\n<\/p>\n
In a well-trafficked walkway linking the West Wing to the White House residence, President Trump has recast history with gold-lettered plaques that summarize each of the 47 U.S. presidencies.<\/p>\n
They are peppered with falsehoods, misrepresentations, insults, praise, self-promotion and erratic capitalizations.<\/p>\n
Attendees at a Rose Garden dinner mingled near the plaques in May.<\/span> Doug Mills\/The New York Times<\/span><\/p>\n The Times photographed each plaque and asked eight historians who have studied and written about both Democratic and Republican presidents to examine and annotate the exhibit, which spans 5,400 words.<\/p>\n Nicole Anslover<\/p>\n Florida Atlantic University<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Douglas Brinkley<\/p>\n Rice University<\/p>\n<\/li>\n David Greenberg<\/p>\n Rutgers University<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Timothy Naftali<\/p>\n Columbia University<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Larry Sabato<\/p>\n University of Virginia<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Daryl Scott<\/p>\n Morgan State University<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Marc Selverstone<\/p>\n University of Virginia<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Sean Wilentz<\/p>\n Princeton University<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n The historians noted that the plaques are not a dispassionate museum display. Rather, they said, they are a skewed narrative of history by Mr. Trump, with him as the protagonist. The plaques are written in Mr. Trump\u2019s signature hyperbolic style, as seen in his social media posts.<\/p>\n Asked about the plaques, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, \u200bsaid, \u201cAs a student of history, many were written directly by the president himself.\u201d The Times shared the historians\u2019 observations with the White House, which declined to comment on the specific points in the annotations. It also declined to provide details on the sources Mr. Trump and others used to write the plaques.<\/p>\n Mr. Trump showed the plaques to New York Times reporters in January.<\/span> Doug Mills\/The New York Times<\/span><\/p>\n The commentary surrounding more recent presidents \u2014 like Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Barack Obama \u2014 adopts a sharper and more partisan tone. While entries for earlier presidents are less combative, they recast history in a way that favors Mr. Trump\u2019s priorities and the unprecedented actions of his administration. The exhibit \u201cis not so much bad history as it is anti-historical,\u201d said Sean Wilentz, an American history professor at Princeton University.<\/p>\n Tariffs are mentioned 18 times. Major scandals are left out (Teapot Dome), or not explained (Watergate). The Monroe Doctrine \u2014 which Mr. Trump has misinterpreted, historians say, and used to justify U.S. interventions in the Western Hemisphere \u2014 is repeatedly lauded.<\/p>\n The White House ballroom project \u2014 which is still under construction and caught in a legal battle \u2014\u00a0is described as already built. Mr. Trump himself appears in the capsules of six predecessors. And the description of the first year of his second term takes up more space than the summaries for the presidencies of Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt combined.<\/p>\n Below is the full, unedited text of the plaques, along with a selection of historians\u2019 comments that has been edited for clarity. While the annotations offer insight across the plaques, they are not meant to be comprehensive. Unannotated copy may also include falsehoods or misrepresentations.<\/p>\n To choose a presidency, click on a numbered box or search by name. To see a historian\u2019s annotation, click on a highlighted phrase<\/span>.