That Guy Was President? Five Books on Forgotten Commanders-in-Chief

There are some presidents that—for better or worse—dominate the headlines decades after they’ve been in office, and others that fall into obscurity with every generation that passes. And it’s hard to pinpoint who our descendants will choose to still talk about (although I have a pretty good idea on a couple). But whatever the outcome, it’s good to know that for every random, “oh yeah, that guy was a president,” we encounter, there’s a historian willing to write about him.

Here are five books about the men history likes to forget. Happy President’s Day!

The Forgotten Presidents: Their Untold Constitutional Legacy by Michael J. Gerhardt
"Their names linger in memory mainly as punch lines, synonyms for obscurity: Millard Fillmore, Chester Arthur, Calvin Coolidge. They conjure up not the White House so much as a decaying middle school somewhere in New Jersey. But many forgotten presidents, writes Michael J. Gerhardt, were not weak or ineffective."
-It's the 'decaying middle school somewhere in New Jersey' for us. This book sounds like a throwback to the encyclopedia days where you had a book at your fingertips to look something up. You know, before Google!

Mr. Jefferson's Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy by Robert M. Owens
"Often remembered as the president who died shortly after taking office, William Henry Harrison remains misunderstood by most Americans. Before becoming the ninth president of the United States in 1841, Harrison was instrumental in shaping the early years of westward expansion."
-We're curious to know if this biography will romanticize the US's land grab out west, or will we get an accurate portrayal of what our ninth president had in mind while pushing this agenda?

Franklin Pierce by Michael F. Holt
"Charming and handsome, Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire was drafted to break the deadlock of the 1852 Democratic convention. Though he seized the White House in a landslide against the imploding Whig Party, he proved a dismal failure in office."
-A 'dismal failure in office' is such a harsh prize to bestow on anyone, that we had no choice but to be lured by this book's description. What did (or didn't!) Pierce do to earn this distinction?

Fraud of the Century: Rutherford B. Hayes, Samuel Tilden, and the Stolen Election of 1876 by Roy Morris, Jr.
The bitter 1876 contest between Ohio Republican Governor Rutherford B. Hayes and New York Democratic Governor Samuel Tilden was the most sensational and corrupt presidential election in American history. It was also, in many ways, the final battle of the Civil War.
-'Most sensational and corrupt presidential election in American history'? I think the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections would beg to differ, as would the hanging chads of 2000!

Benjamin Harrison by Charles W. Calhoun
"In contrast to standard histories, which dismiss Harrison's presidency as corrupt and inactive, Charles W. Calhoun sweeps away the stereotypes of the age to reveal the accomplishments of our twenty-third president."
-First, let's acknowledge that Harrison is our ninth president's grandson (nepotism, much?). Then, let's reflect on the fact that both Grandpa and Sonny are on a list of hardly-remembered political leaders. We wonder what it's like around that Thanksgiving table!