In case you took our deep dive last week into the lives of presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, we owe you the answer key.
Was it George or Abe?
- As president, he once held an ax with his arm fully extended outward to the amazement of the troops he was visiting, none of whom could emulate him despite being much younger. Historians corroborate the tale of Lincoln visiting Civil War soldiers and shocking them with this feat of strength.
- He was an animal lover who kept a cat named Tabby in the White House. Abe Lincoln was known for his compassion for all living things.
- This president almost didn’t get included on Mount Rushmore. Also Lincoln. Mount Rushmore was dedicated to leaders who accelerated westward expansion, which did not really include Lincoln. He was selected for the monument by virtue of having saved the Union.
- He was described as a man who “never judged men by his like, or dislike for them.” As commander in chief, Lincoln was known for promoting people based on their competence and job performance, not whether or not he liked them personally. He gave a cabinet position to Edwin Stanton, a lawyer who had snubbed him earlier in life.
- In wartime this great man said, “It is not a question of whether God is on our side. It is a question of whether we are on his side.” A famous Lincoln quote from the Civil War, made in various contexts.
- Although not a drinker himself, he once defended “habitual drunkards” by saying, “The demon of intemperance seems to have delighted in sucking the blood of genius and of generosity.” Lincoln made this point in an 1842 address on temperance.
- He was buried in a lead-lined coffin, wrapped in tarpaper and covered with asphalt and concrete, reinforced with steel rails, and ten feet under. Lincoln’s son Robert, a director of the Pullman Palace Car Company, insisted he be re-buried in 1897 similarly to the corporate giant George Pullman, who was decidedly unpopular with the labor movement and feared vandalism.
- This president gave a major July 4th speech to Congress about the importance of the Articles of Confederation. No, not Washington. Lincoln spoke to Congress in 1861 addressing Southern states who had seceded, saying they had made a solemn oath dating back to the original “Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union” to stay united.
- His modesty led him to say, “I claim not to control events, but confess that events have controlled me.” Lincoln was famously modest about his accomplishments.
- He was so broke that he had to borrow money to travel to his own inauguration. Now we get to Washington! George Washington borrowed $2,500 to travel from Virginia to New York in 1789. He owned land but didn’t have cash because he hadn’t been paid yet for his war service.
- He came under enemy fire while president. Lincoln, the only sitting president to come under enemy fire, was visiting the troops at the Battle of Fort Stevens when a Confederate sharpshooter took a shot at his famous top hat.
- He said, “In modern wars, the longest purse must chiefly determine events.” True of Washington, although Lincoln also might have thought so. The American Revolution and Civil War cost $160 million and $6 billion, respectively, not including pensions for soldiers. By contrast, the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 cost $15 million.
- He wore a size 13 shoe. This was Washington’s size. Lincoln, known for his large and ungainly feet, actually was a size 14!
- This president is revered by our European allies as the best U.S. president. In the United States, Lincoln is consistently rated the best president. Yet London, Paris and Budapest have statues honoring George Washington. Even Tokyo celebrates the “father of our country” with a statue.
- One of his descendants was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. That would be George Washington, but. . . astonishingly, every U.S. president, including Lincoln and Barack Obama, with the exception of Gerald Ford, is a distant cousin of George Washington, who had no children himself.
- This president was nominated for president because he was from a pivotal state. Both were from key states (Virginia and Illinois) and huge players in the Electoral College at the time of their election.
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