William Howard Taft and the Supreme Court Building

Posted on April 7, 2025 by Feather Foster

While two Presidents served in the Legislative Branch post-presidentially (JQ Adams and Andrew Johnson), only one ex-POTUS served in the Judiciary.

Cincinnati Patrician Politician

William Howard Taft (1857-1930) was Cincinnati-born to a prosperous Ohio transplanted family with a strong Republican political pedigree. His father, Alphonso Taft, New England born (Vermont) and education (Amherst/Yale) moved to Cincinnati, where he quickly became one of its leading citizens. He was an able lawyer, jurist and fine administrator, and had served in the Grant Administration in two cabinet positions. 

After his first wife died, he returned to New England to choose another – and one who would be a good stepmother to his young sons. It was a fortuitous move. Louise Torrey was not only a warm and loving stepmother to Charles and Peter, but bore her husband four more children who lived to maturity.

Young William Howard Taft

William Howard was the eldest of those children. He was a big baby – more than 10-pounds at birth – and turned into a big boy-to-man who never weighted less than 200 pounds since he was in high school.

An industrious student, more diligent than brilliant, WHT worked hard for every accomplishment. Continuing a family tradition that stretched through several generations, Big Bill went to Yale, and graduated second in his class. He returned to Cincinnati, studied law locally, and at a young age, had the seminal opportunity to be appointed a judge. It was a match made in heaven. Perhaps it was the one-size-fit-all robes that cover a large man. He loved the law, had the temperament for the judiciary, and never changed his mind about it. It was his one true love.

The young judge

When he married Helen (Nellie) Herron, he found himself happily wed to an ambitious woman – with a roadmap. It was she who helped plot and plann WHT’s career moves, and ran alongside him like a border collie. Only she wanted a slightly different path. Washington DC, definitely, but with the best address in town: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Her husband had only one real ambition: a seat on the Supreme Court – a mile down the road. 

Taft loved the slow, deliberate pace of life on the bench. He loved the placid, scholarly company of fellow judges.

But he was waylaid by the potent lobby of Nellie Taft, and the Taft family: father, mother, the brothers, etc. And even his good buddy Theodore Roosevelt. They won. 

The formidable Nellie.
The CJ and his brothers.

The Supreme Court

The Supreme Court, the Judicial branch of the US Government, was laid out clearly in the Constitution`along with its counterparts, the Executive Branch (President), and Legislative branch (Congress). However, for more than 125 years, the Supreme Court was essentially homeless, a boarder in the Capitol Building, where they bunked with the Legislative Branch since the War of 1812. They were even shifted around a few times within the few rooms they were permitted to occupy.

When William Howard Taft was President, (the only job he ever disliked, so he said) he never denied that his first true love was the Court. He also proposed legislation to create a Supreme Court Building, specifically for the Court. They deserved something more august and distinguished. The third branch of US Government must have a visual prominence of its own. To his dismay, it didn’t happen for a variety of reasons; money not being insignificant.

To add private insult to injury, in his one term, President Taft appointed FOUR justices, including the Chief Justice. It was like handing his dream job over to others.

The Interim Years

A fifty-six-year-“young” ex-President (then and now), is in an odd place. The prestige and responsibilities of the Presidency soars above any “job” that might come up. And even if one is open to subsequent employment, it must be suitably prestigious and responsible.

Wealthy Charles P. Taft

Taft’s post-presidential finances were precarious. He was never a wealthy man. There was no presidential pension until Harry Truman forty years later. For decades his income was supplemented by his very wealthy older half-brother Charles Phelps Taft. Nellie Taft had suffered a serious stroke, and required close medical care. And WHT still had a young son to educate.

His beloved Yale came to his rescue with an offer of a chair of law. This was perfect! He was eminently suited professionally, and loved Yale. Besides, education is a highly respectable occupation for a former President. And for Taft, Yale made his class assignments light, to afford him the time for the political speaking invitations that came along.

The Happy Man and the Sad Part

Taft and Warren Harding were both Ohioans, and had been acquainted for decades, and it was no secret that WHT’s dearest wish was a seat on the Court. In 1921, Chief Justice Edward White died, and President Harding was happy to propose Taft to fill the seat. Congress ratified the appointment immediately – and unanimously!

Taft was now in a position to now press fervently for a separate building for the judiciary – and this time he was successful – sort of. It took the better part of the decade for the decision to be made. The wheels of government grind slowly, and arguably, none slower than the justice department. 

He was tireless in promoting the building.

It was not until 1929 that Congress approved funding, a building site (close to the Capitol) and an architectural firm to design and build the impressive, neo-classical building, in keeping with its “neighbors.”

The Supreme Court

By that time, the Chief Justice was well past seventy, and his health which had been failing for years, was now declining rapidly. In early 1930, the Chief Justice tearfully resigned – only weeks before he succumbed. 

He never lived to lay the Building’s cornerstone (1932) or see its completion (1935). But he likely took great joy in being the steadfast champion to provide his beloved Supreme Court with a home of its own.

Sources:

Andreson, Judith Icke- William Howard Taft: An Intimate History – W.W. Norton, 1981

Barker, Charles E. – With President Taft in the White House – A. Kroch and Son, 1947

Ross, Ishbel – An American Family: The Tafts – 1964, World Publishing

https://www.taft.edu/william-howard-taft-president-chief-justice

https://millercenter.org/president/taft/family-life

https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/buildinghistory.aspx

Posted in A POTUS-FLOTUS Blog, Nifty History People, William Howard Taft | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Julia Grant II: The Princess Cantacuzene

Posted on March 24, 2025 by Feather Foster

The USA was never created for although its trappings and perks always piqued interest…

The Great General: The Future Generations

Ulysses S. Grant was as far from “royal” as possible. His middle-class Ohio parents were hardworking folks. So were the antecedents of Miss Julia Dent, the middle-class Missouri woman he married. 

They had four children: Frederick Dent Grant, U.S. Grant Jr. (Buck), Ellen (Nellie) Grant Sartoris, and Jesse Root Grant II. None of them grew up in anything remotely resembling social or financial prominence. That came later.

The Civil War, of course, was the making of USG. He had a West Point military education and commendable service during the War With Mexico, but fared poorly during his long absence from his beloved wife and two babies. He resigned his commission in semi-disgrace, returned to his family, and struggled for a decade. 

The only thing successful about Ulysses S. Grant was his marriage. 

Grant and family

General Grant & Eldest Son:

The onset of the Civil War found Grant in Galena, IL, as a menial clerk at one of his father’s tanneries: a job he hated. But when the Civil War began in earnest, the Union Army was in dire need of trained and experienced officers. Ex-Captain Grant duly submitted re-enlistment paperwork, and within a short time was promoted to Colonel. 

His son Fred was eleven. At his mother’s insistence (heaven only knows why!), he accompanied his father on-and-off during the next four years. The soldiers loved him!

So it was no surprise when a few years later, Fred chose a West Point education himself. By that time, Ulysses S. Grant, victorious General and Hero, was President of the United States. 

