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From the first presidential assassination, to the first televised debate, to the first commander-in-chief dropping a nuclear bomb....
This is every presidential first explained!
Sponsorships inquiries: partnerships@supaviews.com
From the first presidential assassination, to the first televised debate, to the first commander-in-chief dropping a nuclear bomb....
This is every presidential first explained!
Sponsorships inquiries: partnerships@supaviews.com
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FunTranscript
00:00From the first presidential assassination, to the first televised debate, to the first commander-in-chief dropping a nuclear bomb,
00:09this is every presidential first in U.S. history.
00:13And you might want to grab some popcorn, because these only get crazier with each president.
00:18Like George Washington, who was not only the first U.S. president, but the first and only president unanimously elected.
00:26Twice.
00:27Because Washington wasn't just another politician.
00:31He was a general who led a ragtag army against the most powerful empire on Earth and won.
00:38His reputation was so massive, he could have crowned himself king.
00:43No, seriously, people offered.
00:45But Washington shocked the world when he said no to power.
00:49And this solidified him as a legend.
00:51However, when it came time to pick America's first president, the decision was automatic.
00:57Because the nation dragged him back into public service and gave him back-to-back unanimous election wins.
01:04Sorry, John Adams, but at least you were the first president to live in the White House.
01:09Because in 1800, John and Abigail Adams moved into the White House.
01:14And it was kind of a construction zone.
01:16Workers hammering dust everywhere and half the rooms were unfinished.
01:20But the Adams made it work.
01:22Because Abigail famously hung laundry in the East Room.
01:26Because nothing else was in it.
01:28But the move to D.C. didn't stop with the Adams.
01:32It rolled right into Thomas Jefferson, the first president inaugurated in Washington, D.C.
01:38Before that, inaugurations bounced between New York and Philadelphia.
01:42But in 1801, Jefferson's ceremony cemented D.C. as the permanent home of the American government.
01:50A swampy little city still half under construction.
01:53Drain the swamp!
01:55Drain the swamp!
01:57And no, Jefferson didn't talk about draining the swamp.
02:01He just literally stood in one.
02:02But while the presidents got cozy in D.C., James Madison was curing up for war.
02:08Because Madison was the first president to formally ask Congress for a declaration of war.
02:14The year was 1812.
02:16And American sailors were being bullied by British ships.
02:19And the Constitution was clear.
02:21The president couldn't just charge into battle.
02:24He needed Congress to sign off.
02:27So Madison marched into Congress and asked for it.
02:30And after a fiery debate, America was officially at war with the British Empire once again.
02:36Woohoo!
02:38Tough crowd.
02:39But the War of 1812 turned out messy, divisive, and even caused the U.S. Capitol to go up in
02:46flames.
02:47But at least Madison followed the rulebook.
02:50But speaking of legacies, what if I told you this dashing bald eagle in a suit has some royal feathers
02:56in his family tree?
02:56Thanks to MyHeritage, I uncovered ancestors that'll make your jaw drop.
03:01Because MyHeritage is the leading family history platform, trusted by over 90 million users.
03:07With access to 36 billion records and AI tools, you can uncover lost relatives, build your family tree, and even
03:14bring old photos back to life.
03:17Basically, it's like carving your own family tree onto Mount Rushmore without all the dynamite.
03:22And I wasn't expecting much, but within minutes, I discovered some wild history.
03:27My great-great-grand eagle, Sir Beakington III, once guarded George Washington's hat.
03:32Aunt Featherina immigrated to America as a corn inspector.
03:36And Franklin Fort Allen's flappy, well, he once won a pie-eating contest against three turkeys and a raccoon.
03:42That's the kind of grit you just can't teach.
03:45But these weren't just old names on a page.
03:47MyHeritage brought them to life with enhanced photos and forgotten documents.
03:52Because my favorite feature is photocolorization.
03:55MyHeritage took an old photo of my grandfather, Colonel Flapidoo, and made him blink and smirk like he just won
04:01re-election.
04:02And with instant discoveries, one click added entire branches to my tree.
