This is part of a series called Presidential Free Association. I post the first word that comes to mind when I hear the name of the president, along with a brief explanation.

Cancer

During his second term as president, Grover Cleveland underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in his upper jaw. The surgery was kept secret from the public so as to not effect support for Cleveland’s monetary policy. The country was in the midst of a panic, and switching to the silver standard was a topic of fierce debate. Cleveland supported the gold standard, but his Vice President wanted to switch to the silver standard; Cleveland worried that if his illness was made public, Congress would shift its support away from him. 

Coincidently, when the secret surgery came to light, Cleveland and his supporters maintained that he had just had a very large tooth pulled…and of course it was necessary to pull this tooth on a steamer in the middle of the ocean with the utmost secrecy.

This is part of a series called Presidential Free Association. I post the first word that comes to mind when I hear the name of the president, along with a brief explanation.

This is part of a series called Presidential Free Association. I post the first word that comes to mind when I hear the name of the president, along with a brief explanation.

Best known as the first president to be assassinated, James Garfield had a strange, but admittedly cool, talent. In addition to being ambidextrous, he was also multilingual. He reportedly could write in Latin in one hand and Greek in the other simultaneously, which is all the more impressive considering they are written in two different alphabets. 

This is part of a series called Presidential Free Association. I post the first word that comes to mind when I hear the name of the president, along with a brief explanation.

Sober

Rutherford B. Hayes served wine at his inaugural ball, but was upset by the drunken behavior of the guests. He and his wife Lucy, who was a strong proponent of the prohibition movement, forbade alcohol at White House parties. They used the savings gained by not purchasing alcohol to throw even more lavish parties, but mostly people just missed the drinking.

This is part of a series called Presidential Free Association. I post the first word that comes to mind when I hear the name of the president, along with a brief explanation.

Tailor

Andrew Johnson was our only president to also be a trained tailor. He sewed his own suits and dressed neatly and fashionably. If his skills with a needle had allowed him to sew the Union back together, perhaps he wouldn’t have been impeached. 

This is part of a series called Presidential Free Association. I post the first word that comes to mind when I hear the name of the president along with a brief explanation.

Strong

As a young man, Lincoln earned a reputation as a rail splitter of considerable physical strength. Later, he became known as a lawyer of good-humored intelligence and a politician with unusual moral fiber. He survived the loss of his son during his presidency and battled what modern scholars diagnose as clinical depression. He held a nation together through its most difficult period, and it was his strength that helped him do it. 

This is part of a series called Presidential Free Association. I post the first word that comes to mind when I think of a president along with a brief explanation.

Disgraceful

James Buchanan is the only president from my home state of Pennsylvania and also the only president to remain a lifelong bachelor. He is also widely considered the worst president of all time. His presidency coincided with increasing partisan fervor, fatal violence in Kansas, the Panic of 1857, the Dred Scott decision, and the secession of the southern states from the union after the 1860 election. His infamy can most fairly be chalked up to the inability to be Abraham Lincoln, but it doesn’t change the fact that his presidency was pretty disgraceful. 

This is part of a series called Presidential Free Association. I post the first word that comes to mind when I hear the name of the president, along with a brief explanation.

Photogenic

Franklin Pierce was elected in 1852 basically for being inoffensive. He was a northerner who was pro-slavery and generally unknown. Perhaps most importantly, he was a good-looking man. He is still considered one of our most handsome presidents, which is impressive given that he lived in a time without modern standards of hygiene. However, his dashing good looks couldn’t help him repair an increasingly divided nation, and he is generally considered to be one of our worst presidents. Handsome is as handsome does.