Fred Grant and the gorgeous Ida Honore

In 1874, Fred met and married Miss Ida Honore, the daughter of a wealthy and prominent Chicago businessman, said to be one of the most beautiful belles in Chicago. They spent the next two years living at the White House, where their daughter, Julia Dent Grant II (1876-1975) was born.

Julia D., Granddaughter

Fred and Ida’s little girl was the only one of President Grant’s grandchildren who had any memory of him; she was nine when he died. 

Little Julia was an adorable child, favoring her beautiful mother Ida. In later life, Julia wrote of fond memories with her illustrious grandpa, sometimes riding with him in his carriage – at breakneck speed. 

A year before Grant’s death, the General was urged to write his war memorials to provide for his family following a huge financial debacle when his business venture went bankrupt, and throat cancer was winning the final battle. Fred Grant (as well as his siblings) were also deeply affected by those losses. For several months, Fred and his family lived with the Senior Grants in Manhattan, while Fred assisted his father with the book.

In her early teens, Julia II accompanied her family to Vienna, where Fred Grant had been appointed Ambassador (modern term) to Austria-Hungary. They stayed for four years, and the radiantly beautiful Julia made her social debut. Not long after they returned to New York, Julia accompanied her wealthy aunt, Mrs. Potter Palmer (née Bertha Honore), one of the most prominent social doyennes in the country, on a tour of Europe. 

Mrs. Potter Palmer

In Rome, Julia met Prince Mikhail Cantacuzène (Can-ta-cu-zini), also known as Count Speransky, then military attaché to the Russian embassy. The name and title was a complicated lineage via Russia and via Ukraine (where he was born). Some titles had been awarded generations earlier for services rendered; some were legitimate relationships with the Romanov family. Nevertheless, Michael (as he would be called) and Julia fell in love, courted briefly, and were married in Newport, RI in 1899, at one of Mrs. Potter Palmer’s homes. 

The beautiful princess.

Julia in the Revolution

Shortly after their wedding, the Prince and Princess began a good life of bedecked and bejeweled parties, ping-ponging between St. Petersburg, Russia, where Michael was attached to the Imperial Court, and his huge hereditary estates in Ukraine, where their three children were born. 

The Bride – and grandma – and others.

By the start of World War I, Prince Cantacuzène was a General with commendable service in the Russian Army – including wounds. Julia and the children remained in St. Petersburg. But following the violence, fear and anarchy of the Russian Revolution in 1917, the Speransky-Cantacuzènes escaped St. Petersburg (with the clothes on their backs, and Julia’s jewels sewn into her undergarments) first to Finland, and then to the USA, where they made their permanent home. 

Their children were very good looking!

They lived briefly in Washington DC, hoping to support a counter-revolution, but after the assassination of the Imperial Romanov family, they decided to remain in America, and settled in Sarasota, FL, where Aunt Bertha Palmer had many business interests. Prince Mikhail needed to get a job and found a new career in a bank.

Princess Julia: Channeling Grandpa…

Ulysses S. Grant came late to his literary “career,” and had never fancied himself a writer. Nevertheless, Grant’s Memoirs was a mega-success, unquestionably the finest of the first-hand memorials of the Civil War, and a military standard even today. Now, in her middle years, his granddaughter, Princess Cantacuzène (or Countess Speransky) began writing some of her first-person observations of the Russian Revolution for various magazines, and subsequently elaborated as stand-alone books, published by Scribner’s in the 1920s.

They may not have had the legs of Grant’s Memoirs, but they were/are substantive.

Unfortunately, her marriage was failing, and she finally divorced Speransky in 1934, on grounds that he was “no longer interested in fulfilling his marital obligations.” 

She remained primarily in DC, lunching frequently at the Sulgrave Club which she helped establish, reinstated her American citizenship – and name – now calling herself Julia Cantacuzène Grant. She relinquished the noble titles and never remarried.

She also lived to be nearly one hundred!

Sources: 

Flood, Charles Bracelen – Grant’s Final Victory:  Ulysses S. Grant’s Heroic Last Year – 2012, DaCapo

Englund, Will – March 1917: On the Brink of War and Revolution – W.W. Norton & Co., 2017

https://millercenter.org/president/grant/family-life

https://libguides.css.edu/usgrant/home

https://www.granthomepage.com/intcantacuzene.htm

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bertha-Honore-Palmer

The Princess and Her Vases
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Lincoln: Lessons of the First Campaign

Posted on March 3, 2025 by Feather Foster
Spoiler alert: He lost.

Abe Lincoln of New Salem

When Abraham Lincoln was 21, he left the family fold to set out on his own. He jobbed-on with a riverboat to New Orleans, and was exposed to multiple sights and sounds and experiences he had never known before. On the return trip he stopped in the little village of New Salem IL, along the Sangamon River, and got off.  He thought it might be a nice place to settle – at least for a while.

Illustration of AL, the self-taught.

Within six months, he had become a “regular.” He had engaged in a wrestling fight with the bullies of Clary Grove, and made them his friends. He had also spend some weeks in the local militia “fighting” in the Black Hawk War. Only there was no fighting. 

He also started giving serious thought to his future – particularly once he had become acquainted with John Todd Stuart, a Springfield attorney, en route to becoming a Congressman. It was Stuart who sniffed some substance in the tall and lanky fellow, and suggested that law might provide him a decent profession. He offered to lend him some law books.

That sounded pretty good to the young Lincoln, who had nothing in his life to commend him: no family position or wealth, no education. Not even a real trade. Law seemed promising. Lawyers seemed to be “in charge” of everything. And they didn’t wear overalls or jean pants. 

But since New Salem boasted only a couple of dozen families, there was no call for a local lawyer. Politics, however, was full of lawyers – and opportunities. He decided to run for office.

Recreation of course, but you get the idea.

His choice of running for the State Legislature was surprising. Usually a young candidate chooses a local (i.e. winnable) office – like the town constable or court clerk.

Some historians surmise that Lincoln was in a hurry. Seeking/winning/maintaining a local office would keep him tethered to the town. He might have to wait – perhaps for four years – before a higher elected position became available.

The 1832 Campaign

Henry Clay

Lincoln was 23. Andrew Jackson, a Democrat, was seeking a second term as President. His opponent was Henry Clay, also a Democrat – but on the other side of the philosophical fence, and with other items on his agenda. The Whigs didn’t become a political “entity” for another eight years! 

Andrew Jackson

Lincoln liked Clay. He agreed with the national need for canals and roads and bridges. And easier access to money. And Clay had made his home in Kentucky long before Lincoln was born! 

The New Salem “district” was widespread, covering several thousand families. The large area had four seats assigned in the Illinois legislature. The young new candidate filed the proper papers, sought the best advice about how to proceed… and proceeded according to what was the conventional path. He wrote a lengthy “platform,” outlining his position on several issues, sent letters to the area newspapers, and made speeches wherever he could.

He lost. So did Henry Clay.

