Laura Dean Bennett
Staff Writer
February was chosen as the month for our national celebration of former American presidents because the birthdays of George Washington (1732) and Abraham Lincoln (1809) both occurred in this month.
What better time to apprise ourselves of more biographical details about great Americans who have held the highest office in the land?
Presidential biography nerds (I admit to being one myself) will thrill to the new book by presidential scholar and well-known author Jarod Cohen.
“Life After Power: Seven Presidents and their Search for Purpose Beyond the White House” was just released February 13, 2024.
It examines the post-presidencies of Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, Grover Cleveland, William Howard Taft, Herbert Hoover, Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush.
Just when you think there can’t be that many more big stories about Thomas Jefferson left to tell, this book includes one which took place at his beloved University of Virginia, when he was the president of that esteemed school.
So proud was President Jefferson of the university that he founded that his tenure there is mentioned on his tombstone, whereas his time as president of the United States is not.
The incident reported by Cohen in his book took place in October 1825 when Jefferson was president of the school.
Jefferson called upon a disciplinary committee comprised of James Madison, James Monroe and himself to convene a hearing before the entire student body and all members of the administration to discipline members of the inaugural graduating class for their unacceptable behavior that year.
Some students had been rioting, covering their faces with masks, screaming “Down with European Professors” and lobbing bags of urine at administrators.
As he spoke, Jefferson was so upset by the disgraceful behavior that he began weeping. His honorable reputation and unimpeachable record of public service was such that the guilty parties confessed one by one, repented their repugnant behavior and abandoned their ill-considered cause.
If that whets your appetite for reading this book, you can find it any bookstore or order a copy on the Internet right away.
But if you can wait a few weeks, you’ll be able to find it at McClintic Library and throughout the Pocahontas County Libraries and Visitors Information Centers system. It is being ordered now and will be available to patrons sometime in March.
In the meantime, visit any one of our county libraries, you’ll find plenty of books about our founding fathers and our great presidents.
And if you can’t find a title you’re looking for, you can always ask about it – maybe it’s at one of the other libraries and can be sent to your library in a matter of days.
