harpandsong2 posted: " On the day before I had to report back to school this year, I accomplished a goal I set about five years ago. I was starting my first year teaching 1st grade and I was impressed that the history curriculum included memorizing the names of a"
On the day before I had to report back to school this year, I accomplished a goal I set about five years ago. I was starting my first year teaching 1st grade and I was impressed that the history curriculum included memorizing the names of all the presidents (in a song). Of course, the presidency and American history are complex. I don't teach a lot about the individual presidents (we touch on George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln), but I love that learning the presidents' names gives the students a kind of timeline which they can build on and unpack as they learn more. I thought it would be fun to give the students a few interesting snippets about each president, just to whet their appetite and to answer their curious questions.
I set two goals that year. First, I wanted to read a biography of each American president. I've read over a dozen now (about two a year), but I still have a long way to go on this goal. I have learned so much about our history and American culture through the reading I have done. Secondly, I wanted to visit the presidential homes of all the presidents from my state. Virginia is called the mother of presidents, with eight born here (more than any other state). Six of their homes are still standing and open for tours.
I had visited Thomas Jefferson's Monticello in high school (and have visited his summer home Poplar Forest multiple times with my students). Over the last few years, I visited James Monroe's Highland, George Washington's Mount Vernon, and James Madison's Montpelier.
This month, I planned a day trip to visit the last two homes on my list, Berkley Plantation (birthplace of William Henry Harrison, the 9th president) and Sherwood Forest (home of John Tyler, the 10th president). My mom and sister were gracious enough to come along and keep me company.
Berkley Plantation
We visited Berkley Plantation first. Being the birthplace of a president was only one of the major claims to fame of this location. It was the site of the first official thanksgiving (an annual day of thanksgiving to God was called for by the captain of an arriving ship in 1619, a year before Plymouth settlement). It was also the home of Benjamin Harrison V (grandfather to President William Harrison), a signer of the Declaration of Independence and one of our founding fathers. All ten of the first ten presidents were hosted at Berkley. Later, during the Civil War, the hauntingly beautiful song Taps was composed and first performed on the property in 1862.
Berkley grounds
There is little to say about President William Harrison's term, yet he holds three records. First, he gave the longest inauguration speech (approximately an hour and forty-five minutes). Second, he was president for the shortest tenure (only about thirty days). Third, he was the first president to die in office. He caught pneumonia and typhoid while standing in the bad weather giving his unusually long speech and died shortly after. The irony is overwhelming!
Sherwood Forest (only about fifteen minutes away) was the next stop. John Tyler had been somewhat arbitrarily chosen as a running mate for William Harrison for a job that was seen as of little importance, being vice president. After the inauguration of Harrison, Tyler actually traveled back to his home, presumably unneeded. When President Harrison died, there was great discussion and disagreement about what should happen next. Was Vice President Tyler actually the new president? Or was he still the vice president performing necessary duties of the president? Would he be the acting president until the end of Harrison's scheduled term or only until a new emergency election could be held?
Sherwood Forest
Not everybody liked it, but John Tyler acted as the president and fulfilled the term that belonged to Harrison. For which, Henry Clay booted him out of the Whig party which ruined his chances of reelection. After being the president, he was given (in "white elephant" manner) the position of overseer of roads. He took the position and greatly improved the roads in his county.
A few fun facts about John Tyler. He was the most prolific president with fifteen children (from two different wives). His youngest child was born when he was 70 years old. He has one grandson still living today who resides part time at Sherwood!
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