<\/p>\n 1On January 20, 2025, Donald J. Trump<\/span> became the first President in 132 years to be sworn into office for a second non-consecutive term, following his Historic Victory in an Electoral College landslide, 312 to 226. Overcoming unprecedented Weaponization of Law Enforcement against him, as well as two assassination attempts, he won all battleground States by millions of votes, was the first Republican in decades to win the Popular Vote, BIG, and won 86% of Counties in America, 2,700 to 525. All 50 States shifted toward the Republican Party for the first time ever. At his Inauguration, President Trump announced the beginning of the \u201cGolden Age of America,\u201d and 2he delivered, ending eight wars in his first eight months,<\/span> securing the Border, deporting gang members and migrant criminals, 3making our Cities safe, helping our Farmers, defeating Inflation, reducing Energy costs,<\/span> and drawing Trillions of Dollars of new Investment, a RECORD, into the United States.<\/p>\n President Trump signed the Largest Tax Cuts in American History, the Largest Spending Cuts in American History, and implemented the Largest Ever Regulation Cuts. He obliterated Iran\u2019s nuclear enrichment capacity with Operation Midnight Hammer, convinced NATO Countries to agree to increase contributions from 2% to 5% of GDP, reformed the Global Trading System, and made America Rich with Historic Tariffs, removed Critical Race Theory and transgender insanity from public schools, and banned men from women\u2019s sports. He began the construction of the Golden Dome missile defense shield, renamed the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, and 4has built, right here at the White House, the magnificent Trump Presidential Ballroom after a 225 year wait<\/span> \u2014 but THE BEST IS YET TO COME!<\/p>\n 1<\/span>Noteworthy<\/span><\/p>\n The write-ups for the recent presidents, starting with Trump, are, depending on your perspective, either comically or infuriatingly inappropriate for official copy from the White House.<\/span> <\/p>\n David Greenberg, Rutgers University<\/p>\n 2<\/span>Falsehood<\/span><\/p>\n This is not true.<\/span> <\/p>\n Larry Sabato, University of Virginia<\/p>\n 3<\/span>Erratic capitalization<\/span><\/p>\n A common stylistic device of Trump is the choice to ignore standard capitalization rules. For example, words such as cities, inflation, and energy would not be capitalized typically.<\/span> <\/p>\n Nicole Anslover, Florida Atlantic University<\/p>\n 4<\/span>Falsehood<\/span><\/p>\n He\u2019s built nothing. He\u2019s simply torn down the East Wing.<\/span> <\/p>\n Larry Sabato, University of Virginia<\/p>\n 1Sleepy Joe Biden was, by far, the worst President in American History.<\/span> Taking office as a result of the 2most corrupt Election ever seen in the United States<\/span>, Biden oversaw a series of unprecedented disasters that brought our Nation to the brink of destruction. His policies caused the highest Inflation ever recorded, leading the U.S. Dollar to lose more than 20% of its value in 4 years. His Green New Scam surrendered American Energy Dominance and, by abolishing the Southern Border, Biden let 21 million people from all over the World pour into the United States, including from prisons, jails, mental institutions, and insane asylums. His Afghanistan Disaster was among the most humiliating events in American History, and resulted in the murder of 13 brave American Servicemembers, with many others gravely wounded. Seeing Biden\u2019s devastating weakness, Russia invaded Ukraine, and Hamas terrorists launched the heinous October 7th attack on Israel.<\/p>\n Nicknamed both \u201cSleepy\u201d and \u201cCrooked,\u201d Joe Biden was dominated by his Radical Left handlers. They and their allies in the Fake News Media attempted to cover up his severe mental decline, 3and his unprecedented use of the Autopen.<\/span> Following his humiliating debate loss to President Trump in the big June 2024 debate, he was forced to withdraw from his campaign for re-election in disgrace. Biden weaponized Law Enforcement against his political opponent, while also persecuting many other innocent people. 4He left office issuing blanket pardons to Radical Democrat criminals and thugs, as well as members of the Biden Crime Family \u2013 But despite it all, President Trump would get Re-Elected in a Landslide, and SAVE AMERICA!<\/span><\/p>\n 1<\/span>Insult<\/span><\/p>\n The smearing of President Biden is largely recycled campaign vitriol.<\/span> <\/p>\n Sean Wilentz, Princeton University<\/p>\n 2<\/span>Falsehood<\/span><\/p>\n There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud.<\/span> <\/p>\n Nicole Anslover, Florida Atlantic University<\/p>\n 3<\/span>Misrepresentation<\/span><\/p>\n The autopen was judged many years ago to be a legal way to affix the president\u2019s signature.<\/span> <\/p>\n Larry Sabato, University of Virginia<\/p>\n 4<\/span>Insult<\/span><\/p>\n This reads like a campaign polemic of the worst sort, with little concern for decorum or accuracy.<\/span> <\/p>\n Daryl Scott, Morgan State University<\/p>\n In 2016, campaigning under the slogan, \u201cMake America Great Again,\u201d Donald J. Trump became the first person in American History to become President without previously holding political office, or serving as an Officer in the Military. After beating 16 other candidates in the Republican primary, 1he went on to defeat former Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, in an Electoral College landslide of 304 to 227<\/span>, representing an unprecedented realignment that turned the so-called \u201cblue wall\u201d of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin into future Election \u201cbattlegrounds.\u201d<\/p>\n During his Historic First Term in Office, President Trump signed the Largest Tax Cuts in History, built a booming Economy, eliminated a record number of Federal Regulations, 2rebuilt the United States Military<\/span>, terminated the Iran Nuclear Deal and the Paris Climate Accords, ended the NAFTA disaster, destroyed the ISIS Caliphate, signed the historic Abraham Accords, and 3created the Greatest Economy in the History of the World<\/span>. He also saved millions of lives around the World with Operation Warp Speed, and his response to the Coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n 1<\/span>Falsehood<\/span><\/p>\n Not a landslide, and Trump lost the popular vote by about three million.<\/span> <\/p>\n Larry Sabato, University of Virginia<\/p>\n 2<\/span>Misrepresentation<\/span><\/p>\n His self-assessment would lead someone to believe the American military had declined, which it clearly had not.<\/span> <\/p>\n Daryl Scott, Morgan State University<\/p>\n 3<\/span>Misrepresentation<\/span><\/p>\n While the U.S. economy saw growth during the first three years of Trump’s first term, the Covid-19 pandemic led to a severe contraction of the economy. Unemployment rose sharply, as did inflation.<\/span> <\/p>\n Nicole Anslover, Florida Atlantic University<\/p>\n Barack 1Hussein<\/span> Obama was the first Black President, a community organizer, one term Senator from Illinois, and one of 2the most divisive political figures in American History. As President, he passed the highly ineffective \u201cUnaffordable\u201d Care Act, resulting in his party losing control of both Houses of Congress, and the Election of the largest House Republican majority since 1946. He presided over a stagnant Economy, approved the terrible Iran Nuclear Deal, and signed the one-sided Paris Climate Accords, both of which were later terminated by President Donald J. Trump.<\/span><\/p>\n Under Obama, the ISIS Caliphate spread across the Middle East, Libya collapsed into chaos, and Russia invaded and took Crimea, in Ukraine. He crippled small businesses with crushing regulation and environmental red tape, devastated American coal miners, and weaponized the IRS and Federal bureaucracies against his political opponents. 3Obama also spied on the 2016 Presidential Campaign of Donald J. Trump, and presided over the creation of the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, the worst political scandal in American History.<\/span> His handpicked successor, Hillary Rodham Clinton, would then lose the Presidency to Donald J. Trump.<\/p>\n 1<\/span>Insult<\/span><\/p>\n Trump insists on using Obama\u2019s middle name, evidently because he regards it as a way to besmirch him.<\/span> <\/p>\n Sean Wilentz, Princeton University<\/p>\n 2<\/span>Misrepresentation<\/span><\/p>\n The tone and content of the captions for several recent presidents, especially the Democrats, is self-evidently skewed, gratuitously nasty and wildly out of place for an official government display.<\/span> <\/p>\n David Greenberg, Rutgers University<\/p>\n 3<\/span>Falsehood<\/span><\/p>\n This is a mish-mash of falsehoods.