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Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Digital Library Collections
This is a PDF of a folder from our textual collections.
Collection: Roberts, John G.: Files
Folder Title: JGR/President's Health
(2 of 5)
Box: 43
To see more digitized collections visit:
https://reaganlibrary.gov/archives/digital-library
To see all Ronald Reagan Presidential Library inventories visit:
https://reaganlibrary.gov/document-collection
Contact a reference archivist at: [email protected]
Citation Guidelines: https://reaganlibrary.gov/citing
National Archives Catalogue: https://catalog.archives.gov/
PRESIDENTIAL STUDIES QUARTERLY V. 7, no. 4 Fall 1977
THE PRESIDENCY:
IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH
by
MICHAEL P. RICCARDS
Princeton Univeristy
The first part of this study examines the longevity rates of the thirty-five deceased Presidents
and finds that those rving after 1861 had a markedly shorter life span than their age cohorts.
This may be due to the increasing pressures of the office ("executive stress") or it may be
accounted for in part by the large number of modern Presidents who entered the office with
records of serious physical problems. The second part of the study explores the relationships
between Presidential illnesses and particular political decisions and events.
-The author is currently a National Endown :1 for the Humanities Fellow-in-Residence at
Princeton University.
Only recently have we become aware of
well. The heredity factor in life expectancy
the significant role that health has played in
is difficult to deal with. especially in such a
the lives of many of our Presidents. Generally
small group where the causes of many parental
though, the American people and the press
deaths are often lost in the recordless past
have usually treated questions of health
of a frontier society. Indeed. the actual
as an area of personal privacy and have
causes of death of such major figures as
avoided any real examination of the physical
Washington. Madison. and Jackson are at
conditions of many Presidential aspirants.
best approximations. In the case of some
During their terms of office. some Chief
Presidents it has been argued that the real
Executives, with the help of their physicians,
cause of death was the medical treatment
have been able to hide major illnesses from
given to mild or only moderately serious
the public rather successfully. We now
maladies The propensity of nineteenth
know that Cleveland underwent two serious
century physicians to bleed and prescribe
clandestine operations to remove cancer
emetics often led to infections and dehydra-
from his upper mouth: that Checter Arthur
tion. Little wonder Jefferson once observed
was a victim of Bright's disease; and that
that when he saw three physicians gather in
Kennedy, despite his protestations to the
one place he looked up to discover if there
contrary, did indeed suffer from Addison's
was not a turkey buzzard hovering over-
disease.¹
head.³
Longevity studies comparing the mortality
The remarkable aspect of the higher
rates of Presidents and their contemporaries
mortality rate of modern Presidents is that it
in different occupations show that Presidents
stands in such contrast to other government
tend to die prematurely. Those Presidents
offices-governors. senators. judges. vice pre-
who served between 1789 and 1860 had
sidents-who all enjoy superior longevity. in
a similar mortality rate or a bit lower than
addition, Presidents generally come from
their age cohorts. However, those serving
higher socio-economic levels and have at
from 1861 on have had an appreciably
least during their terms of office the best
higher rate, even if one excludes from these
medical care the nation can provide.4
calculations the four Presidents who have
Contemporary Presidents. unlike earlier
been assassinated since 1865.2 Tables 1-3
ones. work and reside in a much healthier
indicate the longevity of each President
physical environment than the early Chief
and the difference between his actual life
Executives. The capital of Jefferson. Jack-
span and that of his cohort, white males
son. and Polk was a tidal marshland with
born in the same year.
vast colomes of mosquitoes and flies that
Table 1 also indicates the life span of
bred and carried a myriad of diseases. It is
each President and those of his parents as
little wonder that Jefferson, for example.
215
Table 1
Longevity of Presidents of The United States and Their Parents, 1789-1976
Expected
Age
Years of
Last
Life Re-
Years Lived After
Birth-
Age
maining
Year of
day at
Last
After
First Inaugural
Age Last
First
First
Birth-
First
Above
Below
Birthday
Inau-
Inau-
day at
Inau-
Ex-
Ex-
Fa-
Moth-
President
gural
gural
Death
gural*
Actual
pected
pected
ther
er
George Washington
1789
57
67
17.1
10.6
6.5
49
81
John Adams
1797
61
90
14.4
29.3
15.0
70
98
Thomas Jefferson
1801
57
83
16.4
25.3
8.9
49
56
James Madison
1809
57
85
16.3
27.3
11.0
77
98
James Monroe
1817
58
73
15.6
14.3
1.3
22
?
John Q. Adams
1825
57
80
16.3
23.0
6.7
90
73
Andrew Jackson
1829
61
78
13.5
16.3
2.7
?
?
Martin Van Buren
1837
54
79
17.2
25.4
8.2
80
70
William H. Harrison
1841
68
68
9.4
.1
9.3
65
62
John Tyler
1841
51
71
19.2
20.8
1.6
65
36
James K. Polk
1845
49
53
21.5
4.3
17.2
55
75
Zachary Taylor
1849
64
65
12.8
1.3
11.5
84
61
Millard Fillmore
1850
50
74
20.7
23.7
2.9
91
51
Franklin Pierce
1853
48
64
22.0
16.6
5.4
81
70
James Buchanan
1857
65
77
11.9
11.3
.6
60
66
Abraham Lincoln
1861
52
56
19.8
4.1
15.6
73
34
Andrew Johnson
1865
56
66
17.2
10.3
6.9
33
72
Ulysses S. Grant
1869
46
63
22.8
16.4
6.4
79
84
Rutherford B. Hayes
1877
54
70
18.0
15.9
2.1
35
74
James A. Garfield*
1881
49
49
21.2
.5
20.7
33
86
Chester A. Arthur
1881
50
56
20.1
5.2
15.0
78
66
Grover Cleveland
1885
47
71
22.i
23.3
1.2
49
76
Benjamin Harrison
1889
55
67
17.2
12.0
5.2
73
40
William McKinley
1897
54
58
18.2
4.5
13.6
85
88
Theodore Roosevelt
1901
42
60
26.1
17.3
8.8
46
49
William H. Taft
1909
51
72
20.2
21.0
.8
80
80
Woodrow Wilson
1913
56
67
17.1
10.9
6.2
84
66
Warren G. Harding*
1921
55
57
18.0
2.4
15.6
80
61
Calvin Coolidge
1923
51
60
21.3
9.4
11.9
80
39
Herbert C. Hoover
1929
54
90
18.9
35.6
16.7
34
34
Franklin D. Roosevelt*
1933
51
63
21.7
12.1
9.6
72
86
Harry S. Truman
1945
60
88
15.0
27.7
12.7
78
82
Dwight D. Eisenhower
1953
62
78
14.4
16.2
1.7
79
84
John F. Kennedy
1961
43
46
28.4
2.8
25.6
81
Alive
Lyndon B. Johnson
1963
55
64
19.2
9.2
10.1
60
77
Richard M. Nixon
1969
56
18.7
78
82
Gerald R. Ford
1974
61
15.3
59
75
BL ed on contemporaneous experience among white males in the general population of the United
States born in the same years as the Presidents.
**Died during tenure.
Assassinated.
216
Table 2
Longavity of Presidents of The United States 1789-1975
Period of Initial
Number of Average Age
Attained
Mortality
Entry Into Office
Presidents at Initial Entry
Age Group
Deaths
Ratio'
1789-1975
37
55.0
ALL AGES
35
129%
Under 70
19
173
70 and over
16
99
age Last
1789-1860
15
57.6
ALL AGES
15
96
irthday
Under 70
5
99
It Moth-
70 and over
10
95
or
at
1861-1975
22
53 2
ALL AGES
20
173
,
81
Under 70
14
237
)
98
70 and over
6
106
,
56
1
98
*Based on mortality rates among contemporaneous cohorts of white males in the general population
k
?
of the United States.
,
73
,
?
could barely wait for the end of the Con-
historical figures. One major problem is
)
70
5
62
gressional term to ride horseback home to
that diagnosis in the nineteenth and. even in
his beloved Monticello.
5
36
the twentieth. century was and is still an
While he was Secretary of State, John
uncertain art. In addition. many of the
5
75
Quincy Adams, described the city in familiar
references we have of the earlier Presidents'
$
61
51
terms, "the heat of the weather almost un-
illnesses are really contained in their own
1
1
70
remitted, with myriads of flies, bugs, and
letters, which use non-medical and very
)
66
vermin of all filths, adds to the discomforts,
imprecise terminology. Several Presidents
if not to the anxieties, of this occupation."
complained of frequent attacks of "ague".
3
34
3
72
Hogs ate the refuse discarded on the road-
a feverish feeling that may have due to
D
84
ways. Epidemics of fever were chronic,
recurrent bouts of malaria or simply the
5
74
abetted by "several immense excavations of
effects of a common cold. Medical distinc-
3
86
brickyards always full of green stagnant
tions that are familiar to our physicians
66
water
and numerous dead carcasses left
B
were often not understood a century or
,
76
to putrify," and by the sluggish rive. that
often even a generation agu. For example
3
40
fed mosquito-infested marshes in the city.⁵
the differer.ce between typhoid and typhus
5
88
Yet with all of these hazards, the earlier
fever was not delineated until the 1830s.
5
49
Presidents seem to have fared better in
Other terms. line depression. which have for
)
80
comparison with their age cohorts than do
physicians a very clinical definition today.
#
66
more recent Executives. What is of interest
were used in a much broader way to describe
)
61
to any student of the Presidency, however,
a host of personal problems in the late
D
39
is not simply the longevity of Chief Execu-
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
#
34
tives but what effects their states of health
2
86
may have had on their performance in office.
B
82
In many instances. it is not possible to
Presidential Illness: The Early Period
,
84
ascertain in any but the most general way
At a young age. Washington had felt
I
Alive
what those relationships were. Yet. there
the scourge of a variety of diseases that
77
are some cases where we can determine the
plagued the South: malaria. smallpox.
3
82
effects of illness on a President's ability to
influenza, tuberculosis and probably typhoid.
9
75
recognize problems and deal with them
Yet. remarkably, during the long Revolu-
effectively. This study surveys the general
tionary War period. he was generally free
se United
health of our Presidents and points up
from ailments. It is only after his election
specific instances where illness may have
to the Presidency at the age of 57 that he
directly effected political decisions.
began again to be faced with major health
There are, of course, many difficulties
problems. Twice in a year's time. his family
in trying to detail the medical ailments of
and friends feared for his life.
217
Table 3
Longevity of Presidents of The United States
Excluding Those Who Were Assinated
Period of Initial
Number of Average Age
Attained
Mortality
Entry Into Office
Presidents
at Initial Entry
Age Group
Deaths
Ratio*
1789-1975
33
55.6
ALL AGES
31
115%
Under 70
15
140
70 and over
16
99
1861-1975
18
53.9
ALL AGES
16
141
Under 70
10
177
70 and over
6
106
*Based on mortality rates among contemporaneous cohorts of white males in the general population
of the United States.
Note: Data for period 1789-1860 are unaffected from what is shown in Table 2.
In June 1789, Washington had a tumor
and general melancholy. One medical his-
diagnosed as anthrax, probably a staphyloc-
torian has suggested that his cyclic episodes
coccic carbuncle, removed from his leg.
denote a manic-depressive personality. His
Then in May of the following year, Washing-
contemporary and sometime critic Benjamin
ton contracted a severe cold which turned
Franklin, observed that Adams "is always
into pneumonia and he nearly died. As he
an honest man, often a wise man, but some-
was convalescing, more responsibilities were
times, and in some things, absolutely out of
handled by his Cabinet. Indeed, one of the
his senses."7
interesting aspects of the Washington Pre-
One incident of his "depressive reaction,"
sidency is how Alexander Hamilton, as extra-
to use Rudolph Marx's vague term, occurred
ordinary as he was, was able to assume
during his peace negotiations with France in
ascendancy in the Cabinet so quickly. One
1799. Faced with a disloyal cabinet and the
reason is that while Washington was recover-
threat of war, Adams issued an order sending
ing from his illness during this formative
a peace mission abroad. Without waiting for
political period, Hamilton seems to have
the mission to leave, Adams went home to
moved in and filled the void. In fact, it was
Braintree where for seven months he nurtured
during this episode that Hamilton worked
his grievances and avoided the problems of
out a compromise with Jefferson to locate
leadership. Finally after the endless entreaties
the capitol in the South in return for support
of his political allies, he returned to the
on the debt assumption issue.
capitol and summarily ordered the peace
By 1793, Washington was becoming deaf
mission to Europe.⁸ By 1800, Adams found
and acknowledged some loss of memory.
himself faced with an increasingly unmanage-
Jefferson felt that in his second term,
able party and no real power base. The rise
Washington was generally listless and let
of the Democratic-Republicans, led by
others think and act for him. It may be
Thomas Jefferson, spelled the effective end
that Jefferson's view reflected the fact that
of the Federalist period.
his own alienation from Washington had
Jefferson, himself, was more than a poli-
grown or it may be that a "desire for tran-
tical tactician. He was one of the most
quility had crept" over Washington.6
medically sophisticated of the early Presi-
After eight years in office, Washington
dents. He appears to have been one of the
declined to accept a third term and retired
fa.t public figures in America to inoculate
to Mount Vernon. He was succeeded by his
himself and his family against smallpox, and
Vice President, John Adams. Adams lived
he was wise enough to speak out against the
longer than any other President, dying
prevailing medical practices of using cathar-
several months before his ninety-first
tics and bloodletting for the treatment of
birthday, but his diary and letters are
"continuing fever" (often typhoid). Although
replete with references to his poor health
Jefferson suffered through many of the usual
218
plights such as dysentery and fractured bones
decided that he would use the Indian raids
he generally maintained good health and
in the area as a pretense for seizing Florida.
lived to an advanced age. His major problem
He requested that Monroe give him some
was blinding migrane headaches (probably
signal through his friend Congressman Rhea
due to psychosomatic causes) which usually
as to whether he should take possession of
followed a traumatic experience in his life:
the territory or not.
the sudden marriage of a girl he was sporadi-
When Jackson's letter reached the Capitol,
cally courting, the death of his mother, his
Monroe was seriously ill and he turned it
election to the Presidency, the passing of a
over first to Secretary of War Calhoun. As
close friend. There are, however, few in-
Monroe recollected twelve years later in a
stances where Jefferson's illnesses seemed
letter to Calhoun. "I well remember that
to effect his ability to perform his Presidential
when I received the letter from Gen'l Jack-
duties."
son
I was sick in bed. and could not
Jefferson's successor and good friend,
read it. You were either present, or came
James Madison, was also a frequent chronicler
in immediately aiterwards. ar.d I handed
of his medical problems but he too enjoyed
it to you for perusal. After reading it,
considerable longevity, living to be 85.
you replaced it with a remark that it re-
There is some evidence that Madison felt he
quired my attention, or would require an
suffered from epilepsy which he said began
answer, but without notice of its contents.
after he left Princeton University and which
Mr. Crawford came in soon afterwards. and
continued with prolonged intervals through-
I handed it also to him. for perusal. He
out his life. However, Madison's major bio-
read it and returned it, in like manner,
grapher Irving Brant argues that he had
without making any comment on its con-
"epileptoid hysteria", a psychosomatic ail-
tents. further than that it related to the
ment that coincided with the onset of adoles-
Seminole War, or something to that effect
cence. Nonetheless, throughout his life
Having made all the arrangements
Madison's reaction to his disorder frequently
respecting the war, and being sometime con-
restricted his activities and travel.
fined by indisposition, the letter was laid
Madison's Administration provides us with
aside, and forgotten by me. and I never
a good example of how physical illness can
read it until after the conclusion of the
effect a President's ability to perform his
war."¹¹
duties. In 1813, Madison contracted a severe
Undaunted. Jackson went on to seize
case of what was vaguely called "bilious
Florida and claimed years later that Mon-
fever." an ailment from which he nearly
roe had in fact instructed Rhea to tell him
died. Unfortunately at the same time,
to do so. Jackson maintained that he had
Madison had submitted the name of his
received these instructions by letter from
Secretary of Treasury, Albert Gallatin. to be
the intermediary-a letter that he claimed
a member of the diplomatic delegation for
to have destroyed. Historians have generally
the proposed peace conference in Russia.
regarded Jackson's story as an elaborate
Madison, who had been a superb party
fabrication, but his victory in the Seminole
leader under the first three Presidents, now
War and his conquest of Florida added
found himself unable to deal with many of
to the General's mystique in the eyes of the
his own partisans. Partly because of the
American people. As for Monroe. he denied
severity of his illness, Madison neglected to
to his dying day Jackson's account and
contact the necessary recalcitrant Senators
regretted his unfortunate handling of the
and Gallatin's nomination was defeated.¹⁰
entire matter.¹²
Madison's experience was somewhat
The rest of his administration was not as
similar to an incident that was to occur to
eventful and Monroe was better able to deal
his successor, James Monroe. During his
with most of the problems that required his
first term, Monroe became seriously ill and
attention. Respecting the traditionestablished
was unable to deal with some important
by his predecessors, Monroe retired after
military and diplomatic issues raised by
two terms and turned over the office to John
General Jackson's campaign to seize Florida.
Quincy Adams.
