FEBRUARY CELEBRATES BIRTHS OF THREE GREAT AMERICAN PRESIDENTS

*Little month of February.

You are filled with big events.

But we love you best because

You gave us *three great presidents.

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George Washington – 1^st president of the United States

Born:  February 22, 1732, in Pope’s Creek, Westmoreland County, VA

Died:  December 14, 1799 in Mount Vernon, VA, age 67

Buried:  Mount Vernon, VA

Religion:  Episcopalian.

Education:  schooled by his mother until about  15; learned surveying at age 16

Nickname:  Father of his country

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When asked to serve a 3^rd term as president, Washington sagaciously declined stating that more than two presidential terms was reverting back to the rule of European monarchs, from which our forbearers fled.  His wise words were heeded until Franklin Roosevelt successfully ran for 3^rd and 4^th terms in 1940 and 1944.

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Washington, quoted:

“The Constitution is the guide which I never will abandon.”

“Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth.”

“There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily.”

“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.”

“Occupants of public offices love power and are prone to abuse it.”

“Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of Liberty abused to licentiousness.”

“In time of peace, prepare for war.”

“To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.”

“Happiness is more effectually dispensed to mankind under a republican form of government than any other.  “Government is not reason. It is not eloquence. It is a force, like fire: a dangerous servant and a terrible master”.

“Of all the dispositions and habits, which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of Men and Citizens. The mere Politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked, where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.” ─ Farewell address of George Washington — it first appeared on September 19, 1796 in the Philadelphia Daily American Advertiser; then in papers around the country.

Washington trivia:

He was a great dancer and horseman.

He began to lose his teeth in his 20s.

He was the first of seven Presidents from Virginia.

His second Inaugural Address, only 135 words long, was the shortest in history.

His farewell address in 1796 was printed in the newspaper but was never delivered orally.

He was the only president who was unanimously elected,  and both terms, he ran unopposed.

Named after him are the nation’s capital, one state, seven mountains, eight streams, 10 lakes, 33 counties, 9 colleges, and 121 towns and villages…… and who knows how many streets?

George Washington left no descendents.

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*Washington our noble hero.

Lessons fine his life imparts

First in war and first in peace,

And always first within our hearts.

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Abraham Lincoln – 16^th president of the United States

Born:  February 12, 1809; in a one-room log cabin on Nolin Creek, Hardin County, Kentucky.

Died:  April 15, 1865 in Washington, D.C. ─age 56

Buried: Springfield, IL

Religion: lived his life to the precepts of Jesus

Education:  less than one year of schooling; as an adult; was self taught as an attorney at law.  Books from which he learned as a child:  The Holy Bible, The Life of George Washington by Parson Weems, Aesop’s Fables, Pilgrim’s Progress, and Adventures of Robinson Carouse.

Nicknames:  Honest Abe; The Rail Splitter;” “The Great Emancipator;” and “Father Abraham

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“Abraham Lincoln was brought up by Baptist parents.  He was married to Mary Todd by an Episcopal minister. During his life, however, he never joined a church; but occasionally attended Presbyterial services with his wife; she was a church member.”

Lincoln, quoted:

“That I am not a member of any Christian Church, is true; but I have never denied the truth of the Scriptures; and I have never spoken with intentional disrespect of religion in general, or of any denomination of Christians in particular. … I do not think I could, myself, be brought to support a man for office whom I knew to be an open enemy of, and scoffer at, religion. Leaving the higher matter of eternal consequences between him and his Maker, I still do not think any man has the right thus to insult the feelings, and injure the morals, of the community in which he may live …  “In regard to this Great Book (Bible), I have but to say, it is the best gift God has given to man. All the good the Savior gave to the world was communicated through this book.”

“…I know that the Lord is always on the side of the right. But it is my constant anxiety and prayer that I and this nation should be on the Lord’s side.”

“The ballot is stronger than the bullet.”

What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the old and tried, against the new and untried?” Lincoln’s Cooper Institute Address, February 27, 1860

“Nearly all men can withstand adversity; if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”

“Don’t interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties.”

Lincoln Trivia:

Abraham Lincoln was the first president to be born in  Kentucky

He name came from his grandfather, Abraham Lincoln, who was killed by Indians in 1786.

Lincoln could quote many parts of the Bible, but his absolute favorite book was Psalms.

He has no living descendents. His oldest son, Robert Todd Lincoln, was his only child to live into adulthood. Robert’s three grandchildren died at ages 79, 76, and 81; all without issue. The last of these three Lincoln descendents was Abraham Lincoln’s great grandson, Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, who passed away on December 24, 1985.

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*Lincoln loved by all the nation,

What a wondrous man was he.