But it wasn’t as bad as it seemed. There had been thirteen candidates for those four seats, and Lincoln-the-unknown came in eighth. Not bad for a kid’s first start.

But the gratifying thing – and the one that mattered most to him – was that he won 90% of the votes in his village. The folks who knew him liked him enough to vote for him. And Lincoln, young man and older man, was a very likable person. 

Lessons Learned

If one loses – whether it is an election, or a job, or even financially – if lessons can be identified and learned, it is no longer a loss: It is an education.

Lincoln realized that he needed to become known in his district – not just on paper. He needed to make the rounds. To talk to the voters and get to known them. He figured if they knew him, they might like him. And trust him to represent their interests.

So for the next two years until the next election, Lincoln managed the town’s general store, served as the village postmaster (which provided a huge amount of information via the various newspapers that were received), and traveled around a much wider area. And continued to read law from the books John Todd Stuart had provided. 

He offered no platform. He espoused no political party. He may have realized the old political axiom even then, that “all politics is local.” And country-folks were mostly interested in the needs of their immediate surroundings. 

He shook a lot of hands. Went to their picnics or the local fair. Shook more hands and talked about the weather or the distance it was from New Salem, or the price of potatoes. General stuff. It is said that he once saw some fellows in the field bringing in a crop of wheat. Rather than talking politics “at” them, he offered to help bring in the sheaves! He made more friends, and they all voted for him. 

There were thirteen candidates for the FOUR seats once again. But this time, a 25-year-old Abraham Lincoln placed SECOND. He easily won a seat in the Illinois State Legislature.

He needed to buy a second-hand suit. 

Life-Lessons Learned

Lincoln once said that when his Black Hawk War company “voted” him captain, it was his most gratifying election.

The sweetest election.

He always counted the regard and good will of those who knew him as one of the most important and pleasurable components of his life.

A decade later, when he “rode the circuit” through Illinois, he seldom returned to Springfield on the weekends. It may have been more to his political advantage to meet and greet, and share a meal – and a couple of good stories – with his fellows.

He had learned early on that the common touch of his personality was perhaps his most important asset. It was valuable and sincere. And it never failed him.

Sources: 

Donald, David – Lincoln – Simon & Schuster, 1995

Schenkman, Richard – Presidential Ambition – Harper Collins, 1999

https://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jala/2629860.0040.204/–lincoln-s-new-salem-revisited?rgn=main;view=fulltext

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/LegislativeMoments/moments08RS/24_web_leg_moments.htm

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/lincoln-in-the-illinois-state-legislature.htm

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The Scandals of President Grant

Posted on February 24, 2025 by Feather Foster

Fallout from association could be traced to Adam’s and Eve’s friendship with a snake.

The Honest Ulysses

Hiram Ulysses Grant (1822-1885) was a mild mannered fellow, soft spoken, honest, and perhaps a bit naive in some regard. He had a middle-class upbringing in Ohio, surrounded by a domineering father, silent mother, and five younger siblings. At seventeen, Ulysses (who never used the name “Hiram”) was sent to West Point, where the Ulysses-part was well known, and the middle initial (“S”) was erroneously included due to his mother’s maiden name (Simpson). His “U.S.” initials, were likened to “Uncle Sam,” and his classmates usually called him Sam for the rest of his life. Except when they called him General. 

The iconic General Grant

He was a middle-of-the-class student, noted only for his exceptional horsemanship. 

Upon graduating, he served capably in the US Army for a decade, married, had four children, and fared poorly as a civilian. The Civil War rescued him. The Union Army needed trained, experienced officers. Once he had reenlisted, he was promoted fairly rapidly, each time proving his military worth via dogged leadership, ingenious strategies, and the ability to get along with underlings and superiors alike – including President Lincoln, who promoted him to the highest rank in the army. A little good luck helped. 

But General Grant was never wealthy, and proved to be a poor businessman all his life. With no luck in business at all.

The Honest Man of the Hour

By the end of the Civil War, Grant was the Victor of Vicksburg, the Butcher of the Battlefield and the Hero of Appomattox, pretty much in that order. The “Butcher” part was quickly forgotten amid the end of the hostilities, the assassination of Lincoln and the rancorous and disastrous presidency of Andrew Johnson, who got along with nobody. 

The unpopular Johnson

More and more citizens, veterans and politicians now looked to General Grant for leadership. He was an honest man. He readily admitted he knew very little (and cared very little) about politics. He was always honest, even while accepting the huge amounts of gifts from grateful admirers (with value ranging between boxes of cigars to horses and carriages), claiming that to refuse would be ungracious.

By the end of the Johnson Administration, General Grant was the most admired man in the country, and a shoo-in for the Presidency. While the Southern States didn’t cast many votes for him, they grudgingly liked him. He had always treated them fairly.

And as an honest man, USG was a loyal man. Loyal to the country, loyal to the Republicans who befriended him, and loyal to his military “band of brothers.” He therefore expected his “team” to be loyal to him.

The Naive President

There are some fine historians and biographers who suggest that the General was accustomed to making decisions himself, rather than utilizing collective counsel. In some ways it worked successfully; he planned his strategies and tactics carefully. In politics, however, it was disastrous. Politicians everywhere have huge egos that demand attention, respect and credit. From the start, Grant chose his cabinet without regard to the soft, all-important value that political expertise can provide. The political world was stunned by his mishmash of cabinet nominations.

Within months, several of these appointments were terminated. 

The Open Door of Corruption

It was not Grant’s door that was open to corruption. General Grant was always an honest man. The “open door” was the door of opportunity for graft, bribery, malfeasance, finagling and out-and-out-theft that followed the overflow huge wealth after the Civil War. Great inventions were inundating the patent office daily. Great fortunes were being made and finding their way into the pockets of creative scoundrels. And President Grant was involved-ish, by association. Some of the implicated parties were very close to him – personally!

First out of the box was via Abel Corbin, his new brother-in-law. Corbin was a widower who had recently married Grants sister Virginia. “Jennie” was in her middle thirties, and the Grant family was likely grateful for her happiness. Taking advantage of the relationship, Corbin became acquainted with Jay Gould and James Fisk, who engineered a scheme to “corner the gold market.” In effect, they would buy “cheap,” drive the price to a dizzying height, sell it at a huge profit, and get out before it tumbled. Once USG was apprised of these shenanigans, he countered the scheme, but not before the Black Friday of 1869, which ushered in a serious nationwide recession.

Then the President’s private secretary Orville Babcock, a young West Pointer and valued aide to General Grant, became involved with a Whiskey Ring, which diverted taxes placed on spirits into private pockets, including his own. It was complicated, and ongoing for several years before it was discovered. Grant liked Babcock, and defended him rigorously, including a lengthy written deposition in his behalf. 

Orville Babcock

Four cabinet secretaries were also connected in financial machinations. 

Interior Secretary Columbus Delano (a far-distant relative of FDR) resigned after his son was implicated in hundreds of fraudulent land grants.

