Chester Alan Arthur is almost always ranked in the top three least known of the presidents. That is somewhat understandable, after all, he was more of a political organizer than a politician. No one ever expected Chester Alan Arthur to be President of the United States. He had never held any elected office prior to the election of 1880. He had ( Read more... )

On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being best), how would you grade Ronald Reagan, based on the performance of his duties as President? You can go to this link to vote. In 1980, Americans were fed up with a lot of things. Mortgage interest rates were in the 20% range, but the overall high interest rates weren't slowing down the rate of inflation. American ( Read more... )

In 1980, Americans were fed up with a lot of things. Mortgage interest rates were in the 20% range, but the overall high interest rates weren't slowing down the rate of inflation. American prestige and morale was at a low point as the hostages remained in Iran. Gas prices had jumped, and long lines at the gas pumps were symptomatic of an apparent " ( Read more... )

Wow, where did the year go? It seemed just like yesterday that we were welcoming in the new year and now it's time to click over the annual odometer again. Lets take a look at potus_geeks 2018 in the rearview mirror.

( A Look Back at 2018 in Potus Geeks )

The American Presidents Series is a collection of brief (usually around 150 pages) essay-style biographies of each of the Presidents of the United States, published by Times Books. This month's release of the volume on the life of William Howard Taft by GWU law professor Jeffrey Rosen completes the chain from Washington to Bush 43 and marks a ( Read more... )

As the sand runs out on 2017, many people have expressed a sentiment that I too have been feeling: where did the year go? Yes, I know, as we age time seems to go faster, but 2017 seemed like the Flash compared to past years. As in past years, it is once again time to look back on the year that was.

( Looking back on Potus Geeks 2017 )

The American Presidents Series is a collection of brief (usually around 150 pages) essay-style biographies of each of the presidents, published by Times Books. What is unique about the volume on the life of James Garfield, the 20th President of the United States, is that the author is a professor of surgery who specializes in writing medical ( Read more... )

2016 was an epic year in Presidential history, with the election of underdog candidate Donald Trump as President, a man who had never held elected or appointed political office or high military rank. It was also the fifth time in history that the winning presidential candidate did not receive the highest totals in the popular vote, and the election ( Read more... )

On July 31, 1875 (141 years ago today) Andrew Johnson, the 17th President of the United States, died at his home in Elizabethton, Tennessee at the age of 66. He died from a stroke.


( Read more... )

There are a number of Presidents for whom the biographers have not been pounding down the doors of publishers with manuscripts about. That's not to say that these chief executives don't have interesting lives to tell about. It's hard to find an audience of readers for a book about Chester Alan Arthur when nobody knows who he is. But this is potus_geeks and ( Read more... )