The Bucket List Challenge

Well….I did it.  It took me 2 years, but I did it.  A few friends know that an item on my ‘Bucket List’ is to read a biography of each US president in chronological order.  I figured I could complete this item from my Bucket List in this lifetime.  Maybe not…might spill over into the next lifetime.

So what took 2 years you ask?  Reading a biography of James Monroe, our fifth president, a biography written by Harry Ammon, a tome of 573 pages that took me FOREVER!!!! to read!!!

A friend recently asked how I could remember what I read if it took that long….the answer, I don’t.  I remember the overall story line and the big stuff.  The first four biographies (Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison) were fairly easy reads and a couple (Washington and Jefferson) were actually delightful reads.  But this Monroe biography was tough; no doubt because Ammon was very, very thorough in detailing every legislative action that took place during Monroe’s tenure. 

I’m glad I did it.  I did learn a lot that I do remember and which I don’t remember my high school history class covering.  About all I remember from that class was the traumatic experience of being accused of cheating on a test, which I did not do, and my innocence was proven when the person I was accused of cheating with had completely different answers from mine.

So anyway, what did I learn regarding Monroe?

·        I learned of the US involvement of the decolonization of South America during Monroe’s tenure.

·        I learned how Florida was annexed by the US under Jackson’s controversial leadership.

·        I learned that it was not Jefferson who finalized the Louisiana Purchase but Monroe.

·        Monroe was the 2^nd president to suffer severe financial hardship due to his lifetime commitment to serving the new nation (Jefferson was the first).

·        I learned that he was the 3^rd president to die on July 4…different year but same date as Jefferson and Adams.

·        And probably most importantly, given our current political chaos, I learned that politics has not changed much since our country’s early years.  There was just as much angst during his 2 terms as there is currently in our country.

A couple of friends have asked me why I have taken on this reading challenge.  The answer is simple and straightforward…I love history.  And… I realize that I don’t know much regarding our nation’s history.  Sure, I know the big stuff, the Revolutionary War, Civil War, who our founding fathers were, why they struggled as they did to create the government they created, but the real beauty of our history as a country is in the details, the nitty, gritty fine print of the details; those details that it seems we have lost sight of today. And it is those details that I want to explore through a chronological reading of each biography.  So far its working!!

Our early forefathers had lived directly under the command of the English monarchy.  Livelihood, fortunes, professions, family, etc, etc were directly impacted by the whims of the crown.  Religious freedom was non-existent, if you were not an active member of the Church of England, you could lose your livelihood, your children, be driven from your village, etc.  Education was only for the sons of the wealthy.  All of this and more were in the eyepiece of those men and women who had the courage and foresight to seek freedoms that they would never know in England.  James Monroe was the last of the first US presidents to be directly involved in the Revolutionary War which provided him a perspective that none other has had since .  And while his name is probably not one that typically comes forward easily as a celebrity like Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, etc., he nonetheless deserves that same recognition.

Now on to the next biography, John Quincy Adams; a biography that while shorter in pages appears to be written in the same style of detail regarding legislative actions. 

See ya, in about 2 years!!!!