Recently, there have been numerous calls for President Joseph Biden to step aside at the end of this term. From the June 27th, presidential debate against Republican candidate Donald J. Trump and his recent interview with George Stephanopoulos, there are concerns that Biden’s age has deterred his ability to run this nation. While this is a hard situation for Biden and the nation, during American history, there have been other leaders who had to handle serious health ailments.
The ninth President was a tough Indian fighter, fought during the War of 1812, and was a governor of the Indiana Territory. During his 1841 inaugural speech, President William Henry Harrison at fifty-eight years old gave a two-hour speech in the rain and cold and wore no jacket to keep him warm. Later, he attended events to celebrate his presidency in wet clothing, and this hardened military and political leader was inflicted with pneumonia. Almost forty years before Harrison, doctors used primitive measures that almost bled President George Washington to death, this same practice was unsuccessfully used for Harrison.
“Little Hickory” from Tennessee was Democrat James K. Polk, the “Dark Horse Candidate” who led the United States - Mexico War from Washington DC. He was disliked by General’s Winfield Scott and Zachary Taylor, Polk was seen as a micro-manager of the government and war effort. Only leading for one term, this “Manifest Destiny President” made a goodwill tour of the southern states. Polk became seriously ill from an outbreak of cholera that hit New Orleans and was weakened from diarrhea. Several months after leaving office, Polk died at his Tennessee estate on June 15th, 1849.
Emerging as a prominent figure in 1848, General and Whig political leader Zachary Taylor was one of the largest slave owners in America, but this “Unionist” feared the instability of slavery in the new western states and territories. On July 4th, a fatigued Taylor consumed cherries and drank ice water. After several days of terrible stomach pains, Taylor was diagnosed with “cholera morbus.” Calm on horseback during the height of the fighting in Mexico, on July 9th, 1850, Taylor died, and several days later there were over 100,000 people that attended the funeral of “Old Rough and Ready.”
Over a twenty-two day period, to promote the American political ratification of the League of Nations, President Woodrow Wilson traveled over 8,000 miles across America. This intense schedule placed a huge burden on his health, as this Progressive figure who guided America during World War I, opposed the “Red Scare,” in 1919, had a major stroke that incapacitated his health. Wilson already lost his vision in his right eye, was mostly in bed, as his wife screened his work, and signed important documents. Riding to the inauguration with Republican Warren G. Harding in 1921, he did not attend the later transfer of power and he later died in 1924.
Democrat President Franklin D. Roosevelt led this nation during the dark domestic and military issues of the Great Depression and World War II from 1933-1945. Already inflicted with polio, Roosevelt was a highly visible “hand’s on” President that demonstrated vigor to help this country. At the Yalta Allied Conference in 1945, Nazi Germany was almost defeated, major gains were achieved against the Japanese in the Pacific, and Roosevelt was dying. Vice President Harry S. Truman only met with Roosevelt a few times and he observed that the President was in poor health. On April 12th, 1945, at Warm Springs, Georgia, Roosevelt passed away at the end of World War II. As his presidential train moved his remains northward towards Hyde Park, New York, millions of citizens presented their final goodbyes to this beloved leader.
A young, good looking, and colorful politician, also dealt with perhaps the most serious health ailments of any American leader. Massachusetts Democrat John F. Kennedy was a decorated World War II veteran in the Pacific, a talented writer, an aggressive campaigner, who was often seen playing football at his Cape Cod compound and sailing his yacht. Ascending to the presidency at forty-three years, “JFK” presided over the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Civil Rights Movement. Personally, Kennedy had spinal/back ailments, osteoporosis, and Addison’s disease that left him fatigued with low blood pressure. Sitting in a rocking chair in the Oval Office, this “vibrant” leader was idolized by both men and women and during his presidency, Kennedy’s awful health conditions were often kept from the American public.
Flashing a big smile, the 40th American President was a talented swimmer, football player, and a student-body leader in high school and college. A Hollywood actor, a former governor of California, and a fierce campaigner against President Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan was a sharp figure. Defiantly opposing the Soviet Union, Reagan was one of the oldest leaders in American history. There were concerns over his knowledge of the Iran-Contra Hearing, as Reagan was often unable to recall key moments of this crisis. Some opponents believed that Reagan purposely deflected some of the responsibility over his knowledge of this scandal, but others feared that Reagan suffered from dementia. By 1994, the “Great Communicator” told Americans that he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease, and until his death in 2004, “Dutch” rarely left his California estate, and was later buried at his presidential library. It is possible that as this nation is watching the demise of Biden, that he might have had the same issues of dementia that hurt Reagan at the end of his presidency and for the rest of his life.