35 More Surprising Facts About America’s Presidents (Part 3)

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26Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt made an agreement with the press that they wouldn't take photos of him walking or getting in and out of cars, so as to avoid publicizing his disability due to polio.


27. President Gerald Ford stood up for civil rights in 1934 by threatening to quit his college football team, unless they let Willis Ward (African American) play against the south’s Georgia Tech. He agreed to play only after Ward asked him to because they couldn’t afford to lose that game.


28. In 1919, Eisenhower and the Army tried to drive across the country. They barely made it, so Eisenhower built the Interstate Highway System when he became President.


29. Richard Nixon sabotaged Vietnam peace talks to give himself a better chance in the 1968 U.S. Presidential election, prolonging the war by 5 years.


30. In his final days, Lyndon B. Johnson would listen to "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel repeatedly while agonizing over his legacy; worrying that he would only be remembered for the Vietnam War and not as the architect of equal rights and Medicare.


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31Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon once called in staff to help him open an allergy-pill bottle. It was the childproof type of bottle, with instructions saying “Press down while turning.” The cap had teeth marks on it where Nixon had apparently tried to gnaw it open.


32. In 1981, Ronald Reagan fired 11,345 air traffic controllers after they refused to end their strike and subsequently banned them from federal service for life.


33. Ulysses S. Grant provided the defeated and starving Confederate Army with food rations after their surrender in April 1865. Because of this, for the rest of his life, Robert E. Lee "would not tolerate an unkind word about Grant in his presence."


34. President Lyndon B. Johnson owned an amphibious car, a car that serves as both a vehicle and a boat. He used it to scare guests by driving them into his lake while screaming that the brakes were malfunctioning.


35. John F. Kennedy ordered 1200 Cuban cigars just a day before declaring the Cuban trade embargo. 

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