15^th PRESIDENT

NAME: James Buchanan. He was named after his father.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: An imposing, handsome figure, Buchanan stood a bit over 6 feet tall and had broad shoulders and a sizable paunch. He had a very fair complexion and large blue eyes. His massive forehead receded to silky gray hair, which he wore swept up and back. He had rather small feet for his size and took quick steps. His most distinctive feature was a wryneck; his head was habitually cocked to the left. Unlike most victims of wryneck, his was not caused by muscular malfunction. Rather, it was a result of a peculiar eye disorder. One eye was nearsighted, the other farsighted; also the left eyeball was pitched higher in the socket than was the right. To compensate, Buchanan early developed the habit of cocking his head and closing one eye. If he were talking to someone or examining something close up, he would wink shut the farsighted eye; if gazing in the distance, he closed the nearsighted one. For reading he found it easier to focus with a candle in front of his eyes. He apparently coped well with the disorder, for he read much throughout his career and did not wear glasses until near the end of his life. His health otherwise generally was sound. One of Buchanan’s eyelids twitched, which, combined with his personality (in 1825, at least) led a modern Jackson biographer to describe Buchanan as a “winking, fidgeting little busybody.”  Buchanan, a wealthy bachelor with Epicurean tastes, was celebrated for serious drinking. He chided his liquor merchants for delivering champagne to the White House in small bottles. He would use his Sunday ride as an excuse to visit the Jacob Baer distillery in Washington and pick up a ten-gallon cask of “Old J.B. Whiskey.” It would amuse him when White House guests mistook the initials J.B. for his own. A journalist of the time wrote “There was no head ache, no faltering steps, no flushed cheek” associated with Buchanan’s drinking. “Oh no! All was as cool, as calm and as cautious and watchful as in the beginning. More than one ambitious tyro who sought to follow his example gathered an early fall.” Buchanan would begin his drinking with cognac and end with old rye. Two or three bottles might be consumed at one sitting. The press commented on his resistance to alcohol’s effects. Buchanan dressed carefully, commonly in a black suit and white neckwear.

PERSONALITY: According to biographer George Ticknor Curtis, Buchanan’s personality was marked by “strong family affections,” “engaging social qualities,” “fidelity to friends,” a “forgiving temper toward those who had injured him,” and generosity. He freely loaned money to friends in need and gave funds to the poor. He bought slaves in Washington and freed them in Pennsylvania without any guarantee of reimbursement. He was scrupulous to avoid even the appearance of conflict of interest. He declined all offers of free transportation passes and, as president, turned gifts over to the Patent Office. Buchanan carried himself with an air of dignity and was at all times graceful and courteous. He was not an especially gifted speaker.

SOURCES: DeGregorio, William A. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. 7th ed. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2009; and http://www.doctorzebra.com

14^th PRESIDENT

NAME: Franklin Pierce.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Perhaps the most handsome president, Pierce was a trim 5 feet 10 inches tall and had a classic Roman nose, gray eyes, and thin lips. His most distinctive feature was the mass of curly dark hair that he combed on a deep slant over the side of his broad forehead. While president, he was only slightly gray at the temples. He suffered often from respiratory ailments. As president, he had a persistent cough due to chronic bronchitis. Heavy drinking over many years also undermined his health.

PERSONALITY: Pierce as open, congenial, and pliant. He mixed readily and won friends easily. However, he suffered from periodic bouts of depression. He also fought a longtime battle against alcoholism. Pierce found it hard to say No. “He lacked a sustained feeling of self-confidence and was desirous of approbation,” according to biographer Roy Franklin Nichols. “Consequently he endeavored to be gracious and accommodating to all who sought [favors]. His graciousness was interpreted by many to mean approval of their requests.”

SOURCE: DeGregorio, William A. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. 7th ed. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2009.

13^th PRESIDENT

NAME: Millard Fillmore. He was named after his mother, Pheobe Millard Fillmore.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: As a young man, Fillmore was strikingly handsome, 6 feet tall, well built, with wavy, somewhat unruly hair, light complexion, a high forehead, blue eyes, and determined expression. With age, however, he became heavy, and his hair had turned white by the time he became president. He dressed meticulously. His health generally was sound.

PERSONALITY: Fillmore was a likable fellow. He mixed readily. He was most persuasive in small groups; his stolid style did not play well before large audiences. He spoke slowly, deliberately, usually using simple expressions and short sentences. His speeches lacked the flourish typical of the great orators of the day. A practical, unemotional man, he relied on logic and common sense to make a point in argument. He appealed to the mind rather than to the heart. Although basically a pragmatist, he was capable of genuine idealism if the cause struck his sense of righteousness. “A spark of idealism smouldered in his mind,” biographer Robert J. Rayback has written. “Because his whole training had been aimed toward making or improving his livelihood, nothing could ever ignite the spark that would place him in that class of complete idealists who steadfastly cling to their visions no matter ho inimical to their interests. But the trait was there, seldom dominating, yet always helping to shape his values.”