04:07Names and faces I never knew existed, all appearing instantly.
04:11So, if you've ever wondered about your own story, well, now's the time.
04:14MyHeritage is offering a 14-day free trial.
04:18Just click the link in the description or pinned comment.
04:21And in seconds, you could uncover long-lost relatives, bring old photos to life, and maybe even learn you've got
04:27a presidential past.
04:28Your history is waiting, so go claim it.
04:31Meanwhile, James Monroe was the first president to ride a steamboat.
04:35And although it was a short trip down the Potomac, it symbolized something bigger.
04:40America chugging into the Industrial Revolution.
04:43Because Monroe's presidency was literally called the Era of Good Feelings.
04:48A time of optimism, growth, and national pride.
04:51And hey, who wouldn't be happy cruising on a steamboat?
04:55But the cool inventions kept rolling with John Quincy Adams, who was the first president ever photographed.
05:02Because in 1843, years after his presidency, Quincy Adams posed for a daguerreotype, a new experimental photographic process.
05:11And it resulted in this photo.
05:13A stern old John Quincy Adams mean mugging the camera.
05:18Looking sharp, sir.
05:19But the fun times didn't last forever.
05:22Because Andrew Jackson was the first president to face an assassination attempt.
05:27In 1835, Jackson was leaving a funeral when a man named Richard Lawrence pulled out a pistol, aimed, and misfired.
05:35He quickly pulled out a second pistol, and misfired again.
05:39That's when old Hickory lived up to his nickname.
05:42Because the 70-year-old Jackson beat Lawrence with a cane until bystanders dragged the guy away.
05:48What a legend.
05:50On the other hand, Martin Van Buren was unique in his own way.
05:54Because he was the first president to speak English as a second language.
05:57Born into a Dutch community in New York, little Martin grew up speaking Dutch at home.
06:03Then picked up English later.
06:05And although it didn't play a major role in his political life, it did reflect just how diverse some early
06:11pockets of America already were.
06:14Meanwhile, William Henry Harrison loved speaking English.
06:17Because his inauguration address went on for nearly two hours.
06:22One of the longest yapfests in presidential history.
06:25But after drinking contaminated drinking water at the White House, Harrison became the first president to die in office.
06:33And that created a full-blown constitutional crisis.
06:36Because nobody knew if the vice president simply acted as president or actually became the president.
06:43But John Tyler settled things pretty fast when he boldly declared,
06:47I'm the president now.
06:48And everyone just kind of went along with it.
06:50Making Tyler the first vice president to assume the presidency after a president's death.
06:56But it wasn't just VPs who found their way into the Oval Office.
07:01Because James Polk was the first and only speaker of the House to become president.
07:06But funny enough, that wasn't really why he got elected.
07:09Polk also happened to be the first dark horse candidate.
07:13A guy nobody expected to win.
07:15He was up against the frontrunner, Martin Van Buren, and it looked like a long shot.
07:20But Polk had one thing working for him.
07:23Manifest destiny.
07:25Because he promised to annex Texas, claim Oregon, and stretch America's borders farther than ever.
07:31A bold vision that fired up voters and let him pull off the upset.
07:36Paving the way for this next president, who was about as unconventional as they come.
07:40Because Zachary Taylor was the first president with no prior elected office.
07:45No time in Congress.
07:47No stint as governor.
07:49Not even a town council seat.
07:51He was a career general.
07:53Famous for his victories in the Mexican-American War.
07:56And voters loved the idea of a straight-shooting general who could march the nation forward.
08:01Until he died in the office from a bad batch of cherries washed in contaminated D.C. water.
08:07I'll be sticking with apples from now on.
08:10But this made Millard Fillmore the president.
08:13And the first to initiate trade with Japan.
08:16Because in 1852, he dispatched Commodore Matthew Perry across the Pacific to talk trade.
08:23No, not that Matthew Perry.
08:25And even though Japan lived in isolation from the world for nearly 220 years,
08:31Perry's mission worked.
08:32Because they agreed to open their ports to American ships.
08:36Nice to meet you, fellas.
08:37Want to try some apple pie?
