#Presidential Gatherings

[deadpresidents]

I was watching the new CNN series The Sixties and I never noticed that Kennedy's inauguration footage shows Ike, JFK and LBJ all in row just as their presidencies would go. I thought it was pretty cool and wondered if Truman had attended the ceremony? Or possibly the elderly Hoover? haha I don't know of anytime those four presidents (minus Hoover) had all been together besides that one shot from Eleanor Roosevelt's funeral. Also, fascinating blog, I've been fortunate to be a longtime follower

Yes, former President Truman was in attendance at JFK's inauguration.  President Hoover was not at the inauguration, but only because a snowstorm the night before prevented his flight from landing, otherwise he would have been there with Truman, Eisenhower, JFK, and LBJ.  Also, don't forget that Richard Nixon was the outgoing Vice President, so he was there, too.  

You mentioned how Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson were sitting in the order of their Presidencies on the dais; well, Nixon was sitting next to Johnson, so there were actually four Presidents sitting in the order of their service.  Of course, that was just a coincidence since LBJ and Nixon hadn't been President yet.  Truman was in the front row, too (not in the coincidental chronological order), located a seat down from Nixon.  Incidentally, although he wasn't in that prominent of a position at the time, Gerald Ford had been in Congress for a dozen years at the time of JFK's inauguration, so he was somewhere in the crowd at Kennedy's inauguration that day, too.

Off the top of my head, there is only one other time that Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson (Vice President at the time) were in the same place at the same time other than the inauguration and Eleanor Roosevelt's funeral (as you mentioned) and that was the funeral of House Speaker Sam Rayburn in 1961.

#Presidents #History #Former Presidents #Gathering of the Presidents #Presidential Gatherings #JFK Inauguration #Presidential History #Inauguration of John F. Kennedy #Funeral of Eleanor Roosevelt #Funeral of Sam Rayburn #Presidential Relationships

[deadpresidents]

'Team of Rivals' makes reference to the number of past, future and then present Presidents came together for Lincoln's funeral. Was this the most who gathered at one time? You always seem expertly equipped to answer such Presidential trivia!!

Well, the thing with Lincoln's funeral is that it basically happened in 11 different major cities over 20 days, so it wasn't like all of these past, present, or future Presidents gathered in the National Cathedral for one service like they did for the funerals of President Reagan and President Ford.  For example, former President Buchanan paid his respects at the train depot in Lancaster, Pennsylvania as Lincoln's funeral train passed through town, 6-year-old Theodore Roosevelt watched from his grandfather's window in New York City, and former President Fillmore and 28-year-old future President Cleveland waited in line with everyone else and paid their respects in Buffalo.

I'll work on getting an exact answer for when the most past, present, and future Presidents gathered at the same time in the same place, but it wasn't Lincoln's funeral.

#Abraham Lincoln #Lincoln's Funeral #Presidential Gatherings #Presidents #History