Parade of Presidents

<p> If the 2012 presidential election causes you to wonder how the office has evolved and about the men who have held it, you may want to see the History Channel's entertaining, informative overview, “The Presidents.” Released as a four-DVD set, the series is arranged chronologically, administration by administration, and encompasses every president from the longest serving, Franklin D. Roosevelt (12 years), to the shortest, William Henry Harrison (one month). Those two men at least had to things in common: patrician politicians, they died in officealbeit Roosevelt after bravely battling years of great stress and Harrison by catching cold in a stupid act of bravado. </p> <p>Some of those obscure names half-remembered from high school history class, like James K. Polk, actually left major accomplishments. Under Polk, the U.S. finally stretched from sea to sea after seizing Arizona, New Mexico and California from Mexico and settling the Oregon boundary after threatening war with Canada (both sides compromised). Some presidents held offices under strange circumstances. John Tyler, who took charge after Harrison's death, refused to name a vice president, engaged in power struggles with the cabinet he inherited and after being expelled from his own party, the Whigs, stepped aside at the end of his term. </p> <p>The historians and biographers sourced for the series clearly hold the first three presidents in high regard. George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were founders of the republic, statesmen as well as capable politicians, and yet had interesting quirks. Washington disdained to shake hands, deeming it below the dignity of his office, and had a hand in everything from designing military uniforms to surveying the swamp land that became Washington, D.C. Adams would probably be diagnosed bi-polar nowadays; smart but prickly, he signed legislation making criticism of him a crime. And the eloquent Jefferson's long-running affair with his slave mistress offers material for a mini-series. </p> <p>One point recurs through much of the series: the presidents who spoke most about restricting the power of the federal government or their own offices were usually the ones who enlarged it. </p>