08:38But this next president is the first guy that just had to be different.
08:43Because Franklin Pierce was the first president to affirm the oath of office instead of swearing it.
08:49Really, dude?
08:50Well, as a devout Episcopalian, Pierce felt uncomfortable swearing.
08:54So he went with, I do solemnly affirm.
08:57And then he doubled down on being one of a kind.
09:01Because Pierce also became the first president to deliver his entire inaugural address from memory.
09:07No notes.
09:07No script.
09:09Just staring straight into the crowd like, yeah, I got this.
09:12And then there's good old James Buchanan.
09:15The first and only president to be a lifelong bachelor.
09:19He never married.
09:20Never had a first lady.
09:22And is the only guy to do it solo.
09:25And normally, voters like their presidents to be family men.
09:28But in the 1850s, the country was tearing apart over slavery.
09:32And the people just wanted stability.
09:35Unfortunately, Buchanan whiffed at that too.
09:38Setting the stage for Abraham Lincoln.
09:41The first president with a full beard.
09:43Because during his 1860 campaign, an 11-year-old girl encouraged him to grow one.
09:49Believing it would improve his appearance and help him get more votes.
09:52And she was right.
09:54Because the beard filled out Abe's long, scrawny face with a wise, statesman-like look.
09:59Just in time for the Civil War.
10:01When America needed a leader who looked like he could carry the weight of the nation.
10:06But suddenly, tragedy struck.
10:08Because while watching a play at Ford's theater, Lincoln was shot and killed by John Wilkes Booth.
10:14Making him the first president ever assassinated.
10:18Rest in peace, sir.
10:19But this opened the door to Andrew Johnson.
10:22The first president ever impeached.
10:25Which is basically Congress saying,
10:26Hey buddy, you broke the rules.
10:29Big time.
10:29Because after clashing with radical Republicans over how to rebuild the South,
10:34Johnson said,
10:35Screw this.
10:36I'm going to do what I want.
10:37And violated the Tenure of Office Act.
10:40So Republicans slapped him with high crimes and misdemeanors.
10:44And hauled him into an impeachment trial.
10:46Still, Johnson narrowly escaped conviction by one vote.
10:51Man, you're one lucky dude.
10:52But after the craziness of Johnson, America elected a man with stability.
10:58Ulysses S. Grant.
10:59The first president to graduate from West Point.
11:02The United States Military Academy.
11:05And it paid off.
11:06Because it turned this quiet, unassuming guy into the bulldog who crushed the Confederacy.
11:12But Grant wasn't just a war hero.
11:14He had a soft spot for nature too.
11:17Because he was also the first president to create a national park.
11:21Like Yellowstone.
11:22At a time when America was laying railroad tracks and chopping down forests,
11:27Grant protected millions of acres.
11:29Thanks for looking out for us, big guy.
11:31And hey, since Grant was the first to save Yellowstone,
11:34you can be the first to save this channel by hitting that subscribe button.
11:38Because I don't want you to disappear.
11:40Like this next president, who started his presidency in the shadows.
11:45Because Rutherford B. Hayes was the first commander-in-chief to take the oath in private.
11:50The election of 1876 was razor thin.
11:54And Hayes actually lost the popular vote,
11:57but squeaked out an electoral college win by just one elector.
12:01The country was furious.
12:03And people worried that violence might erupt at his inauguration.
12:07So, the night before the ceremony,
12:09Hayes quietly slipped into the Red Room of the White House
12:12and took the oath with just a handful of witnesses.
12:15But speaking of a handful,
12:17James Garfield was the first ambidextrous president.
12:20He could write Latin with one hand and Greek with the other at the same time.
12:26Imagine trying to copy homework off of that kid.
12:28But this was just a glimpse into Garfield's absurd brainpower.
12:32Because he was likely the smartest president in U.S. history.
12:35Meanwhile, Chester A. Arthur was the first president
12:39to enact federal immigration restrictions.
12:41In 1882, he signed the Chinese Exclusion Act,
12:45the first big law to slam the brakes on immigration.
