Chapter 6: US Presidential Elections

Presidential Calendar Mnemonic (PDF coming soon)
Chapter 1: A Simpler Method
Chapter 2: Mod7 Magic
Chapter 3: The Recipe
Chapter 4: Ten Months
Chapter 5: Zanuary and Zebruary
Chapter 6: US Presidential Elections
Chapter 7: Silly Stories
Chapter 8: Mastery

This is the sixth post in a series describing the Presidential Calendar Mnemonic. Our goal is to calculate the day of the week, given any date in any century.

In this chapter, you will be making 22 flash cards. If you want to start with fewer of them, that’s a decent strategy. You could learn year codes from 2000 to 2027 with only The information on the reverse side of the suggested flash cards will make more sense in Chapter 7.

We will associate a year code with each election, and thereby memorizing groups of four years, not just one. Memorizing in chunks of four effectively simplifies our task by 75%. Because each election year is associated with a famous person, we enjoy a high degree of tangibility that other methods lack. So let’s dive in!

1900 3: William McKinley
1901 4
1902 5
1903 6(-1)

In 1896, the tallest mountain in the northern hemisphere was named Mount McKinley in his honor, and then in 2015, renamed back to Denali to honor the indigenous people who were there first.
Flash card: 1900. Reverse: McKinley ➜ Denali ➜ 3

Don’t focus on the year codes (e.g. 3) right now. For the moment, I just want you to fill out flash cards. While you are reading, notice that there is a repeating pattern “6 4 2 0 5 3 1”. That will be helpful.

1904 1: Theodore Roosevelt
1905 2
1906 3
1907 4
Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt was a member of the branch of the Roosevelt family along with his niece, Eleanor Roosevelt, who did not have to change her name when marrying FDR. After McKinley’s assassination in 1901, VP Roosevelt, assumed the presidency. Teddy was elected in his own right in 1904.
Flash card: 1904. Reverse: Theodore Roosevelt ➜ Roosevelt Family Man ➜ 1

1908 6(-1): William Howard Taft
1909 0
1910 1
1911 2

William Howard Taft was elected in 1908. Taft was by far our heftiest president, weighing over 350 pounds. Rumors were that Taft once got stuck in the White House bathtub due to his obesitye, but historians say this is just a legend. The true story is that Taft had his bathtubs custom built to fit the size of four average-weight men.
Flash card: 1908. Reverse: Taft ➜ Jumbo Bathtubs ➜ 6(-1)

1912 4: Woodrow Wilson
1913 5
1914 6(-1)
1915 0

1916 2
1917 3
1918 4
1919 5
Woodrow Wilson won twice, in 1912 and 1916. Wilson presided over World War I. He suffered strokes and so was confined to bed or a wheelchair during his final term in office.
Flash Card: 1912/16. Reverse: Wilson ➜ Waged World War in his Wheelchair ➜ 4/2

1920 0: Warren G. Harding.
1921 1
1922 2
1923 3
Warren G. Harding was elected in 1920. Notice how the last digit matches the year code. So Harding is not hard, he is easy. Harding is generally regarded as one of the worst presidents in U.S. history, and especially known for a bribery scandal called Teapot Dome. Let’s say he was a real ZERO of a president. He died of a heart attack in San Francisco and was succeeded by VP Coolidge.
Flash Card: 1920. Reverse: Harding ➜ Teapot ➜ 0

1924 5: Calvin Coolidge
1925 6(-1)
1926 0
1927 1

Coolidge assumed the presidency when Harding died of a heart attack in 1921 and was elected in his own right in 1924. Coolidge was known for his calm, stoic demeanor, earning him the nickname “Silent Cal.” Coolidge was the sleepiest US president. He would sleep up to 11 hours a day and he always took an afternoon nap lasting 2-4 hours

