The Presidents in Quirky Illustrated Verse

By David Holland

Why poke a little fun at America's presidents? Well, why not? Being able to laugh at the nation's leaders is a sign of a free country. And laughter just might help those leaders maintain a modicum of needed humility.

America is currently on its forty-sixth president. A few of them have been presidents of accomplishment and distinction, perhaps most notably George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt. Others were generally successful but were not seriously challenged by the events of their terms. Still others, not so much. This work attempts no rankings but, while acknowledging serious events and conditions, mostly searches for a bit of humor.

The Presidents in Quirky Illustrated Verse summarizes the forty-six US presidents from George Washington to Joe Biden. The summaries are through quirky poetry and even quirkier art. Will the reader emerge with an in-depth knowledge of the forty-six presidents? No, that is a task for Wikipedia. But the reader might acquire a tidbit or so that could be dropped into a conversation and maybe foster an impression of advanced erudition. Hey, that last sentence has a quirky rhyme!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fulton Books, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9781639854721

Book preview

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The Presidents in Quirky Illustrated Verse

David Holland

Copyright © 2022 David Holland

All rights reserved

First Edition

Fulton Books

Meadville, PA

Published by Fulton Books 2022

ISBN 978-1-63985-473-8 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-63985-472-1 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Presidents Chronologically

The Presidents Alphabetically

George Washington

John Adams

Thomas Jefferson

James Madison

James Monroe

John Quincy Adams

Andrew Jackson

Martin Van Buren

William Henry Harrison

John Tyler

James K. Polk

Zachary Taylor

Millard Fillmore

Franklin Pierce

James Buchanan

Abraham Lincoln

Andrew Johnson

Ulysses S. Grant

Rutherford B. Hayes

James A. Garfield

Chester A. Arthur

Grover Cleveland

Benjamin Harrison

Grover Cleveland

William Mckinley

Theodore Roosevelt

William Howard Taft

Woodrow Wilson

Warren G. Harding

Calvin Coolidge

HERBERT HOOVER

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Harry S. Truman

Dwight David Eisenhower

John F. Kennedy

Lyndon B. Johnson

Richard Nixon

GERALD FORD

Jimmy Carter

Ronald Reagan

George H.W. Bush

Bill Clinton

George W. Bush

Barack Obama

Donald J. Trump

Joe Biden

Final Word

About the Illustrator

About the Author

Verses by

To Josie, AJ, Esther, and JJ, as selected in random order.

And in memory of Lucy and Phillip McKenney.

Introduction

Why poke a little fun at America's presidents? Well, why not? Being able to laugh at your leaders is a sign of a free country. And laughter just might help keep those leaders' feet on the ground.

America is currently on its forty-sixth president. A few of them have been presidents of accomplishment and distinction, perhaps most notably George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt. Others were generally successful but were not seriously challenged by the events of their terms. Still others were adequate or, no names please, subpar. Several, again no names, were ill-equipped intellectually, managerially, morally, or all three, to be leaders of a vibrant, diverse, often chaotic nation.

The Presidents in Quirky Illustrated Verse summarizes the, to date, forty-six US presidents. The summaries are through quirky poetry and even quirkier art. Will the reader emerge with an in-depth knowledge of the forty-six presidents? No, that is a task for Wikipedia. But the reader might acquire a tidbit or so that could be dropped into a conversation and maybe foster an impression of advanced erudition. Hey, that last sentence has a quirky rhyme!

The Presidents Chronologically

George Washington, 1789–1797

John Adams, 1797–1801

Thomas Jefferson, 1801–1809

James Madison, 1809–1817

James Monroe, 1817–1825

John