SOURCE: DeGregorio, William A. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. 7th ed. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2009.

12^th PRESIDENT

NAME: Zachary Taylor. He was named after his paternal grandfather.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Taylor stood about 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed about 170 pounds in his prime, about 200 pounds as president. A disproportionate figure, he had long, gangling arms, a thickly set torso, and short, bowed legs. His long thin face was dominated by a high forehead and long nose. He had brown hair and hazel eyes. Farsighted and walleyed, he wore reading glasses and often squinted. He dressed sloppily, wearing whatever was most comfortable, and even as a soldier typically appeared in a hodgepodge of civilian and military dress. He often walked or stood with one hand behind his back. His health generally was sound.

PERSONALITY: By all accounts, Taylor as genuinely warm, open, and plainspoken. He was said to be a bit shy before new acquaintances but warmed readily. He stammered occasionally and thought carefully before speaking. Far from being the unmannerly boor that his long years in the military and careless dress led many to expect, he was, according to biographer Holman Hamilton, “a gentleman, inherently gracious, even gallant here women ere concerned, and an affable and agreeable host…true to the Virginia-Kentucky tradition of unstudied gentlemanliness.”

11^th PRESIDENT

NAME: James Knox Polk. He was named after his maternal grandfather, James Knox, a militia captain during the American Revolution.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: A bit under medium height but sturdily built and erect in bearing, Polk had large, deeply set gray eyes, a high prominent forehead, high cheekbones, thin lips, and a rather large nose. His unruly black hair, which had grayed by the time he became president, was worn long and combed straight back. From childhood, his health was generally poor; he tired easily.

PERSONALITY: Polk was by nature an introvert but out of political necessity forced himself to mingle. He had few genuinely close friends. Still, he was generally well liked. A classic overachiever, he was very ambitious. Biographer Charles G. Sellers attributed his “feverish drive” to “early physical inferiority,” “frustrations of his boyish aspirations,” and charisma, he, according to Sellers, “drove himself ruthlessly, exploiting the abilities and energies he did possess to an extent that few men can equal.” Yet he kept a firm rein on his ambition, never letting it threaten his career.

SOURCE: DeGregorio, William A. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. 7th ed. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2009.

10^th PRESIDENT

NAME: John Tyler. He was named after his father.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Tall (just over 6 feet) and thin. Tyler had blue eyes, fine wavy brown hair, rather large ears, thin lips, and a prominent forehead. His drawn cheeks sloped severely from high cheekbones to a rather weak chin, giving him a somewhat triangular expression. But the dominant feature was his large Roman nose; its long, sharp ridge bore a distinctive bump. His health generally was poor. He caught cold easily and suffered frequently from indigestion and diarrhea.

PERSONALITY: Tyler had all the dignified charm and grace and soft, warm manner typical of the well-bred southerner of the early nineteenth century. He mixed readily with strangers of his class. Around working people, however, he became a different person – ill at ease, aloof, unresponsive. Some took this for vanity. But, as biographer Robert Seager pointed out, “What appeared to be vanity was an ingrained shyness and discomfort in the presence of people with dirty fingernails…He had never had any experience with these people, and he was too diffident to gain any.”

SOURCE: DeGregorio, William A. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. 7th ed. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2009.

9^th PRESIDENT

NAME: William Henry Harrison

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Harrison was slim, of average height, with thin brown hair that had grayed by the time he became president and that he combed rather carelessly straight down over his forehead or sloping slightly to the right. He had a long, thin, angular face, of fair complexion, distinguished by a long sharp-bridged nose, closely set eyes, thin lips, and a strong jaw. A female observer once described his expression as “serene and engaging.”

PERSONALITY: A plain-spoken man, Harrison was good-humored, affable, and accessibly. The Reverend Timothy Flint, a frequent visitor to his home at North Bend, Ohio, described him as urbane, hospitable, kind, and utterly unpretentious.

SOURCE: DeGregorio, William A. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. 7th ed. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2009.

8^th PRESIDENT

NAME: Martin Van Buren. He was named after his paternal grandfather, Marten Van Buren.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: A small, though sturdily built, figure, Van Buren stood a bit under 5 feet 6 inches tall. He had a fair complexion, deeply set blue eyes, and a classic Roman nose. His high forehead became increasingly prominent as his sandy curls receded with age. By the time he became president, he was distinguished by a crown of unruly white hair and great sidewhiskers. He spoke rapidly with crisp enunciation, but when he became excited, it is said, a touch of Dutch accent crept into his speech. He dressed impeccably. Indeed, his natty appearance often was the subject of scorn in the press.

