Founding Trio

Quick — name the first three United States presidents.

Did you get it? If you paid attention during history in grade school you should have gotten Washington, Adams, and Jefferson without missing a beat.

Can you list more?

Thanks to a lifelong interest in history — and a thick pamphlet study guide in 8th grade — I feel confident naming most of them in order. Yes, I’ll get a little confused here and there. And don’t ask me the accomplishments of some of them.

During the last several years, I’ve tried to expand my knowledge. I’m glad to live within a good library system to supplement the ones on my own shelf. And it’s rather humbling to find biographies of presidents I remember from the TV news filed under “history”. Yikes! Does that mean I’m old? (Please — don’t answer.)

Want to learn about prominent figures from the past as people, not only doers of heroic deeds? Find a book and settle in with the expectation of learning something.

A trio of uncommon “common” men guided the early United States on the path to growth and expansion. Were they privileged? Yes, they came from families wealthy enough to give the sons the best education available and a place of status within the community. Yet, they learned the value of work and faced the hardships of daily life and travel in their time. They left a rich record for future generations.