Treasury Secretary (one of many) William Richardson was forced to resign due to involvement with a private contractor profiteering from delinquent federal tax collection.

War Secretary William Belknap resigned due to Indian trading post kickback schemes – manipulated by both his wives! His first wife had concocted the scheme, and her sister (the second wife!) continued it.

Navy Secretary George Robeson received more than a quarter-million dollars plus a house from a supplier’s kickbacks.

There were five federal judges, a Minister to Great Britain, and several high-level customs officers implicated in bribery and chicanery.

And both Grant’s Vice Presidents (Schuyler Colfax, first term and Henry Wilson, second term) were implicated in the shady Credit Mobilier scandal!

There was a new scandal every week! President Grant didn’t know who to trust any more. Not even himself. 

There were resignations, impeachment procedures, fines levied and reputations ruined. But very few went to jail.

Sources:

Chernow, Ron – Grant – Penguin Press, 2017

Schenkman, Richard – Presidential Ambition – Harper Collins, 1999

White, Ronald C. – American Ulysses: A Life of Ulysses S. Grant – Random House, 2016

https://millercenter.org/president/grant/life-before-the-presidency

https://www.whitehousehistory.org/bios/ulysses-s-grant

https://www.history.com/news/ulysses-s-grant-president-accomplishments-scandals-15th-amendment

Posted in A POTUS-FLOTUS Blog, American Civil War, Nifty History People, Ulysses S. Grant | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Sad and Tragic Tale of Kate Chase Sprague

Posted on February 10, 2025 by Feather Foster
According to the Ancient Greek dramatists, tragedy requires a fall from great height.

The Tragedy of the Father

Salmon Portland Chase (1808-73), was New Hampshire born. Only nine when his father died, his mother was left with ten children and meager resources, so young Salmon was raised by relatives in Ohio who provided him with a fine education. That included admission to Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, where he was Phi Beta Kappa. 

Salmon P. Chase

Upon graduation, he read law, did well, and returned to Ohio, settling in the Cincinnati area. Considered good looking, smart and gregarious, he married three times, but alas for poor Mr. Chase, all three brides died before they reached thirty-five. During those short lived marriages, he also fathered six children, and alas again, only two lived to maturity. Four died in infancy.

Salmon Chase likely gave up on matrimony, although he was known to escort an attractive woman from time to time.

The Glorious Kate

Catherine Jane Chase (1840-1899) was born to the second Mrs. Chase, who died when Kate was five. Perhaps grieving the loss of two young wives, and needing a mother for his daughter, he married again.

Kate was a headstrong girl, destined to grow up tall, slim, and very pretty. And smart as a whip. Unsurprisingly, she did not get on with her new stepmother – and baby sister. To ease tensions, Chase enrolled Kate in a fashionable (and expensive) finishing school in New York City where she thrived. The sophistication, culture and opportunities of cosmopolitan New York appealed to her. She practically inhaled its snobbishness. Between her good looks and good smarts, she insisted on the very best of everything, and her father, growing in stature and wealth, was happy to indulge his elder daughter.

By the time she was sixteen, Kate’s stepmother had died. Her father, wafting and wobbling between being a Democrat and a Free-Soiler, had recently become a member of the newly emerging Republican Party, en route to the Governorship of Ohio. He had also developed an unrelenting ambition to become President.

Young Kate Chase

Kate Chase returned home. She was now old enough to assume the role she was trained for.

The Lady, The Role and The Image

When Salmon Chase became Ohio’s Governor, Kate was in the position she was born to fill. She had learned her finishing school lessons well, and was an accomplished hostess from the start. She was also what could be termed 19th century “arm candy.” Her father was proud to escort the beauteous Kate, and equally proud to let her charm the important men who came to his table. While she could be outspoken and opinionated, the men liked her – mostly for her beauty, but she was also very interesting in table conversation.

Salmon Chase and his daughters.

On her part, Kate had developed (or perhaps was born with) the politician’s gift for remembering names and faces, and those tidbits of information that make guests feel important. And she loved sharing her “interesting insights” with her father, who understood their value.

Kate and the Civil War

Salmon P. Chase did not receive the Republican nomination for President in 1860, much to his dismay, and eternal belief that he would have been a better choice than Abraham Lincoln. But as Lincoln’s Secretary of the Treasury, he rented a grand mansion in Washington and installed his charming 20-year-old daughter as his hostess. She was a huge hit with everyone – except Mrs. Lincoln, who immediately saw through the finishing school “ploys” of position. After all, Mary Lincoln went to a finishing school, too. 

William Sprague, the young Rhode Island Governor and scion to a manufacturing fortune, had enlisted in the Union Army, was immediately made a Colonel, and came to Washington, and was enchanted (maybe) by the beautiful Miss Chase. Short, no Adonis, and masking a dissolute and abusive nature, he wooed Kate. She, perhaps, found him more attractive when he stood on his wallet. The Chases needed financing for her father’s future presidential ambitions, and Kate had ambitions of her own. If Papa was President, she would be de facto First Lady. 

William and Kate Sprague

The Spragues married in 1863. It was a splashy bash, with the cream of everyone in Washington in attendance, except for Mrs. Lincoln, who couldn’t stand the bride and couldn’t force the smile. The groom presented Kate with a jeweled tiara worth $50,000.

A Mismatched Misery

It was a horrible marriage, despite the infusion of money. Sprague was unfaithful, a chronic alcoholic, and not averse to abusive behavior. Or speculation and illegal profiteering. Kate was happy to spend his money, and despite their four children, was not averse to breaking her own marriage vows. 

Roscoe Conkling

A decade later, living mostly apart, she began an affair with the flamboyant and also-married NY Senator Roscoe Conkling, whose presidential ambitions matched her father, now Chief Justice and long-in-the-tooth. The Sprague-Conkling scandals made the newspapers. Sprague eventually imprisoned her in their house, but she escaped (through a window) and filed for divorce in 1882. It was messy, and he refused to support her. 

The Great Fall

Kate was broke, except for her “personal belongings,” which she periodically sold to make ends meet. She mortgaged the mansion left to her by her father. Her only son, dissolute and snarly like his father, committed suicide. One of her daughters was mentally handicapped. Her other daughters left home. She became reclusive, grateful that some old, wealthy friends paid off her mortgages to ease the burdens. 

For the last decade of her life, shortened by Bright’s Disease, then always fatal, the proud Kate Chase, a queen-sans-throne, sold the butter and eggs and vegetables from her property door-to-door to eke out a living – and support her handicapped daughter. 

The older Kate Chase Sprague

When she died, only her three daughters attended her funeral. 

Sources:

Goodwin, Doris Kearns – Team of Rivals – Simon & Schuster, 2015

Ross, Ishbel – Proud Kate: Portrait of an Ambitious Woman – Harper, 1953

https://guides.loc.gov/this-month-in-business-history/january/salmon-p-chase

https://www.mrlincolnswhitehouse.org/residents-visitors/visitors-from-congress/visitors-congress-william-sprague-1830-1915/index.html

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/stalwarts-half-breeds-and-political-assassination.htm

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Boutwell: A Book Review

Posted on January 28, 2025 by Feather Foster

According to author Jeffrey Boutwell (a distant collateral descendant), George Sewall Boutwell was an “important public figure hiding in plain sight.” His life was long (1818-1905), and filled with an equally long list of political and governmental accomplishments. According to his publicists, he was one of the most consequential 19th century Americans that nobody ever heard of.