In the beginning of 1818, Jackson had
Adams, like his father, seems to have been
219
generally unhappy during his years in the
informed Van Buren that while the Bank's
White House. Although it is difficult to link
supporters were trying to kill him, he would
up particular illnesses with specific decisions,
kill the institution first-which he eventually
Adams was generally unable to function in
did. In addition, at the height of the Maysville
top form as he had in $0 many other high
Road Bill controversy, Jackson again got
positions of political responsibility. One of
very sick, his legs swelled and there was
his major biographers notes that he "devel-
fear that he was suffering a fatal attack of
oped all manner of small aches, pains, and
dropsy. But Jackson survived both the
nervous sympthoms. He had soreness and
attack and the controversy and went on to
pain
chronic costiveness, indigestion,
live nine years after his presidency to the age
catarrah. could not sleep well, couldn't
of 69.14
perspire" and developed a sort of erysipelas
His political heir, Martin Van Buren,
(an acute bacterial disease marked by fever
seems to have enjoyed perfect health during
and severe skin inflammation). Another
most of his life. 15 But the ninth President,
biographer has found that Adams was often
William Henry Harrison, died in office after
despondent and feared that his political
a month of virus pneumonitis and hepatitis
career was over because of the opposition
aggravated by medication. Ironically, Harri-
that was mounting to his programs. Indeed,
son had been apprenticed to a physician
John Quincy Adams was only a one term
and had enrolled as a medical student at the
President, as his father was, but he then
University of Pennsylvania, attending most
returned to the House of Representatives
of the sixteen week course. At his inaugura-
where he established himself as one of the
tion, however, Harrison contracted a cold
most articulate spokesmen against the ex-
and he decided against his usual practice of
pansion of slavery.¹³
doctoring himself. The doctors blistered his
As President. John Quincy Adams had
skin, gave him cathartics and then realizing
found, as his father before him, that the
their mistake, switched first to antidotes
very nature of politics was changing. By
such as opium, camphor, and brandy and
1828, the electorate had expanded immensely
then crude petroleum and Virginia snake-
and the patrician style of leadership repre-
weed. Harrison developed hepatitis and
sented by the Federalists and the so-called
finally died.¹⁶
Virginia Dynasty was being eclipsed. The
He was succeeded by John Tyler, a states-
most important symbol of the new period
rights Democrat from Virginia. There is very
was provided by the figure of Old Hickory,
little evidence of Tyler's physical condition.
the General from Tennessee, Andrew Jack-
At the age of 31, however, Tyler did give up
son. The medical history of Andrew Jackson
his Congressional seat because of a variety of
is an extraordinary chronicle of ailments and
ailments which he believed were due to food
pain. Before he assumed the Presidency,
poisoning. It has been speculated that he
Jackson had contracted smallpox, malaria,
suffered from a cerebral vascular accident
dysentery and suffered from a variety of
due to a thrombosis. However, there is no
gunshot wounds. When a young rival insulted
reference to his health as President in the
his wife's honor, Jackson shot and killed him.
major sources.¹⁷
In that duel, Jackson was himself shot near
Tyler was generally a lackluster leader
the heart and had to convalesce for a month.
and his nominal party, the Democrats, felt
From that time on, he was afflicted with
little allegiance to renominate him after he
bouts of fever, chills, coughing, and periodic
had run for Vice President on the Harrison
hemorrhaging from the lungs.
Whig ticket four years before. Following a
Despite his many illnesses, it is difficult
long and bitterly divided convention, the
to find any direct relationships between
Democratic Party nominated James K.
Jackson's poor health and his ability to per-
Polk, a prominent Tennessee ally of Andrew
form his duties. However, there does seem to
Jackson. While Polk was the youngest man
be a tendency for Jackson to relate his
elected to the Presidency up to that time,
physical ailments to his political struggles.
he generally was in poor physical condition.
When faced with the Bank crisis, for ex-
As a youth, he was plagued by pain and
ample, a sickly Jackson took to his bed and
chronic infection until he underwent a pain-
220
ful but successful operation to remove a stone
and Taylor, their illnesses and/or absences
in the bladder. As President, Polk seems by
contributed to the outcome of important
nis own account to have experienced malarial
political events. As for Adams and Jackson
chills, fever, diarrhea and gastrointestinal
one might make more tenuous connections.
difficulties. Yet there is little evidence of
any direct effect of his condition on his
Presidental Illness: The Middle Period
ability to fulfill his duties. Indeed, Polk is
No President's life has been as fully exam-
in many ways one of the most successful
ined as Abraham Lincoln's. Yet much of his
Chief Executives of the period. Yet his ill-
pre-Presidential years are the subject of con-
nesses and the force of his own determination
flicting historial interpretation and debate.
wore him down and he died, three months
As for his health we have evidence only of
after his retirement from the Presidency, from
the fact that he suffered from what was
cholera which he contracted on a tour of
loosely termed melancolia and that he had
New Orleans.
some form of vision trouble.
Polk did not live to see the bitter fruits
Lincoln's depression is so interwoven
is
of his gospel of expansionism. With the in-
into the mythological character of the man
creasing acquisition of land came increasing
that it is difficult to assess its true importance.
opportunities for slaveholders which fur-
At several times in his life, Lincoln appears
thered the split between the northern and
to have contemplated suicide and his friends
st
southern interests. As a reaction, Polk's
are supposed to have hidden his knives and
successor, General Zachary Taylor, opposed
razors. One author has argued that Lincoln
d
the extension of slavery into California and
suffered from a mild form of either bipolar
of
fought the Clay-Webster Compromise of
depression, which comes on in the early
1850. In the midst of that crucial debate,
twenties and is characterized by a lifetime of
Taylor participated in ceremonies marking
alternating mild to serious highs and lows, or
the dedication of the Washington Monument.
that he had 3 unipolar recurrent depression
Taylor, after sitting in the hot sun for hours,
which starts in the late thirties and is char-
i
later consumed several glasses of water, iced
acterized by recurrent depressions, alternat-
milk and large quantities of cherries. After
ing with normal functioning periods. Other
dinner Taylor became violently ill and four
authors have maintained that Lincoln's
days later died, probably of typhoid. His
depression may be explained by a childhood
successor, Millard Fillmore, signed the
injury when he may have recieved a possible
n.
Compromise of 1850 with its co. roversial
fracture of the skull resulting in brain dam-
Fugitivo Slave Law."
age.
of
The next three Chief Executives-Fill-
In addition, it is obvious that Lincoln
more, Pierce, and Buchanan-al! seemed to
had an unusual physical appearance. His
be fairly healthy while in office. Pierce prob-
legs and arms were rather long in relation to
ably had the greatest difficulties due to his
his average size torso. He had large hands,
10
long battle with alcohol which finally re-
long fingers, flat feet. narrow stooped shoul-
sulted in cirrhosis of the liver. Fillmore and
ders, a longish face and upward deviation of
Buchanan were effected by the normal bouts
the left eye (hyperphoria). Lincoln's general
of illnesses; Fillmore contracted malaria. and
appearance lends some credence to the
Buchanan was afflicted by a strange malady
speculation that he had Marfan syndrome
called the "National Hotel Disease", probably
which is a set of bodily characteristics that
due to polluted water or food poisoning.
include long, thin. spiderlike fingers. concave
a
Overall then, the Presidents in the early
breast, loose joints, hernia, arterial aneurism,
period lived longer than their white male
and generally an apathetic listless and doleful
contemporaries. But in the process they
personality with weak mental integrity and
were not spared the various illnesses of their
social indifference. There are also other
an
time-especially those so favorably cultivated
characteristics-some of them the very oppo-
in the Washington, D.C. environment. In
site variations of the above syndromes.
most cases, it is difficult to assess the effects
In addition, the muscle tone of his body
of these maladies on Presidential behavior,
seemed to be more relaxed than the average
but in the instances of Washington, Madison,
man. This can be seen in the accounts we
221
have that Lincoln had a slow, drawling, stac-
was further complicated by his assassination.
cato monotone voice and appeared to have
While the conspirators were being tried,
slow mental reaction time. He seems to have
Andrew Johnson was able to perform many
had lower blood pressure than normal, which
of the duties of the new office now thrust
may explain in part his depression. Lincoln
upon him. Johnson had suffered from kidney
also had a tendency when not interested, to
stones and for years had been in frequent
lapse automatically into a lower conscious
pain. He often had to work at a high desk,
state of mental detachment, tending to sad-
standing up. When defense lawyers for one
ness and gloominess and to appear in the
of the alleged conspirators, a Mrs. Surratt,
words of his temporaries, "ugly and stupid
requested that Johnson commute her
looking," or "sad and abstract."
sentence from death to life imprisonment,
The right side of Lincoln's face was ani-
the President was unwilling to see her advo-
mated and normally expressive whereas the
cates. When a Federal district court judge
left side functioned more weakly. His left
issued a writ of habeas corpus to stop the
eye was decoordinated and tended to produce
execution, Johnson suspended it and ordered
strain, fatigue, and headaches. This effect
the execution carried out immediately.
may have resulted in Lincoln's tendency to
Later, Johnson, feeling somewhat better,
see double-a phenomenon that he and
would come to regret his precipitous action
others attributed to some sort of clairvoy-
especially his command that the writ be
ance.
disregarded. By the end of his term, John-
Some historians have argued that before
son's health problems were compounded
his inauguration, Lincoln suffered from a
with his political difficulties with the Con-
mental breakdown and may have been in the
gress which led to his impeachment and near
grips of a depressive phase of cyclothmia
conviction.²²
(a paralysis of the ciliary eye muscle).
The next two presidents, Grant and Hayes,
Whether this is true or not, we do know that
have not left us with much information on
Lincoln was under severe stress and lost
their health in office. Grant seems to have
nearly forty pounds between his election
enjoyed good health during his term as
and his inauguration in March, 1861. Yet the
president and appears to have given up the
general effect of his physical condition and
excessive drinking that characterized large
his conduct of the war do not seem to be
parts of his career. Eight years after his
specifically related. It may be speculated
retirement, however, Grant died of tongue
that Lincoln's appearance and his melancoly
cancer.23 His successor, Rutherford B.
attitude toward life shaped his personality
Hayes, who suffered a nervous breakdown
and thus indirectly gave a different imprint
in his late twenties over an ended romance,
to the Civil War period. But such speculations
did not have any major medical problems as
could be applied to any President and would
president.
take us away from the initial concerns of
Hayes was followed by James Garfield,
this study.
one of the youngest men elected to the
It has been argued by several historians
presidency. Four months after he was in-
that at the time he gave his Gettysburg Ad-
augurated, Garfield was shot by a disap-
dress. Lincoln had contracted from his son,
pointed office seeker. From July 2 to
Todd, a case of varioloid, a mild type of
September 17, the 49 year-old President
smallpox. Overall. Lincoln seems to have
endured incredible agony as doctors tried
aged graphically during his period in office.
to save his life. After various abortive and
By 1865, he was talking of not completing
painful probings the physicians were still
his second term and told friends of his
unable to locate the bullet. Even an attempt
premonition of a violent death. On April
by Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of
14, Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth.
the telephone, to use an electrical induction
The bullet passed behind his left ear and
system to find the piece of metal was unsuc-
went through the basal part of the brain and
cessful. Finally, Garfield died, probably of
lodged itself against the bony enclosure of
blood poisoning after only about seven ;
the right eye.21
months in office. The medical care he re-
The unfinished business of the Civil War
ceived was subject even then to some exten-
222
sive criticism. Quite probably Garfield would
strong advocate of sound money and the
have been able to survive today in an era of
gold standard-was hesitant about the conse-
X-rays and antibiotics.
quences of any publicity over his illness.
The political effect of Garfield's death
Finally, his doctors under the tighest security
was that the Civil Service Reform movement
operated on him aboard a yacht anchored in
gained an important impetus and Garfield's
the East River. Two weeks later they per-
successor, ironically an old spoilsman him-
formed a second operation to remove the
self, signed the legislation.² The new Presi-
final traces of cancer. When the true story
dent, Chester A. Arthur, was a product of
broke, Cleveland and his doctors simply
the notorious Conkling machine and was
denied it. In the meantime, the President
removed from his position as Collector of
was successful in preventing the Sherman
the Customs by President Hayes. Arthur,
Silver Act from becoming law and he con-
however, accepted the inevitability of civil
tinued to perform his duties without any
service reform and signed the act. He generally
noticeable effects from his operations. Only
attempted to carry on in the tradition of
in 1917 was the full story of his condition
moderate Republican presidents, but he
confirmed.²⁷
appeared often to be listless and uninterested
Cleveland's successor and predecessor.
in his responsibilities. We now know that
Benjamin Harrison seemed to enjoy fairly
Arthur had Bright's disease, an inevitably
good health during his tenure, although his
fatal kidney affliction, which his major
wife died of pulmonary tuberculosis while
biographer claims explains his distaste for
he was in the White House. Harrison and
the office and his Lickadaisical approach to
Cleveland generally accepted the bipartisan
its duties.
conservatism of the period and this sentiment
In 1883, Arthur WI te his son that he had
was continued with the election of William
been "so ill since the adjournment (of Con-
McKinley over the populist Democrat,
gress) that I have hardly been able to dispose
William Jennings Bryan. McKinley enjoyed
of the accumulation of business still before
considerable popularity during his term and
me." In March of that same year, Arthur's
was re-elected in 1900 to serve another four
condition had deteriorated seriously. He had
years. Then in September, 1901. the Presi-
hypertensive heart disease, associated with
dent visited the Pan American Exposition
his kidney condition, and a nausea, now
in Buffalo. While shaking hands with the
called glomerulonephritis which left him
visitors, McKinley was shot by an anarchist,
weak and highly irritated. On a trip to Florida
Leon Czolgosz. The President was taken to
he contracted malaria and became violently
surgery and his condition later seemed to
ill. His doctor told reporters that the Presi-
improve. However. the bullet had grazed
dent was suffering from overexposure to
McKinley's kidney. injured his right adrenal
the sun and seasickness and Arthur dismissed
gland and destroyed part of his pancreas. On
the press speculations as the product of elas-
September 14, eight days after the attempt
tic imaginations.
on his life, McKinley died of pancreatic
Arthur, knowing his condition, served out
damage and degeneration of the heart
his term, retired and died less than two years
muscle.28
later. Life, like the presidency, had become a
The Presidents in the middle period gen-
burden to him. A few months before his
erally seemed to be plagued much more than
death, he wrote to a friend," After all, life is
their predecessors by health problems. Politi-
not worth living. I might as well give up the
cians like Arthur, Cleveland and McKinley
struggle for it now as at any other time and
also were heavy set and more addicted to the
submit to the inevitable."
sedentary life than their frontier or aristo-
His successor, Grover Cleveland, also ex-
cratic forebears. In addition. the dangers of
perienced considerable health problems
holding the office increased as the Presidency
although their consequences seem to be less
became a target for the disillusioned and
debilitating to his performance. During his
the disaffected. In his lifetime, Robert Todd
second term in 1893, Cleveland discovered
Lincoln, son of the President and later
that he had cancer of the palate. In the midst
Secretary of War under Garfield and con-
of a serious monetary crisis Cleveland-a
fidant of McKinley, had personally witnessed
223
the death of three Chief Executives. Assas-
sents a fascinating and tragic study in the
sination became a primary risk that even the
relationships between physical health, emo-
healthiest leader had to fear during his tenure
tional well-being and presidential decision-
in office.
making.
Wilson endured considerable physical
Presidential Illnesses: The Modern Period
disorders before he became President. During
Probably no chronicle of boyhood illness
his years as a student, Wilson suffered from
and infirmities is better known than that of
severe dyspepsia and on several occasions
Theodore Roosevelt. Besides being near-
came close to exhaustion and physical break-
sighted, young Rossevelt suffered from severe
down. In 1895, Wilson had a severe attack of
attacks of bronchial asthma which went un-
neuritis (perhaps a mild stroke) and could
relieved despite doctors' prescriptions of
not write with his right hand. His father even
coffee and cigars! Roosevelt then underwent
feared he would die, but after a period of
a severe regime of body-building and boxing
travel and relaxation he returned to work.
which improved his condition markedly.