12:48Because out on the West Coast,
12:50workers complained that Chinese immigrants
12:52were undercutting wages and stealing jobs.
12:55So, Arthur signed a 10-year ban that shut the door on him completely.
12:59And for the first time,
13:01the land of opportunity started putting up no entry signs.
13:05On the other hand,
13:06the White House should have put up a U-turn sign for this next president.
13:10Because Grover Cleveland was the first president
13:12to serve two non-consecutive terms,
13:15making him both the 22nd and 24th president.
13:19Proving that losing once doesn't mean your career was toast.
13:23But the guy who squeaked between Cleveland's two terms
13:26was Benjamin Harrison,
13:28the first president to have electricity installed in the White House.
13:31The only problem?
13:32Harrison and his wife were terrified of it.
13:35In fact, they were so afraid of being electrocuted,
13:38they frequently left the lights on overnight
13:40rather than flipping the switch.
13:43I'll get that for you, sir.
13:44That's why you pay me the big bucks.
13:46Afterwards,
13:47William McKinley kept the new inventions rolling
13:50because he was the first president to ride in a car.
13:53But hold up.
13:54Don't imagine a Tesla or even a Model T.
13:57Because the car was basically a steam-powered wagon mixed with a teapot.
14:02But wheels are wheels.
14:04Can this thing get up to 60?
14:06Whoa!
14:07But speaking of traveling far and wide,
14:10Teddy Roosevelt was the first sitting president to travel abroad.
14:14Because in 1906,
14:16he hopped on a ship and headed down to Panama
14:18to check out the canal under construction.
14:21And in classic Teddy fashion,
14:23he tromped around the muddy work site in his white suit and Panama hat,
14:27inspecting progress like he owned the place.
14:30The trip sent a clear message.
14:32America wasn't just building a ditch.
14:34It was building an empire.
14:36And everyone had to pitch in.
14:39But while some presidents like to get their hands dirty,
14:42others like to swing a gavel.
14:44Like William Howard Taft,
14:46the first president to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court after his presidency.
14:50Because after leaving office,
14:53Taft finally landed the dream job he always wanted.
14:56Chief Justice of the United States.
14:58Making him the only person to run both the executive branch
15:02and the judicial branch.
15:04But there must have been something in the water back then.
15:07Because these presidents were brilliant.
15:09Like Woodrow Wilson,
15:11the first U.S. president with a Ph.D.
15:13And after earning his doctorate in political science from Johns Hopkins,
15:18Wilson worked as a college professor
15:20and became president of Princeton University.
15:22This guy was basically professor-in-chief.
15:25And he ran the presidency like a seminar.
15:28Just without the homework.
15:30On the other hand,
15:31Warren G. Harding was the first president ever heard on the radio.
15:35Because in 1922,
15:37his voice crackled over the airwaves
15:39during the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial.
15:42And this was a game changer.
15:44Because the president was no longer just words on a page.
15:47He could speak directly to the people.
15:49But when Harding dropped dead from a heart attack,
15:52Calvin Coolidge became the first president
15:54sworn in by his father.
15:56Because Silent Cow was up in Vermont
15:59relaxing at the family farmhouse
16:00when he got the tragic news.
16:02And when a president dies,
16:04the VP can't waste a second.
16:06The oath has to happen right away.
16:08But the only problem,
16:10there weren't any judges around.
16:12No chief justice,
16:13and no fancy ceremony.
16:15So Coolidge turned to his father,
16:17a local notary,
16:18and basically said,
16:20Hey pops,
16:20mind holding this Bible
16:21while I become president.
16:23Talk about a memorable father-son moment.
16:26But let's take a trip all the way to Iowa.
16:29Land of Herbert Hoover.
16:31Because this guy was the first president
16:33born west of the Mississippi River.
16:35So why is that a big deal?
16:37Well,
16:37it showed that America
16:38was no longer just an Atlantic Coast country,
16:41but a continental power
16:43stretching from sea to shining sea.
16:45And no one represented that
16:47better than Hoover himself,
16:49an orphan turned self-made multi-millionaire
16:52turned president of the United States.