BOUTWELL: Radical Republican and Champion of Democracy by Jeffrey Boutwell

George Boutwell was indeed a litany of Boy Scout virtues: truly good and decent, honest, diligent, hard-working, loyal, kind-hearted and unwavering in his concern for the downtrodden.

The long decades of George Boutwell’s maturity coincide with monumental changes in the country itself. Not only his lifelong passion for abolition and racial equality, but land growth, the Civil War, social turmoil, economic booms and busts, and the mechanics of government leadership. And money. 

Boutwell began his career early. Born and raised on a Massachusetts farm, he worked and clerked, read law (but did not formally engage in its practice for many years), and discovered politics at a very early age. He was a Democratic Massachusetts Governor when he was thirty, a Republican by forty, and seldom without political office, either appointed or elected, for the remainder of his life. He was among New England long-ago political heavyweights, like Charles Sumner, Henry Wilson and Ben Butler, now covered in history’s dust. 

He was pleasantly acquainted with newly elected President Abraham Lincoln, who offered him the position as Commissioner of Internal Revenue, which alone is reason to banish anyone to obscurity! Money administrators are coma-inducing. And George Boutwell was by and large, a diligent, bean-counting money-fellow.

He was also a staunch, sincere abolitionist and defender of the civil rights and economic well-being of former slaves. His passion for social justice was consistent. By the end of the Civil War and the turmoil of Reconstruction, Boutwell was an unwavering Radical Republican, having been elected to Congress during the Andrew Johnson administration. He held a leadership position second only to Pennsylvania Congressman Thaddeus Stevens. 

Boutwell was at the epicenter of managing the Johnson impeachment proceedings, even though he realized that the stated formal charges were flimsy, and the real cause was that the political differences between the implacable and vengeful Radicals and the bigoted and equally implacable Johnson were otherwise insurmountable. Impeachment failed by a single vote.

During the Johnson Administration, Boutwell became close to General Ulysses S. Grant, a man he admired enormously. It was President Grant who appointed the Massachusetts politician as his Secretary of the Treasury, another thankless position, given the non-stop money driven scandals and abuses that saturated Grant’s two terms. Interestingly enough, neither Grant nor Boutwell were ever personally dishonest. But Grant was loyal to a fault – to his friends. And so was Boutwell. He was a pall bearer when the Great General died a decade after he left office.  

Later in his long career of public service, elected to various positions of importance, Boutwell favored civil service reforms, opposed imperialism, and would qualify as a bona fide liberal “something-or-other” today. His views were generally independent and balanced, and always for the benefit of the people in general, and those who needed it most, specifically. And invariably, his positions were usually sensible, fair and with judgement.

Which, of course, prompts the question… “Why has nobody ever heard of him?” 

It has become very popular for historians (related or not) to resurrect long-ago secondary or supporting players, and whip them into a frenzy of importance. And importance, given time, ebbs and flows. And, in the absence of serious personal accomplishments-with-legs, so to speak, biographers turn to life-and-times scenarios to present their subject as a part of the whole. This is fair – and a good thing. Backup singers are important too.

For a man of George Boutwell’s long life in public service, his paper trail was full of paper but thin, and more resume than diary. It reflects precious little of the man himself. This is no fault of Jeff Boutwell’s excellent biography. The author is careful, and obviously well trained to report the life and time facts diligently researched and documented. That part is substantive and welcome. Alas George himself only provides activities: elections, campaigns, votes, political issues – not the stuff of “life.” There is no animation. We have no inkling whether or not his marriage was happy or rancorous. It is barely mentioned. His daughter provides some nice-but-predictable observations on the times they lived in. There is little mention of “hard times overcome,” or challenges that elevated his soul. There are no records of serious rivalries or enmities. His political “confrontations” were barely scuffles. But then again, the age he lived in, for all its divisiveness and rancor, was generally polite. And of course, a person’s privacy was guarded – and respected.

For all his accomplishments, the je ne sais quois we call charisma is lacking. Ol’ George could not wave his hat in the air and raise an army in his wake like an Andrew Jackson. Nor could he rouse a crowd with stirring phrases like a Lincoln or Winston Churchill. Even Boutwell’s friends (and he had many!) considered him a little boring.

But not everyone can be John Wayne. Supporting players are important. They even win well-deserved awards.

Kudos to author Boutwell for his a great service as a writer, family-member and historian in examining a long-ago supporting actor: a man well regarded by his peers, and who served his fellow-man and country honestly, capably and unstintingly. And for a long time. Balanced and with good judgment. An endangered species, in an age when the best of us refrain from coming forward.

In today’s fractious litany of woes, as the song goes (ish)… “Mister we could use a man like George S. Boutwell again.”

Boutwell, Jeffrey, George S. Boutwell: Radical Republican and Champion of Democracy – W.W. Norton, 2025

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1324074264

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1324074267

Posted in Abraham Lincoln, American Civil War, Andrew Johnson, Nifty History People, Recommended Reading, Ulysses S. Grant | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Chester Alan Arthur’s Deadly Secret

Posted on January 20, 2025 by Feather Foster
When Chet Arthur became President, few people knew anything about him.

The Private Chester Alan Arthur

Most of our Presidents were unquestionably ambitious for the office. Some more than others. But Chester Alan Arthur (1829-86), Vermont-born and upstate New York raised, was never interested in elected office.

His ambitions lay in getting a good education, which he did at Union College, and being actively engaged in a thriving law practice. Which he also did. After reading law, he moved to Manhattan, where he made his home. CAA loved The Big Apple, which in turn seemed to return the love. The rural fellow developed a cosmopolitan style and sophisticated taste that would have been unheard of in rural upstate.

Handsome Chet

His acquired poise and natural good looks (he was quite the dude) won the heart of Ellen Herndon, a Virginia belle, whose father was a prominent naval commander. In 1856, they married, but the issues-cum-violence of the pre-Civil War made practically everything political across the country.

The Mentors

When CAA moved to NYC, he quickly found opportunities to grow as an attorney. He had a commanding presence, was a fair speaker, and his Phi Beta Kappa membership all helped. But most of all, he displayed uncommon diligence and attention to details. 

His first opportunity came as a young member of the Erastus D. Culver law firm, and in a relatively short time, was made a partner. The cases were varied, and afforded Arthur the balance of both business and social issues, including important decisions regarding the rights of Negroes and former slaves. It drew the attention of Edwin Morgan, New York’s Republican Governor. He was favorably impressed with the young attorney and kept a close eye on his career.

