♪♫ Hail to the Chief,
He’s the one we all say “Hail!” to! ♫♪

The entire time I’ve been working on this President’s Day cookie project, that’s the song snippet that has been rolling through my brain. Remember the movie My Fellow Americans? 🙂

So today is a day to celebrate our Presidents! I bring you this man. Or perhaps, this cookie, I guess. This patriotic “man cookie.”

Do you know who it is right away? (Please don’t say Ben Franklin, okay? I might cry. It won’t be pretty, and I’ll think that you love me about as much as my two boys do, for that’s exactly who both of them guessed it was when I was like, “Ta-da! Hey, do you recognize this guy?!”)

It’s John Adams! The first #2 of the United States!

I guess I should take some solace in the fact that a lot of the Presidents, especially the first ones, look sort of the same – like REALLY OLD DUDES. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself while I drown my sorrows in hot chocolate.

About that #2 business… (ha, I just cracked myself up!) … He really was second in a few different ways! You see, he was the first Vice-President, under dear ol’ George, of course. And then four years later, he was the second President, too. He was also the second President to die on July 4, 1826, as his successor, Thomas Jefferson, died just a few hours before him that morning.

He was first in a few things, though. For example, he was the first President to live in the White House. He moved in very near to the end of his term, once it was finally ready. It wasn’t nearly as big back then, but it was still something to shout about, I bet.

He was the first President to receive the oath of office from from a Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court. His inauguration took place in March 1797 (as opposed to the January ceremonies we have today), and he was sworn in while the office of the Presidency was still in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During his ceremony, it was the first time that the Big Three (George Washington, himself, and Thomas Jefferson) were all on a stage together.

As for more cookies, well… I baked up a bunch more and had intended to create a nice set for John Adams. However, the business of running as Vice-President of my own household took over, and those poor cookies still remain undecorated. Not to worry, though. I know a cool place where you can see LOTS more!

You see, my friend Anne, of Flour Box Bakery, conceived this entire President’s Day in Cookies project, and she enlisted the help of 40 different decorators to get the job done. My little John Adams cookie is just one of 44! Check out this collage – WOW!

Isn’t that just the COOLEST?! Seeing them all together – those “Sugar Presidents” – just kinda takes my breath away. It’s amazing all the different interpretations & styles there are out there among the cookie world, and I love it! ♥

Anne has a detailed “Fun Facts” blog about the Presidents over on her site, and I urge you to check it out. Lastly, be sure to go visit each one of the decorators to see up-close pictures of each cookie. Some decorators have extra “accessory” cookies, too – ones that are actually iced! 😉

1) George Washington by Sarah of Sweet Surrender Cookie Co.,

2)  John Adams  by Nicole of Life’s a Batch

3)  Thomas Jefferson by Sarah of Songbird Sweets

4)  James Madison by Georganne of LilaLoa

5)  James Monroe by Anne of Flour Box Bakery

6)  John Quincy Adams by Liz of Arty McGoo

7)  Andrew Jackson by Tiffany of TheRedCooky

8) Martin Van Buren by Jill of Jill FCS – Funky Cookie Studio

9)  William Henry Harrison by Christina of Sweet C’s Bake Shop

10)  John Tyler by Kim of The Cookie Puzzle

11) James K. Polk  by Debbie of D&T Designs

12) Zachery Taylor by Stephanie of Ellies Bites

13) Millard Fillmore by Melissa of Simply Sweets by Honeybee

14) Franklin Pierce by Kris of So Cute Cookies

15)  James Buchanan by Lene of Not Your Everyday Cookie

16) Abraham Lincoln by Debbie of Sweet Creations by Debbie

17) Andrew Johnson by Liz of CookiesToGo

18) Ulysses S. Grant  by Rebekah of Love at First Bite

19) Rutherford B. Hayes  by Heather of Twins Plus One Goodies

20) James A. Garfield by Teresa of Sugar T’s Cookies

21)  Chester Arthur by Alyse of B.E. Sweet Treats

22) Grover Cleveland  by Kimberly of Barefoot N Baking

23)  Benjamin Harrison by Laurie of Cookie Bliss

24) Grover Cleveland  by Kimberly of Barefoot N Baking

25)  William McKinley by Susan of Sweet Williams Cookies

26)  Theodore Roosevelt by Heather of SugarNosh Treats

27) William Howard Taft by Sarah of Sarah’s Sweet Shoppe

28)  Woodrow Wilson by Cheryl of The Sugared Apron

29)  Warren G. Harding  by Shannon of Artfully Delicious Cookies

30) Calvin Coolidge by Stephanie of Ice My Biscuit

31)   Herbert Hover by Fumie of A+Kake sweets

32) Franklin D. Roosevelt by Christine of Chris’ Creative Confections

33)  Harry S Truman by Kim of Sugar Rush Custom Cookies

34)  Dwight Eisenhower  by Monica of Cookie Cowgirl

35)   John F. Kennedy by CeCe of The Tactical Bakery

36) Lyndon B. Johnson by Jennifer of One Kookie Cookie

37)  Richard Nixon by Jackie of iBakery

38)   Gerald Ford by Georgeanne of LilaLoa,

39)  Jimmy Carter by Jennifer of One Kookie Cookie

40)  Ronald Reagan by Melissa of The Baked Equation

41) George Bush Sr. by Penny of Lucky Penny Cookies

42)  Bill Clinton by Laurie of Cookie Bliss

43)  George W. Bush by Sarah of Sarah’s Sweet Shoppe

44)  Barack Obama by Teresa of Sugar T’s Cookies

And in case you want to see James Garner & sing their “Hail to the Chief” versions, here’s some quick videos for you. Don’t blame me when they get stuck in your head! 😉