Summary: History is riddled with strange coincidences. The history of the United States in particular has its fair share of “what the hell” moments one might not expect. Some are merely just that: coincidences. Others helped shape the course of history. If you haven’t studied the history of the United States then you may have missed these moments. The following list focuses on those relating to Presidents. 1. A Booth Saves A Lincoln On April 14th, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was shot at Ford’s Theater by crazy man John Wilkes Booth. His dying words were “Shit son, I’ve been shot,” and are often immortalized by rappers in a similar situation. “Fo shizzle.” However, the Lincolns and the Booths had previous interactions that didn’t end in murder. Years before, Edwin Booth was boarding a train at Jersey City. At the time it was common for passengers to buy their tickets from the conductor as the train pulled into the station. The design of the boarding platform left a great deal of distance between the passenger and the train itself, creating a “death pit” of sorts. Before Edwin could purchase his ticket a man had been knocked into the gap through a combination of the train’s movement and the crowding of others. By his own account he was “helpless,” until Edwin pulled him up by the collar of his shirt. The man immediately recognized Edwin, a famous actor, as his rescuer, but Edwin was not aware that the man he saved was Robert Lincoln until he received a letter of thanks months after. “Whoa.” When his brother managed to screw the family name a few years later, Edwin comforted himself with the memory of saving Robert’s life. Robert, however, wouldn’t find comfort so easily. 2. Lincoln Saves No One As the only child of President Lincoln to reach adulthood, Robert held a significant place within his family. However, he holds a strange place in history because at sometime during his life he was cursed by a traveling sorcerer to play witness to two Presidential assassinations. Robert declined his parents’ invitation to Ford’s Theater the night his dad shook hands with a bullet. His decision against going was something he regretted for the rest of his life. After the death of his father, Robert returned to private life until James Garfield, a friend of the Lincolns, offered him the position of Secretary of War. Lincoln accepted this offer. Later he was offered to join the President at his college reunion. Running late, Robert arrived just in time to see Garfield get shot by Charles Guiteau, presumed college jock. “NEERRRRRRRRRRRRD!” Having returned to private life again, Robert received another invitation in 1901, this time from President McKinley to attend the Pan-American Expo. Robert arrived to the Expo just in time to see Leon Czolgosz corpse the President. After the event Robert declined all invitations from Presidents, with the exception of the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial. 3. Frienemies to the Grave American history presents the founding fathers as being the best of buds. The truth is you have a bunch self-important dudes with syphilis arguing over what is best for democracy. It’s unfathomable to think that all of these people got along together without incident. This incident took the form of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, America’s first set of Presidential arch-enemies. There can be only one, I guess. Despite the roles the two men played in forming the new America, they were constantly at odds with one another. Everything seemed to be a matter of differing opinions, from the role government should take to the proper way to powder one’s wig. Their heated debates spilled over into Presidential elections; the two men served as the second and third Presidents, opposing each other both times. The first election, the election of 1796, is notable for the amount of mudslinging that took place, with “treason” being the popular accusation. “Haters gon[...]