In 1905, Wilson was operated on for phlebitis
There is little direct evidence that Roosevelt's
and in 1906, in the midst of his battle over
health influenced his political activities
the Princeton Quad Plan, he suffered tem-
except that he developed and retained an
porary blindness in his left eye.
aggressive, almost pugnacious attitude toward
It has been argued that Wilson's retinal
life.
hemorrhage may have been accompanied by
During his administration, a boxing injury
slight cerebral arteriosclerosis and that his
eventually cost him the sight in his left eye,
behavior over the Quad Plan may be ex-
which seems to have had little effect on him.
plained by the effects of this illness. Gen-
Also, in 1902 the President was involved in
erally it has been found that such an incident
a serious accident between a trolley and his
can cause character changes in the direction
carriage in Pittsford, Massachusetts. A secret
of greater egocentricity, withdrawal, suspi-
service man was killed and Roosevelt was
cion, and aggressiveness.³¹
thrown forty feet. The President had two
In his superb study of Wilson, Edwin
operations for an abscess on the leg resulting
Weinstein has carefully traced the break-
from a bruise. TR survived these problems
down in the President's health, especially in
and even recovered from an attempted
the 1919-20 period. At the time of the Paris
assassin's gunshot wound when he was cam-
Peace Conference, Wilson became sick with
paigning in 1912 as the Progressive or Bull-
high fever, cough, vomiting, diarrhea, and
moose candidate for President. But at the
insomnia. He exhibited erratic behavior by
age of 60, Roosevelt died, a worn out man,
forbidding members of the American delega-
probably of a coronary occlusion.²
tion from using automobiles for recreation,
Roosevelt's successor, William Howard
charging that all French servants were spies,
Taft, had the dubious distinction of being
and claiming that he was personally respon-
the heaviest President in history. At the time
sible for the furniture in the palace. Herbert
of his tenure, Taft was experiencing difficul-
Hoover was astonished that Wilson, who had
ties with the liberal wing of the Republican
previously had been incisive, open, and force-
Party. His worries seem to be manifested in
ful, seemed at Paris to be groping. Weinstein
an increased appetite and his weight climbed
maintains that Wilson probably suffered
at one point to 332 pounds. Taft finally left
a cerebral vascular occlusion (blood clot on
office in 1913, taught law at Yale University,
the brain) at that time.
and then was appointed Chief Justice of the
He further argues that Wilson showed evi-
Supreme Court in 1921. Taft died at the age
dence of bilateral brain damage, and that his
of 72 in 1930, most likely from arteriosclero-
condition seriously effected his emotional
sis and myocarditis.³
and social behavior. Such a patient tends to
While Taft's physical condition seems of
see issues, events and people as metaphorical
little importance to a study of his administra-
representations of his own problems and feel-
tion, it is obvious that Woodrow Wilson,
ings. This may explain why Wilson was unable
who followed him, presents an entirely dif-
to assent to minor wording changes in the
ferent case. Wilson's medical history repre-
treaty; these words had come to have intense
224
symbol significance-far out of proportion
a frequent patient at the Battle Creek sani-
to their linguistic importance.
tarium. The sanitarium was sponsored by the
Finally in September 1919, Wilson under-
Seventh Day Adventists and run as a vege.
took his western tour to gather support for
tarian establishment by the autocratic Dr.
his version of the treaty. On October 2, Wil-
J.H. Kellogg, the inventor of peanut butter
son suffered sensory loss of his left side,
and corn flakes. Five times Harding admitted
visual loss, and a urinary obstruction. Follow-
himself for various ill-defined "nervous"
ing his stroke, the President denied the facts
problems.
of his illness-a common sequel after such
By 1920, however. Harding emerged as a
brain injury. During this period Wilson was
dark horse, compromise candidate for the
isolated from all visitors except those occa-
Republican nomination. His landslide victory
sionally admitted by his physician and his
in the election only presented him with
wife. The exact ability of President Wilson
more problems. Although Harding's record
to perform his duties has never been fully
is more positive than it is frequently por-
explained. Some historians have argued that
trayed, he was nonetheless confused by the
Wilson's wife served as "acting" President
mounting signs of corruption around him.
during this period. Although she had great
In 1922, he had suffered from a serious
influence, Wilson refused to heed her advice
illness diagnosed as influenza, although it
when she urged him to compromise on the
may have been an attack of coronary throm-
treaty and at times, he even considered
bosis followed by a myocardial infarction.
running for a third term. By February 1920,
Thereafter Harding suffered from chest pains
he dismissed his Secretary of State who had
and high blood pressure. A year later. he
headed Cabinet meetings without his permis-
undertook a trip to Alaska and the West
sion. By then, Wilson's battle for the treaty
Coast. Near Seattle, Harding complained of
and the League of Nations failed and the
violent cramps and indigestion which the
President was a broken man. At the end of
Surgeon General diagnosed as being due to
his term, Wilson moved to a secluded Wash-
poisoned crabmeat, but which other doctors
inton house where he spent the last three
aboard the presidential ship agreed was a
years of his life.
cardiac seizure. Harding then developed
No President has left us such a tragic
pneumonia and was sent to San Francisco.
record of the relationships between health
In the next several days, the President ap-
of a President and the consequences it can
peared to have recovered, but suddenly on
have on political events. Wilson's final days
August 2, he died. Since there was no autop-
are usually pictured in psychoanalytical
sy, the exact causes of his death are in doubt,
terms with an emphasis on his need for a
but it appears that Harding suffered either a
father figure and the problems of rebellion
cerebral hemorrhage or a coronary thrombo-
and rigidity. But the neurological record is
sis.³³
so telling that the historian must take into
Harding's successor, Calvin Coolidge. al-
account the awesome effects that steady,
so had some difficulties with the office.
progressive brain damage could do to a man
Coolidge had never been a very rugged youth
whose intellectual gifts and political astute-
and in adulthood he seemed at time to have
ness carried him to the highest pinnacles
suffered from various allergies and bronchial
of two illustrious careers in a very brief
asthma. Much of Coolidge's problems in the
period of time.32
presidency can be traced to his lack of
Wilson's successor shared few of his
physical stamina and energy. He slept about
gifts, but seemed to the America of the
11 hours a day and in order facilitate his
early 1920's a welcome change from the
withdrawal, he delegated incredible policy
intense moralism and divisive war. Warren
leeway to his Cabinet. Probably the country's
Gamaliel Harding was handsome, fairly
view of the presidency corresponded very
articulate, good-natured, and well liked by
closely to Coolidge's. but he was physically
his political colleagues. Yet underneath that
unable to be a very activist figure even if he
hail-and-hearty exterior was a troubled man,
had wanted to be.34 When Coolidge left
even before he assumed the presidency.
office, his Secretary of Commerce, Herbert
From the late 1880s to 1903, Harding was
Hoover replaced him. Hoover was generally
225
blessed with good health, a fine administra-
hours sleep and rest and reduced his office
tive ability and a sharper perception of eco-
hours to four hours per day. The President's
nomic reality than his two predecessors.
condition, however, deteriorated even further
Yet none of these attributes seemed to
and questions began to be raised by Demo-
matter. The Republican ascendency ended
cratic party leaders whether FDR should run
as it began-with an emphasis on economic
for a fourth term. Throughout the summer
issues. Hoover, living past his 90th birthday,
the President's physicians were less than
was to see the end of the old economic
candid about his health, indicating that he
order and the beginning of a new concept of
suffered only from bad sinuses and was as
government and a more activist presidency.
healthy as any sixty-year old man. Roosevelt's
Except for Wilson's tragic breakdown, no
aides carefully staged certain appearances in
President's health has raised more questions
order to allay public fear; including an
than that of Franklin D. Roosevelt. FDR's
arduous motorcade in driving rain through
major medical problem is, of course, now a
New York City.
part of American folklore. At the age of 39,
Roosevelt won the election. but by
while on vacation with his family FDR con-
December his blood pressure reached 260/
tracted poliomyletis. For over six years,
150 and he was suffering from intermittent
Roosevelt went through a variety of rehabili-
chest pain. In January more secret service
tation programs and remedies hoping to
men were assigned to Vice President Truman
regain the use of his legs. In 1928, still crip-
after they were told that FDR could die at
pled, he won the governorship of New York
anytime. The President's associates noted
and four years later he became President.
that FDR alternated between intellectual
Generally, the press and photographers
acumen and a vacuous attitude which was
helped FDR downplay his paralysis by not
oblivious to conversations and ideas. Al-
showing him on crutches or in a wheelchair
though there was no test for arteriosclerosis
and allowed him to project an image of
at that time, it appears that Roosevelt showed
health and activity despite his severe handi-
many of the symptoms associated with it:
cap.
impatience, irritability, and a dreamy
During his long and crises-filled presi-
euphoria at times.
dency, FDR's physical condition beg.n to
By the time of the Yalta Conference,
deteriorate, especially in the last year of his
FDR was very seriously ill and unable to
life. Historians have carried on an intense
deal effectively with complex diplomatic
debate over Roosevelt's diplomatic efforts
issues being discussed. Whether the final
with Stalin and Churchill. Some have argued
actions of those conferences would have
that the President was as successful as could
been appreciably different it is difficult to
be expected given the military conditions,
say. But Roosevelt was no more prepared
while others have stressed that FDR was
for his diplomatic conferences than Wilson
naive and even foolish in his dealings with
was at Versailles, and part!; for the same
the other Allies. One fact is certain: Roose-
reason.
velt appeared at times to be ill-prepared and
In addition to Roosevelt, neither Churchill
had trouble concentrating.
nor Stalin were in good health. Churchill,
In his study of Roosevelt's last year, the
although he lived until the age of 87, had
journalist Jim Bishop has chronicled an
suffered some heart damage by the 1940s
extraordinary month-by-month account of
and apparently Stalin was not physically
physical decline and debilitation. Early
well. In all of these cases, the condition of
1944, a White House cardiologist reported
these leaders was withheld from the nublic,
that FDR was suffering from high blood
even, in England and the United States,
pressure and a failure of the left ventricle.
under the so-called scrutiny of a free press.³
He prescribed digitalis and later phenobar-
It is distressing to find out that while
bital. The President cut his cigarette intake
Roosevelt was incapable of carrying on the
from twenty to thirty per day to five or
duties of the presidency after 1944, respon-
six and drank less.
sible officials of the government made no
By May, Roosevelt's physicians set up a
attempt whatsoever either to prepare or
strict regime which gave the President ten
inform his Vice President on major policy
226
matters. When Harry Truman assumed the
Vice President Nixon from assuming any
Presidency, he had had little or no contact
major policy making powers, or it may have
with his predecessor and was not aware of
simply reflected the natural consequences
here than the broadest parameters of the
of Eisenhower's managerial style. In any case,
war effort and the diplomatic commitments
no important decisions had to be made during
made.
the President's recuperation.
Truman, himself, was a rather feisty and
However, during the June 1956 period
combative person and in very good health.
after Eisenhower's intestinal operation, the
He lived to the advanced age of 88, sharing
President's absence may have confused
in the general longevity of his farmer for-
American foreign policy in the Middle East.
bears.³⁶ Except for the need to wear glasses,
For some time, the United States had been
Truman's physical condition does not seemed
drifting in and out of a financial relationship
to have impinged negatively on his ability
with Egypt over the proposed Aswan Dam.
to perform his duties.
In the five weeks after his operation, the
Truman's successor, however, was not as
President was absent and the weight of his
fortunate. Indeed, probably no President's
subordinates' judgment. especially Secretary
illnesses were as fully and graphically de-
Humphrey, was thrown heavily against the
scribed as those of Dwight Eisenhower.
proposal. Whether Eisenhowever would have
Before his election, Eisenhower had suffered
decided differently, if he were well and
from some health problems. During his
present at his desk, is difficult to ascertain.
command in World War II, Eisenhower had
American Middle East policy was highly
hypertension and periodically from 1925 on
ambiguous and Eisenhower's health was an
he also has spasms of cramping pain in the
added question during this period.
midabdomen and mild fever. But generally,
Indeed. during his last illness, even Eisen-
Eisenhower appeared rather healthy when he
hower had some real concerns as to whether
assumed the presidency at the relatively ad-
he could continue. Although his physicians
vanced age of 62. However in a twenty-six
were quick to pronounce him 95% recovered,
month period at the close of his first term in
Eisenhower in his memoirs is a bit more
office, Eisenhower suffered from three major
candid. He notes that after that attack, he
illnesses.
frequently experienced difficulty in saying
First, on September 27, 1955, the Presi-
what he wanted to say. On occasion, he
dent had a coronary thrombosis. Then in
reversed syllables in a long word and he was
June of the next year, physicians operated
compelled to speak slowly, and cautiously
on his intestine after having diagnosed his
if he was to enunciate correctly. Apparently
abdominal pains as attacks of chronic ter-
concerned about his ability to carry on,
minal ileitis, known as regional enteritis or
Eisenhower created a "test" for himself of
Crohn's disease. Then in November 1956,
which he was to be the final judge of his
immediately after his re-election and the
own fitness.
prolonged discussion of his health in the
Eisenhower was originally scheduled to
campaign, the President suffered a cerebral
attend a NATO meeting in Paris and he used
occlusion. On each occasion, Eisenhower's
this occasion to see if his recent seizure had
press secretary provided the media with
any lasting effects. He describes his feelings
extensive, detailed descriptions of the
in this way:
President's condition.
During Eisenhower's first illness, the
This particular illness was of a kind that
Cabinet under the direction of Assistant to
could, if it became severe, create a situa-
the President, Sherman Adams, was able to
tion in which the patient might be par-
conduct the government's day to day
tially incapable of analyzing difficult
business without any major problem. Eisen-
problems and making reasonable deci-
hower had previously delegated wide respon-
sions concerning them. Possibly he could
sibilities to Adams, Secretary of State Dulles,
become unable to express his thoughts-
and Secretary of the Treasury, George
in the case of the President, be unable
Humphrey. This collegial relationship may
even to express a decision to resign. Some
have been aimed in part at preventing then
believed that a situation of this sort may
227
have happened during the Wilson Admin-
patients began to lead normal lives. However.
istration. I was going to make sure it would
the Kennedys feared that public knowledge
not happen in my case.
of JFK's condition would prove politically
costly. Kennedy himself said, "No one who
After his third major illness in as many
has the real Addison's disease should run
years. Eisenhower was sensible enough to
for the presidency. but I do not have it."
recognize that he had to create some arrange-
However, later statements by his physi-
ment should he suffer permanent disability.
cians and an article in the AMA Journal,
He issued a private letter to his Vice-President
that describes his condition as a case study
outlining procedures to be followed if such a
without using his name, are rather conclu-
disability should occur. It must be remem-
sive.³⁸ For his treatment Kennedy had
bered that Congress had yet to recommend
DOCA pellets of 150 mg implanted in him
an amendment concerning presidential dis-
every 3 or 4 months and took 25 mg of
ability and succession: Eisenhower's action
cortosone daily. The Blairs' study maintains
was a cautious. but important step to fill the
that the general effects of the treatment are
constitutional void.
increased sense of well-being. a state of
After the President's third illness, he had
euphoria. concentrating powers. greater
over three years left in his second term. Quite
energy, more muscular strength. improved
amazingly he gained a new sense of confi-
appetite. and heightened sexual drive.
dence and determination during those final
Also, there is some interesting evidence
years. Following the resignation of Adams
that President Kennedy was treated on occas-
and the death of Foster Dulles he virtually
sion by a physician who mainly catered to
became his own Chief of Staff and his own
the "jet set" by often injecting some of
Secretary of State. In the fight for the De-
them with the powerful stimulant ampheta-
fense Reorganization Act and in acceptance
mine, or "speed" as it is popularly known.
of responsibility for the U-2 incident he ex-
While it cannot be said for certain if that
hibited renewed leadership.
physician use 1 amphetamines on the Presi-
It has been argued that some of Eisen-
dent, he did apparently treat Kennedy on at
hower's illnesses may have been compounded
least two occasions. Once was when he gave
by his relatively advanced age for a president.
