May 8, 2013
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States (1945-1953). As a senator in the early 1940s, he gained national prominence as head of the wartime Truman Committee, which exposed waste, fraud and corruption in wartime contracts. Truman was the final running mate of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944 and succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when Roosevelt died after months of declining health. Under Truman, the U.S. successfully concluded World War II through the controversial use of atomic bombs against Japan (at Hiroshima and Nagasaki). In the aftermath of the conflict, tensions with the Soviet Union increased, marking the start of the Cold War. Truman was born on this day in 1884.
Note: This is 8-bit U.S. president #16 of 43.
October 1, 2012
Jimmy Carter was the 39th President of the United States (1977-1981). During Carter’s term as President, the Department of Energy and the Department of Education were created. The end of his presidential tenure was marked by numerous disasters: the 1979-1981 Iran hostage crisis, the 1979 energy crisis, the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, and the eruption of Mount St. Helens. Carter lost the 1980 election to Ronald Reagan. In 2002, he received the Nobel Peace Prize. Carter was born on this day in 1924.
Note: This is 8-bit U.S. president #15 of 43.
August 24, 2012
Lyndon B. Johnson was the 36th President of the United States. John F. Kennedy asked him to be his running mate for the 1960 presidential election. Johnson succeeded to the presidency following the assassination of JFK in 1963 and was elected President in 1964. He was responsible for Great Society social reforms designed to eliminate poverty and racial injustice. Johnson also escalated U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, which stimulated a large antiwar movement.
Note: This is 8-bit U.S. president #14 of 43.
June 12, 2012
George H. W. Bush was the 41st President of the United States. During his presidency, the U.S. started the Persian Gulf War (codenamed Operation Desert Storm) in 1991 response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. Bush was born on this day in 1924. His eldest son served as the 43rd President of the United States.
Note: This is 8-bit U.S. president #13 of 43.
April 24, 2012
The 37th President of the United States and the only president to resign the office, due to the Watergate scandal. Although Nixon initially escalated the war in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970, he subsequently ended U.S. involvement in 1973. He was responsible for the deaths of 70,000 Vietnamese and Cambodian civilians during the Vietnam War. He died on April 22, 1994.
Note: This is 8-bit U.S. president #12 of 43.
March 28, 2012
The 34th President of the United States and a five-star general in the United States Army. During World War II, he served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe. As president, he was a moderate conservative who continued New Deal agencies, expanded Social Security and launched the Interstate Highway System. He died on this day in 1969.
Note: This is 8-bit U.S. president #11 of 43.
February 6, 2012
The 40th President of the United States. Born on this day in 1911, Reagan is famous for his “Reaganomics” policies and for escalating the Cold War with an arms race, including his vision of Star Wars technology. As president, he survived an assassination attempt, took a hard line against labor unions and declared more militant policies in the War on Drugs. He also bombed Libya, suffered the Iran-Contra affair and ultimately ended the Cold War.
Note: This is 8-bit U.S. president #10 of 43.
December 14, 2011
The dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He was the unanimous choice to serve as the first President of the United States (1789-1797). Washington is universally regarded as the “Father of his Country.” He died on this day in 1799.
Note: This completes my 8-bit Mount Rushmore series. So far, I have drawn nine of the 43 U.S. presidents.
October 27, 2011
The 26th President of the United States (1901-1909). He is noted for his “cowboy” persona. Roosevelt declined to run for re-election in 1908. After leaving office, he embarked on a safari to Africa and a tour of Europe. Roosevelt’s lasting popular legacy is the teddy bear, named after him following an incident on a hunting trip. He was born on this day in 1858.
October 14, 2011
The 32nd President of the United States (1933-1945) and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the U.S. during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war. FDR was the only American president elected to more than two terms. Despite being bound to a wheelchair, the extent of his paralytic illness was kept from public view.
October 12, 2011
The principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the third President of the United States. He was an influential Founding Father, and an exponent of Jeffersonian democracy. On behalf of the United States, he acquired the Louisiana Territory (which included 15 current U.S. states and two Canadian provinces) from Napoleon in 1803.
August 19, 2011
The 42nd President of the United States. Born on this day in 1946, Clinton presided over the longest period of peacetime economic expansion in U.S. history. He won a second term, but was impeached (though ultimately acquitted) in a scandal involving a White House intern. He left office with the highest approval rating of any U.S. president since World War II.
May 29, 2011
The 35th President of the United States. JFK was born on this day in 1917. He was assassinated in 1963 as he traveled in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas. I remain fascinated by the many conspiracy theories.
April 29, 2011
The 44th President of the United States. Hope and change, or whatever.
April 28, 2011
The 43rd President of the United States. I can almost say that now without gritting my teeth.
April 21, 2011
The 16th President of the United States. He was assassinated at Ford’s Theater in 1861. In addition, this Holopaw song is great.