<\/span> <\/p>\n Larry Sabato, University of Virginia<\/p>\n The son of former President George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush was the Governor of Texas when he won the hotly contested 2000 Election for President. His Administration was largely defined by the events of September 11, 2001 \u2014 The destruction of the World Trade Center, after which he led the war on terror. 1President Bush created the Department of Homeland Security, but started wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, both of which should not have happened. He also enacted Tax Cuts, expanded Medicare, signed the No Child Left Behind education bill, and launched the President\u2019s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Shortly before the end of his Administration, a Global Financial Crisis and major Recession took place.<\/span><\/p>\n 1<\/span>Noteworthy<\/span><\/p>\n Trump seems to be torn between trying to give credit to Bush for conservative policies he passed (tax cuts) and wanting to indict him as part of the Republican establishment that Trump dethroned.<\/span> <\/p>\n David Greenberg, Rutgers University<\/p>\n 1Bill Clinton served as Attorney General and Governor of Arkansas before winning the Presidency in what was called a major upset over President George H. W. Bush. As President, Clinton signed crime and welfare legislation, which was passed with the leadership of Republicans in Congress.<\/span> 2He approved NAFTA, which President Donald J. Trump would later terminate as being bad for the United States,<\/span> welcomed China into the World Trade Organization, and oversaw NATO\u2019s Military intervention in Bosnia and Kosovo. Despite the scandals that plagued his Presidency, the tech boom of the late 1990s resulted in excellent Economic growth, which helped him and Republicans in Congress deliver balanced budgets for the first time in decades. 3In 2016, President Clinton\u2019s wife, Hillary, lost the Presidency to President Donald J. Trump!<\/span><\/p>\n 1<\/span>Noteworthy<\/span><\/p>\n I find it somewhat surprising that Trump doesn\u2019t attack Clinton more, given his harshness toward Biden and Obama.<\/span> <\/p>\n David Greenberg, Rutgers University<\/p>\n 2<\/span>Misrepresentation<\/span><\/p>\n He does not mention that NAFTA, too, passed only because of significant Republican support. Trump also is highly misleading in saying that he \u201cterminated\u201d NAFTA. Trump did modify it, though almost all accounts regard those modifications as minor.<\/span> <\/p>\n David Greenberg, Rutgers University<\/p>\n 3<\/span>Self-promotion<\/span><\/p>\n The plaques are frequently self-referential. This framing includes repeated mentions of Trump himself in citations that appear in the Biden, Obama, Clinton, Reagan, Cleveland and Jackson plaques.<\/span> <\/p>\n Marc Selverstone, University of Virginia<\/p>\n George H.W. Bush was a decorated World War II Naval pilot before becoming a Congressman, United Nations Ambassador, Chairman of the Republican Party, Envoy to China, CIA Director, and Vice President under Ronald Reagan. 1Elected to the White House in 1988, President Bush managed the successful end of the Cold War, the reunification of Germany, and victory in the first Gulf War. He signed the Americans with Disabilities Act, Clean Air Act Amendments,<\/span> and 2appointed Justice Clarence Thomas to the United States Supreme Court.<\/span> After losing his re-election campaign in a three-way race, President Bush devoted much of the rest of his life to charitable endeavors.<\/p>\n 1<\/span>Omission<\/span><\/p>\n This version of presidential history doesn\u2019t credit Republican presidents with policies disliked by Trump. George H.W. Bush signed the initial version of NAFTA.<\/span> <\/p>\n Timothy Naftali, Columbia University<\/p>\n 2<\/span>Omission<\/span><\/p>\n Given the preferences of MAGA history, it is no surprise that this label leaves out Justice David Souter, a moderate.<\/span> <\/p>\n Timothy Naftali, Columbia University<\/p>\n 1Ronald Reagan won the Cold War<\/span>, and transformed American politics and the Conservative Movement. Before entering the White House, Reagan was a Hollywood actor, President of the Screen Actors Guild, Governor of California and, for decades, a leading voice in American Conservatism. 