PERSONALITY: Van Buren basically was optimistic, cheerful, quick to smile and laugh. His charm, courtesy, and fine manners made him a much-sought-after party guest. From an early age he was an engaging conversationalist. In politics, however, he preferred to let others talk about specific issues rather than to expound his own views. In drawing others out while keeping his own opinions closely guarded, he gained a reputation as a crafty partisan who, as one colleague asserted, “rowed to his object with muffled oars.” His rather unflattering nicknames, the Red Fox of Kinderhook and the Little Magician, reflected this image. He spoke cautiously, often in carefully worded phrases that left the listener in doubt about his true feelings. Van Buren was ambitious, but he was also a man of principle.

SOURCE: DeGregorio, William A. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. 7th ed. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2009.

7^th PRESIDENT

NAME: Andrew Jackson. He was named after his father, who had died just before he was born.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Long and lean, Jackson stood 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighed about 140 pounds. His narrow, angular face was topped by a mass of unruly reddish-sandy hair that had completely grayed by the time he became president. His complexion generally was pale and somewhat pockmarked. He had penetrating , steely blue eyes. He began wearing false teeth at about age 60. For many years he carried in his body two bullets from separate encounters. One fired from the pistol of the brother of Thomas Hart Benton in 1813 greatly reduced the mobility of his left arm until the lead was removed nearly 20 years later. The other from Charles Dickinson (a lawyer) in 1806 lodged dangerously near his heart, where it remained, causing him periodic discomfort for the rest of his life. Jackson outgrew a childhood habit of slobbering, which persisted into his teens. While president, he was chronically wracked by headaches, abdominal pains, and a hacking cough that often brought up blood. A gaunt figure who relied on a cane to steady his faltering gait, President Jackson was considered a likely candidate to become the first president to die in office. But he survived the fires of two contentious terms to enjoy several years of retirement. Despite his reputation as a backwoodsman, Jackson dressed fashionably while in Washington.

PERSONALITY: A charismatic figure, Jackson was combative, quick-tempered, and thin-skinned. To his friends he was generous, considerate, and above all loyal; to his enemies, mean-spirited and spiteful. “When Andrew Jackson hated,” Robert V. Remini, a modern Jacksonian scholar, has written, “it often became a grand passion. He could hate with a Biblical fury and would resort to petty and vindictive acts to nurture his hatred and keep it bright and strong and ferocious.” He at times exploded with anger, but it is believed that he never really lost his temper. Rather, he launched into tirades quite purposefully either to intimidate his opposition or to end debate on a matter that was dragging on too long. Martin Van Buren, his closest advisor, marveled at Jackson’s ability to turn his anger on and off at will. One minute he could be shrieking at the cabinet in the high register his voice invariably had whenever he was agitated; the next moment, alone with Van Buren after the others had left, he was relaxed and in good humor. At social occasions Jackson surprised many with his grace, poise, and charm. Around women he shed his backwoods manner and earthy language to engage comfortably in social discourse. He delighted in disappointing those who, he said, “were prepared to see me with a tomahawk in one hand and a scalping knife in the other.”

SOURCE: DeGregorio, William A. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. 7th ed. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2009.

6^th PRESIDENT

NAME: John Quincy Adams. He was named after his great-grandfather Colonel John Quincy, Speaker of the Massachusetts Assembly, member of the Governor’s Council, and militia officer. John Quincy died soon after the birth of his namesake. His daughter, John Quincy Adams’s maternal grandmother, suggested naming the infant in his memory.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Adams was 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighed about 175 pounds. He had penetrating black eyes. By the time he became president he was almost completely bald. He dressed plainly and without great care. He spoke in a high, shrill voice. His health was generally poor. He frequently complained of various aches and pains. Insomnia, indigestion, nervous anxiety, and eye discomfort chronically plagued him. Intermittently throughout his life he wrestled with bouts of mental depression, what he called “uncontrollable dejection of spirits” and “a sluggish carelessness of life.” He admitted having at times “an imaginary wish that [life] were terminated.”

PERSONALITY: Because he was both introspective and uncommonly candid in admitting his own shortcomings, Adams remained the best source for a description of his personality. “I am a man of reserved, cold, austere and forbidding manners,” he confided to his diary, “my political adversaries say, a gloomy misanthropist, and my personal enemies, an unsocial savage. With a knowledge of the actual defect in my character, I have not the pliability to reform it.” In a letter to his wife he admitted, “I never was and never shall be what is commonly termed a popular man, being as little qualified by nature, education, or habit for the arts of a courtier as I am desirous of being courted by others…I  am certainly not intentionally repulsive in my manners and deportment, and in my public station I never made myself inaccessible to any human being. But I have no powers of fascination; none of the honey which the profligate proverb says is the true fly-catcher.” Ironically, a man famous for his cold demeanor was the most successful American diplomat of his time. In the ticklish art of negotiation, Adams assiduously checked his temper and performed the diplomatic amenities.

SOURCE: DeGregorio, William A. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. 7th ed. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2009.