Kennedy an intravenous injection for an
His successor, John F. Kennedy, was the
infection in his hand during the President's
youngest man elected to the office, but he
summit mesting with Khruschev at Vienna.
probably had experienced more continuous
A second time, he gave Kennedy an injection
physical pain than any other person who
in the neck above the voice box when the
became president. His brother, Robert,
President had laryngitis before he was to
once maintained-probably without exaggera-
deliver an important speech at the United
tion-that JFK was in pain half the days of
Nations. The physician maintained that
his life. Until the publication of the Blairs'
while in Vienna he had given Kennedy anti-
study of JFK's early years, Kennedy's physi-
biotics and immune globulin.
cal problems were deliberately veiled.³⁷
Whether Kennedy, on this occasion or
We now know that Kennedy suffered from
any other one. was on amphetamines is un-
a congenital bad back, one aggravated, but
clear. It is, however, a matter of record that
not caused by his his brief interest in college
his performance in Vienna seemed lackluster
football and his adventures on PT 109. In
and that the usually inflappable President
1954, he underwent a lumbar fusion and
was a bit shaken after his encounter with
nearly died from the postoperative staphy-
Khruschev. Perhaps the observers at the
lococcus infection. In addition, Kennedy,
conference may have misunderstood the
as a child, had scarlet fever and he main-
nuances of the confrontation or perhaps
tained that he had contracted malaria in the
the young President was showing signs of
Navy. But the major problem that Kennedy
the inexperience with which his opponents
confronted was Addison's disease. Until
charged him in the 1960 campaign. Or it
the late 1930's, Addison's disease was usually
very well may have been that Kennedy was
fatal; then the use of DOCA transplants and
indeed suffering from the well known side
cortisone was prescribed and many Addison
effects of amphetamine which include
228
diminished performance, restlessness. and
long hours and unremitting tensions I had
confusion.
just gone through." Doris Keams notes that
-
It must be remembered in the Kennedy
Johnson seemed to have a desire to with-
case that these speculations. originating in
draw from politics. In three elections he
newspapet accounts. are just that-specula-
drew up statements announcing his with-
tions. are not based on solid historical
drawal (some were never sent) and in the
evidence. But it is useful. in at least one
others ne became physically ill and had to
case. for us to stop and realize how an easily
be hospitalized.
possible occurrence could have had such far
In summary. even leaving aside the grue-
reaching consequences. Indeed. it may be
some statistics about the probability of death
further argued that Kennedy's poor per-
by violence. the mortality rate of contem-
formance led Khruschev to misjudge his
porary Presidents is striking. Although it is
counterpart and this was one of the motives
a small group from which to generalize, it
behind the Premier's dangerous gamble
is obvious that the men elected to the
to put missiles in Cuba in 1962.39
presidency after 1900-regardless of their
Kennedy's presidency was cut short by
age-have generally suffered from many of
his assassination in Dallas on November 22,
the ailments associated with executive stress
1963. The full medical records of the Presi-
and pressure. Yet nearly all those presidents
dent have still not been realized to the public
came to the office with a record of some
and the main evidence that we have is the
serious medical malady and one must wonder
subject of much aebate and bitter contro-
it the responsibilities of office furthered
versy. Generally. the examiners of the
their deterioration beyond what was to be
Warren Commission found that Kennedy
expected. Certainly both Hoover and Tru-
suffered two bullet wounds. one of which
man. who entered office in good health. do
pierced his neck and a second which took
not seem to have been deleteriously effected.
off part of the right rear portion of his
head. It has been maintained hy some that
Conclusion
if the President had only experienced the
Any analysis of presidential health raises
first bullet wound he would have recovered.
some important medical and political ques-
However, the evidence has not been fully
tions. First. the specific instances cited of
released. out of consideration for his family.
illnesses and incapacity underscore the
During the 1960 campaign for the Demo-
importance of the subject. While a person
cratic nomination. the issue of Kennedy's
has a right 10 privacy. not every person
health was raised along with that of his
should have a right to use that privacy to
major opponent. Senator Lyndon Johnson.
veil one's true physical condition if he or
Johnson, an incredibly prodigious worker.
she chooses to run for the presidency.
had suffered in 1955 a myocardial infarction
Wilson's failure after the Pans Conference
and nearly died. After a convalescence of
and FDR's periodic aimlessness during and
three months, he began to return to his duties
after Yalta. to take two obvious examples.
in the Senate. During his term as President.
effected more people than simply the prin-
Johnson did have some minor surgery but
cipals involved.
no major illnesses. Yet as he states in his
Also, it is all too clear that many of the
memoirs. he was very conscious not only
physicians serving the presidents have shown
of his previous heart attack. but also his
a tendency to become medical courtiers
family history of stroke and heart disease.
more interested in protecting their special
Apparently, he remembered his grand-
patient's public reputation than in providing
mother who suffered 2 stroke and was con-
candid explanations of the conditions of
fined to a wheelchair throughout his child-
their leaders. If the public wishes to sei up a
hood. Under stress, he frequently dreamt of
screening device for all presidential candi-
himself, like Wilson, incapacitated. By 1968.
dates. as has been suggested. then it would
under the mounting anti-war pressure. John-
do well for Congress to create an independent
son decided not seek renomination. In his
board of medical examiners. Short of that,
words, "I frankly did not believe in 1968
medical statements on a condidate's physical
that I could survive another four years of
fitness are as useful as campaign promises.
229
NOTES
16. Harry Sievers, Benjamin Harrison: Hoosier
Statesman (New York: University Publishers
*The author wishes to express his appreciation
Inc., 1959), pp. 372-73.
to James F. Brennan, Mary K. Delmont, and
17. Robert Seager 11, And Tyler Too (New York:
Margaret Riccards for their assistance.
McGraw-Hill, 1963), p. 72.
18. James Polk, The Diary of a President 1845-
1. General studies of the presidents and their
1849, edited by Allan Nevins (New York:
health are Rudolph Marx, The Health of the
Longman, Green and Co., 1929), and Charles
Presidents (New York: Putnam, 1969); Karl
Grier Sellers, James K. Polk, 2 vois. (Prince-
Wold, Mr. President-How Is Your Health (St.
ton: Princeton University Press, 1957 and
Paul and Minneapolis: Bruce, 1948) and
1966).
Milton Plesur, "The Health of Presidents," in
19. Brainerd Dyer, Zachary Taylor (Baton Rouge:
The Presidency Reappraised, edited by Rex-
Louisiana State University Press, 1946), pp.
ford G. Tugwell and Thomas E. Cronin
402-05.
(New York: Praeger Publishers, 1974), 187-
20. Roy Franklin Nichols, Franklin Pierce: Young
204. A superb clinical bibliography is Charles
Hickory of the Granite Hills (Philadelphia:
A. Roos, "Physicians to the Presidents, and
University of Pennsylvania, 1958); Robert
their Patients: A Bibliography," Bulletin of
Rayback, Millard Fillmore: Biography of a
the Medical Library Association, XLIX (July,
President (Buffalo: H. Stewart, 1959); Philip
1961), 191-260 and the notes that follow do
S. Klein, President James Buchanan (Univer-
not duplicate Roos' references but list some
sity Park: Pennsylvania University Press,
more readity accessible biographies as well.
1962).
2. The best source for longevity rates is the
21. Edward J. Kempf, Abraham Lincoln's Philos-
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. The
ophy of Common Sense (New York: New
Statistical Bureau and its supervisor, Mr.
York Academy of Science, 1965), vol. 1,
Stanley N. Kranczer, were kind enough to
chapters 1 and 2.
recompute presidential longevity rates exclud-
22. Milton Lomask, Andrew Johnson: Presulent
ing assassinated executives (Letter to the
on Trial (New York: Farrar Straus and Co.,
author, August 3, 1976). The original study is
1960), pp. 108-09.
in "Longevity of Presidents of the United
23. Julia Dent Grant, The Personal Memoirs of
States," Statistica! Bulletin. 57 (March 1976),
Julian Dent Grant, edited by John Y. Simon
3-4.
(New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1975).
3. Marx, op. cit., P. 48.
24. Harry Barnard, Rutherford B. Hayes and His
4. Frank L Griffin, Jr., "Actuarial Note: Mor-
America (Indianapolis: Bobbs Merril, 1954),
tality of United States Presidents and Certain
pp. 156-62.
Other Federal Officers," Transactions of the
25. Harry James Brown and Frederick D. Williams,
Actuarial Society of America, XLI (October
ed., The Diary of James Garfield, vol. II 1872-
1940) 487-91.
74 (Lansing: Michigan State University Press,
5. James S. Young, The Washington Community,
1967) lists his earlier illnesses; Dale, op. cit.,
1800-1828 (New York: Columbia University
pp. 211-18.
Press, 1966), P. 42.
26. Thomas C. Reeves, Gentleman Boss: The Life
6. Philip M. Dale, Medical Biographies (Norman:
of Chester A. Arthur (New York: Knopf,
University of Oklahoma, 1952), pp. 102-11.
1975), PP. 318, 359; Marx, op. cit., P. 251.
7. Marx, op. cit., P. 33.
27. Allan Nevins, Grover Cleveland: A Study in
8. Page Smith, John Adams (Garden City:
Courage (New York: Dodd Mead & Co.,
Doubleday, 1962), volume I, pp. 35, 297, 316;
1947), PP. 529-33; Dale, op. cit., pp. 219-26.
volume II, pp. 50-53, 381.
28. Dale, op. cit., pp. 227-34.
9. Marx, op. cit. P. 48; Fawn Brodie, Thomas
29. William H. Harbaugh, Power and Responsibil-
Jefferson: An Intimate History (New York:
ity: The Life and Times of Theodore Roose-
Norton, 1974), PP. 43, 66, 102, 114, 131,
velt (New York: Farrar, Straus, & Co., 1961).
165, 176, 180, 187, 208, 253, 256, 281-285,
30. Paolo E. Coletta, The Presidency of William
360, 376, 394, 459-65.
Howard Taft (Lawrence: University Press of
10. Ralph Ketchum, James Madison (New York:
Kansas, 1973).
Macmillan, 1971) pp. 51-52,560; Irving Brant,
31. Henry W. Bragdon, Woodrow Wilson: The
James Madison (Indianapolis: Bobbs M~rril,
Academic Years (Cambridge: Harvard Univer-
1941-61), 6 vois., especially vol. 1, pp. 105-
sity Press, 1967), passim.
109; vol. 4, pp. 439-40; and vol. 6, PP. 184-
32. Edwin A. Weinstein, "Woodrow Wilson's
93, 206-09.
Neurological Illness," Journal of American
11. Alfred Steinberg, The First Ten (Garden City:
History, 57 (September 1970), 324-51. and
Doubleday, 1967), P. 204.
his, "Denial of Presidential Disability: A Case
12. Harry Ammon, James Monroe: The Quest for
Study of Woodrow Wilson," Psychiatry, XXX
National Identity (New York: McGraw-Hill,
(November 1967), 376-91; Gene Smith,
1971), pp. 416-17.
When the Cheering Stopped (London: Hutch-
13. Samuel Flagg Bemis, John Quincy Adams and
inson & Co., 1964).
the Union (New York: Knopf, 1956), p. 48;
33. Marx, op. cit., pp. 330-35; Francis Russell,
Marie B. Hecht, John Quincy Adams: A Per-
The Shedow of Blooming Grove (New York:
sonal History of an Independent Man (New
McGraw Hill, 1968).
York: Macmillan, 1972), pp. 452-53.
34. Donald R. McCoy, Calvin Coolidge: The Quiet
14. Marquis James, Andrew Jackson: Portrait of a
President (New York: Macmillan, 1967) and
President (Indianapolis: Bobbs Merrill, 1937),
Marx, op. cit., for Hoover.
p. 223; Dale, op. cit., PP. 136-50.
35. Howard G. Bruenn, "Clinical Notes on the
15. James C. Curtis, The Fox At Bay: Martin Van
Illness and Death of President Franklin D.
Buren and the Presidency 1837-1841 (Lexing-
Roosevelt," Annals of Internal Medicine,
ton: University Press of Kentucky, 1970).
LXXII (April 1970), 579-91; Herman E.
230
Hoosier
Bateman, "Observations on President Roose-
Archive of Surgery, LXXI (November 1955).
blishers
velt's Health during World War II," Mississippi
737-42; John Nicholas, "President Kennedy's
Valley Historical Review, XUI (June 1956).
Adrenals," Journal of the American Medicai
York:
82-102; Jim Bishop, FDR's Last Year (New
Association, 201 (July 10, 1967), 129-30.
York: Pocket Books, 1975).
39. Boyce Rensberger, "Amphetamines Used by
1845-
36. Alfred Steinberg, The Man From Missouri:
A Physician to Life Moods of Famous Pa-
York:
The Life and Times of Harry S. Truman
tients," New York Times (December 4, 1972)
Charles
(New York: Putnam, 1962).
1. 34; Arthur Schlesinger, A Thousand Days:
(Prince-
37. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Waging Peace (Garden
John F. Kennedy in the White House (Boston:
and
City: Doubleday, 1965), PP. 228-34; Peter
Houghton Mifflin. 19€5), chapter 14 repre-
Lyon, Eisenhower: The Portrait of a Hero
sents a more sanguine view of the Vienna talks.
Rouge:
(Boston: Little Brown, 1974).
40. Lyndon B. Johnson, The Vantage Point (New
PP.
37. Joan and Clay Blair, Jr., in Search of JFK
York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971) and
(Berkeley: Putnam, 1976), passim.
Doris Kearns, Lyndon Johnson and the
Young
38. James A. Nichols, et al., "Management of
American Dream (New York: Harper and
delphia:
Adrenocortical Insufficiency During Surgery,"
Row, 1976), especially the epilogue.
Robert
Journal of the American Medical Association
of
a
Philip
(Univer-
Press,
Philoe-
New
DO STRONG PRESIDENTS REALLY WANT STRONG
vol.
I,
LEGISLATIVE PARTIES?
resident
Co..
of
The Case of Woodrow Wilson and The House Democrats
Simon
and
His
1954),
by
STEPHEN H. BALCH
Villiams,
1872-
Department of Government John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Press,
cit.,
Woodrow Wilson is usually thought of as one of the great exponents of strong party govern-
The
Life
ment. Ironically, his actions as President played a major role in undermining precisely such a
Knopf,
251.
system. This article attempts to demonstrate how Wilson's legislative tactics and his conception
Study
in
of the presidential role undermined the floor leaders of the Democratic Majority and encouraged
&
Co.,
the development of centrifugal political forces in the House of Representatives. Wilson's experi-
19-26.
ence with the House is also employed as a basis for speculation as to contemporary trends in
ponsibil-
the relationship between the President and Congress.
Roose-
1961).
William
"A Democratic President should profit
the Democrats in caucus. The southern wing
Press
of
from a strong, cohesive Democratic majority
of the party has experienced a substantial
The
in Congress. Congressional decentralization,
transformation, with new more moderate
Univer-
on the other hand, irresponsibly vesting
members taking the place of die-hard Dixie-
power in committee and subcommittee
crats. An influx of young congressmen has
Wilson's
merican
barons, represents the negation of the cohe-
spurred demands for legislative leadership
51.
and
sive party ideal and stands as the perpetual
and for procedures more attuned to the
A
Case
bane of the activist chief executive." This is
XXX
development of constructive programs in a
Smith,
the gist of the wisdom, handed down in page
variety of policy areas.
Hutch-
after page of reformist writing on Congress.¹
Of course it is far from clear that all this
Russell,
But given the pace of recent changes on
will lead to a stronger congressional majority
York:
Capitol Hill such wisdom may prove a mis-
in the traditional sense. That is to say, one
leading guide to the future of presidential-
Quiet
dominated by a powerful centralized floor
and
congressional relations.
leadership. Indeed, in many ways the oppor-
The signs of change are everywhere.
tunities for such leadership, based on playing
on
the
Seniority is no longer sacrosanct. Elder chair-
one's cards close to the vest in the manner of
D.
edicine,
men of committees and subcommittees have
Sam Rayburn and Lyndor, Johnson, have
E.
been successfully challenged and deposed by
been severly limited. Rank and file members
231
Two giants of the past, George
Washington, depicted on his
deathbed, left, and Andrew
Jackson, were among the sick-
est Presidents.
sick many American Presi-
If Doctors Had Chosen
dents have been and yet
how ably they managed to
serve the nation.
Our Past Presidents-
The Ailing Achievers
George Washington was a
hypochondriac in the full
Smallpox, tuberculosis, stroke, depression,
sense of the word. He died with a finger carefully pressed
cancer, heart disease-these are some
against his left wrist, taking his ebbing pulse, obsessed to
the end with details of the many illnesses that burdened his
of the scourges that U.S. Presidents suffered,
67 years.
with dramatic consequences for the
Washington's chest was hollowed out from tuberculosis;
country's political destiny.
his skin pockmarked from smallpox; his jaw deformed by
rotting teeth. He also had severe respiratory problems and
For many years, Dr. John B. Moses, an internist in Scars-
could hardly breathe. Even at rest, he was scarcely able to
dale, N.Y., has been investigating little-known medical facts
supply enough oxygen to his lungs, weakened from fre-
of past Presidents-soon to be published in a book, Presi-
quent bouts with pneumonia. Two years before becoming
dential Courage, W. W. Norton & Company, coauthored by
President, he was so disabled by rheumatism that he could
writer Wilbur Cross of Bronxville, N.Y.
barely raise his hands above his head.
Abigail Trafford, the magazine's health editor, wrote this
Six weeks after taking the oath of office, Washington had
article based on their research.
major surgery, with no anesthesia, for a pus-filled tumor in
his thigh. Complications set in, his vision failed and pneu-
As the 1980 election heats up, the health of the presiden-
monia followed. In all, he was disabled for 109 days of his
tial candidates is high on the list of public debate:
Presidency, during which time he conducted very little of-
Is Ronald Reagan too old? What about Ted Kennedy's
ficial business.
bad back? Will jogging Jimmy Carter collapse?
Nevertheless, Washington managed to reorganize a
Today, the shield of medical privacy is diminishing for
fledgling government, establish financial stability in the
public figures. Results of presidential medical examinations
new nation, alleviate tensions between the U.S. and Great
are published, right down to the most intimate physical and
Britain and successfully negotiate treaties with the Indians
psychological details.
along the frontier to open up new lands for settlement.
How healthy does one have to be to become President? If
Washington was not the only sick giant in the American
history is any guide, not all that healthy.
Presidency. Probably the sickest of all was Andrew Jackson,
On the whole, America's Presidents have not been a
the country's seventh Chief Executive. All through his life,
healthy lot. Many of them battled major illnesses while in
he walked in the shadow of death. Cadaver thin, Jackson
office, frequently hiding private traumas-and the dis-
was almost 6 feet tall and weighed only 129 pounds. If he
abling effects of disease-from the public.
lived today, he could not qualify for even the most liberal
Thomas Jefferson often rode through the countryside
life-insurance policy.
sobbing and moaning, a victim of severe depression and
As a boy, Jackson was a drooler, constantly spitting and
prolonged migraine headaches. James Madison had hysteri-
dribbling, especially under stress. He suffered from chronic
cal epilepsy. Chester Arthur suffered from fatal nephritis, a
dysentery most of his life. During the Revolutionary War,
kidney disease. Grover Cleveland was treated for cancer
he came down with smallpox. His teeth were so decayed
while he was President. Woodrow Wilson was totally dis-
that he could not eat solid food. He also had "the big itch"
abled by a stroke. Franklin Roosevelt, a polio victim, was
or chronic urticaria, causing him to itch intermittently from
progressively destroyed by cerebral ischemia and may have
head to toe.
had skin cancer as well.