2As President, he enacted Tax Cuts, presided over a thriving Economy<\/span>, and rebuilt the American Military. He survived being shot by an assassin, and 3confronted the Soviet Union with striking moral clarity, labeling it an \u201cevil empire,\u201d<\/span> and putting unprecedented pressure on the Communist menace. Known as \u201cThe Great Communicator,\u201d he was re-elected in a landslide in 1984, and left office with high approval, having restored National Confidence, Spirit, and Will. 4He was a fan of President Donald J. Trump long before President Trump\u2019s Historic run for the White House. Likewise, President Trump was a fan of his!<\/span><\/p>\n 1<\/span>Misrepresentation<\/span><\/p>\n President Reagan\u2019s policies and efforts certainly helped bring an end to the Cold War, but he alone did not \u201cwin\u201d the decades long conflict. Reagan\u2019s seven immediate predecessors, along with the implosion of the Soviet economy and the policies of Mikhail Gorbachev, also contributed to the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union, which occurred during the presidency of George H.W. Bush.<\/span> <\/p>\n Nicole Anslover, Florida Atlantic University<\/p>\n 2<\/span>Omission<\/span><\/p>\n Reagan also cut tariffs; led, with his close ally Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, the process that led to U.S.-Canada free trade; and promoted the virtues of immigration from around the world. There is also no reference to the budget deficit produced by these tax cuts that led to a later series of subtle tax increases under Reagan.<\/span> <\/p>\n Timothy Naftali, Columbia University<\/p>\n 3<\/span>Noteworthy<\/span><\/p>\n The reference to him confronting the Soviet Union \u201cwith striking moral clarity\u201d is noteworthy given the Trump administration\u2019s transactional approach to international relations.<\/span> <\/p>\n Marc Selverstone, University of Virginia<\/p>\n 4<\/span>Noteworthy<\/span><\/p>\n It is hard to credit this mutual fandom. As a businessman, Trump was a vocal critic of Reagan\u2019s foreign policy in the 1980s. In 2020, the Reagan Foundation asked the Trump re-election campaign and the R.N.C. to stop using Ronald Reagan\u2019s likeness to fund-raise and opposed the issue of a coin with Reagan\u2019s face paired with Trump\u2019s. With the exception of a shared commitment to tax cuts, Trump and Reagan saw the world very differently.<\/span> <\/p>\n Timothy Naftali, Columbia University<\/p>\n Jimmy Carter served as an Officer in the U.S. Navy\u2019s nuclear submarine program, and as Governor of Georgia, before being elected President in 1976. His single term was marked by high Inflation, high unemployment, and a rising \u201cmisery index.\u201d Carter pardoned Vietnam draft dodgers, signed the Camp David Accords, 1gave away the Panama Canal for $1<\/span>, and created the Department of Energy and the Department of Education. During his Presidency, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, Communism advanced around the World, and 66 Americans were taken hostage by a new fundamentalist regime in Iran. After leaving office, Carter dedicated much of his life to humanitarian work, including Habitat for Humanity. Many feel that President Carter was more successful after his Presidency than during it. 2He did wonderful things for Humanity!<\/span><\/p>\n 1<\/span>Falsehood<\/span><\/p>\n A more accurate statement would be that Carter signed agreements transferring control of the canal zone to Panama.<\/span> <\/p>\n Nicole Anslover, Florida Atlantic University<\/p>\n 2<\/span>Praise of Democrat<\/span><\/p>\n Finally, I can give Trump credit for one generous sentence about a Democratic president.<\/span> <\/p>\n Larry Sabato, University of Virginia<\/p>\n Gerald Ford was a former college football star, Michigan Congressman, and Republican Leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, when he became Richard Nixon\u2019s Vice President following the resignation of Spiro Agnew. He then ascended to the Presidency when President Nixon resigned. President Ford continued his predecessor\u2019s policy of d\u00e9tente with the Soviet Union, survived multiple assassination attempts, grappled with rising Inflation, and pardoned former President Nixon. After overcoming a primary challenge from California Governor Ronald Reagan, Ford narrowly lost re-election to Jimmy Carter, probably because of 1his brave Pardon of Richard Nixon.