United States.  While as a general rule, I do not get terribly excited about this particular Federal holiday, I have had a special interest in the history of the American presidency since I was kid.  In fact, it was sometime in grade school that I memorized the list of the Presidents, and can still recite all forty-three occupants in order along with the dates that served.  (Trivia question: Did you know that while Barack Obama is the 44th President of the United States, there have only been 43 occupants?  Do you know why?  I won’t answer this question in blog, but just leave the question for your consideration).

Several months ago, I stumbled across this short video documenting all the presidents who had been on portrayed on film.  Not all of the American Presidents have had actors play them, but many of the former occupants of the White House have been played by multiple famous actors in different films.  And so, in honor of the good, the bad and the ugly who have played the famous and infamous of the American Presidency, I thought for a short blog, I would present this short video along with a list of my favorite portrayals of American Presidents in film.

First, let me say a word about the film itself.  As I mentioned, not every single President has been portrayed in films, and I am not familiar with some of clips that were chosen here.  And there are a few actors that were omitted from this film that I would have included, and other clips I would have excluded.  Nonetheless, it does provide a decent overview of actors who have played different presidents in film.

Second, let me say word about my list.  I chose every single actor, not based on the quality of the film, but on what I perceived as the individual actor’s attempt to portray the particular president in which they were cast.  Some of the films listed here were fairly accurate historically while others were based more on historical myth than historical facts.  Those films made great films, but were better propaganda pieces than true historical presentations.  So please do not think that any particular film on my list has my blessing as an historian.  Some of them really pretty loose with the facts.    Nonetheless, based on my knowledge of those particular presidents, I thought the actors did a good job at either capturing the spirit of the man or his particular role in history.  And that was my primary criterion for the list.  And so without further explanation, here is my list of favorite Presidential Actors and a short history of the American Presidency in Film:

Top Actors for American Presidents:

1. Barry Bostwick (George Washington in CBS’s mini-series, George Washington (1984), and its sequel, George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation (1986)).

2. Paul Giamatti (John Adams in HBO’s mini-series based on David McCullough’s biography, John Adams (2008)).

3. Anthony Hopkins (John Quincy Adams in Steven Spielberg’s film, Amistad (1997)).

4. Charlton Heston (Andrew Jackson in the films, The President Lady (1953), and The Buccaneer  (1958)).

5. Sam Waterson (Abraham Lincoln in the film adaption of Gore Vidal’s book, Lincoln (1988)), and Daniel Day-Lewis (in the Steven Spielberg film, Lincoln (2012)).

6. Brian Keith (Theodore Roosevelt in John Milius’ film, The Wind and the Lion (1975)) and Tom Berenger (playing Roosevelt during the Spanish-American War in TNT’s mini-series, Rough Riders (1997)).

7. Ralph Bellamy (Franklin D. Roosevelt in Herman Wouk’s The Winds of War (1983), and War and Remembrance (1988)), and Kenneth Branagh (in the 2005 film, Warm Springs, which tells the story of Roosevelt’s pre-presidential struggle with polio.)

8. Martin Sheen (John F. Kennedy in NBC’s mini-series, Kennedy (1983)), and Bruce Greenwood (as President Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis in the film, Thirteen Days (2000)).

9. James Brolin (Ronald Reagan in the mini-series, The Reagans (2003)).

10. Dennis Quaid (Bill Clinton in the BBC/HBO film, That Special Relationship (2010)).

Lincoln’s Second Term (1865-1869)

Alternative History of the American Presidency (Part 2)

Last time, I posed the question, how would American history have changed if Lincoln survived his assassination?  Many theories have been proposed and mine is simply one among many, and not necessarily profound.  But my interest is not just in what Lincoln’s second term might have looked like, but how if Lincoln had a second term, how might the political and policy decisions made during that term (by himself and others) altered the course of American history.  And that question will guide the direction where this post and the ones related to it will go.

Sunday, April 15, 1865, 6:37 am

President Lincoln awakes from an all night coma as a result of the bullet wound he received the preceding night at Ford’s Theater.  While seriously weakened from severe blood loss, the president is obviously coherent and aware of his surroundings.  In response to Lincoln waking, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton who had kept vigil over the president with several doctors and army officers declares, “Thank God you are awake, Mr. President. We thought we had lost you to the ages.”  To which the president replied, “The ages may want me, but the nation still needs me, and you all in the government are still stuck with me.”

His remarks were received with a controlled laughter from all who were present.  With the president’s wit still intact, the doctors concluded the president had survived the terrible ordeal with no lasting damage to his skull or brain.

