American Presidency

You can't say the United States hasn't had its share of oddballs and characters in the White House. Well, you could say it, but you'd be wrong. Andrew Jackson liked fighting duels and destroyed the presidential mansion during his election celebration; Ulysses Grant was issued speeding tickets for riding his horse too fast; Herbert Hoover's son had pet alligators. But you'd probably have to be a little crazy to want to—or even to agree to—become the leader of the most powerful nation in the world.

It's easy to forget about the less flashy presidents, the ones who "didn't do anything."But with the possible exception of William Henry Harrison (who was president for just 30 days before dying of pneumonia), everyone who has held the presidential office has influenced the development and growth of the nation. James K. Polk, for instance—today not even a household word, but the only president to achieve everything he promised. Or William Howard Taft—if he is known at all it's as the fattest president (and the last to sport facial hair), not as the man responsible for establishing the model of all subsequent interactions between the Federal government and business owners.

Ultimately it's these accomplishments that give presidents their significance, even though most of them are forgotten or unknown except in academic circles or among trivia buffs. Of course, in an age when men are elected on their physical appearance and not their ability to govern, we see them increasingly assessed in terms of celebrity rather than intellect or work ethic. It's not that presidents do less than their predecessors—they're increasingly busy, they just do less and less of real significance. Which should remind us as Christians, that no matter what our political affiliation, we are instructed to pray for our leaders that they would pursue righteousness and justice, not just fulfill their agendas.

Political bias aside, it's important to understand the role of the president and what each one has done to shape our nation, not just to know a lot of fun facts about them. Not only will this help us understand why things are the way they are, it will help us make informed decisions about who to vote for in the future, and what ordinary citizens can do to influence the chief of state. The books in this category provide overviews of the presidency and those who have occupied the White House rather than individual biographies.Many of them are just for fun, but some will genuinely aid your understanding of (arguably) the most important political office in the world.

There's another occupant of the White House all-too-often overlooked, or at best, undervalued:the First Lady. Whether the president's relationship with his wife is characterized more by tender love letters or the throwing of lamps, she remains one of his most important influences, if not the most important. Despite what secularists say, a marriage relationship remains the most intimate of relationships, and it is just as true of presidents and their wives. No one can say great political decisions are completely uninfluenced by personal concerns, and who influences a man's personal concerns more than his wife? So we also offer books about First Ladies, not just because they're presidents' wives, but because many of them were brilliant, successful individuals in their own right.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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30 Items found Print
Active Filters: 3rd grade (Ages 8-9)
America's First Ladies - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Leslie Franz
Revised Edition from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in History of America Coloring Books (Location: COL-HISA)
$5.99
American Presidents & Presidential First Ladies Notebooking Pages
from Notebooking Pages
for 3rd-8th grade
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
American Presidents - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Peter F. Copeland
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in History of America Coloring Books (Location: COL-HISA)
$5.99
Andrew Jackson
Getting to Know the U.S. Presidents
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
for 1st-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Coloring Book of our Presidents
by Bellerphon Books
from Bellerophon Books
for 1st-5th grade
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
Electing Our Presidents
by Nancy Gill
from Fearon Teacher Aids
for 2nd-5th grade
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Famous Presidents
Eyes on America
by Philip Koslow
from KidsBooks, Inc.
for 2nd-4th grade
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$2.00 (4 in stock)
Fandex Family Field Guides: Presidents
by Steven Aronson
from Workman Publishing
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$12.95
Fashions of the First Ladies - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Ming-Ju Sun
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Costume & Fashion Coloring Books (Location: COL-FAS)
$5.99
Focus on Presidents
by Cynthia Holzschuher
for 3rd-7th grade
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
From Colonies to Country with George Washington - Set
from Unknown Publisher
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Ghosts of the White House
by Cheryl Harness
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Homes of the American Presidents - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Bruce LaFontaine
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Architecture Coloring Books (Location: COL-ARCH)
$4.99
Look-It-Up Book of Presidents
by Wyatt Blassingame
Revised from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
Madam President
by Catherine Thimmesh, Illustrated by Douglas B. Jones
from Houghton Mifflin
for 2nd-6th grade
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Meet John F. Kennedy
by Nancy Bean White
from Random House
for 1st-4th grade
in Step Up Books (Location: VIN-STEP)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
New Big Book of U.S. Presidents
by Marc Frey, Todd Davis
from Courage Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Presidency From A to Z
by Kathryn Leventis-Molesa & Helen L. Hess
from Univ Editions
for 2nd-5th grade
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$3.00 (3 in stock)
Presidential Scrapbook
by Joel King
from Knowledge Quest
for 2nd-5th grade
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
Presidents of Mount Rushmore - Coloring Book
by Peter & Linda Spizzirri
from Spizzirri Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in History of America Coloring Books (Location: COL-HISA)
$3.95
Presidents Sticker Book
by John P. Holms
from Learning Horizons
for 1st-4th grade
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Smart About the Presidents
by Jill Weber, Jon Buller, Susan Schade
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-3rd grade
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
So You Want To Be President?
by Judith St. George
from Philomel Books
for 2nd-5th grade
2001 Caldecott Medal winner
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$4.00 (3 in stock)
So You Want To Be President?
by Judith St. George
Reprint from Philomel Books
for 2nd-5th grade
2001 Caldecott Medal winner
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
So You Want To Be President?
by Judith St. George
Rev Upd from Philomel Books
for 2nd-5th grade
2001 Caldecott Medal winner
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
Who Was Thomas Jefferson?
Who Was?...Series
by Dennis Brindell Fradin
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Who Was? biographies (Location: BIO-WHO)
Wooden Teeth and Jelly Beans: The Tupperman Files
by Ray Nelson, et al.
from Beyond Words Publishing
for 1st-6th grade
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Yo, Millard Fillmore
by Will Cleveland & Mark Alvarez
from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-5th grade
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Yo, Millard Fillmore
by Will Cleveland & Mark Alvarez
from Goodwood Press
for 1st-5th grade
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Yo, Millard Fillmore!
by Will Cleveland & Mark Alvarez, illustrated by Tate Nation
2nd edition from Goodwood Press
for 1st-5th grade
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)