As the Civil War became reality, President Abraham Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteer troops. New York, as the most populous state, was naturally expected to contribute heavily to that number, which it did. Since these volunteer soldiers needed to be housed, clothed, supplied, fed, transported and a litany of other essentials, someone had to manage the details of those actions. When Gov. Morgan offered Chet Arthur the position as Quartermaster General of New York, it was ideal. He provided an essential service “in uniform” – but as a non-combatant. He would not have to potentially face his in-laws on the battlefield.

His integrity and diligence were apparent to others, and Arthur became acquainted with the man who would become his most important mentor: Congressman (and later Senator) Roscoe Conkling, a man his own age, who was quickly becoming the powerful political “boss” of New York’s Republican Party patronage largesse. CAA was, of course, a Republican, but while he enjoyed the mechanics of politics, he had no interest in elective office. Appointed office was different.

Close friend Roscoe Conkling

Twice Tainted

Politics is a social camaraderie as well as a political one. The affable Chet made friends easily enough, and as a well-paid attorney-on-the-rise, duly participated in the various Delmonico dinners and luncheons and meetings and fund-raising events the GOP was hosting, especially once the Civil War ended – and money was to be made by the wagonloads! He got to know everyone throughout the state and was considered one of the GOP’s most effective administrators. 

Lucrative opportunities and political appointments were forthcoming, including the Collector of New York’s Port Authority in the 1870s. The collector was earning as much as $50,000/year, due to the perks and percentages of the office. 

But while there was never indication or proof that CAA committed any wrongdoing, huge corruption (bribes, kickbacks, no-show jobs, etc.) at the Port took place on his watch. In 1877, President Rutherford B. Hayes summarily dismissed him. His head was on the block and his reputation was tainted.

But in a fluke of fate, political machinations and party infighting, CAA became the Vice Presidential nominee in 1880. In a squeaker of an election, James Garfield and Chet Arthur won.

Only four months into his Presidency, James Garfield was assassinated, and died from his wounds ten weeks later. Charles Guiteau, the certifiable lunatic assassin, declared for all to hear, that he was the Stalwart of the Stalwarts, “and now Arthur will be president.” Once again, with no evidence of wrongdoing, CAA was again tainted and suspect. His spurious “associations” with corruption would linger long.

The assassin

Bright’s Disease

Few people today, other than medical professionals, are familiar with Bright’s Disease, first described by Dr. Richard Bright in the 1830s. It was an eponymous umbrella-term for various kidney ailments, then always fatal. Even today, the now-isolated elements of Bright’s Disease are serious and require regular care. But they are treatable!

Chester Alan Arthur wasn’t diagnosed with the condition until 1882 – after he became President following the assassination of James Garfield. The likelihood that the disease had been incubating internally is not farfetched. There are indications that its symptoms (similar) may have been misdiagnosed as malaria.

Making the most of his leisure.

Within a short time however, symptoms of his disease had manifested: sluggishness, lethargy, and general malaise. His periodic fishing trips provided some respite from the cares of state – and its terminal prognosis. Of course, since his accession to the Presidency was so horribly traumatic to the country, Arthur wanted to keep his health condition secret. If he died in office, it would creat a constitutional crisis. There was no vice president! He was also extremely private by nature. None of his friends or family were aware of his underlying illness.

He went through all the appropriate motions and ceremonies, and actually performed some notable services to the country, albeit alienating many of his former political bedfellows. Despite his health, he had hoped to receive the nomination for reelection in 1884, but it was not to be. He would not have survived anyway. Chet Arthur died in 1886, only weeks after his 57th birthday.

Sources:

Barzman, Sol – Madmen & Geniuses: The Vice-Presidents of the United States – Follett Publishing, 1974

Greenberger, Scott S. – The Unexpected President: The Life and Times of Chester Alan Arthur, De Capo Press, 2017

https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/a-birthday-look-at-chester-alan-arthur-a-forgotten-president

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5736392/#:~:text=Arthur

https://lib.arizona.edu/hsl/materials/collections/secret-illness/arthur

Posted in A POTUS-FLOTUS Blog, Chester Arthur, James Garfield, Rutherford Hayes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

A Home for the Great Lady & Me

Posted on January 6, 2025 by Feather Foster

Ulysses S. Grant was President when the country celebrated its centennial.

The Birthday Bash

A centennial celebration of anything is a momentous occasion. Therefore, when the USA was poised to celebrate its 100th anniversary, President Ulysses S. Grant was delighted to acknowledge, attend and lend his blessing to all who wanted to participate.

President Grant was happy to attend.

Philadelphia: 1776 and 1876

Of course, Philadelphia was the chosen “chief celebrant.” It was Philadelphia where a convention of the best and brightest among the thirteen colonies met to discuss grievances with its Mother Country, Great Britain. It was Philadelphia where the concept of complete independence was first openly supported by a congress of representatives. It was Philadelphia where the Declaration of Independence was conceived and created. And signed. 

Philadelphia was the country’s acknowledged birthplace as a nation. In 1776, it was the largest city in America, with a population between 30 and 40,000 inhabitants. The thirteen colonies collectively had perhaps 2.5 million.

And Philadelphia was also the country’s most cosmopolitan city, and home of the country’s most illustrious citizen, Benjamin Franklin. 

By the Civil War, Philadelphia had grown in population to more than 550,000 but had dropped to second place – eclipsed by New York City, with more than 800,000. (Over a million, if one included the third largest city, Brooklyn.) But it’s reputation for sophistication was intact. It was considered the home of the finest attorneys, medical men and prominent persons in the country. 

Philly planned a great event in 1876 to celebrate, modeled after London’s Great Exhibition in 1851. Every city/state/country in the world was invited to host a pavilion to show off its finest inventions and industrial progress. Dozens of representative cities/states/countries participated in the 6-month “do.”

The Birthday Present

Perhaps the most heralded gift for the United States’ Centennial was a monumental statue (more than 150 feet tall) commemorating its freedom. Nicknamed “Lady Liberty” (among other sobriquets), it rivaled ancient statuary in size. At least, it was purported to do so in 1876. It was a gift from France, in the works for some time, but it hadn’t been completed yet. Sculptor Frederic Bartholdi, and engineer Gustave Eiffel (neither of whom were household words at the time) were still hard at work. 

The torch was ready in 1876.
Sculptor Barholdi

But the torch was finished, shipped and sent to Philadelphia, and displayed prominently. The mere size of the torch “she” was to hold, gave its viewers a fair idea of the enormity of the statue itself. Thousands came to admire it!

Engineer Eiffel

It would be ten years before the Statue of Liberty was completed, and the “country” had decided where she would live. Bedloe’s Island, (now renamed Liberty Island) was a small, unused parcel of land at the entrance to the Hudson River and deemed the perfect location. The growing influx of tired and poor immigrants, which continued to grow for the next thirty years, (and long after) would be welcomed by Lady Liberty as their ship sailed into New York Harbor.

But while France provided the beloved statue, how to “present” her, was our responsibility. She required a pedestal of some kind to raise her prominence and hold the weight. It was also an expensive proposition. Early contributions began to dwindle.