16:54Not too bad for a small-town kid.
16:56But this next president's first is so crazy,
16:59it'll never be replicated again.
17:01Because Franklin Roosevelt
17:02is the only president elected
17:04to more than two terms.
17:06And it wasn't just three,
17:08it was four.
17:09Back-to-back-to-back-to-back wins
17:12from 1932 to 1944.
17:15But here's the fascinating part.
17:17Up until FDR,
17:19no president had gone beyond two terms.
17:21Not because the Constitution said so,
17:23but because George Washington set the tradition.
17:27Washington stepped down after two terms
17:29and everyone just followed that unwritten rule.
17:32However,
17:33FDR pulled off this anomaly
17:34thanks to the turmoil of World War II.
17:37But after his death,
17:39Congress got together
17:40and passed the 22nd Amendment,
17:42capping presidents at two terms.
17:44But this next guy had a first
17:46that the entire world is deathly afraid of.
17:49Kazari Truman was the first president
17:51to order atomic weapons used in war.
17:54In August 1945,
17:56with World War II dragging on
17:58and Japan refusing to surrender,
18:00Truman made the call.
18:02Hiroshima first,
18:03then Nagasaki.
18:05And launched two bombs that ended the war.
18:07It began the nuclear age.
18:09A decision that remains
18:11one of the most hotly debated moves
18:13in presidential history.
18:14Kazari D. Eisenhower
18:16was the first president
18:17to serve in both World War I
18:19and World War II.
18:20During the first one,
18:22he trained tank crews in Pennsylvania.
18:24And in the second,
18:25he was supreme allied commander,
18:27the strategist running D-Day,
18:29directing armies,
18:30and driving Nazi Germany to surrender.
18:33So when Ike ran for president in the 1950s,
18:36Americans knew exactly what they were getting.
18:38A war hero with steady hands.
18:41But then came John F. Kennedy,
18:43the first president to participate
18:45in a televised presidential debate.
18:47Kaz, in 1960,
18:49the whole country tuned into
18:50JFK versus Richard Nixon.
18:53And on the radio,
18:54listeners thought Nixon held his own.
18:56But on TV,
18:57it was a whole different story.
18:59Kennedy looked cool,
19:01confident,
19:01and camera-ready,
19:02while Nixon looked pale,
19:04sweaty,
19:04and uncomfortable under the lights.
19:06The contrast was so stark,
19:09it changed politics forever.
19:10Kaz Kennedy proved that television
19:12wasn't just a medium,
19:14it was a weapon.
19:15But speaking of weapons,
19:17after JFK was assassinated,
19:20Lyndon B. Johnson became the first
19:21and only president sworn in on an airplane.
19:25And the scene was unforgettable.
19:27Johnson with his hand raised,
19:29Jackie Kennedy with her blood-stained pink suit,
19:32and the staff crammed into the cabin.
19:34This wasn't your average swearing in.
19:36It was raw,
19:38emotional,
19:39and a presidential first.
19:40Kind of like Richard Nixon.
19:42The first and only U.S. president
19:44to resign from office.
19:46Because in 1974,
19:48the Watergate scandal had him boxed in.
19:51Congress was ready to impeach,
19:52the evidence was piling up,
19:54and Nixon was out of moves.
19:56So instead of going down swinging,
19:59he saved himself some dignity
20:00and stepped down from the highest office in the world.
20:04He pulled the classic,
20:06you can't fire me,
20:07I quit.
20:08Leading us to Gerald Ford,
20:10the only person to become president
20:12without ever winning a presidential
20:14or vice presidential election.
20:16Wait,
20:17how'd you get here?
20:18Well,
20:19first,
20:19Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned in disgrace.
20:23So,
20:23Nixon appointed Ford as VP to replace him.
20:26Then,
20:26Nixon resigned over Watergate,
20:28and suddenly Ford became president.
20:31Yeah!
20:31No campaign trail,
20:32no ballots,
20:34just a wild game of political musical chairs.
20:37But enough about short-lived presidencies.
20:40Let's talk about Jimmy Carter,
20:42the first president born in a hospital.