<\/span><\/p>\n 1<\/span>Praise<\/span><\/p>\n Pardons, except those granted by Democrats, are always brave.<\/span> <\/p>\n Larry Sabato, University of Virginia<\/p>\n Richard Nixon rose from poverty to serve as Congressman, Senator, and Vice President to Dwight D. Eisenhower. In Congress, he earned a reputation as a passionate anti-Communist, and played a key role in the Alger Hiss case. After losing the Presidency to John F. Kennedy in 1960, he was elected President in 1968 in one of the greatest political comebacks in American History. As President, Nixon ended the Vietnam War, pursued d\u00e9tente with the Soviet Union, created the Environmental Protection Agency, and masterminded the \u201cOpening to China.\u201d 1In 1972, vowing to defend Law and Order<\/span>, he won the largest popular vote victory in American History. 2Following the Watergate Scandal<\/span>, Nixon 3became the only President to resign from office in 1974<\/span>.<\/p>\n 1<\/span>Misrepresentation<\/span><\/p>\n Law and Order was actually his main plank when Nixon ran for president in 1968, not in 1972.<\/span> <\/p>\n Timothy Naftali, Columbia University<\/p>\n 2<\/span>Omission<\/span><\/p>\n Most historians consider Watergate to be the central and defining part of Nixon’s presidency. Trump is out of step with both historical and popular opinion in relegating it to a near afterthought.<\/span> <\/p>\n David Greenberg, Rutgers University<\/p>\n 3<\/span>Omission<\/span><\/p>\n This doesn’t mention the investigative and impeachment processes that unearthed what by 1974 had destroyed Nixon\u2019s credibility. When the coverup of multiple crimes came to light, Nixon lost his own party and Americans, who learned that he had used the federal government to go after his enemies, something the current White House clearly doesn’t see as a reason to resign.<\/span> <\/p>\n Timothy Naftali, Columbia University<\/p>\n 1Lyndon Baines Johnson<\/span> is widely regarded as the most effective Senate Majority Leader in U.S. History, and served as John F. Kennedy\u2019s Vice President. After President Kennedy\u2019s assassination, Johnson rapidly enacted his predecessor\u2019s stalled legislative agenda, 2including passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.<\/span> He won Election in a landslide, and launched the \u201cGreat Society\u201d and \u201cWar on Poverty.\u201d Later, discontent over the Vietnam War led to National unrest, and greatly damaged his Presidency. He declined to seek re-election in 1968.<\/p>\n 1<\/span>Noteworthy<\/span><\/p>\n One could quibble with a few things here, but this is surprisingly accurate and neutral.<\/span> <\/p>\n David Greenberg, Rutgers University<\/p>\n 2<\/span>Omission<\/span><\/p>\n Given Trump\u2019s focus on immigration, it\u2019s remarkable that the plaque is silent on the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which ended the quota system and promoted immigration based on family ties \u2014 precisely the kinds of measures the president has vigorously and vocally opposed.<\/span> <\/p>\n Marc Selverstone, University of Virginia<\/p>\n 1John F. Kennedy<\/span> was a decorated World War II Naval Officer and war hero, who served as a Congressman, and later, as U.S. Senator from Massachusetts. At the age of 43, he became the youngest person, and the first Catholic, ever to be elected to the Nation\u2019s highest office. Using stirring rhetoric, Kennedy boldly declared America\u2019s opposition to Communism in the Cold War, promoted civil rights, championed Tax Cuts, and challenged Americans to land astronauts on the moon. 2Kennedy suffered a painful setback during the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion, and was President when the Soviet Union built the Berlin Wall, but skillfully navigated the threat of nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis.<\/span> Kennedy\u2019s Presidency ended tragically with his assassination in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963.