The Pulitzer Connection

Joseph Pulitzer, a Hungarian immigrant, had risen in fame and wealth as the publisher of the New York World, one of the city’s foremost newspapers. It was he who conceived the idea to encourage public funding to complete the pedestal – and in particular, to involve not only citizens across the country, but the children: they needed to be part of this historic event.

Publisher Pulitzer

To encourage participation among school children, he promised that the name of every person who contributed to the pedestal – no matter how small a donation – would be published in his newspaper. 

His efforts raised more than $100,000. 

In 1886, ten years into America’s second century as a nation, the pedestal was complete, rising around 70 feet – about half the size of “Miss Liberty”. The statue itself came in pieces requiring more than 200 packing crates. Finally, the copper plates and rivets were engineered together, ready to proclaim “Liberty Enlightening the World.” Her given name, by the way.

On October 28, 1886, President Grover Cleveland attended the opening ceremonies, which included NYC’s first ticker tape parade.

Interestingly enough, the general public was not permitted on the island itself. That was reserved specifically for dignitaries – hundreds of them. The huddled (and otherwise) masses came later.

Shareholders

If schoolchildren were to be included in the fundraising effort, schools themselves had to be assiduously encouraged to participate. 

In the tired and poor tenements of New York’s Lower East Side, three little girls, between five and nine, lived with their parents (and younger babies). They were in school, tasked with bringing “a penny” for the pedestal the next day. Their teachers hoped everyone would participate – not the least part being, to have their name in the paper.

The children came running home from school that day, demanding that their Ma give them a penny. Of course, she wanted to give a penny for all three. (They could “share.”) No, insisted the children – each one needed a penny! And they would each get their names in the newspaper! 

That was three cents! A lot of money – especially since their father only earned $6 or maybe $7 a week. Three cents could buy six potatoes, or a bag of onions. Or a packet of needles and a spool of thread.

But the three cents was found and given.

My grandmother and her older sisters all told me that story. Nearly a century and a half later, I have a three-cent legacy stake in the Statue of Liberty. God bless her.

Sources: 

https://hsp.org/philadelphia-centennial-exhibition

\https://www.statueofliberty.org/statue-of-liberty/overview-history/#:~:text=Construction%20of%20the%20Statue%20was,pedestal%2C%20and%20construction%20got%20underway.

https://strongsenseofplace.com/2021/09/14/josef-pulitzer-and-the-crowdfunding-campaign-that-saved-the-statue-of-liberty/

Posted in A POTUS-FLOTUS Blog, Grover Cleveland, Nifty History People, Ulysses S. Grant | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

FDR’s Thanksgiving Muddle

Posted on December 31, 2024 by Feather Foster

Thanksgiving has been a beloved national holiday since Abraham Lincoln’s time.

Even Earlier…

Of course, American Thanksgiving days have been celebrated in various forms since the earliest colonists first arrived. The Pilgrims have co-opted it of course, but there are some intrepid Virginians who insists that they were the first – by a whole year. No matter…

Between 1620 (or so) and 1863, Thanksgiving days were widely declared and enjoyed, but on a “state” or “local” level. But there is no doubt that Abraham Lincoln was the one who gave Thanksgiving Day its federal status. 

AL made it official.

He was also the one who gave it its place on the calendar: the last Thursday in November.

Into the 20th Century

With the end of the Civil War, the nation enjoyed a rush of invention and industry previously unheard of. Railroads now crisscrossed the country, compressing months of travel into days. Telegraphs, cables and telephones connected people in minutes. The elevator and electric light enabled a workforce more comfort – and the ability for businesses to keep longer hours if they chose. And by the end of the 19th century, a newfangled contraption called a horseless carriage was poised to change the world even more than the railroad. 

With fortunes to be made, new immigrants to pluck the gold-paved streets, and more and more items available to market, the great mercantile department store establishments were prospering across the country. Wanamaker’s. Macy’s. Gimbel’s. Marshall Field’s. Hudson’s.

The big parade

And in the 1870s, a talented newspaper artist was about to change Christmas itself. The various European legends of St. Nicholas, was popularized in the 18-teens by Clement Moore’s poem A Visit From Saint Nicholas. Now Thomas Nast turned the “little elf” into the beloved Santa Claus we know today. Red suit, portly physique, and a merry ho-ho-ho. The people were crazy about Santa. The emerging and incredibly powerful “advertising” trade loved him even more. 

Ho-Ho-Ho!

By the end of the First World War and the start of the booming 1920s, the compression of time, space, and distances, plus prosperity morphed Thanksgiving and New Year’s into “The Holidays.”

With more money in the pockets of the average citizen, no time or effort was wasted promoting “The Holidays.” By the mid-1920s, Thanksgiving Day parades were sponsored by the Great Merchants. The bands played, batons were twirled, enormous balloons were flown… and each Department Store added its own brand of hoopla. But every one of those parades ended with Santa Claus… kicking off The Holiday Season. Shop early. Spend money. Ho-ho-ho.

A Calendar Problem…

The Depression worried everyone!

Thanksgiving Day has no official date, like the 4th of July. Or New Year’s Day on January 1. As the last Thursday in November, the actual dates vary from year to year. And every so often, the month of November has FIVE Thursdays. 

In 1939, November had FIVE Thursdays.

It had been a bad year, and worsening. The Great Depression had not ended. The economy was still troublesome. Herr Hitler had been swallowing up large chunks of Europe, and in September, marched into Poland. That was the last straw for several Western European countries. The Second World War was officially “on.” Meanwhile, in the USA, while precious few liked the German dictator, who was making everyone extremely nervous, huge swaths of the population were ranting about keeping us neutral and not getting involved in another foreign war (with valid reasons). Another huge swath was ranting that the country cannot stand still and let ex-corporal Schickelgruber dictate his brutal world order (also valid reasons).

Needless to say, the Great Merchants were worried about “the holiday season,” and feared that their biggest opportunity to show even a small profit would be lost by “losing a week” of Xmas shopping sales. 

As a trade organization, they asked President Roosevelt to move Thanksgiving Day back a week, allowing more time for shopping and boosting the economy. It seemed reasonable and the POTUS was amenable. But it created another huge problem:

Confusion and Planning

The small town merchants across the country were panicked. Their “success” of seasonal shopping depended on overflow from the Big Merchants – and they could never match the discounts and specials the big guys peddled. The FDR Library has an impassioned letter from the President of Adams’ Hats, a retailer with branches in nearly every mid-sized town in the country. He feared that with extra shopping time, the average citizens would not be as likely to turn to the mom-and-pop stores of middle America.

Then there were the calendar printers. It was a big business – and they planned their projects years in advance. The average citizens planned their time off well in advance. Companies large and small planned their employees’ holiday schedules well in advance. And the parties…

Schools and colleges were in turmoil. They planned their vacation schedules – and even more importantly, their athletic programs and schedules, years in advance! 

