Who is this?

I wanted to end the week with something fun - who is this a picture of?

Hint #1: This is a presidential mother

Hint #2: She taught her son to play piano

Answer: Martha Young Truman, Harry Truman's mother

Picture Source: http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/fastfacts/familytree/hstmom.htm

A White House Auction?

The Garfields had made plans to do some renovations to the White House, but they weren't there long enough to make the adjustments they'd planned. Instead, Chester Arthur did a major redecoration of the White House during his tenure, including auctioning off furnishings!

Chester Arthur, did not occupy the White House until the house was redecorated to suit his tastes. The rooms were cleared of all damaged and unfashionable furniture. Twenty-four wagonloads of furniture and thirty barrels of old china were sent to auction. Arthur commissioned Associated Artists, of which Louis Comfort Tiffany was a partner, to makeover the house. No furniture was commissioned but stained glass, lighting fixtures, mantels, over mantel mirrors and decorative painting using gold and silver leaf in the style of the Aesthetic Movement were designed for the rooms.

This represents a very different attitude on White House furnishing that we are used today, as in 1961 Congress made it illegal to get rid of White House artifacts (this is part of Mrs. Kennedy's renovation efforts).

The White House Historical Association has a nice timeline of the White House decorative arts if you are interested in more on this topic.

JQA Defending Jackson?

We all know about the very messy election of 1824 and then the very dirty elcetion of 1828 between Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams. What I found really interesting was this bit from Adams' tenure as Secretary of State, where Adams vehemently (and against the rest of Cabinet and President) defends Jacksons' actions in Florida and probably saved his career.

Treaty of Adams-Onis (1819) and Transcontinental Treaty (1821)
Negotiations over Florida began in earnest with the mission of Don Luis de Onis to Washington in 1815 to meet Secretary of State James Monroe. The issue was not resolved until Monroe was president and John Quincy Adams his Secretary of State. Although U.S. Spanish relations were strained over suspicions of American support for the independence struggles of Spanish-American colonies, the situation became critical when General Andrew Jackson seized the Spanish forts at Pensacola and St. Marks in his 1818 authorized raid against Seminoles and escaped slaves whom were viewed as a threat to Georgia. Jackson executed two British citizens on charges of inciting the Indians and runaways. Monroe's government seriously considered denouncing Jackson's actions, but Adams defended the Jackson citing the necessity to restrain the Indians and escaped slaves since the Spanish failed to do so. Adams also sensed that Jackson's Seminole campaign was popular with Americans and it strengthened his diplomatic hand with Spain.

Adams used the Jackson's military action to present Spain with a demand to either control the inhabitants of East Florida or cede it to the United States. Minister Onis and Secretary Adams reached an agreement whereby Spain ceded East Florida to the United States and renounced all claim to West Florida. Spain received no compensation, but the United States agreed to assume liability for $5 million in damage done by American citizens who rebelled against Spain. Under the Onis-Adams Treaty of 1819 (also called the Transcontinental Treaty and ratified in 1821) the United States and Spain defined the western limits of the Louisiana Purchase and Spain surrendered its claims to the Pacific Northwest. In return, the United States recognized Spanish sovereignty over Texas.

I found this very interesting to note, in light of the future rivlary between these two men. In addition, I find Adams' work as Secretary of State to be some of his best. I'm actually currently reading a biography of John Quincy (hence the idea for this post...and, yes, I will be posting a book review whenever I finish it) and he even considered appointing Jackson as his Secretary of War after the 1824 election, but quickly realized that would not be a smart decision.

New History Carnival

The newest history carnival is now up.

Barbara Bush: Presidential Matriarch

I finally got through this book last week and I have to say it took me quite awhile and I really think that’s because it is not, in my opinion, well executed. Barbara Bush: Presidential Matriarch by Myra Gutin is part of the Modern First Ladies Series. I’ve reviewed several others from this series already as I’m slowly reading my way through the entire series.