Flash Card: 1924. Reverse: Coolidge ➜ Sleepy Cal ➜ 5

1928 3: Herbert Hoover
1929 4
1930 5
1931 6(-1)
Herbert Hoover was elected in 1928. He was a brilliant engineer and had a sparkling career before October 1929, when the stock market crashed on his watch. The Great Depression ensued and shanty towns called “Hoovervilles” sprang up all over. Hoovervilles symbolized Hoover’s inability to manage the economy.
Flash Card: 1928. Reverse: Hoover ➜ Hooverville ➜ 3

1932 1: Franklin Roosevelt (the Depression Years)
1933 2
1934 3
1935 4

1936 6(-1)
1937 0
1938 1
1939 2

1940 4 Franklin Roosevelt (the War Years)
1941 5
1942 6(-1)
1943 0

1944 2
1945 3
1946 4
1947 5
FDR was another member of the extended Roosevelt family. His first two terms were dominated by the Great Depression. His final two terms were dominated by World War II. FDR also had something in common with Woodrow Wilson—they were both Democrats who waged World Wars from their wheelchairs.

Let’s split these four elections into two flash cards:
1932/36. Reverse: Franklin Roosevelt (Depression Years) ➜ Roosevelt Family Man ➜ 1/6
1940/44. Reverse: Franklin Roosevelt (War Years) ➜ Waged World War in his Wheelchair ➜ 4/2

Alternatively, one flash card:
1932/36/40/44. Reverse: Franklin Roosevelt ➜ Four elections, rote memory ➜ 1/6/4/2

1948 0: Harry Truman
1949 1
1950 2
1951 3
Harry S. Truman was the only person in history to order a nuclear strike. We hope he always keeps that distinction. Truman was elected president in his own right in 1948 but his popularity, you might say, really bombed.
Flash Card: 1948. Reverse: Truman ➜ Atomic Bomb ➜ 0

1952 5: Dwight Eisenhower
1953 6(-1)
1954 1
1955 2

1956 3
1957 4
1958 5
1959 6(-1)
Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower is widely recognized for his calm and steady leadership style, not unlike Silent Cal Coolidge. It’s a little known fact he was a football coach at a small Catholic school, now called St. Mary’s. He went from coaching football to coaching the largest invasion force in history (Normandy Invasion, 1944).
Flash Card: 1952/56. Reverse: Eisenhower ➜ Steady Coach ➜ 5/3

1960 1 John F. Kennedy
1961 2
1962 3
1963 4
JFK was a member of the famous Kennedy family, with his famous father and two famous brothers.
Flash Card: 1960. Reverse: John F. Kennedy ➜ Kennedy Family Man ➜ 1

1964 6(-1) Lyndon Johnson
1965 0
1966 1
1967 2
Lyndon B. Johnson was known for pulling pranks. He owned a floating car that looked like a normal convertible. On driving tours of his ranch he pranked his guests, who were unaware the car was a boat, by screaming “the brakes have failed” and driving it into a lake.
Flash Card: 1964. Reverse: LBJ ➜ Floating Car Prank ➜ 6(-1)

1968 4 Richard Nixon
1969 5
1970 6(-1)
1971 0

1972 2 Notice how the last digit of the year conveniently matches the year code, similar to Harding’s convenience (1920-23).
1973 3
1974 4
1975 5
There is a famous photo of Nixon leaving the White House for the last time. He was on the steps of the helicoptor, both arms were held high and both hands formed the “V for Victory” sign. Nixon said he was not a crook, but he stole that sign from President Eisenhower, for whom Nixon served as Vice President.
Flash Card: 1968/72. Reverse: Nixon ➜ V for Victory Sign ➜ 4/2

1976 0 Jimmy Carter
1977 1
1978 2
1979 3
Carter was on a solo fishing expedition in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, when a rabbit that was being chased by hounds jumped into the water near him and swam aggressively towards his boat. The President shooed it off with a paddle and the rabbit swam away. The movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail, released around the same time, features a scene with a rabbit killing people, and so the rabbit that swam toward Carter became known as the "killer rabbit." Columnist Dave Barry once referred to it as the single most memorable event of Carter's presidency.
Flash Card: 1976. Reverse: Carter ➜ Killer Rabbit ➜ 0