To make matters worse, he was almost killed in a duel at
Some of the healthiest Presidents-James Buchanan,
the age of 39. The bullet went into his chest, missing his
Herbert Hoover and Calvin Coolidge, to name a few-are
heart by little more than an inch, breaking two ribs and
far from being hallowed names.
lodging in the left lung.
Even more startling is evidence in the archives on how
The injury eventually developed into a permanent putrid
U.S.NEWS & WORLD REPORT, March 3, 1980
45
Grover Cleveland underwent a secret operation in 1893 for cancer
At Yalta, a desperately III Franklin D. Roosevelt negotiated the
of the mouth that left him unable to speak.
boundaries of post-World War II Europe.
abscess in his chest, causing Jackson to cough up pus and
vere than the doctors originally thought. The malignancy
cc
blood for the rest of his life.
spread from the roots of his left molars to the hollow cavity
hi
Jackson's final months in office were a nightmare of pain.
of his upper jaw.
th
His feet had swollen so much he could hardly- walk; his
The surgeons had to remove all but a small portion of the
he
headaches were so severe he could not concentrate. He was
President's left upper jaw. Two days later, the White House
ec
plagued by diarrhea, indigestion, shortness of breath, hem-
issued a statement that Cleveland was "up and about" fol-
orrhaging and deep pains in his chest. Adding to this were
lowing the removal of abscessed teeth. Behind closed doors,
su
blindness in one eye, blurring of vision in the other and an
the President's doctors were facing another crisis: Cleve-
m
ear infection that dulled his hearing.
land could not talk. The operation left him "wholly unintel-
te
He seldom set foot out of the White House and often
ligible, resembling the worst imaginable case of cleft pal-
th
postponed cabinet meetings. So disabled was Jackson in the
ate," in the words of one doctor. Fortunately, a dental
final days of his Presidency that he was not even able to de-
surgeon was able to restore the President's speech with an
liver a farewell address to Congress.
artificial jaw made from vulcanized rubber.
Yet Jackson was one of the strongest Presidents ever to
The public never knew about the President's private bat-
m
occupy the White House. Instead of dulling his power, ill-
tle with cancer, and this "medical Watergate" was kept se-
he
ness and pain sharpened his determination. At the Paris
cret for more than two decades. So elaborate was the cover-
se
Conference of 1831 over reparations from the Napoleonic
up that even Cleveland's wife didn't know he was sick until
wars, the French took one look at this walking medical clin-
after the operation was over.
Hi
ic and expected an easy victory at the bargaining table. But
A week after the operation, White House aides called a
Jackson wasn't called "Old Hickory" for nothing. In the
press conference and announced that the President had a
id
end, the French paid up-as did most of his political foes.
lame knee. What about the rumor that he had cancer? Dr.
W
Jackson's Presidency marked a turning point in American
Thomas Bryant, who had just operated on Cleveland, said:
foi
history. He led a divided people through a devastating fi-
"The President is absolutely free from cancer or malignant
nancial crisis, and set the stage for giving the people a more
growth of any description." According to the New York
ca
direct voice in government. And he lived to the age of 74.
Times, the physician asserted that "no operation had been
ide
performed except that a bad tooth was extracted."
Sts
Shrouded in Secrecy
From history's point of view, Cleveland's cover-up could
WC
Most Americans had little knowledge of Jackson's medi-
be justified. He not only survived his second term in good
cal condition. It was considered none of their business.
health but led an active life until he died in 1908 of a heart
Long after Jackson's tenure, cover-ups of a President's
condition at age 71.
he
health were deemed proper.
Medical cover-ups by other Presidents, however, have
an
In the summer of 1893, for instance, no one knew of any-
not been judged so kindly in the light of history. It is now
wa
thing amiss as the 75-ton yacht Oneida cruised up New
suggested that Franklin Roosevelt had cancer when he ran
an
York's East River. Yet, on board, an obese, bull-necked, gout-
for a fourth term in 1944. Certainly he was a very sick man.
ica
afflicted man was being operated on for cancer of the mouth:
Already crippled from polio, he had hypertension and con-
Grover Cleveland, 22nd President of the United States.
gestive heart failure, which meant that not enough oxygen
Wi
It was a bad time for a President to get sick. The country
was getting to his brain or kidneys.
fra
was in the grip of a spreading depression. The Philadelphia
After FDR completed three successful terms that saw the
in
& Reading Railroad had gone bankrupt, unemployment was
country through the Depression of the 1930s and the deci-
wa
rising and some 500 banks and 15,000 businesses had failed.
sive years of World War II, his accumulated ailments exact-
ter
It also was a time in medicine when the death rate in sur-
ed their price. At the Yalta Conference in February of
the
gery from anesthesia alone was 14 percent. To make mat-
1945, which set the political stage of postwar Europe, Roo-
fro
ters worse, the cancer Cleveland had was much more se-
sevelt was visibly handicapped. He had little drive and
Ho
46
U.S.NEWS & WORLD REPORT, March 3. 1980
U.S
After Woodrow Wilson was disabled by a stroke, his
Recuperating from a massive heart
second wife, Edith Galt, all but ran the White House.
attack, smiling Dwight D. Eisenhower
went on to win a second term.
y
couldn't concentrate. He badly misjudged Stalin, and some
y
historians think that the dying President conceded more to
the Soviet Union than he would have if he had been in good
health. Lord Moran, Winston Churchill's physician, estimat-
e
ed that the President had only a few months to live.
-
At home, however, the public was being continually reas-
s,
sured. Just before election to a fourth term, Roosevelt's
medical adviser had announced that his patient was "in bet-
I-
ter physical condition than the average man of his age" and
I-
that his health was "good, very good." Roosevelt even gave
al
a speech in the rain to prove his stamina and quash any ru-
in
mors about his health.
But Lord Moran had the last word. Roosevelt died two
&
months after the Yalta Conference of a massive cerebral
&
hemorrhage, and the boundaries of modern Europe were
r-
sealed.
til
History's Medical Conspiracy
a
Perhaps nothing in the medical history of American Pres-
a
idents compares with the extraordinary events involving
T.
Woodrow Wilson, who was completely disabled by a stroke
d:
for his last year in office.
nt
In the spring of 1919, Wilson was at the apex of his politi-
rk
cal career. The war to end all wars was won; Wilson was
en
idolized by the people of Europe as well as the United
States. He was the foremost head of state in the postwar
Id
world when he went to the Paris Peace Conference to
John F. Kennedy in a rocking chair to soothe his bad back. He
xd
make the world safe for democracy.
also had a hormone condition that required cortisone drugs.
rt
Yet, in Paris, perspiration blotched his sallow cheeks as
he tugged at bulky upholstered chairs, mahogany tables
mand, never let go the reins of power, and the public never
ve
and other pieces of furniture in the American Embassy. He
realized the extent of this dying man's disability.
W
was convinced that evil forces were conspiring against him
During this twilight Presidency, some 28 bills passed by
an
and that French spies were stealing and rearranging Amer-
Congress went unsigned. Wilson stubbornly refused to ac-
n.
ican furniture.
cept any compromises on the League of Nations, placing in
È
The climax came a few months later. In early October,
jeopardy the very cause of peace for which he had fought so
en
Wilson suffered a stroke and was paralyzed on the left side
long and so hard.
from head to toe. Yet he denied he was sick and remained
What is forgotten in this bizarre story of medical conspir-
he
in office with full powers of the Presidency. The patient
acy is that Wilson had long been a sickly man with a record
ci-
was never hospitalized, never tested to determine the ex-
of breakdowns. Between the summer of 1875, when he was
et-
tent of his mental functions and never checked to define
18, and the beginning of his final illness in 1919, he had 14
of
the nature and location of the brain lesion that resulted
separate illnesses, lasting from two months to a year.
ю-
from the cerebral trauma. The inner circle of the White
One day in 1906, for example, he woke up completely
nd
House guard, with Wilson's second wife Edith Galt in com-
blind in his left eye-probably due to a blood clot in the
80
U.S.NEWS & WORLD REPORT, March 3, 1980
47
brain. At the time, his first wife wrote that Wilson had hard-
childhood accident. When Abe was 10 years old, he was
ening of the arteries and was "dying by inches and incur-
kicked in the head by a horse and left unconscious. In all like-
able." All in all, it is surprising that a man so fragile even
lihood, authorities now say, the skull was fractured deeply
reached the White House.
enough to cause brain damage. A subdural hematoma, swell-
ing from ruptured blood vessels in the brain, probably dam-
Now: Virtually Full Disclosure
aged the left frontal lobe and played a part in shaping per-
In recent decades, the public's right to know has gone a
sonality as well as causing physical and mental imbalances.
long way to break down the secrecy of the past. Dwight D.
Lincoln's depressions were often associated with women.
Eisenhower, the last President to have a heart attack while
When his first love died, he was so stricken with grief that
in office, was so disabled from September of 1955 to Janu-
friends described him as being "in the shadow of madness."
ary of 1956 that the the job of running the government was
A few years later, an attack of depression caused him to run
turned over to then Vice President Richard M. Nixon-ac-
away and hide on the day of his wedding. When he was
cording to a standby agreement both had signed before tak-
found the next day, his state of mind was so unstable that
ing office.
close friends watched him, taking shifts around the clock,
Fortunately there were no national or international crises
fearing he might attempt suicide. This depression stretched
during this period. Meanwhile, daily and sometimes hourly
on for almost a year, during which time he was unable to
bulletins of medical trivia fueled what became a national
hold a regular job.
soap opera: The President had to urinate in a milk bottle
Lincoln also brought many common physical ailments of
when no bedpan was handy; his pajamas had to be changed
his day to the White House: Chronic constipation, corns and
because he soiled the first pair.
calluses, insomnia, low blood pressure,
Six months later, Ike was stricken with
various fevers, latent tuberculosis and
ileitis, an inflammation of the lower sec-
gradual hardening of the arteries.
tion of the small intestine, and underwent
When he went to Gettysburg to deliver
major surgery. Once again, the country
his famous address, Lincoln was coming
was caught up in the medical drama of the
down with smallpox, which may have had
President. Progress reports were issued
something to do with the brevity and tone
from the White House several times daily.
of the speech.
This new style of openness became so
What's more, a recent theory suggests
popular that when President Lyndon B.
that Lincoln also was suffering from Mar-
Johnson had his gallbladder operation in
fan's syndrome, a fatal disease of genetic
1965, he proudly displayed the scar of the
origin with symptoms of heart and eye
incision to the public.
problems, poor skeletal growth and spi-
One of the more disabled Chief Execu-
dery, somewhat uncoordinated legs-all
tives in recent years was John F. Kenne-
of which were present in Lincoln.
dy, who at 43 was the youngest President
Said an editorial in the Western Journal
elected to the White House. A symbol of
of Medicine in 1978: "Had John Wilkes
youth and vigor, JFK was actually plagued
Booth not fired the fatal shot on April 14,
with a bad back that had totally incapaci-
1865, Lincoln would have died within a
tated him on many occasions. His brother
Abraham Lincoln suffered from de-
year from complications of Marfan's syn-
Bobby said that "at least half of the days
pression most of his life.
drome-for which there is still no cure."
that he spent on this earth were days of
Other Presidents with psychological
intense physical pain." Kennedy also was a victim of Addi-
problems have not fared so well. Franklin Pierce, the Dem-
son's disease, a disorder involving the adrenal glands, which
ocratic dark-horse candidate of 1852 who never wanted to
forced him to depend on powerful mood-altering cortisone
be-President, was an alcoholic. Personal tragedy dogged his
drugs. This hormone condition was carefully downplayed in
life. His only son was killed in a railroad accident on the
the 1960 campaign.
way to his inauguration; his wife collapsed and refused to
Despite these physical burdens, JFK missed only one day
come to Washington. A weak man who had always turned
of work during the 1,000 days of his Presidency.
to liquor to bolster his confidence, Pierce died of alcoholic
cirrhosis of the liver.
Inner Demons at Work
Although Pierce's alcoholism was never mentioned in
For many Americans, Abraham Lincoln ranks as the
public, word got around. A one-term President, Pierce was
greatest President of all for leading the country through its
deserted by friends and damned by his native state of New
darkest hour of civil war. Today, however, some experts
Hampshire. Only author Nathaniel Hawthorne, who under-
doubt that the man could pass a basic psychological test, let
stood that alcoholism was a disease, stood by him.
alone a comprehensive psychiatric examination.
History shows that bad health does not exact the same
Lincoln, whose sad, haunted look is so familiar in photo-
price from each President. The disease-ridden Andrew
graphs, was a victim of severe melancholia, with periods of
Jackson came back a winner from the international bar-
uncontrollable depression all through his life. He had vi-
gaining table over the Napoleonic wars; Franklin Roosevelt
sions and believed in dreams that gave premonitions of his
was the loser at the Yalta Conference.
own death. In March of 1865, only one month before Lin-
There is also a crucial difference between sickness and
coln's assassination, the U.S. surgeon general feared that the
disability. Cleveland was sick with cancer and recovered.
President was "on the verge of a nervous breakdown."
Wilson never recovered from his stroke, holding the office
Lincoln could barely see out of one eye. He suffered from
political hostage.
frequent nervous attacks characterized by burning eye-
Thus, history has been shaped by Presidents who have
strain, headaches, indigestion and nausea. In the White
been sick, lame, blind and even close to madness. The pub-
House, he installed a couch near his desk so he could lie
licity given to the health of today's presidential candidates
down with a cold compress over his eyes whenever one of
may lessen that risk, but historians also wonder whether it
these attacks got the better of him.
might not deprive the nation of great talents like those of
Medical hindsight traces these mental conditions to a
the sick men who occupied the White House in the past.
48
U.S.NEWS & WORLD REPORT, March 3, 1980
gress became the ranking minority member of the
around a lot-always there in case he was needed, but
Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sent Brzezinski
never so bold or forward that he could be accused of
a written demand on December 18 for any and all NSC
being a pain in the neck. He was solicitous in his advice,
and other records in federal custody that might bear
but never proffered it unless asked. He knew how to
upon Haig's fitness. Brzezinski justifiably refused to
keep his mouth shut. In short, he behaved with the odd
accède to so broad a demand and asked for specifics,
mixture of self-assertion and self-effacement charac-
then spoiled his act by seeming in a cable television
teristic of that Washington social type, the special
interview to accuse the Senate Democrats of planning
assistant.
a "witch hunt." That's exactly what they were doing,
Soon Lukash was making regular trips to Johnson's
with Pell's wholesale call for records and tapes bearing
Texas ranch. He became a member of the Johnson
upon Haig's services to Richard Nixon during and after
entourage, one of the handful of people who went
Watergate. Brzezinski said in the same interview that
everywhere the president went, all over the world.
his witch hunt crack was aimed at slavering journal-
Most amazing of all, two presidents later, Lukash is
ists, not at the Senate Democrats, but the qualifier
still there. He is one of Washington's great survivors.
went unnoticed. Carter seemed a day later to overrule
How did he do it Well, among other techniques, after
Brzezinski and be more willing to cooperate with the
taking over from the man who had stood bureaucrati-
committee Democrats than Brzezinski was. Pell in fact
cally between him and the president, he quickly
had narrowed his first request and made it more spe-
slashed his staff by more than half. This not only saved
cific, and Carter was responding to the modified
the government money, but helped to assure that he
request. Also, however, he asserted his right as the
would not have to face competition for the president's
incumbent President to clear any materials from the
affection from a young, Lukash-like subordinate. He
files of Nixon and Gerald Ford that might be offered to
worked to establish a locker-room bonhomie with each
Pell by the former presidents' attorneys. That was too
successive president, playing golf with Ford, jogging
much for Herbert Miller, Nixon's Washington attor-
with Carter, etc. He managed to be the first person to
ney, who instantly broke off separate negotiations
see the president in the morning and the last to see him
with Pell and served notice that he might contest any
at night. He cultivated the first lady. And he was
release of Nixon tapes or other material in court.
always discreet, especially with the press. He knew
Ford's attorney, Dean Burch, insisted that Ford retain
how to stay in the background when things were
the right to clear any release from his files and seemed
going well, and how to tiptoe around controversies
to be calmer about it than Miller was.
when they unfortunately arose.
There the matter stood when Carter, obviously not
Now, like so many other Washingtonians who
occupied with anything vital to the nation, took off for
clawed their way to the top, Lukash is about to be
a brief stay at his home in Plains, the day before Haig's
swept out of his job in the Reagan landslide. Cronyism,
confirmation hearing was to open. Jody Powell said
alas, is back. Bravely, he says he had been planning to
that Carter needed time at home to prepare for the end
step aside anyway: "I had plateaued," he says. But you
of his presidency and his final return to Georgia on
needn't worry too much about him. He has been sift-
January 20.
ing through offers from the private sector, and there
may even be a book in the works. "I'm not sure about
John Osborne
that," Lukash says. "But of course," he adds with a
modest smile, "the agents have been calling." A fitting
end to a Washington tale. Lukash is about to cash in his
chips.
