How Many American Presidents Have Been Forgotten

Another reason a president might have been forgotten is because of their terms being cut short either by death, impeachment, and even resignation. While the people may never forget some presidents who’ve terms been cut short like John F. Kennedy who tragically was assassinated while going through a parade or Richard Nixon who had a huge scandal that led to his resignation. Americans have forgotten about William Henry Harrison, James A. Garfield, Zachary Taylor, and Warren G. Harding. The record for the shortest term ever belongs to William Henry Harrison after he died thirty one days after becoming president. But unlike some, Harrison’s death could have possibly been totally preventable. When he was giving his inaugural address, according to …show more content…
Typically it is because they seemed to get ignored by Americans, for example, Martin Van Buren, James K. Polk, Ulysses S. Grant, and Calvin Coolidge have faded away into irrelevancy for being seen as irrelevant to the American History. And that is just not true, every president who has served a full term has accomplished something in their term. Let’s begin with Martin Van Buren. Van Buren was “the first president to be born a citizen of the United States and not a British subject” (Martin Van Buren). The first ever fully American president. The Hulk Hogan of Presidents. That has to account for something? Nope. Still mostly forgotten by Americans. So what else did Van Buren do? “Van Buren helped form the new Democratic Party from a coalition of Jeffersonian Republicans who backed the military hero and president Andrew Jackson” (Martin Van Buren). So he helped set up one of the biggest political parties in America yet he’s still considered irrelevant. What could be causing the problem of being forgotten? His bad rule of America. “Buren won the White House himself in 1836 but was plagued by a financial panic that gripped the nation the following year” (Martin Van Buren). People tend to only see a person for their bad side. This is exactly what happened with Van …show more content…
Polk was a brilliant leader. “During his tenure, America’s territory grew by more than one-third and extended across the continent for the first time” (James K. Polk). Polk helped make America as big as it is now. Not only did make America bigger he “reduced tariffs, reformed the national banking system, and settled a boundary dispute with the British that secured the Oregon Territory for the United States” (James K. Polk). So many positives so far but Polk’s resume still has more. “Polk also led the nation into the Mexican-America War (1846-48), in which the United States acquired California and much of the present-day Southwest” (James K. Polk). America’s second biggest state, California, was captured by Polk. Without Polk all those amazing Hollywood movies might not have existed or basically anything else in television now-a-days might have not existed. Yet he is still over looked and never truly remembered for his