One Misconception About Each U.S. President

46 misconceptions about the 46 presidents of the United States. It turns out, we don't know everything about our Commanders in Chief.

Did George Washington actually chop down a cherry tree? Did Lincoln own enslaved people? And how did Theodore Roosevelt REALLY feel about teddy bears?

Host Justin Dodd breaks down one misconception about EACH American president. From George Washington to President Joe Biden, we have a lot of myths to bust. Let's get started.

[mfdowling]

Time Stamps

0:00 - George Washington
1:18 - Intro
1:42 - John Adams
2:50 - Thomas Jefferson
3:25 - James Madison
4:44 - James Monroe
5:18 - John Quincy Adams
5:37 - Andrew Jackson
6:27 - Martin Van Buren
6:54 - William Henry Harrison
8:19 - John Tyler
9:33 - James K. Polk
10:11 - Zachary Taylor
11:12 - Millard Fillmore
12:02 - Franklin Pierce
12:25 - James Buchanan
13:30 - Abraham Lincoln
14:05 - Andrew Johnson
14:38 - Ulysses S. Grant
15:17 - Rutherford B. Hayes
15:37 - James A. Garfield
16:01 - Chester A. Arthur
16:45 - Grover Cleveland
17:22 - Benjamin Harrison
17:51 - Grover Cleveland
18:10 - William McKinley
18:42 - Theodore Roosevelt
19:12 - William Howard Taft
19:40 - Woodrow Wilson
20:24 - Warren G. Harding
21:10 - Calvin Coolidge
22:16 - Herbert Hoover
23:08 - Franklin D. Roosevelt
23:49 - Harry S Truman
24:14 - Dwight D. Eisenhower
24:30 - John F. Kennedy
25:03 - Lyndon B. Johnson
25:36 - Richard Nixon
26:18 - Gerald Ford
26:49 - Jimmy Carter
27:27 - Ronald Reagan
28:08 - George H.W. Bush
29:03 - Bill Clinton
29:29 - George W. Bush
30:21 - Barack Obama
31:10 - Donald Trump
31:21 - Joe Biden

[stefanjentoft]

My favorite Coolidge story: he was at a dinner when a lady sitting next to him said “I bet my friend I could get you to say three words to me.” Not even looking at her, he simply said “You lose.”

[benjamintillema]

If I had a quarter every time a US president put an S as their middle initial despite it not standing for anything...

I'd have two quarters, but it's weird that happened twice.

[dallinweir]

Probably a good call that a president in the 1970's wasn't named "LYNCH KING"

[erraticonteuse]

Postscript about Grant's middle name: every Ulysses S Grant in that family since the O.G., from Junior down to VII (I believe that's the youngest they're currently at, but they might be at VIII or even IX at this point) has officially been a Ulysses Simpson Grant.

[maxkeys]

I love the fact that Garfield hates Mondays and James, A Garfield was assassinated on a Monday

[brianarbenz]

One of the great Presidential ironies is that the first president ever to speak on film with sound was "Silent Cal." Standing on the White House grounds, Cooledge read a statement of his views on taxation. He was quite forceful, but as stiff as Larry Bud Melman. It's available online.

[Compucles]

When even Peabody and Sherman call the cherry tree story "apocryphal, " you know it's nothing more than a myth.

[mysticalarchives]

I am very pleased with the misconceptions that you chose. I like that you kept it light hearted and you never allowed any other discussion to create an opening to discuss policy and who we like and don’t like amongst the presidents. Very professional.

[DinoCon]

Thank you for keeping Trump and Biden's misconceptions fairly mundane.

[michaeloptv]

Interesting about Harrison. Typhoid fever is a bacterial infection that actually lines up BETTER than pneumonia. Again speculation as to when/where he caught it. But pneumonia is usually faster. TF can take weeks to develop symptoms.

[jliller]

The Battle of New Orleans did not occur because the treaty was yet to be ratified. It occurred because Jackson and Packenham were unaware the treaty had been signed at all due to the slow transit of messages from Europe to America.

[zuglymonster]

Hahaha. I love how Bush 1 hated Broccoli and talked about it. Makes him feel like a regular guy.

[gmsherry]

The misconception about Andrew Jackson implies that the Battle of New Orleans took place because the U.S. hadn't yet ratified the peace treaty. The further implication is that Jackson knew about the peace treaty but fought the battle anyway to gain some advantage, make ratification more likely -- something like that. What I've always heard is that neither side's army at the battle knew the peace treaty even existed. Plenty of sources online support this. Crucially -- to me -- the British were the attacking force; Jackson was on defense. If the British knew that the treaty had been signed and their own government had ratified it, why would they have attacked? So, your misconception is correct -- Jackson didn't win the war -- but the information surrounding it is suspect in my opinion.

[allycat]

One of my favorite stories about Lincoln is about him and his cat. Lincoln was a huge animal lover. But he was especially fond of cats.

One time, during a dinner party, his black cat Dixie approached the table, and Lincoln gave her a bite of his chicken with his gold fork. When his wife Mary Todd chastised him, he simply smiled and said:

“My dear, if this fork was good enough for Buchanan, than it’s good enough for Dixie”

[NHL]

I rather like the explanation that Ulysses S. Grant' s name was defined as being, "Unconditional Surrender Grant."

[jliller]

John Tyler's instance that he was full President after Harrison's death might be the only thing he did right in his entire term.

[Apophis]

As a non-American viewer.. is it really weird that in the back of my mind I'm going through The Animaniacs' Presidents Song while these misconceptions are being summed up?

[mikepowers]

Excellent video! I learned several facts about Presidents I never knew.

[puernatura]

A funnier Trump misconception would’ve been ”Trump eats his pizza crust-first”