This sounds like a typical saga of a Washington
lawyer or political operative. But William Lukash isn't
Why Dr. Lukash would rather dole out
a lawyer-he's a doctor and an admiral in the Navy. He
aspirin than be chief of gastroenterology.
happens to be the White House's official in-house phy-
sician, which means (drum rolls, please) he is the man
The First Physician
most responsible for keeping the leader of the free
world healthy. That's the billing. As with most high-
echelon special assistantships, the daily duties are con-
William Lukash's rise to the top is a classic Washington
siderably more mundane-far beneath the talents of
saga. Fourteen years ago, at age 36, he was recom-
the occupant, and beneath his dignity too if it weren't
mended for a part-time job in the White House. He
for the glamorous trappings. Lukash runs a White
grabbed for the spot, and, realizing that his future
House version of the nurse's office in elementary
depended primarily on the beneficence of President
school where your teacher sent you if you complained
Johnson, he energetically began currying favor with
of a headache. When Zbig complains of a headache, he
the boss. He did this in typical Washington fashion.
gets sent straight to Lukash. Lukash also is the per-
Although he was only a part-timer, he spent a prodi-
sonal doctor for not just the president, but for all the
gious number of hours in the office. He hovered
members of the first family. But he still manages to
10
The New Republic
spend the largest part of his time tending to America's
proved little during the next eight years except the fact
premier patient-the president. Lukash has treated, in
that he knew almost nothing about the care of hyper-
his career, such well-publicized presidential ailments
tensive cardiovascular disease" (which Wilson suffered
as Johnson's heart condition, Nixon's phlebitis, Ford's
from). Roosevelt, despite his paralysis and other
football knees, and Carter's piles. These are not, Lord
illnesses, chose the legendary Ross T. McIntire as his
knows, diseases that have put Lukash on the frontier
physician, a man so inept at his profession that he was
of modern medicine, but frankly, he doesn't give a hoot
criticized by the AMA. For two years, McIntire single-
about that. As he looks back over his long career in the
handedly misdiagnosed Roosevelt's congestive heart
White House, he has nothing but fond memories. It
problems, primarily because he believed in Roosevelt's
has been "an honor" to have had the chance to serve as
toughness. Even McIntire, though, went into the
White House doctor, he says. He has found working in
White House as a low-ranking naval officer, and came
the White House "awesome." He has considered his
out a rear admiral. This has since become traditional
responsibilities "challenging." "I leave with a sense of
for White House doctors, Lukash included.
satisfaction," he says.
In JFK's administration, the White House doctor
Judged by the only standards available, Lukash has
was his longtime physician, Dr. Janet Travell. Travell
indeed had a successful tenure as chief keeper of the
was the first White House doctor to try to make a
presidential health. None of his presidents has keeled
bundle by writing about her experiences, in the now-
over dead in the middle of high-level negotiations with
forgotten Office Hours: Day and Night. She was also the
Allied leaders. None has even spent much time being
first White House doctor really to master the art of
too sick to carry on with the important business of
news management. For example, she used to deny that
running the nation. Lukash's special contribution has
Kennedy was afflicted with a form of Addison's dis-
been setting up diet and exercise regimes for his presi-
ease, despite a good deal of evidence to the contrary.
dents that have kept them usually at the top of their
Most important, Travell was the first White House
games. Depending on your political persuasion, this
doctor to insist on following the president everywhere
should have met with your approval at least some of
he went. This was her cause célèbre, but in this, as in so
the time over the past 14 years.
much else, she was ahead of her time. "Doctors have
On the other hand, Lukash has had four very
better use for their time than to follow me around,"
healthy presidents during his reign as White House
Kennedy told her.
doctor. He hasn't had to cope with paralyzed presi-
dents (Roosevelt), manic-depressive presidents (Wil-
B
Y THE TIME Lukash first came to the White
son), presidents with cancer (Harrison), presidents
House, Travell's arguments had carried the day.
with chronic back trouble (Kennedy), or presidents
A doctor now traveled with the president at all times,
with debilitating diseases of one sort or another (at
and one or another of his assistants went with the first
least a dozen others). Johnson's heart condition was
lady and vice president. But the man who was then the
the closest Lukash came to handling an ongoing medi-
White House doctor, Rear Admiral (of course) George
cal problem, but Lukash's treatment consisted primar-
Berkeley, didn't care for all that traveling. Nor did he
ily of feeding Johnson's need for constant reassurance
like working late hours, which White House doctors
that he was not on the verge of a new attack, rather
now did whenever there was a reception at the White
than providing sophisticated treatment. On his first
House. That is why he tapped Lukash to help him out.
trip to the Johnson ranch, Lukash was summoned to
Lukash was then a lieutenant commander in the Navy,
examine the president's heart at 2 one morning. When
and chairman of the gastroenterology department at
he arrived, his stethoscope was still cold, and when he
Bethesda Naval Hospital. After joining the White
put it to Johnson's chest, the president let out a string
House staff, he would work the day shift at Bethesda,
of loud Texas epithets. "After that," recalls Lukash,
and then head for the White House for evening duty.
"there was a closer rapport between the two of us."
Evening duty consisted mostly of hanging around and
This was the highest sort of challenge Lukash faced in
waiting to see if the president or one of his guests got a
his White House career.
stomach-ache, but Lukash was up to it. Sometimes he
The history of medicine in the White House is not
actually would get to attend the reception, where he
full of success stories like Lukash's. In truth, many of
could refine his low-key technique. "I stay close to the
the physicians have been hacks, culled from the ranks
President, but not in such a way that I would stand
of the Navy, which pays for the doctor's office in the
out," he once told Nation's Business. "Everybody thinks
White House, and which therefore provides a doctor
I'm a Secret Service man."
to the president free of charge. These men were often
Today, as number one White House doc, Lukash still
little more than court jesters. They had been chosen
does evening duty. And travel duty. And everything
not because of their medical skills, but because presi-
else. He has ceded none of his responsibilities to
dents liked having them around. The office apparently
anyone else. "The man," writes Sheila Rabb Weiden-
hit rock-bottom during the presidencies of Wilson and
feld in her memoir of life as Betty Ford's press secre-
Roosevelt. Under Wilson, writes one physician who
tary, "is at the White House when the President arises
has researched the subject, "[the] young naval surgeon
just about every morning, and usually does not leave
January 17, 1981
11
until the President goes to bed every night." She goes
inside skinny about crucial world events. (But he does
on:
get to hear about deaths. According to Bill Gulley, who
once headed the White House military office, Lukash
During the day, he is usually in his office, sitting, reading
or treating other patients, but always close to the elec-
was the first to know that LBJ had died. "That's right,
tronic box that lists the First Family principals by their
Bill," Lukash told Gulley, "Big Ears is dead.") And
code name and tells where each is at all times during the
Lukash certainly hasn't kept the job because of its
day. His office is right across from the elevator to the
medical challenges. The big issues Lukash has faced
Family residence, and whenever his box shows that the
have been things like: Should Ford keep smoking his
President is on his way home, Lukash stands outside just
pipe? (Yes, Lukash decided-it relaxes him.) Should
to check on his patient as he bounds by for the elevator
Nixon go to Egypt despite his phlebitis? (Yes-the
and give the President a chance to say 'I have a head-
importance of the trip outweighs the personal danger.)
ache
When Mrs. Ford is sick, he is at her bed-
Should Jimmy Carter run in the marathon? (Yes
side
He monitors the President's activities, too, sug-
again-he's a good runner and it relaxes him.) Yes, Mr.
gesting a swim or a game of golf or some other exercise
President. Yes, Mr. President. Yes, Mr. President.
when he feels he needs it. (And he still finds time to take
care of Susan's cramps!)
No, the reason Lukash has stayed at the White
House for all this time is that he really likes hanging
During the Carter era, Lukash has not been able to
around presidents even though he has nothing to do
develop an elevator-side manner because Carter walks
while hanging around them. As Gulley says, "There's
down the White House stairs as part of his exercise
always a thrill when you get on Air Force One, or walk
routine. But for Lukash, there are other ways to nab
out into the Rose Garden, or do things like that. I was
his man. At Camp David Lukash usually runs with the
susceptible to it, and I'm sure Bill Lukash was too."
president, and at the White House he often plays ten-
Lukash himself speaks of being "awed every time I
nis with him. He is always on call when Carter wants
walk in this place." He likes the idea that he played golf
to hit a few balls back and forth. He can watch for
with Ford, and tennis with Carter, and traveled all
those telltale signs of illness while smashing a fore-
over the world with both of them, and in general, knew
hand past the president. When Carter doesn't want
them personally. For this, he has more or less thrown
to play tennis, sometimes Rosalynn does. Lukash
away a serious medical career. And no doubt he really
makes himself just as available for her, and has come to
does see it as vital work, even if 90 percent of it is spent
admire her backhand these last four years. ("I have
reading People magazine.
watched her progress. She has a marvelous game.") He
makes it a point, he says, to try to see the president at
I
N FACT, a case can be made, though you'll never
least once a day, and he has his patient trained to tell
hear Lukash making it, that America would be bet-
him whenever he has a minor ache, so Lukash can
ter off without its first physician. A first physician,
treat it quickly before it gets any worse. For our presi-
hovering around all the time, can get pretty close to
dents, of course, having a fellow like Lukash around is
the first family, and that might cause him to lose his
pleasant. This constant, obsessive medical attention
judgment now and again. Sheila Weidenfeld, in her
for themselves and their families feeds their sense of
memoirs, strongly implies that the doctor's close rela-
self-importance, and doesn't cost them a penny in
tionship with Betty Ford caused him to be too loose
medical insurance. And they get a free tennis partner
with the Valium. She claims that Betty's obvious
in the bargain. Whether it is necessary, or even wise, to
lapses late in the campaign were caused by her habit of
have a doctor dogging the president's every step is a
washing down a Valium with a drink. Lukash says that
tougher question.
this is hogwash and that Betty was merely suffering
The question that interests me most, though, is why
from "fatigue." As to what happened to her after she
a man trained for a sophisticated medical practice, able
left the White House, well, that wasn't his department
to cure real sickness and alleviate real suffering, would
anymore, was it?
rather play school nurse. "Every day I've been here has
Lukash leaves the White House with an overwhelm-
brought a new challenge," Lukash said the day I talked
ing sense of admiration for the men he has served. He
to him. But from what I can tell, the most difficult
admires the way Carter studies the trees in the Rose
challenge he faces is trying to stay awake all day. For all
Garden. He admires the way Nixon drew "strength
the hours he spends in waiting, the fact is that Rear
from his family and deep belief in religion" during
Admiral William Lukash doesn't have much to do all
Watergate. He admires the way Gerald Ford skis. He
day. "It's not a very demanding job," said one person
admires the "depth" of all them, and their devotion to
who had seen him in action during the Ford years. "All
their job, and the way they overcome jet lag, and the
I've ever seen him do is read magazines," said a White
way they have taught themselves to take catnaps. He
House staffer from the Carter era. Some people are
says he tries not to root for his president at reelection
attracted to the White House for power, but Lukash
time, but he admits that it is hard. They're all just so
has less than he did as chief of gastroenterology at
doggone admirable.
Bethesda 15 years ago. Others want to make policy,
Most of all, he admires their health. Lukash has a
but Lukash doesn't do that either. He doesn't get much
theory that presidents and men like them-"Highly
12
The New Republic
Successful Executives," he calls them-get sick less
small fraction of the Hiroshima bomb-perhaps a
than the rest of us because they have developed good
fifth. The actual location of the flash could not be
health habits and have learned different ways to relax,
limited beyond a 3,000-mile-wide circle covering the
which keeps them from getting nasty things like
Indian Ocean, the South Atlantic, the southern tip of
ulcers. (Of course, they also don't have the boss yelling
Africa, and a small part of Antarctica. Within this area
at them all the time, since they are the boss, but Lukash
lie the Kerguelen Islands, an archipelago in the south-
insists this has nothing to do with it.) Lukash has
ern Indian Ocean. The archipelago consists of the main
become fascinated with happy, healthy, highly suc-
island, sometimes known as Desolation Island, and
cessful executives, and that's what he wants to write
about 300 small islets scattered over an area of almost
his book about. (Attention, all you agents.) He wants
3,000 square miles. The islands are administered by
to call it "Stress in High Places," and to flesh it out he
France. Since 1950 the French have maintained a small
plans to use anecdotes about the highly successful
scientific center with a staff of about 100 in Kerguelen.
executives he has come to know-Carter, Ford, Nixon,
At one time the islands were under serious considera-
Johnson, Sadat, Mao, and so on. The book will be full
tion by France as a nuclear testing site. The French
of stories about how, for example, Carter listens to
extensively surveyed the area for this purpose before
symphonic music while reading 300-page memos, and
they decided on Polynesia.
how Ford used to swim to relax. It sounds like a major
Besides the flash of light there was no other real
medical breakthrough, worthy of the nation's first
confirmation that a nuclear explosion had taken place.
physician.
At first, there was no telltale detection of radioactivity;
for very low-yield explosions in the southern hemi-
Joseph Nocera
sphere, such detection is difficult. This lack of radio-
activity gave rise to speculation that the explosion
Joseph Nocera is a contributing editor of the Washington
might have been a test of a neutron bomb. Designed to
Monthly.
minimize the unwanted effects of tactical nuclear
weapons, neutron bombs are designed to have as small
a fission component as possible and therefore little
fallout.
Proceeding from the hypothesis that it was a neu-
A nuclear detective story.
tron warhead, who might the detonator have been?
La Bombe
Since there never has been any verifiable evidence that
the South Africans have conducted any nuclear tests
at all, it seems unlikely that they would make their first
As if to celebrate the arrival of the Antarctic spring, a
test (or even their fourth or fifth) a relatively sophisti-
brilliant flash of light illuminated the dawn of Sep-
cated neutron warhead. Also, for what it's worth,
tember 22, 1979, in the southern hemisphere. The
South Africa has signed the Limited Test Ban Treaty.
White House prefers to believe it was all done by
That Israel, perhaps in complicity with South Africa,
mirrors, but almost everyone else in the US scientific
conceived and executed the test seems equally unlike-
and intelligence communities thinks that this marvel
ly. Israel is also a party to the treaty banning tests in
in the South Indian Ocean was caused by a nuclear
the atmosphere. To take the risk of violating this
explosion. No authorities abroad have publicly sup-
treaty, especially in the Camp David atmosphere,
ported the White House interpretation. The Dutch
would seem hardly worthwhile.
foreign minister said publicly that he did not believe
Another suspect is India. It has conducted at least
Cyrus Vance's assurance that the flash was a natural
one nuclear test, a fission device of far greater yield
phenomenon. There are other capable intelligence
than a neutron bomb. India also has ratified the test
organizations and scientific observers all over the
ban treaty and might have been reluctant to risk
globe, and all have been silent. No one seems to be
adverse world opinion by violating it. And it would
eager to identify the culprit or the type of weapon.
have been sporty indeed, and compounding the overall
There were widespread suspicions at first that Israel
risk, to go from an unrelated fission bomb program to
and/or South Africa were responsible for the burst.
a neutron test.
Both these countries were extremely vehement in
But now take France. For the French there would be
their denials. There was some evidence of a political
a much different risk equation. France always has
nature that India was responsible. But with only cir-
refused to sign the Limited Test Ban Treaty. (Several
cumstantial clues to tag any particular nation, the epi-
years ago, primarily to placate New Zealand and Aus-
sode seems to have been largely forgotten-by the US
tralia, the French went underground with their testing
and practically everyone else.
in Polynesia in order to eliminate atmospheric radioac-
The double-pulse flash of light of the type produced
tive contamination.) But if France were caught con-
by a nuclear explosion was seen by a US nuclear test
ducting an atmospheric test, however low the yield,
detection satellite. From the nature of the pulse, it was
there would be some embarrassing political ramifica-
estimated that the power of the explosion was just a
tions. (Of course the Chinese continue to test large-
January 17, 1981
13
John F. Kennedy, 1962
Aug. I [316]
can't understand why the government of
ently. If you said, "Do you believe in a tax
Albany, City Council of Albany, cannot do
cut as a means of preventing a recession at
the same for American citizens.
some future date, and unemployment which
We are going to attempt, as we have in
will bring potentially a larger deficit and a
the past, to try to provide a satisfactory
further increase in the debt?" I think you
solution and protection of the constitutional
might have gotten a different percentage,
rights of the people of Albany, and will con-
and particularly if the 1958 experience had
tinue to do so. And the situation today is
been recalled, where there was no tax cut
completely unsatisfactory from that point of
and there was the largest peacetime deficit in
view.
history because of a drop in income levels.
[9.] Q. Mr. President, have you reached
All this must be taken into consideration as
a decision yet as to the extent and timing
well as the views of the members of the
of additional nuclear testing required by this
House and Senate, the schedule of the House
Government?
and Senate. For example, the Senate Fi-
THE PRESIDENT. No, as you know, we are
nance Committee will not even conclude its
repairing the pad at Johnston Island, and we
hearings on the trade bill until the first of
will make a judgment in regard to those
September, and then have to go into execu-
three tests when the pad is completed. That
tive session. We recommended a tax bill
will of course conclude-if we go ahead with
last year which has just been reported out
those tests-that will conclude this series of
yesterday from the Senate Finance Com-
tests.
mittee, 18 months after we recommended
Q. Excuse me, sir. Did you say three
it. So that it does require very careful judg-
tests?
ments, not only of the economic factors, but
THE PRESIDENT. I believe there were three
also of the legislative situation.
that are still to be done.
