1. He was chosen by the Continental Congress to write the Declaration of Independence. He was a skilled architect. He entered the contest to design the new presidents' home but did not win. Retirement gave him time to enjoy his many interests,
such as music and inventing, plus he created the University of Virginia. |
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2. He was the first president born a U.S. citizen, not a British subject.
All previous presidents had been born when the United States was an English colony. During the election of
1840 the word "O.K." became popular. He was from Old Kinderhook. To support his campaign,
Old Kinderhook Clubs or O.K. Clubs were formed. The expression "O.K." soon meant "all right". |
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3. He had many jobs, including farming, splitting rails for fences, store clerk, captain in the Black Hawk War,
and Illinois legislator. He issued the Emancipation Proclamation that declared that slaves within Confederate states were free. At the dedication of a military cemetery at Gettysburg, he gave a speech known as the
Gettysburg Address. He was assassinated at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. |
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4. He was the first president
born in a log cabin. He was a poor orphan but had military and law careers. |
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5. He was the first president to live in the newly built White House.
He was the first president to be the father of another president. |
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6. He brought hope, style, and glamour to the presidency. Some of his presidential accomplishments include starting the Peace Corps to help undeveloped nations, the Apollo Project to land a man on the moon by 1970, and support for the civil rights movement to ensure equal rights and
opportunities to all Americans. His book Profiles in Courage was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for biography. |
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7. He was the last president bom in a log cabin. He was the first left-handed president. He could write a sentence in Greek
with his right hand and a sentence in Latin with his left, at the same time. |
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8. After losing die 1888 election, his wife told the White House doorman to take good care of the furniture because "I want to find everything just as it is now... We’re coming back just four years from today". She was right. He became the first president to serve two non-consecutive terms.
His wife was popular and was even used in cosmetic advertisements. |
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