And Other Favorite Facebook Posts
This month marks five years of Plodding Through The Presidents! I’m so grateful to my readers and to the community I’ve gotten to know through this blog and its Facebook page.
That’s why I’m taking this opportunity to feature ten of my favorite recent Facebook posts. If you’re not already following my page on Facebook to see the daily historical insights I’m posting in between the longer articles I publish here, this is a taste of what you’re missing.
(You may need to click “See More” to read the entire posts and it might take you to Facebook. Embedding these was tricky and I’ve only been doing this kind of thing for half a decade.)
#1. John Adams vs. Summer
That image is one of my favorites. I think I used Picasa’s collage function to combine John Trumbull’s painting with an image of the sun. I’m not sure why I love it so much, but it’s probably because it’s so easy to imagine John Adams sweating.
#2. Thomas Jefferson Is The Boogeyman
I’m all for any excuse I can find to mix presidential history and horror.
#3. Don’t Namedrop Thomas Jefferson If You Don’t Know Him
I’ve written before about how there are many faces of Thomas Jeffersons, but Old Thomas Jefferson might be my favorite Thomas Jefferson.
#4. John Adams’s Cure For A Broken Heart
This would simply be a nice maritime variation of “out of sight, out of mind” but for the vomiting.
#5. Everybody Loves Mary
Downton Abbey’s got nothing on the Adams family.
#6. John Adams’s Best Excuse For Not Writing You Back
The general ineffectiveness of John Adams in the heat makes it a damn near miracle the Declaration of Independence got signed in July.
#7. John Adams’s Even Better Excuse For Not Writing You Back
I imagine John Adams ending fights with Abigail by acknowledging that she was perfectly right and then never changing his behavior an iota.
#8. Thomas Jefferson: Human Volcano
That hot springs image is nowhere near Virginia, but it seemed perfect for the content.
#9. Andrew Jackson Has A Bone To Pick With His Wife
I told you he was amonster.
#10. Kids Say The Darndest Things
This last one is less historical and more personal.
Speaking of personal, our second child, a son, is due in April. I can’t wait to hear my daughter read him the adventures of Pirate George Washington.
⚜
To everyone who’s shared my writing, commented on my posts, told me I inspired them to read biographies of the presidents or even start their own blog, told me I made them laugh so hard they scared their cats, and told me I made history fun — thank you!
You’ve helped me plod through this past five years and find deeper meaning in this project as it evolved from writing about the books I was reading to delving deep into lesser-known aspects of early American history. Special thanks to Founders Online for its huge collection of early American correspondence that helps make my daily Facebook posts possible.
And the most special thanks of all to my wife, Jess, who’s been amazingly supportive throughout this ride and even bought my first presidential biography five years ago. And a special thank you to my daughter Emerson who has even more fun playing with my presidential figurines than I do.