[II.] Q. Mr. President, it's been a long
[10.] Q. Mr. President, the Gallup poll
time since we've had a definitive report on
published today shows that some 72 percent
your health from the best possible source.
of those polled are opposed to a tax cut if it
How is your aching back?
means the Government will go further into
THE PRESIDENT. Well, it depends on the
debt. Can you tell us what factor this will
weather, political and otherwise. It is very
be in your decisions about the tax cut?
good, though, today.
THE PRESIDENT. Well, as I have said before,
[12.] Q. Mr. President, there are reports
we are going to wait until we get the July
or indications that Ambassador Gavin is re-
figures, which will be available in this first
signing, at least in part because of the finan-
IO days, after the first IO days of August.
cial burden of maintaining his post in Paris.
In addition, we'll make a judgment as to
Does this indicate that your Palm Beach
whether those figures indicate we're in a
agreement with Congressman Rooney is
plateau or whether we are in more serious
not working, or do you feel that Ambas-
economic difficulty. And the figures, of
sadors now have adequate representation
course, today on unemployment, which are
allowance?
the lowest they've been for the last 18
THE PRESIDENT. No, I think Representative
months, are somewhat encouraging, but we
Rooney has done everything he said he
can make a more final judgment in early
would do, but I think the situation still
August. Then we will discuss that matter
squeezes, because Ambassador Gavin has
with the appropriate members of the
some family, some children to educate. And
responsible committees.
while he has received sufficient funds to keep
Now, that question was asked in a par-
his nose above the water, he has not been
ticular way. You might get a different
given funds which would permit him to
answer if you'd asked the question differ-
meet his family responsibilities in a proper
90975-63-42
593
Lyndon B. Johnson, 1966
Dec. 6 [642]
they have been doing it for the past year.
of our security, and has the first claim on
Evidence, therefore, now suggests that in
our resources, regardless of the amount
mid-1968 there will be more Soviet ICBM's
required.
than were predicted a year ago in the national
That is the policy we have followed in
intelligence estimates.
1967; that.i the policy we are following in
I want to emphasize that we had antici-
developing the 1968 program.
pated that development in our planning, and
I apologize, Mr. President, for taking this
this new intelligence estimate, therefore, has
much time.
no impact, no basic impact, on our offensive
NIKE X
strategic force requirements.
In summary, therefore, I think these three
[16.] Q. There is apparently going to be
major points should be clearly understood
considerable pressure in the new Congress
by the American public:
to go ahead with Nike X because of the
First, even if the new intelligence esti-
advance in the Soviet antimissile system.
mates for mid-1968 prove accurate, the
Has your position changed any about the
United States, without taking any actions
Nike X?
beyond those already planned and already
SECRETARY McNAMARA. As I said earlier,
financed in the fiscal 1967 program, will
I don't want to comment on any specific
continue to have a substantial quantitative
weapons systems for 1968.
and qualitative lead over the Soviet Union in
intercontinental ballistic missiles at that time.
THE PRESIDENT'S HEALTH
Secondly, that the United States has as
many intercontinental ballistic missiles today
[17.] Q. Mr. President, how are you
as the latest intelligence estimate prepared
feeling, sir?
within the last 3 or 4 weeks gives the Soviet
THE PRESIDENT. Fine.
Union several years hence.
Thirdly, that our strategic forces have to-
THE DEFENSE BUDGET
day, and they will continue to have in the
future, the capability of absorbing a delib-
[18.] Q. Will the supplemental be just
erate first strike against this Nation and
to fund the day-to-day cost of the war? Is
surviving with the sufficient strength to re-
there something new?
taliate in such a way as to inflict unaccept-
SECRETARY McNAMARA. The supplement
able damage upon the aggressor or any
to the fiscal 1967 budget will be related
combination of aggressors.
solely to the funding and financing of oper-
This is the foundation of the deterrent
ations in Vietnam.
power on which our national security
Q. Mr. Secretary, what was the original
depends.
budget figure?
I have gone to some length to discuss this
SECRETARY McNaMARA. $58.5 billion, if I
matter because the power of our strategic
recall the figure correctly, for fiscal 1967.
missile force and the associated bomber
force, the power of that force to survive a
MORTGAGE ASSISTANCE FUNDS
strike and to survive with sufficient capa-
bility to destroy the attacker, is the deterrent
[19.] Q. Mr. President, the $500 million
of an attack on this Nation, is the foundation
that the Federal Home Loan Bank Board
1439
Lyndon B. Johnson, 1966
Nov. 29 [630]
MESSAGE TO PRIME MINISTER HOLT OF
read and digest and get to the bottom of.
AUSTRALIA
Here is a memorandum from the Demo-
cratic National Committee, and a note from
[12.] Q. Did you send congratulations
Mr. Cater" that I have not read, involving
to Harold Holt?
communication satellites and international
THE PRESIDENT. We send wires to the
education.
heads of government and to Prime Ministers
Here are some members to be appointed to
who have elections and who are successful.
the Commission on Health and Manpower,
We even send them to members of the op-
on the recommendation of the Civil Serv-
position party, sometimes, in this country.
ice Commission.
Q. Well, in this case, this opposition
There are various reports on prices. These
leader says it is meddling in their elections.
are cattle and hog and wheat and potato
THE PRESIDENT. We just send the wires.
prices, and the prices of international raw
materials.
THE PRESIDENT'S HEALTH
Q. How are the cattle prices? Are they
pretty good?
[13.] Q. How do you feel, Mr. Presi-
THE PRESIDENT. I have not had a chance
dent?
to read them, but it does not give the actual
THE PRESIDENT. Fine.
price. It says that cattle, hogs, and wheat
were up a little.
THE PRESIDENT'S PLANS AND ACTIVITIES
Q. We know a Texas rancher who has
cattle. That is why I wanted to ask the
[14.] Q. Do you feel you will be here
question.
for the rest of the year?
THE PRESIDENT. We don't sell cattle for
THE PRESIDENT. Well, I am not a man
meat. We sell cattle for breeding purposes,
of an evening nature these days. I will be
so that the price does not affect that at all.
here for a good part of the afternoon. Then
I won't take your time to give you a rundown
I will be going back to the ranch, and I will
on the cattle we raise.
be coming back.
Q. While we are on that subject, how
Q. Could you tell us generally, Mr. Presi-
many cattle do you have at the present time?
dent, just, so to speak, in honor of the occa-
THE PRESIDENT. It is a pure guess, and I
sion of using this new office, what you were
do not want to be held to it, but it is some-
working on today?
where in the neighborhood of 100. There
THE PRESIDENT. I signed a good deal of
are mother cows, and some of them have
correspondence, and there are several mat-
calves and some of them do not have.
ters here. I have a matter from the Civil
Q. Stuart Long has been bragging about
Service Commission. Here are some mat-
a bull that he has, which he is very proud of.
ters left with me by the leadership.
THE PRESIDENT. Most men are proud of
This is a review of the Presidential state-
their bulls.
ments in connection with low priority items,
I also have a communication on the Asian
and the congressional statements in connec-
tion with the same thing.
"S. Douglass Cater, Jr., Special Assistant to the
Here are some matters from Ambassador
President.
. Stuart Long, founder and manager of Long
Goldberg that I have not had a chance to
News Service in Austin, Texas
1413
Lyndon B. Johnson, 1966
Nov. 26 [629]
ing to bring about ideas, or to advance ideas
That has been the desire of the adminis-
relative to reductions in expenditures, that
tration, and the desire of both sides of the
we just touched on that in passing.
aisle, as expressed many, many times.
I committed myself in September to do
THE PRESIDENT'S REMARKS ON BUDGET
that if they would give me the tax bill, the
PREPARATIONS
investment credit bill, just as soon as the ap-
propriation bills came to me and we could
[16.] THE PRESIDENT. Are there any
conclude our study. We are about to con-
other questions?
clude it. We expect to have an announce-
We will not be able to review next year's
ment for you after Mr. Schultze returns in
program, except as it pertains to these items
the next few days.³
I reviewed with you, until we make it up.
We will be doing that right up to the hour
THE PRESIDENT'S HEALTH
when we deliver the State of the Union
Message.
[17.] Q. Mr. President, how do you feel
Between now and January here-and if I
today? Does talking make your throat
am in Washington any, in Washington, too-
hurt very much?
most of my time will be spent in making up
THE PRESIDENT. No, I feel fine.
the budget. In making that up, you make
Reporter: Thank you, sir.
up your program, which will be outlined in
NOTE: President Johnson's eighty-eighth news con-
the State of the Union Message.
ference was held at the LBJ Ranch, Johnson City,
So far as the budget this year is concerned,
Texas, at 6 p.m. on Friday, November 25, 1966.
The official White House transcript noted that
and the effect it will have on next year's
the news conference was held with the following
budget, we went into it in discussions which
persons present: Vice President Hubert H. Hum-
ranged, I would say, 3 or 4 hours. Actually
phrey, Robert C. Weaver, Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development, Charles L. Schultze, Director,
we spent the entire day on it. We are in
Bureau of the Budget, Senator Mike Mansfield of
general agreement.
Montana, Senate Majority Leader, Senator Everett
All of these expenditures are very essential
McKinley Dirksen of Illinois, Senate Minority Lead-
er, Representative Carl Albert of Oklahoma, House
to some groups, and very desirable to some
Majority Leader, Representative Gerald R. Ford of
groups. What we have done is try to take
Michigan, House Minority Leader, Representative
the items that we think are in the lower
Hale Boggs of Louisiana, House Majority Whip,
and Representative George H. Mahon of Texas,
priority group and hold them back and defer
Chairman, House Appropriations Committee.
them and postpone them until other higher
priority items are taken care of.
"See Item 631.
629 Memorandum on Appointing a Task Force To Study the Role of
Educational Television in the Less-Developed Countries.
November 26, 1966
DURING my recent trip to the Far East, I
of learning in elementary and secondary
visited the educational television station in
schools.
Pago Pago, American Samoa, and saw how
I believe that educational television can
television is being used to improve the level
play a vital role in assisting less-developed
1405
Lyndon B. Johnson, 1966
Nov. II [607]
HANOI
formance. I have enjoyed his oral report
and I will look forward to reviewing his
[6.] Q. Mr. Ambassador, do you see or
written position when it is developed.
hear any new signals from Hanoi?
I think I have nothing further to say,
AMBASSADOR HARRIMAN. There are no new
other than I am following the Government
signals from Hanoi. It is encouraging, as
hour by hour here just as if I were in
I said, that the Soviet Union is ready to talk
Washington.
about it.
I have now received either oral reports
They haven't indicated they are ready to
from each Cabinet officer or written reports
do anything.
in some detail.
It is encouraging that all of the Eastern
Today I talked at length to the Secretary
European countries indicate that they are
of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture,
talking to Hanoi. There are third-hand
the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of
conversations which appear to indicate that
Defense.
Hanoi is willing to talk, provided we do cer-
I had met with the Secretary of State and
tain things.
the Secretary of Defense before.
I am going to be quite frank in saying that
I had a rather full report from the Sec-
there is no specific discussion going on at
retary of Labor. As you know, we had the
the present time.
Secretary of Transportation-designate down
here.
PARIS DISCUSSIONS
We have also had a report from the Secre-
tary of Commerce.
[7.] Q. Sir, did you ask to see Mr. de
We have reviewed them.
Gaulle? Is there any significance in your
We will have a quiet weekend and I will
not seeing him but all the others?
see you at church Sunday.
AMBASSADOR HARRIMAN. I saw the heads
If you have any questions, I will be glad
of governments in all other countries. But
to answer them.
I went to Paris primarily to meet with the
NATO Council, whom I talked to as a
QUESTIONS
group, the 15 members, including our own.
I did not ask to see General de Gaulle. But
[9.] Q. How are you feeling, Mr.
I saw M. Couve de Murville, who is the
President?
foreign minister. I paid him a courtesy call.
THE PRESIDENT. Fine.
Reporter: Thank you, Mr. Ambassador.
Q. That covers that.
THE PRESIDENT'S COMMENTS ON THE MISSION
SENATOR MANSFIELD'S PROPOSAL FOR SECURITY
AND ON CABINET REPORTS
COUNCIL ACTION
[8.] THE PRESIDENT. I want to express
[10.] Q. Mr. President, when you
my very deep appreciation for the excellent
talked to Senator Mansfield today, did you
job Ambassador Harriman has done. He
discuss his proposal relative to the Security
is one of our most experienced and most
Council?
astute diplomats.
THE PRESIDENT. Yes. I told him that I
He always turns in a most creditable per-
had heard his suggestion that the Security
1371
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953
230
no suggestion has yet been made to me of raising the minimum
wage or the amount by which it should be done, if done.
What has been suggested to me several times is the extension
of minimum wage laws, and I was promised that this thing would
be thoroughly studied in its probable effects upon our economy.
Now, that is as far as we have gone.
Q. Frank van der Linden, Nashville Banner: Mr. President,
you had a conference Monday with the Chancellor of Vanderbilt
University. Will you tell us the outcome of that conference?
THE PRESIDENT. I don't remember whether I promised to keep
that confidential or not. [Laughter]
The only thing is, I don't remember whether we promised to
keep this confidential. He brought to me an invitation. Now, I
won't discuss the time and place and all of that sort of thing,
but he brought me an invitation to go somewhere.
Q. Mr. van der Linden: Mr. President, you didn't say whether
or not you accepted it.
THE PRESIDENT. Well, the timing was such I could not possibly
accept it now.
Q. Robert J. Donovan, New York Herald Tribune: Sir, in view
of certain published accounts which seem to have caused some
concern in the country, I wonder if I could presume to ask how
you are feeling these days.
THE PRESIDENT. Well, I will tell you: as you people know, or
some of you know, I have had sort of a sore elbow which has pre-
vented me from getting my exercise to which I am accustomed,
which I think I need, and which I love.
Aside from that, if I am not in good condition, the doctors have
fooled me badly, because I feel fine. As a matter of fact, I under-
went quite a series of tests just before we came back from Denver,
and the reports given to me were cheering to a man of my age.
Q. Fletcher Knebel, Cowles Publications: Mr. President, yes-
terday you saw the Republican candidate from Virginia. Do
you feel that that is in any way a departure from your policy of not
interfering in local elections?
723
Administration of Ronald Reagan, 1982 / Apr. 1
Congress enacted the joint resolution of
Columbia to provide for the observance of
June 4, 1958 (36 U.S.C. 161) as amended,
this week.
requesting that the President proclaim an-
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set
nually a National Safe Boating Week.
my hand this 1st day of April in the year of
Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, Presi-
our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-two,
dent of the United States of America, do
and of the Independence of the United
hereby designate the week beginning June
States of America the two hundredth and
6, 1982, as National Safe Boating Week.
sixth.
I invite the Governors of the states,
RONALD REAGAN
Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands,
the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American
[Filed with the Office of the Federal Regis-
Samoa, and the Mayor of the District of
ter, 10:24 a.m., April 2, 1982]
Executive Order 12355-The Task Force on Legal Equity for
Women
April 1, 1982
By the authority vested in me as Presi-
shall, on a quarterly basis, report his find-
dent by the Constitution of the United
ings to the President through the Cabinet
States of America, and in order to substitute
Council on Legal Policy.".
the new Cabinet Council on Legal Policy
for the Cabinet Council on Human Re-
RONALD REAGAN
sources, the last sentence of Section 2(c) of
The White House,
Executive Order No. 12336 of December
April 1, 1982.
21, 1981, is hereby amended to read as fol-
lows:
[Filed with the Office of the Federal Regis-
"The Attorney General or his designee
ter, 10:25 a.m., April 2, 1982]
Exchange With Reporters on Returning From Bethesda Naval
Medical Center
April 1, 1982
Q. Mr. President, down this way.
Q. Was it very painful?
Q. Down this way, please.
The President. No, no. It was just an ex-
The President. Trying to get up here. All
amination.
right.
Q. Did the doctor say you have to take it
Q. Mr. President, how do you feel?
easy or
Q. Can you tell us how you feel?
The President. No, I can ride horses and
The President. I feel great.
keep on doing everything. Everything was
Q. Will you tell us about it?
perfectly normal.
The President. I feel great. And it was, as
Q. No medication, no—
I think was-before you were forewarned,
Q. Can you tell us a little bit, sir-can
completely routine, and everything's abso-
you
lutely fine.
The President. No medication, no nothing.
Q. Did it hurt? Was it very painful, sir?
Q. You won't have to go back.
The President. What?
The President. No.
407
Apr. 1 / Administration of Ronald Reagan, 1982
Q. Do you have to go back?
Q. Are you still planning on your trip
The President. No.
next week, your
Q. Can you tell us a little bit how this
The President. Oh, sure. Oh, yeah. Please,
ailment struck you initially and the discom-
I'm not hiding a thing. Everything is great.
fort that you had a few weeks ago?
