PRESIDENTIAL PASTIMES, PART I - Page 2


© John S. Cooper
Page 2
Thomas Jefferson continued to enjoy music, playing the violin. He also enjoyed walking, fishing and horseback riding. As President, he continued to study a variety of sciences, especially natural history and languages, especially in connection with the Lewis and Clark expedition through the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase.

Both James Madison and James Monroe had no known hobbies and engaged in no known sports while serving as President.

John Quincy Adams, unlike his father, had several hobbies during his one term in the White House, and a couple of them got him into trouble. He was an avid billiard player, and purchased a billiard table for the White House at his own expense. When he ran for re-election in 1828, the Democrats accused him of purchasing a “gaming table” at government expense.

John Quincy Adams also enjoyed walking and swimming every morning in good weather. This, too, presented a problem for him. The Federal City, as it was then called, occupied only a small portion of the District of Columbia, with much of the rest being woods and fields with little or no population. Adams was in the habit of swimming in the nude in the Potomac River. One morning, a reporter named Anne Royall, who had been trying to get an interview with the President, followed him to the riverbank and waited for him to enter the river. She sat on his clothing, refusing to let him out of the river until she got her interview. Adams gave her the interview while neck-deep in the Potomac River.

Jackson, older and frail by the time he moved into the White House, enjoyed horseback riding as his principal sport during his two terms as President. His successor Martin Van Buren also enjoyed riding.

The next three Presidents - - - William Henry Harrison, John Tyler and James K. Polk - - - had no known sports or hobbies during their tenure as President.

Zachary Taylor, like several Presidents before him, enjoyed riding as his principal form of recreation. A career army officer and war hero, he kept his Mexican War mount, Whitey, at the White House. Whitey was given the freedom of the White House lawn, but tourists began plucking a hair of his tail as a souvenir. Eventually, Whitey had to be kept elsewhere, away from souvenir hunting tourists.

Presidents Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, and James Buchanan were among those who engaged in no known hobbies or sports while they served in the White House.

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Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: View all related messages

2.   Apr 22, 2001 6:36 AM
Hi John,

Poor Whitey -- I guess people were just as goofy back then as they are today. I loved this article. I couldn't help but think that Ann Royal's story could have turned out very differently ...


-- posted by Tina_Coruth


1.   Apr 21, 2001 7:19 PM
Hmm. Interesting insight into the sport and hobby side of our presidents, John. Wonder how the arts got funded for those who weren't interested in music?

I'll look forward to part II. ...


-- posted by jerrib





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