<\/p>\n 1<\/span>Praise of Democrat<\/span><\/p>\n This seems to be the fairest and most positive evaluation of any recent Democratic president. I have to think it was partly a nod to R.F.K. Jr., Trump\u2019s H.H.S. secretary, who would presumably have been offended if his uncle had been trashed the way Obama and Biden were.<\/span> <\/p>\n Larry Sabato, University of Virginia<\/p>\n 2<\/span>Omission<\/span><\/p>\n The plaque is silent about J.F.K.\u2019s escalation of U.S. involvement in Vietnam as well as his (and really Jackie\u2019s) promotion of the arts and renovation of the White House, both of which look rather different under Trump.<\/span> <\/p>\n Marc Selverstone, University of Virginia<\/p>\n Dwight D. Eisenhower rose from humble Kansas roots to become the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe in World War II, where he famously oversaw and orchestrated the D-Day Invasion of Normandy. As President, Eisenhower ended the Korean War, admitted Alaska and Hawaii as States, and oversaw Cold War containment of the Soviet Union. He launched the 1interstate highway system, balanced the budget, and enforced the desegregation<\/span> of American schools at Little Rock, Arkansas. During his Farewell Address, Eisenhower warned the American people of the growing threat of the \u201cmilitary-industrial complex.\u201d After two terms in office, he retired to his farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n 1<\/span>Noteworthy<\/span><\/p>\n With someone like John F. Kennedy, he puts in capital letters that he championed tax cuts, capital T-C. Trump capitalizes things like tax cuts, tariffs, pardons. Yet with someone like Eisenhower, he won\u2019t capitalize the \u201cinterstate highway system\u201d or \u201cbalanced budget\u201d or \u201cenforced the desegregation.\u201d<\/span> <\/p>\n Douglas Brinkley, Rice University<\/p>\n \u201cGive \u2019em Hell, Harry\u201d was a former farmer from Missouri, World War I veteran, former U.S. Senator, and the sitting Vice President when Franklin Roosevelt died in office in 1945. As President, Truman authorized the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending World War II. He led postwar recovery in Europe through the Marshall Plan and Truman Doctrine, oversaw the creation of NATO, and deployed the U.S. Military to Korea at the start of the Korean War. Domestically, he championed a so-called \u201cFair Deal,\u201d expanded Social Security, raised the minimum wage, and initiated the desegregation of the U.S. Military.<\/p>\n Franklin Delano Roosevelt served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Democrat Vice Presidential nominee, and Governor of New York before being elected to the Presidency in 1932. President Roosevelt took office in the midst of the Great Depression, and pursued a sweeping domestic agenda known as the New Deal. He created Social Security, enacted banking reforms, and 1presided over a massive expansion of the Federal bureaucracy<\/span>. President Roosevelt also led the United States through the Second World War, mobilizing the Nation after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and serving as Commander-in-Chief throughout the Allied effort to defeat Nazism and fascism. President Roosevelt also played a central role in creating postwar institutions such as the United Nations. He died in 1945, just weeks before the Allied Victory in Europe. 2He was the only President elected to four terms.<\/span><\/p>\n 1<\/span>Noteworthy<\/span><\/p>\n Perhaps a slight hint here of Trump’s obsession with the \u201cdeep state,\u201d a conspiratorial term for the federal bureaucracy.<\/span> <\/p>\n David Greenberg, Rutgers University<\/p>\n 2<\/span>Self-promotion<\/span><\/p>\n A four-term president gets much less space than a two-term Donald Trump who so far has only been in office five years.<\/span> <\/p>\n Larry Sabato, University of Virginia<\/p>\n A self-made man who rose from humble beginnings, Herbert Hoover was a successful mining engineer who became known as the \u201cGreat Humanitarian.\u201d He led the Commission for Relief in Belgium during World War I, served as Secretary of Commerce, and directed the relief efforts in the aftermath of the Mississippi River Flood of 1927. Hoover became President only months before the Wall Street Crash of 1929. \n
Explore the plaques, with \u2022<\/span>\u00a0annotations from historians<\/h3>\n