That Sunday afternoon, in an open carriage ride, Lincoln returns to the White House with a bandaged head, but looking vibrant and alive.  He is greeted with cheers all along the way.  Over the coming months, his political and personal popularity soar, and some consider him to be as popular as George Washington.  Several days later, in a speech, the president will declare that he believes providence preserved his life so that he could bring unity to the republic which had suffered in bloodshed for too long.  As a result, his initial Reconstruction policies towards the Southern states are very lenient as he seeks for a “charitable recovery towards all parts of the Republic.”  While some of the Radical Republicans grumble over this rhetoric, few are willing to challenge the president openly given his rising popularity.

June 15, 1865-In an act that surprises most Republicans, but is praised by General Grant, President Lincoln issues a full pardon to Confederate President Jefferson Davis who had been captured by Federal troops on May 10, 1865.  Lincoln is quick to note that he views Davis as guilty of rebellion against the Federal government, but declares that the nation must seek to for reconciliation towards the South whom he refers to as “our defeated countrymen.”

January, 1866-The ‘Baltimore Conference’ lasts for three days as both President Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward meet with Alexander Stephens, Robert E. Lee, and several other prominent Southern leaders to find ways to help promote reconciliation between the two regions.  Jefferson Davis is notably absent from the meetings, though they are generally hailed as profitable and will help set the President’s agenda over the next year.  This conference angers the Radicals in Congress and marks the start of Lincoln’s decline in popularity.

February-April, 1867-The Impeachment and Trial of President Abraham Lincoln by the Radical Republicans in Congress.  The Senate will acquit the president by one vote, and some will view him as a victim.  Lincoln leaves the presidency a disgraced man, and will live in seclusion in Illinois until 1887.  As a result of the impeachment, trial and public humiliation, his wife, Mary, will suffer a nervous breakdown in July, 1867. She will remain hospitalized in a mental asylum until her death in 1873.  The Radical Republicans suffer a huge loss in political credibility since they tried to impeach their own president.  After the trial ends, Vice President Andrew Johnson rejoins the Democratic Party.

 

Next Time: The Presidential election of 1868 and the 14th amendment to the Constitution.

What if Lincoln Survived his assassination?

How would American history have changed if the presidents were different?

One of my favorite past times is alternative history, and while some of it can be rather bizarre, even ridiculous, the art and practice itself is not altogether unprofitable.  About a year ago, just for fun, I decided to create an alternative list of American presidents-that is, men who either ran for president and lost, or men who expressed a desire to run, but did not for various reasons.  My intention was to put very little time into the exercise and create a list that was only a page or two long.  Well, thirty-eight pages later, I had an entire alternative history for the American presidency as well as an alternative history of national and international events.  Recently, the idea hit me that it might be fun occasionally to present portions of that history on my blog.  If you know a lot about American history, no doubt, you will find this interesting.  If you don’t know much about our national past, well, this might be a fun way to start learning about it.

Obviously, there is no way for me to put my entire history into one, two or three blogs.  And as there are other topics I still wish to blog about (some historical and others not), I may interrupt this series from time to time with other more timely and more serious subjects.  But every now and then, we all need to have a little fun.  And this exercise is purely for fun, sort of.

Please feel free to offer your own thoughts, observations, etc, in the comment section.  It is always enjoyable to have a friendly discussion regarding these things.  All I would ask is keep the tone civil and respectful, and I am sure we will have lots of fun.  So without further introduction, here is the beginning of my alternative history of the American Presidency.

An Alternative History of the American Presidents:

In my history, the first 15 presidents remain unchanged as in the original timeline (abbreviated OT for the rest of these posts).  If you don’t remember their names, you can look them up on any list of presidents.

1860-Republican Abraham Lincoln is elected president in a four man race, defeating two Democratic candidates and one candidate from the short-lived Constitutional Union Party.  As a result, the Southern States secede, and the War between the States begins the same as in the OT.

*The Key Point of Divergence in my timeline occurs in 1865 when Lincoln survives his assassination. John Wilkes Booth’s bullet grazes his head, taking off part of his ear instead of actually penetrating the skull.  The wound is serious, but he will survive and in the weeks following the shooting, his popularity will reach an all time high, even among some Southerners.

(Key note: Medically speaking, it was not possible for Lincoln to have survived the wound he received in the OT.  The shot to the back of his head was mortal from the moment the bullet penetrated his skull because it passed through on the left side his brain and was lodged behind his left eye.  Most likely, Lincoln never knew what hit him, and passed out almost immediately.  The possibility of his survival is almost nil. But such details would ruin our story, so by a miracle, Lincoln survives, and American history is forever changed.)

What sort of impact did Lincoln’s survival of his assassination attempt have upon his own life, the Republican Party, and the course of American history?

That question is what this alternative history is all about.

Next time: Lincoln’s second term and his growing political alienation from the Republican Party; and how the Republican Party became a bitter minority party for most of the nineteenth century.