Ten surprising things you didn't know about the American Presidents

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
2/18/2013
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Happy President's Day, America!

It's President's Day and we decided to scour the internet for the most interesting and surprising tidbits we could find on the American Presidents. Here is the top 10 list of most surprising facts about the U.S. presidents.

John F. Kennedy was the only Catholic president in American history.

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - There's a lot of trivia to choose from when studying the presidents, so admittedly, this list is subjective. Still, some of the staff at Catholic Online got together. Here's the list we came up with.

10. Martin Van Buren - As a child, Van Buren spoke Dutch. His parents were native speakers of the language and he was raised speaking Dutch. The fact isn't surprising, considering the history of the time, for the United States was still a new country, widely populated with immigrants from Europe. Today however, a president who was raised speaking a language other than English would probably have to assert his American credentials, given the unfortunate politics of today.

9. James Polk's election promise was not to be reelected. Polk was a powerful president, whose legacy lasts to this day. Most notably, Polk led the US to the war which took from Mexico the entire region that is now the Southwestern United States. Polk said during his first campaign that he would serve only one term. He kept that promise, which was astounding, even for his time. Polk died three weeks after leaving office, dying of cholera.

8. Benjamin Harrison was afraid of electricity. So scared in fact, that although he had electricity installed in the White House, he and his wife refused to touch the switches for fear of electrocution. He is also the first president to have his voice preserved in recording.

7. Andrew Jackson was a stone cold killer. Jackson was a temperamental man who was fond of dueling. During one notable duel, he was shot first, the bullet lodging in his heart. However, he did not go down. Instead, he took careful aim and killed his opponent. Jackson is also responsible for commanding in several battles against native Americans and the infamous resettlement of the Cherokee nation.

6. John Quincy Adams wasn't a 'free love' advocate, but he did enjoy swimming in the Potomac. Daily, at 5 a.m. Oh, and he swam naked. On one occasion his clothes were stolen compelling him to walk naked. He is also said to have owned a pet alligator and kept a massive diary of his daily life from the age of 11.

5. Grover Cleveland was thrilled with the telephone and had the first one installed in the White House. When it rang, he would often answer it personally.

4. James Monroe has an easy election. He ran unopposed, although one renegade member of the electoral college cast a ballot for John Quincy Adams.

3. Gerald Ford was never elected. Not once, not even to the vice presidency. Ford became vice president when he was appointed by Nixon, then became president when Nixon resigned. He never stood for an election, and left office at the end of his term. He was replaced by President Carter.

2. Franklin Pierce was arrested. While president. His offense was for running over a woman with his horse. He was released and the case dismissed for lack of evidence.

1. John F. Kennedy was the only Catholic president in American history. This is notable because the United States has a population of almost 80 million Catholics today, about 25 percent of the population. Even in Kennedy's era, the Catholic vote has been substantial. Despite such powerful influences, Catholics have only seen one president elected to office. All other American presidents have been protestants or of no particular religious identification.

� 2013, Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: presidents day, America, holiday, trivia, top 10

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1 - 7 of 7 Comments

DLL
2 months ago
Catholics in politics give priority to "The Party Platform" over their Holy Catholic Faith. So do members of the Supreme Court and this is why few become President because their faith is not allowed to be a factor for them in the decisions they make because God must always take 2nd place in the world of politics to any political agenda. If this were not so the Catholic Man would have as good a chance of becoming President as anyone else. Only Vice President Biden has a remote chance to become President because he is agenda based in political preferences over his "privately held personal Catholic beliefs". Actually this is not unique because many Priests,Laity and very many Protestants separate their thinking between faith and politics as if the supernatural has no real relationship to natural human events and practices. This is why "mammon" always takes presidency over the service to God. If one chooses to serve God over "mammon" they will not be President of the United States of America,EVER!
Barbara L. Clark
2 months ago
I take objection with your words "Today however, a president who was raised speaking a language other than English would probably have to assert his American credentials, given the unfortunate politics of today." Status as a natural-born citizen of the United States is one of the eligibility requirements established in the United States Constitution for election to the office of President or Vice President. This requirement was intended to protect the nation from foreign influence. Therefore, your reference to "todays politics" is incorrect, misleading and possibly "politically" biased.
abey
2 months ago
But what should be more troubling is to the belief of many of the Presidents calling them selves Deists which is to believe in the existence of God but is not involved in the matters of men, which is Platoism. Where the Bible says not a bird falls without the knowledge of God, ignoring all that Jesus taught & lived as a testimony, to declare the Father, to which it seems the Puritans & the so called founding fathers through their Deists beliefs had no understanding to the definition of the word "Father", which is but to see the present American society having rudderless heads in terms of the basic social structure, Moral calamities to a broken people void of love, all in all a severely broken family, a fatherless one , come according to the very beliefs & to think that a Government can correct is but a delusion,'cause it reflects the very problem itself.
Lyn
2 months ago
JFK, our only "Catholic" president, was a populist womanizer whose political campaigns were heavily financed by (once) illegal alcohol trafficking. His presidency reflects poorly on his faith and has led others (such as Bill Clinton) to rationalize similar behaviors while in public office. Many of the "progressive" movements plaguing our nation (i.e., abortion and birth control) can be traced to the Kennedy family and their cohorts in the post-JFK era. This has led to scandal among our lay leadership and clergy. Better to have no Catholic presidents in the future than to have another like Mr. Kennedy.
DarthJ
2 months ago
JFK was hardly a "Catholic." He publicly denied his faith.
Nick Ables
2 months ago
Ford did stand for election, he was the Republican Nominee in 1976 and lost to Carter. Reagan challenged him for the nomination but came up short.
eithena
2 months ago
11.Barak Obama.famous for abortion.s even said if his daughter got into trouble he would deal with it (his grandchild) nice one

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