Add to the mix the “traditionalists” who wanted Thanksgiving as it had been for nearly eighty years. It had become a very political hot potato.

So in 1939, there were basically two Thanksgiving Days. It was left to the individual states to decide which date they wanted and act accordingly. The upshot was that 22 states opted for the earlier date, 23 for the later date, and three states actually sanctioned two Thanksgiving Days. Pick your own.

Later On

In 1940, the muddle over Thanksgiving Day was still muddled and embattled. And divided. And the world situation was getting no better. But in 1941, the consensus was that Thanksgiving Day would be the FOURTH Thursday in November. Period. Enough time to shop. Enough time for the calendar makers to go to press. Enough time for the colleges to fix their football schedules. And small businesses seemed to be chugging along.

But only a couple of weeks after Thanksgiving ‘41, the world changed for Americans. No one was an isolationist anymore.

Sources: 

Davis, Kenneth – FDR: The War President 1940-43 – Random House, 2000

Freidel, Frank – A Rendezvous With Destiny – Little, Brown & Co, 1990

Shafer, Ronald G. – Breaking News All Over Again: The History Behind Today’s Headlines, 2022

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/civil-war-cartoonist-created-modern-image-santa-claus-union-propaganda-180971074/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/11/24/franskgiving-fdr-moved-thanksgiving/

Posted in A POTUS-FLOTUS Blog, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Archie Roosevelt’s Christmas Surprise

Posted on December 16, 2024 by Feather Foster
Archie Roosevelt is the boy on TR’s knee.

Christmas a la Roosevelt

Few White House families were as robust and open for fun as Theodore Roosevelt, his wife, six children and a slew of pets. Nevertheless, very few stories, articles or even anecdotes are about how the TR’s celebrated Christmas. How come?

TR, (1858-1919) as he was called by the time he was President, was born and raised in a wealthy New York patrician family. He was Dutch by ancestry, and while Edith Carow Roosevelt, his second wife, was raised Episcopalian, Theodore had been raised in the Dutch Reformed Church. While he was always ecumenical in his religious practices, he basically adhered to the tenets of his upbringing. At home in Oyster Bay, Long Island with fewer options, he attended the Episcopal Church. In Washington, which had become a major city, populated by all sorts by 1900, he usually went to Dutch Reformed services. Nobody seemed to mind. 

But the Roosevelts were Victorians. The old Queen had died only months before TR became President in 1901, and traditions die hard. Christmas was still considered a) a religious holiday, and b) a family holiday. The major festivities were broad: people attended services at the venue of their choice, and usually feasted and exchanged gifts within their family circles. After that, what was put in stockings, served for breakfast, and generally celebrated within the household was up to the individuals.

Queen Victoria gave her name to an age.

To Tree or Not To Tree

Christmas trees, usually some kind of evergreen, decorated with candles, fruit, nuts, pine cones, ribbons and shiny objects and even small presents attached to the boughs, had been popular for nearly a half century by 1900. But not necessarily within the house. And not in every house. And not espoused by all people. And that included the White House and its President in 1901.

The White House documented its first Christmas tree during the Pierce Administration, but it was exclusively in the family quarters. It is said that President Franklin Pierce thought it might cheer his wife, still despondent over the death of their eleven year old son earlier in the year.

The next official Christmas tree “documentation” was nearly forty years later – during Benjamin Harrison’s Administration. And that too, was in the family quarters. It was a private celebration.

President Theodore Roosevelt, it was said, had a dilemma regarding a Christmas tree. He was, and had been since childhood, a ardent amateur natural scientist and believer in conservation.

TR said “No tree.”

Legend had it that he frowned on having a tree cut down merely to decorate the premises and please his children. They had never had one at home, and besides, the POTUS assured his six boisterous children, there would be gifts and festivities aplenty for everyone. No tree. 

Archie Roosevelt

Archie Bulloch Roosevelt (1894-1979) was TR’s 5th child and 4th son. He was seven years old when his father became President, and in short shrift, he and his younger brother Quentin became the leaders of what would be known as The White House Gang – a healthy, rowdy bunch of small boys recruited among their neighborhood schoolmates. They had the general run of the White House, under the watchful eye of Edith Roosevelt, and the hearty approval of their Gangster-in-Chief, President Theodore himself. They were all fine little fellows, but full of mischief and fun, as only single-digit-aged boys can be. 

Archie and Algonquin

In 1902, Archie was eight, and while perhaps the “quietest” of all the Roosevelt offspring, he was also the most willing to disobey – maybe. This Christmas, he decided to disobey on a grand scale. He wanted a Christmas tree. Seeing the one at church, or even the large decorated tree at their Auntie Bye’s (Theodore’s sister) was no longer sufficient. He was determined to take matters into his own hands. There would be a Christmas tree at the White House – even if it had to be secretly sneaked in. 

Fortunately he had some help among the White House staff. It took weeks of conspiracy. First, a suitable location to place/hide the tree. With the aid of one of the stewards and a carpenter, an empty storage closet was found – and shored up. Then an appropriate two-foot high tree was found and smuggled in. 

He personally decorated it – and arranged presents for his parents, his sisters Alice and Ethel, his brothers Ted, Kermit and Quentin – and their pets: Jack the dog, Tom Quartz the kitten, and Algonquin, Archie’s beloved pony. And on Christmas morning, Archie insisted that the entire family traipse over to the closet hiding-place to see the pint-sized tree he arranged for all of them to enjoy.

Courtesy of the W.H. Historical Assn.

According to Robert Lincoln O’Brien, a Washington journalist who wrote an article about it for the Ladies’ Home Journal in 1903, “No one was more surprised than the President himself!”

The Legends of the the Roosevelt Tree

Of course it was a great story – and the LHJ article was reprinted and retold many times over the next few years.

One of the most persistent legends was that TR’s good friend and Chief Forester Gifford Pinchot personally assured the President that forests would not be decimated by Christmas tree traditions. He also insisted that people should opt for the large, older trees: this way it makes room for new tree growth. Whether Pinchot was involved or not, the practice of reforestation – planting trees to replace those that are cut – is now an established way of maintaining our beloved forests. Having our cake and eating it.

Cut a big tree – it leaves room for new growth. – Pinchot

Another legend claims that the TR family was large and encumbered with too much stuff…making it impractical to add an indoor tree to the mix. Maybe.

Another legend (probably true), is that an “Archie” Christmas Tree became an established tradition during the rest of the Roosevelt Administration. And perhaps beyond.

Sources: 

Hagedorn, Hermann- The Roosevelt Family of Sagamore Hill – Macmillan, 1954

Looker, Earle – The White House Gang – Amereon Ltd., 1940

https://foresthistory.org/president-bans-Christmas-tree/

https://www.whitehousehistory.org/photos/christmas-cheer-president-roosevelts-surprise-tree

https://foresthistory.org/president-bans-christmas-tree/

Posted in A POTUS-FLOTUS Blog, Benjamin Harrison, Franklin Pierce, Nifty History People, Theodore Roosevelt | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments