Honoring Our Nation’s Presidents

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison on President's Day

Capitol Comment
Feb. 13, 2009
By: Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison

Throughout Texas this coming Monday, children will enjoy a day off from school. Although the federal government honors “Washington’s Birthday” each year on the third Monday of February, Texas goes one step further by concurrently observing “Presidents’ Day,” a state holiday that celebrates all of our past Presidents.

Our forty-four presidents have included men who have been a carpenter (James Garfield), a cloth maker (Millard Fillmore), a star athlete (Gerald Ford), a launderer (Herbert Hoover), a mail room clerk (Harry Truman), a shoeshine boy (Lyndon Johnson), an insurance salesman (Warren Harding), a toymaker (Calvin Coolidge), an actor (Ronald Reagan) and a school principal (Chester Arthur). Ten presidents were farmers before reaching the White House; seven were diplomats; and twenty-six were lawyers. Their diverse perspectives strengthened the quality of our nation’s leadership and inspired foreign nations to embrace democracy.


In the nineteenth century, half a dozen presidents were born in log cabins, including one whose bicentennial we celebrate this week. Abraham Lincoln – the eloquent small town lawyer who helped set our nation on the path toward the “more perfect union” that our Founding Fathers envisioned – continues to inspire our leaders today. Former President George W. Bush chose to hang Lincoln’s portrait in the Oval Office and drew inspiration from Lincoln’s fortitude in perilous times. President Barack Obama paid tribute to his home state predecessor by retracing Lincoln’s path to the White House on a train ride from Philadelphia to Washington before his inauguration last month.

The democracy and entrepreneurial spirit at the core of our American identity have propelled our nation from a relatively small federation with fewer than four million citizens to the world’s economic and political superpower. As Americans, we can take great pride in the many individual contributions of ordinary citizens, but it is also fitting that we pay tribute to those national leaders who courageously established our freedoms during the earliest years of our nation.

George Washington, the commander of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, was the first of twelve generals who went on to serve as president. After refusing a royal title, he became our country’s only leader to be re-elected unanimously. As our Chief Executive, he established customs regarding interaction with Cabinet members, the negotiation of treaties, and the use of the presidential veto on legislation from Congress. He appointed our first federal judges, helped implement the American currency and banking system, and chose the location of our nation’s capital.

Our next two presidents, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, worked together to draft the Declaration of Independence. In the White House, President Adams used his considerable diplomatic skills to avert further strife with European powers. President Jefferson enlarged our nation through the Louisiana Purchase and encouraged Lewis and Clark’s explorations of the West. Mr. Jefferson also was the first president not to powder his hair and to establish casual handshakes instead of deep bows as the preferred mode of greeting in the White House. Coincidentally, these two great men, lifelong friends and political rivals, passed away 500 miles apart on the very same day, July 4th, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

During later eras in American history, Texas contributed four outstanding presidents. General Dwight Eisenhower, who was born in Denison, ended the Korean War and built our current highway system. Lyndon Johnson, from Stonewall, championed civil rights legislation and education reform. George H. W. Bush represented the seventh district of Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives before entering the White House, where he led a successful effort to liberate Kuwait from the clutches of a tyrannical dictator. And George W. Bush brought his strong leadership from Texas’ state capital to the White House, where he protected our country after the attacks by terrorists on September 11, 2001.

Today, as our military forces fight abroad in defense of our freedom, we more fully appreciate the heroism of several of the best of our wartime presidents. I especially admire President Ronald Reagan for his steadfastness toward the end of the Cold War. His careful diplomacy with our country’s allies, combined with his firm hand with Communist leaders, helped topple oppressive dictatorships throughout Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Today, many of these nations benefit from constitutions that were inspired by our own. Our Founding Fathers’ vision continues to resonate and provide hope. Let us take this opportunity to honor our presidents for their fortitude in upholding our freedoms for over 200 years.

Kay Bailey Hutchison is the senior U.S. Senator from Texas.