1980 5 Ronald Reagan
1981 6(-1)
1982 0
1983 1

1984 3
1985 4
1986 5
1987 6
Eulogies of Ronald Reagan referred to him affectionately as "the Gipper," a nickname he earned not during his years in politics, but for one of his most famous screen roles. Reagan's first big role as an actor was playing ill-fated football star George Gipp in the 1940 film classic, Knute Rockne - All-American. In the movie's most famous scene, a dying, bed-ridden Gipp - nicknamed the Gipper - urges his team to win “Win one for the Gipper.”
Flash Card: 1980/84. Reverse: Reagan ➜ The Gipper ➜ 5/3

1988 1 George. H. W. Bush
1989 2
1990 3
1991 4
George Herbert Walker Bush was head of the famous Bush family, and the first of two Bush presidents. His year code is 1. His son George W. Bush was the second Bush president, and his year code is 2. That’s a happy coincidence.
Flash Card: 1988. Reverse: George H. W. Bush ➜ Bush Family Man ➜ 1

1992 6(-1) Bill Clinton
1993 0
1994 1
1995 2

1996 4
1997 5
1998 6(-1)
1999 0
A famous real-life story about Bill Clinton is an embarrassing sexual encounter with an intern named Monica Lewinski and a cigar. I imagine Bill in a hot tub, enjoying a six-pack, a cigar, and whatever Monica is doing under water.
Flash Card: 1992/96. Reverse: Clinton ➜ X-Rated ➜ 6(-1)/4

2000 2 George. W. Bush
2001 3
2002 4
2003 5

2004 0
2005 1
2006 2
2007 3
The numaber for George W. Bush (Bush #2) happens to be 2. That’s the only story you need.
Flash Card: 2000/04. Reverse: George Bush #2 ➜ Bush #2 ➜ 2

2008 5 Barack Obama
2009 6(-1)
2010 0
2011 1

2012 3
2013 4
2014 5
2015 6
The most famous accomplishment of Barak Obama’s presidency is probably passing the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare. He was also notable for his calm and steady leadership style, which a distinct contrast with his successor.
Flash Card: 2008/12. Reverse: Obama ➜ Obamacare ➜ 5/3

2016 1 Donald Trump (first election)
2017 2
2018 3
2019 4
Donald Trump is the head of the Trump family empire. Trump is #1 to his MAGA base, and certainly in his own mind, he is Number 1.
Flash Card: 2016. Reverse: Donald Trump ➜ Trump Family Man and Narcissist #1 ➜ 1

2020 6(-1) Joe Biden
2021 0
2022 1
2023 2
In Biden’s second campaign, the American public decided he was too old for the job, especially after a debate debacle with Donald Trump. He famously wears dark sunglasses, which makes it hard to tell if he was actually alive and awake.
Flash Card: 20016/24. Reverse: Joe Biden ➜ Sleepy Joe in Sunglasses ➜ 6(-1)

2024 4
2025 5
2026 6
2027 7 (= 0)

Trump’s non-consecutive elections breaks the pattern of re-election codes. We just need to know the last digit of the year matches the year code. Like 1920 and 1972.
Flash Card: 2024. Reverse: 2024 is 4, 2025 is 5, 2026 is 6 and 2007 is 7 = 0

What about 2028 and beyond? At the time of this writing (2024), we don’t know what will happen four years from now. We do know 2028 will have year code 2.

This long list may seem imposing, but this method is not a bad way to remember so many year codes, which is the biggest challenge of any calendar mnemonic. In the next chapter, we’ll learn some stories about groups of these presidents that will make these year codes become more sticky and more permanent.

We are not quite ready to memorize the flash cards, because we will organize them in groups. That’s next.