With an uncomfortable presidential transition in the offing, lets look at some of the transitions in the past, some of which have also been uncomfortable ones. Take 1932 for example. In that year the United States was in the grip of the Great Depression. It began in the summer of 1929, when the United States economy first went into an economic ( Read more... )

Some people consider Warren Harding to be one of the worst presidents ever. I disagree. True, a lot of "scandals" happened on his watch, not because he was personally dishonest, but because he trusted men who were. And sure, he loved the ladies a little too much, and went offside so much that he made Bill Clinton look like a monk. But Harding still ( Read more... )

In 1928, President Calvin Coolidge decided not to seek re-election. Coolidge became President in August of 1923 upon the death of President Warren Harding. He completed Harding's term and was elected in his own right in 1924. He probably could have won another term, but decided that, having been President for almost 6 years, that was enough.

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Herbert Hoover died on October 20, 1964 (60 years ago today.) His presidency seems like an unfortunate valley in a life otherwise filled mostly with peaks. Histories of the era before Hoover's presidency describe him as a whiz kid, a man with the Midas touch, the energetic genius who could tackle and fix any problem. The post-presidential Hoover is ( Read more... )

In 1940, the Republican Party nominated a candidate who was a wealthy businessman who had never been elected to public office. (Sound familiar?) He was running against a president who was seeking to do something no president had ever done before: win a third term in office.


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In 1932 the United States was in the grip of the Great Depression. It began in the summer of 1929, when the United States economy first went into an economic recession. The country spent two months with a declining GDP, before the Wall Street Crash of October 1929 hit, followed by a major worldwide economic downturn. The market crash was followed ( Read more... )

Warren G. Harding is one of four presidents to die in office of natural causes. Or was he? Conspiracy theorists surmise that Harding was actually murdered and that his murder was covered up. This theory has been promoted by a number of sources, including a disreputable former FBI agent named Gaston Means, who wrote a book about his "investigation" ( Read more... )

Alternate Presidents is a collection of 28 short stories edited by Mike Resnick, speculating on what history might have been like if the outcome of 28 presidential elections would have been different. This anthology was released on February 15, 1992. This book is a delight to read. Resnick, a Hugo Award winning science fiction writer, also ( Read more... )

On August 10, 1874 (150 years ago today) Herbert Clark Hoover, the 31st President of the United States, was born in West Branch, Iowa (where today you can visit the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. It is also where Hoover is laid to rest). Hoover was the first President to be born west of the Mississippi River. He was the son of ( Read more... )

On August 2, 1923 (101 years ago today) Warren Gamaliel Harding, the 29th President of the United States, died in San Francisco while on a west coast tour as President. He was 57 years of age.


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