I was looking forward to this one as I find Barbara Bush to be very interesting. I think my biggest complaint is the lack of personal detail in the book. The author interviewed Mrs. Bush, but that isn’t what shows in this book. Instead, it seems like it is all based on her speeches. I definitely did not need to know how many speeches she gave each year and what they were on…I can look that up if I really wanted to know for some reason! While some of her speeches and how she gave and wrote speeches needed to be covered, it seemed that her tenure in DC was just speech after speech when you read this book. I get that Mrs. Bush was busy – I didn’t need a rehash of every speech she gave to tell me that. I do find it odd (and I’ve noticed this before this book) that Mrs. Bush always says “George Bush” rather than George or my husband….it just is strange to me.

I also came away with the opinion that the author doesn’t like George H.W. Bush and thinks he just used Barbara as a political tool. Let’s be honest – almost all politicians do that! And they are a couple from the 40s and 50s – they fit that mold. You could almost “hear” the author disapproving at times. The author herself brings this up in what I think is a great quote in the last chapter (Conclusions) of the book, “First ladies are rarely representative of the time they serve in the White House; most are typical of the era of their upbringing. This was the case with Barbara Bush, who seemed to have more in common with Bess Truman than with any other first lady of the twentieth century.” (pg. 164)

Something that did come through clearly – and I think validly – is Mrs. Bush’s dislike of the media. I very much enjoyed the quip as the Bushes were leaving Washington:

Mrs. Bush recalled that on Bill Clinton’s Inauguration Day, she and the former president were preparing to fly home to Houston when reporters complained to her that a press pool would not be permitted to accompany the Bushes. She writes, “That amused me, and I told them that any of them who voted for George should speak up…The silence was deafening.” (pg. 144)

Since much of this book seemed to be written based on journalistic sources (including most of the new interviews), this did come through well. I also think the best chapters were the early ones – on the Bushes’ early life and first beginnings in politics. This is also where I got the most “new” information.

Overall, I really didn’t learn that much new information from this book and felt that it was sadly lacking giving a new, personal, insight to Mrs. Bush. Now I completely understand the limitations of writing on someone who is still alive and therefore many of the sources you want to access are still closed (like Mrs. Bush’s personal diaries), but that also means that there are tons of people out there, who worked with the person in question, that you can talk to. I simply felt that this could have been much more in depth and personal than it was.

While there are some very useful tidbits in the book, I honestly can’t say that I would recommend for someone looking for a biography to read on Barbara Bush and wanted more than simply a reference book.

Jefferson's War Record

This is an interesting article from HNN that talks about Thomas Jefferson's war record. Jefferson, during the Revolution abandoned the governorship of Virginia:
On June 4, 1781, nearly five years after authoring the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson fled Monticello just minutes before the arrival of British troops. His term as governor of Virginia had just expired, and Jefferson declined to continue his service, leaving the state without leadership during some of its darkest days.

In his defense, Jefferson made a blunt admission. With Virginia under invasion by a "powerful army," Jefferson felt he was unprepared by his "life and education for the command of armies." As a result, Jefferson wrote that he "believed it right not to stand in the way of talents better fitted than his own to the circumstances under which the country was placed.”

The article then looks at what the author sees as the lessons that Jefferson took with him from this period. Jefferson wanted a weak executive and tried to avoid using militia at all costs:
Jefferson, of course, wanted a weak executive as governor of Virginia because of his concerns about putting too much power in the hands of a man who might then become a new tyrant. He also had concerns about the power of a standing army. In the early weeks of the invasion, he was reluctant to go too far in calling out militia, which had been subject to false alarms. Some militia men were also concerned about leaving their families and farm undefended, and did not have the proper clothing or arms.


Indeed, when the Continental Army officer Baron von Steuben repeatedly complained about Jefferson's inability to turn out militia and supplies, Jefferson responded weakly: “We can only be answerable for the orders we give and not for their execution. If they are disobeyed from obstinacy of spirit or coercion in the laws, it is not our fault.”

The article then goes on other actions by Jefferson, later as President, that seem to have root in this period as well.