20:44Yep,
20:45every president before him
20:47was a home birth baby.
20:48And I think that may have helped out with his health,
20:51because Carter later became the first president
20:53to live a hundred years.
20:55My man Jimmy hit triple digits.
20:57Meanwhile,
20:58Ronald Reagan was the first president
21:00to appoint a woman to the Supreme Court,
21:02Sandra Day O'Connor.
21:04And this was a historic step,
21:06one that showed America
21:07was slowly opening the door
21:09to more diversity in its top institutions.
21:12But speaking of top jobs,
21:14George H.W. Bush
21:15was the first president
21:16to serve as CIA director.
21:18Yep,
21:19before the Oval Office,
21:20he was running the nation's spy agency.
21:23And this gave him a front-row seat
21:25to global coups,
21:26covert ops,
21:27and Cold War secrets.
21:29Which must have helped out,
21:30because the Soviet Union
21:32collapsed during his presidency.
21:34They call me Flappy.
21:36Agent Flappy.
21:37But after Bush,
21:38came Bill Clinton,
21:39the first president
21:40to have his inauguration
21:41live-streamed on the internet.
21:43And while most of America
21:45was dealing with a clunky desktop
21:47and dial-up internet,
21:48this was the first major leap
21:50into the digital age.
21:51Um, hey,
21:52this thing's still buffering.
21:54Now,
21:54when you get to president number 43,
21:56you might be wondering,
21:57how the heck are there
21:58still presidential firsts happening?
22:01But believe it or not,
22:02George W. Bush
22:03was the first president
22:04with a Master of Business
22:06administration degree,
22:07an MBA from Harvard.
22:09And sure,
22:10his old man
22:11probably helped him get in there,
22:12but Bush still walked out
22:14with a diploma of his own.
22:15And I'm just sitting here
22:16wondering how much
22:17that MBA came in handy
22:19when faced with 9-11
22:20and the War on Terror?
22:22Probably not too much.
22:24On the other hand,
22:25Barack Obama's
22:26presidential first
22:27is pretty obvious.
22:28He's the first president,
22:30born in Hawaii,
22:31making him the only
22:33commander-in-chief
22:33from outside
22:34the continental U.S.
22:36And, oh yeah,
22:37he's also the first
22:38African-American president, too.
22:40A pretty big reflection
22:41of America's growing diversity.
22:43But speaking of watershed moments,
22:46Donald Trump was the first president
22:47with zero political
22:48or military experience.
22:50He wasn't a governor,
22:52senator,
22:53or even a general.
22:54Just a businessman
22:55and reality TV star
22:57jumping straight
22:58into the Oval Office.
22:59Cause voters got fed up
23:01with career politicians
23:02and wanted an outsider
23:03to shake things up.
23:05Until the pendulum
23:06swung the other way.
23:08Cause Joe Biden
23:09is pretty much
23:10the definition
23:10of a career politician.
23:12And the first president
23:13with over 35 years
23:15in the Senate.
23:16Sheesh.
23:17But Biden's presidency
23:19came with another
23:20historic first.
23:21Kamala Harris.
23:22The first female vice president
23:24in U.S. history.
23:26We did it, Joe.
23:27But speaking of
23:28presidential first,
23:29nothing beats uncovering
23:30your own family first
23:32with MyHeritage.
23:33So don't forget to start
23:34your 14-day free trial
23:36with MyHeritage today
23:37by clicking the link below
23:38or scanning the QR code
23:40on the screen.
23:41But if you think
23:42that's a big deal,
23:43then you've never looked
23:44at our president's
23:44bank accounts.
23:45Because this
23:46is every U.S. president's
23:48wealth explained.
23:49From flying million dollar
23:51private jets
23:52to dying broke in Monticello
23:54to losing your entire life
23:55savings in a Ponzi scheme
23:57and then making it all back.
23:59Some presidents
24:00walked into the White House
24:01a lot better
24:02than when they came in.
24:03So click this video
24:04right here
24:04and find out
24:05who's stacking cash
24:06and who's stuck with trash.
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