Undivided kept our land,

And set a grateful people free.

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Ronald Wilson Reagan – 40^th president of the United States

Born: February 6, 1911, in Tampico, Illinois.

Died: June 5, 2004 in Bel-Air, California, age 93

Buried:  Ronald Reagan Presidential Lirary, Simi Valley, CA

Religion:  Christian Church

Education: Eureka College (1932)

Nicknames: “Dutch,” “The Gipper,” “The Great Communicator”

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My fondest memory of President Reagan’s first inaugural, January 20, 1981, was the sea of tiny flags—held by Americans as they stood listening.  I had almost forgotten how it felt to experience such an awesome display of love and devotion to America; and to hear an inaugural address from one so humble and sincere.

President Reagan was void of guile, as were Washington and Lincoln.  All three were tempered and made great by  scripture of the Holy Bible, instilled in their minds at earliest age by their mothers.

Reagan was blessed with a sunny disposition, a genuinely good nature, and a wonderful sense of humour that enabled him to stay in good stead with Americans.  He capitalized on barbs from Washington Democrats and from members of the liberal media to subtly ….  and kindly…. turn tables of thought.

The following quotes were selected to showcase Ronald Reagan’s wit and sagacious nature—both of which were rooted in the Christian religion that made him so outstanding.  These few quotes are replete with Reagan’s love for America and fellow man:

Of Republican Senator Baker, IL, Reagan said:

“Howard Baker told me on the steps of the capitol at the time of the Inaugural – he said, Mr. President, I will be with you through thick.  When I said, what about thin?  He said, welcome to Washington.

During the 1979 presidential campaign, Democrats and the liberal media insisted Reagan, at age 68, was too old to be running for president.  Their words were fodder to the Reagan skill at disarming the opposition, and were at times deflected back by Reagan at  appropriate opportunities– always, in good nature.  Following are several of President Reagan’s well placed zingers from different speeches:

“Thomas Jefferson once said, ‘We should never judge a president by his age, only by his works.’ And ever since he told me that, I stopped worrying.”

“I have already lived about 20 years past my life expectancy at the time I was born.  That’s a source of annoyance to a great many people.”

At a press conference, White House newsman, Sam Donaldson bitingly queried:

“Mr. President, in talking about the continuing recession, tonight, you blamed mistakes on the past, you blamed Congress; does any of the blame belong to you?”

Without missing a beat; with the usual twinkle in his eye, Reagan said:

“Yes, because for many years I was a Democrat.”

Humour aside; Reagan’s greatness was replete with meaningful words:

“There are no great limits to growth because there are no limits of human intelligence, imagination, and wonder.”

“No arsenal … is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.”

“I know in my heart that man is good. That what is right will always eventually triumph. And there’s purpose and worth to each and every life.”

“America has begun a spiritual reawakening. Faith and hope are being restored. Americans are turning back to God. Church attendance is up. Audiences for religious books and broadcasts are growing. And I do believe that HE has begun to heal our blessed land.”

“America represents something universal in the human spirit. I received a letter not long ago from a man who said, ‘You can go to Japan to live, but you cannot become Japanese. You can go to France to live and not become a Frenchman. You can go to live in Germany or Turkey, and you won’t become a German or a Turk.’ But then he added, ‘Anybody from any corner of the world can come to America to live and become an American.’

Reagan Trivia:

He was the only president to have gotten a divorce.

He was 77 when he left office of President.  What witness can forget the last sight of Ronald and Nancy Reagan, climbing into a helicopter after President Bush was sworn in and watching — with lumps in throats  – the helicopter make one final pass around the capitol city before flying off to California, leaving the total limelight to the new president?

Even in his 1994 announcement to Americans that he had Alzheimer’s Disease, Reagan remained true to his positive outlook:  “I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead.”

Ronald Reagan may eventually have no living descendents. His marriage to actress Jane Wyman produced one daughter, Maureen, and an adopted son, Michael. Maureen Reagan Revell and husband adopted a child from Uganda. Michael and his wife have two children. Michael Reagan is a conservative writer for newsmax.com. President Reagan’s two children from his marriage to Nancy Davis—Patty and Ronald─ are between 50 and 60 in age; both remain childless.

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*And now, the legend marches on─

These brave men; still, standing tall─

Reagan gave his great command.

“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

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*The original poem, “Little Month of February” containing the 1^st three verses … Author unknown ….. I acquired in 1963.   The number two in the 1^st verse, I changed to three here to include Reagan. The last verse was written at my request by a member of my household, who prefers to remain anonymous.

Vocabulary words from this post are:

precepts

guile

replete

fodder

queried  (query)

formidable

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