Deputy Press Secretary Speakes. Thank
The President. Oh, well, no. It was just-I
you very much.
recall that back in 1967, at that time he had
The President. I've got to get over to the
told me that periodically it might be well to
office and go to work now.
check, and we do have regular physicals, as
Q. I couldn't hear a word.
you know. And so we were-and we'd been
The President. Helen [Helen Thomas,
intending to move the physicals up, and so
United Press International] will tell you.
with this opportunity and-it was just a
[Laughter] You tell him.
slight discomfort, and it followed one of
Q. I'll give a full medical report.
those fly-around-the-country trips that I was
Q. [Inaudible]-voodoo arms control.
doing a few weeks ago. And there were just
Q. Voodoo arms control.
a few days of discomfort. So, I took advan-
The President. What?
tage of it, had the examination, and every-
Q. The Kennedy statement on voodoo
thing is just perfectly normal and fine.
arms control-he said that your position is
Q. You have to be on any medication of
voodoo arms control.
any kind at all?
The President. Well, he just lacks the in-
The President. No medication of any kind.
formation that I have.
Q. And no problems?
The President. No problems.
Note: The exchange began at 4:06 p.m. at
Q. Are you happy?
the South Portico of the White House.
The President. Sure.
In a statement issued by Deputy Press
Q. Do you feel that there's a special
Secretary Larry M. Speakes earlier the same
doctor-patient relationship which you might
day, it was announced that the President
have to set aside when it comes to the phys-
would visit the medical center for a routine
ical condition of the President of the United
medical examination after he had experi-
States?
enced slight discomfort in the urinary tract
The President. Well, we had our routine
several weeks earlier. The President had de-
physical before with the doctors at Bethes-
cided to visit Bethesda when his personal
da. This, however, was an opportunity for
physician, Dr. Burton Smith of Los Angeles,
the doctor who had been on hand in 1967
Calif., could be in the Washington area. Dr.
and who is a good friend who was going to
Smith, Dr. Daniel Ruge, Physician to the
be in the area, and he joined us.
President, and medical center physicians
Q. Just happened to be out here.
conducted the examination.
The President. Yes.
Following the President's return, Mr.
Q. Are you still planning to go on your
Speakes announced that the results of the
trip next week?
90-minute examination were normal and
The President. What?
that no further treatment was required.
Remarks on Signing the Older Americans Month Proclamation
April 2, 1982
The President. Good afternoon, and wel-
Americans Month has been issued every
come to the White House. We're here today
year since 1963, and each time it becomes
to proclaim May as Older Americans
more meaningful, because the number of
Month. The proclamation concerning Older
older Americans is increasing every year.
408
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1956
9
I5
NOTE: In his letter of February I,
Great Circle route, but deferring its
1955, the President returned without
decision as to a similar application
approval Civil Aeronautics Board
by Pan American World Airways.
orders affecting several airlines in
The President's letter and a state-
the Trans-Pacific Renewal Case.
ment as to the revised orders were
The Board issued revised orders re-
released by the Board on February
newing the temporary certificate of
2, 1955.
Northwest Airlines to fly the shorter,
I5
9
Telegram to the Deputy Secretary of State
of New Hampshire, Concerning Appearance on the
Primary Ballot. Fanuary 19, 1956
The Honorable Harry E. Jackson
Deputy Secretary of State
State House
Concord, New Hampshire
I have your courteous telegram of January fourteenth, advis-
ing me that petitions have been filed at your office which qualify
my name for inclusion on the Presidential preference primary
ballot of the Republican Party in the State of New Hampshire.
Naturally, I am deeply gratified that the petitioners have
expressed this kind of personal confidence in me. I do not feel
that I should interpose any objection to such entry.
However, because I must make clear to all that lack of objec-
tion cannot be construed as any final decision on my part relative
to a candidacy for a second term in the office I now hold, I hope
that all who vote in the Republican primaries in 1956 will care-
fully weigh all the possibilities and personalities that may be
involved.
Freedom to select, nominate and elect a candidate to public
office is basic to our American political system. Because I deeply
believe that every citizen should have the widest possible choice
in expressing his own preference in such matters, I would hope
80024-58-13
I59
9 15
Public Papers of the Presidents
that the accident of my illness and the necessary period for deter-
mining the degree of my recovery would not have the effect of
interfering with the privilege of every member of our Party to
express his preference for the Presidential candidate of his choice.
It would be idle to pretend that my health can be wholly re-
stored to the excellent state in which the doctors believed it to
be in mid-September. At the same time, my doctors report to
me that the progress I am making toward a reasonable level of
strength is normal and satisfactory. My future life must be
carefully regulated to avoid excessive fatigue. My reasons for
obedience to the medical authorities are not solely personal; I
must obey them out of respect for the responsibilities I carry.
The personal decision to which I refer will be rendered as
soon as it is firmly fixed in my own mind. I shall strive to see
that it is based as to my best judgment on the good of our country.
Sincerely,
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER
NOTE: The President read this tele- ference on January 19, 1956 (see
gram at the opening of his news con- Item 16).
16
I
The President's News Conference of
Fanuary 19, 1956
THE PRESIDENT. Please be seated.
Well, it's good to see so many faces here again after such a
long absence from you.
Since I have last seen you, as you can imagine, I have been
presented with a number of personal political questions. One
of them arises in connection with the notice I have from the
State of New Hampshire that my name has been qualified for
the inclusion on the list of candidates in their preferential
primary.
So, I have written an answer, an answer that, in the present
160
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1956
I 48
THE PRESIDENT. Well, as quickly, I think, as legislation could
be drawn up that would convince us all that it did clarify and
would satisfy the conflicting ideas on the thing, I would be for it
right away, just as soon as possible. It has nothing to do, though,
with me, and I assure you of this: my answer would not be affirm-
ative unless I thought I could last out the 5 years.
Merriman Smith, United Press: Thank you, Mr. President.
NOTE: President Eisenhower's eight-
10:31 to 10:52 o'clock on Wednes-
ieth news conference was held in
day morning, February 29, 1956. In
the Executive Office Building from
attendance: 311.
48
q
Radio and Television Address to the
American People Following Decision on a Second
Term. February 29, 1956
[Delivered from the President's Office at 10:00 p. m.]
My Fellow Citizens:
I wanted to come into your homes this evening, because I feel
the need of talking with you directly about a decision I made
today, after weeks of the most careful and devoutly prayerful
consideration. I made that decision public shortly after ten-
thirty this morning. Immediately I returned to this office.
Upon reaching here I sat down and began to put down on paper
thoughts that occurred to me which I felt might be of some inter-
est to you in connection with that decision. This is what I wrote.
I have decided that if the Republican Party chooses to renomi-
nate me, I shall accept that nomination. Thereafter, if the peo-
ple of this country should elect me, I shall continue to serve them
in the office I now hold. I have concluded that I should permit
the American people to have the opportunity to register their
decision in this matter.
In reaching this conclusion I have, first of all, been guided by
the favorable reports of the doctors. As many of you may know,
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their reports are that my heart has not enlarged, that my pulse
and blood pressure are normal, that my blood analysis is excel-
lent, my weight satisfactory, and I have shown no signs of undue
fatigue after periods of normal mental and physical activity.
In addition, I have consulted literally with multitudes of friends
and associates, either personally or through correspondence.
With their advice-once I had been assured of a favorable med-
ical opinion-I have sought the path of personal responsibility,
and of duty to the immense body of citizens who have supported
me and this administration in what we have been jointly trying
to do. In the last analysis, however, this decision was my own.
Even the closest members of my family have declined to urge me
to any specific course, merely saying that they would cheerfully
abide by whatever I decided was best to do.
From the moment that any man is first elected President of the
United States, there is continuous public interest in the question
as to whether or not he will seek re-election. In most instances,
Presidents in good health have sought, or at least have made
themselves available for, a second term.
In my own case this question, which was undecided before my
recent illness, has been complicated by the heart attack I suffered
on September twenty-fourth last year. Aside from all other con-
siderations, I have been faced with the fact that I am classed as
a recovered heart patient. This means that to some undeter-
mined extent, I may possibly be a greater risk than is the normal
person of my age. My doctors assure me that this increased per-
centage of risk is not great.
So far as my own personal sense of well-being is concerned, I
am as well as before the attack occurred. It is, however, true
that the opinions and conclusions of the doctors that I can con-
tinue to carry the burdens of the Presidency, contemplate for me
a regime of ordered work activity, interspersed with regular
amounts of exercise, recreation and rest. A further word about
this prescribed regime. I must keep my weight at a proper level.
I must take a short mid-day breather. I must normally retire at
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Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1956
9 48
a reasonable hour, and I must eliminate many of the less impor-
tant social and ceremonial activities.
But let me make one thing clear. As of this moment, there is
not the slightest doubt that I can perform as well as I ever have,
all of the important duties of the Presidency. This I say because
I am actually doing so and have been doing so for many weeks.
Of course, the duties of the President are essentially endless.
No daily schedule of appointments can give a full timetable-or
even a faint indication-of the President's responsibilities. En-
tirely aside from the making of important decisions, the formula-
tion of policy through the National Security Council, and the
Cabinet, cooperation with the Congress and with the States,
there is for the President a continuous burden of study, contem-
plation and reflection.
Of the subjects demanding this endless study, some deal with
foreign affairs, with the position of the United States in the inter-
national world, her strength, her aspirations, and the methods by
which she may exert her influence in the solution of world prob-
lems and in the direction of a just and enduring peace. These—
all of them-are a particular Constitutional responsibility of the
President.
These subjects that require this study and contemplation in-
clude, also, major questions affecting our economy, the relation-
ships of our government to our people, the Federal government's
proper role in assuring our citizens access to medical and educa-
tional facilities, and important economic and social policies in a
variety of fields.
The President is the Constitutional Commander in Chief of
our Armed Forces and is constantly confronted with major ques-
tions as to their efficiency, organization, operations and adequacy.
All these matters, among others, are with a President always;
in Washington, in a summer White House, on a weekend absence,
indeed, even at a ceremonial dinner and in every hour of leisure.
The old saying is true, "A President never escapes from his
office."
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These are the things to which I refer when I say I am now
carrying the duties of the President. So far as I am concerned,
I am confident that I can continue to carry them indefinitely.
Otherwise, I would never have made the decision I announced
today.
The doctors insist that hard work of the kind I have described
does not injure any recovered coronary case, if such a recovered
patient will follow the regime they lay down. Certainly, to this
moment, the work has not hurt me.
Readiness to obey the doctors, out of respect for my present
duties and responsibilities, is mandatory in my case. I am now
doing so, and I intend to continue doing so for the remainder of
my life, no matter in what capacity I may be living or may be
serving.
Incidentally, some of my medical advisers believe that adverse
effects on my health will be less in the Presidency than in any
other position I might hold. They believe that because of the
watchful care that doctors can and do exercise over a President,
he normally runs less risk of physical difficulty than do other citi-
zens. This fact is probably of more importance to my family
than to the nation at large, but believing you may have some
interest in the point, I wanted to inform you.
Now, with this background of fact, and medical opinion and
belief, what do these circumstances imply in terms of restrictions
upon the activities in which I have been accustomed to partici-
pate in the past?
During the first two and a half years of my incumbency, I felt
that a great effort was needed in America to clarify our own
thinking with respect to problems of international peace and our
nation's security; the proper relationships of the Federal govern-
ment with the States; the relationship of the Federal government
to our economy and to individual citizens; increased cooperation
of the Executive Branch with the Congress; problems of the na-
tion's farmers; the need for highways; the building of schools;
the extension of social welfare; and a myriad of other items of
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Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1956
9 48
similar importance. To this public clarification of issues I de-
voted much time and effort. In many cases these things can now
be done equally well by my close associates, but in others I shall
continue to perform these important tasks.
Some of the things in which I can properly have a reduced
schedule include public speeches, office appointments with in-
dividuals and with groups, ceremonial dinners, receptions, and
portions of a very heavy correspondence.
Likewise I have done a great deal of travelling, much of which
was undertaken in the effort to keep in personal touch with the
thinking of you, the people of America. Both in war and in
peace, it has been my conviction that no man can isolate himself
from the men and women he is attempting to serve, and really
sense what is in their hearts and minds. This kind of activity I
shall continue, but not on such an intensive basis that I must
violate the restrictions within which I must work.
All of this means, also, that neither for renomination nor
re-election would I engage in extensive travelling and in whistle-
stop speaking-normally referred to as "barn-storming." I had
long ago made up my mind, before I ever dreamed of a personal
heart attack, that I could never, as President of all the people,
conduct the kind of political campaign where I was personally a
candidate. The first duty of a President is to discharge to the
limit of his ability, the responsibilities of his office.
On the record are the aims, the efforts, the accomplishments
and the plans for the future of this Administration. Those facts
constitute my personal platform.
I put all these things clearly before you for two reasons.
The first is that every delegate attending the Republican con-
vention next August is entitled to know now that, for all the
reasons I have given, I shall, in general, wage no political cam-
paign in the customary pattern. Instead, my principle purpose,
if renominated, will be to inform the American people accurately,
through means of mass communication, of the foreign and
domestic program this Administration has designed and has
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pressed for the benefit of all our people; to show them how much
of that program has been accomplished or enacted into law; to
point out what remains to be done, and to show how we intend
to do it.
If the Republican delegates come to believe that they should
have as their Presidential nominee one who would campaign
more actively, they would have the perfect right-indeed the
duty-to name such a nominee. I, for one, would accept their
decision cheerfully and I would continue by all means within my
power to help advance the interests of the American people
through the kind of program that this Administration has per-
sistently supported.
The second reason for placing these things before you is because
I am determined that every American shall have all available
facts concerning my personal condition and the way I am now
conducting the affairs of this office. Thus, when they go to the
polls next November to elect a President of the United States, they
can, should I again be one of the nominees, do so with a full
understanding of both the record of this Administration and of
how I propose to conduct myself now and in the future.
I know of little that I can add to this statement. As I hope all
of you know, I am dedicated to a program that rigidly respects
the concepts of political and economic freedom on which this
nation was founded, that holds that there must be equal justice
and equality of opportunity for individuals, that adapts govern-
mental methods to changing industrial, economic and social con-
ditions, and that has, as its never changing purpose, the welfare,
prosperity, and above all, the security of 166 million Americans.
The work that I set out four years ago to do has not yet reached
the state of development and fruition that I then hoped could be
accomplished within the period of a single term in this office. So
if the American people choose, under the circumstances I have
described, to place this duty upon me, I shall persist in the way
that has been charted by my associates and myself.
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Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1956
I 49
I shall continue, with earnestness, sincerity and enthusiasm, to
discharge the duties of this office.
Now my friends, I have earnestly attempted to give you the
most important facts and considerations which I took into account
in reaching the decision I announced today. If I have omitted
anything significant, it is something I shall strive to correct in the
weeks ahead.
Thank you very much for permitting me to visit with you this
evening on this very important matter. Good night to all of you.
49
9 Joint Statement Following Second Meeting
With President Gronchi of Italy. March I, 1956
THE PRESIDENT of the United States and the President of the
Italian Republic met again today to complete their discussion of
problems of mutual interest. They reaffirmed their intention to
direct their action toward the preservation of peace, freedom and
democracy. They reaffirmed that, while all possible efforts will
continue to be made to achieve a reduction of armaments, the
present situation does not allow any relaxation of the Western de-
fense efforts. Concurrently, the President of the United States
and the President of the Italian Republic agreed on the necessity
of further deepening and extending the solidarity among the
members of the North Atlantic Community through increased
cooperation among them in all fields.
The two recognized that to the extent that it is possible to im-
prove the Western world economy and to facilitate the develop-
ment of the less advanced economies within it, the Atlantic
Community and indeed the entire free world will benefit. In
particular, as far as Italy is concerned, they agreed that Italy no
longer needs grant economic aid. The area that President
Eisenhower and President Gronchi agreed should be increasingly
explored within the framework of established Western economic
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cerned with the status and the frame of mind of the people.
They have only recently given, for the first time, the permission
to the laborer to quit one job and go to another, under many
restrictions, but nevertheless it is an advance. That is the kind of
thing that is going on in the world. Every bit of it means prog-
ress. It must continue. The progress must continue at home.
For myself, as you know, I was ill last fall. I can only say
this: now the only way I know it is because the doctors keep re-
minding me of it. I am perfectly ready to go forward at the
behest of such groups as this-and do the very best I can in
attaining the objectives that I know within me you want.
That is the only reason for doing so, but with that reason I
will do it as cheerfully, as energetically, as enthusiastically, as it
is possible for me to do.
To see you here today will send me back feeling a lot better.
I wish I could sit here and participate in all your deliberations,
but I know without being here that you are simply going to stick
to the things we always did: clean government, good govern-
ment, progressive government, a government that knows its place
and doesn't interfere too much with me as I go about my daily
business.
I assure you that when I say "me," I think I am speaking for
each of you.
Thank you very much for inviting me over. It has been a very
enjoyable occasion for me.
Thank you very much.
NOTE: The President spoke at the the Statler Hotel, Washington, D. C.,
opening session of the conference at at 9:00 a. m.
546