Figure 1.--This was George Bush's wedding with Baravara Pierce on January 6, 1945. He wore his Navy uniform. To his right is his brother and sister Jonathan and Nancy. To the left of the bride and groom are his mother and father and his other brothers, Prescott Jr. and William Henry Trotter (Bucky). |
George Bush was the 40th president of the United States. He
effectively conducted foreign policy at the end to the Cold War which
ended the post-World War II division of Europe. He also sucessfully
drove Sadam Hussain out of Kuwait which without Bush's firm
stand would have fundamentally changed power relatiionships in the
Middle East. This wouls have had a huge impact on Western economies
because Hussain would have had great control over oil supplies.
George's father was Conneticut Senator Prescott Bush. Senator Bush was the first important Republican to speak out against Senator McCarthy ans his scurilous witch hunting campaign against government workers. Dorthy Bush had hoped to go to Vasser, but was instead sent to Miss Potter's Academy [check?], a finishing school. President Bush also remembers her as a tremendously competive woman.
The Bushes had five children: Prescott Sheldon Jr. (1922- ), George Herberrt Walker (1924- ), Nancy (1926- ), Joanathan (1931- ), and William Henry Trotter (1938- ). The youngest brother, Willikam Henry Trotter, was known as Bucky. He was so much younger than the other chilkdren that he was virtually raised as only child., He attended the ecxclusive Hotchkiss School.
Coming from a family with a tradition of public service, George
Herbert Walker Bush felt the responsibility to make his
contribution both in time of war and in peace. Born in Milton,
Massachusetts, on June 12, 1924. Dorthy Bush stressed good manners and values and dispinced daily devotions at breakfast. Once when George called his mother to tell her that he scored three goals, there was a pause on the line after which his mother asked him how the team did. President Bush also remembers her as a tremendisly competiive woman.
George Bush's first school was the Greenwich Country Day School wehich he attended with his older brother. Next he attended the exclusive Phillips Academy preparatory school in Andover, Massachusetts. (An American preparatory school is a private secondary-level school comparable to a British public school.) Phillips Academy is one of America's most exclusive and rigorous prep schools and his father's alma mater. George became a student leader and was the president of the seionr class, captain of the baseball team. After graduating he postponed college, contrary to the advise of commencement speaker Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, and enlisted--becoming the youngest commissioned navy pilot in World War II.
After the War, Bush next turned his energies toward completing his education
and raising a family. In January 1945 he married Barbara Pierce.
They had six children. At Yale University he excelled both in sports and in his studies; he was captain of the baseball team
and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. After graduation Bush embarked on a career in the oil industry of
West Texas.
On his 18th birthday he enlisted in the armed forces. The youngest pilot in the Navy when he received
his wings, he flew 58 combat missions during World War II. On one mission over the Pacific as a
torpedo bomber pilot he was shot down by Japanese antiaircraft fire and was rescued from the
water by a U. S. submarine. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery in action.
Figure 1.--After graduating from Yale, George Bush took his young family to Texas. He is pictured here with Barbara, George W, and his parenrts, Dorthy and Prescott Bush at an airfield in Midland, Texas during 1950. Note George W's short pants suit and cowboy boots. |
For their parents moving to Texas was an adventure, giving the young mairred couple a change to get out on their own. Few places in America could be as different from the affluent New York suburbs where they had grown up.
Like his father, Prescott Bush, who was elected a Senator from Connecticut in 1952, George
became interested in public service and politics. He served two terms as a Representative to
Congress from Texas. Twice he ran unsuccessfully for the Senate. Then he was appointed to a series
of high-level positions: Ambassador to the United Nations, Chairman of the Republican National
Committee, Chief of the U. S. Liaison Office in the People's Republic of China, and Director of the
Central Intelligence Agency.
In 1980 Bush campaigned for the Republican nomination for President. He lost, but was chosen as a
running mate by Ronald Reagan. As Vice President, Bush had responsibility in several domestic
areas, including Federal deregulation and anti-drug programs, and visited scores of foreign countries.
In 1988 Bush won the Republican nomination for President and, with Senator Dan Quayle of
Indiana as his running mate, he defeated Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis in the general
election.
George Bush brought to the White House a dedication to traditional American values
and a determination to direct them toward making the United States "a kinder and gentler nation." In
his Inaugural Address he pledged in "a moment rich with promise" to use American strength as "a
force for good."
Bush faced a dramatically changing world, as the Cold War ended after 40 bitter years, the
Communist empire broke up, and the Berlin Wall fell. The Soviet Union ceased to exist; and
reformist President Mikhail Gor bachev, whom Bush had supported, resigned. While Bush hailed the
march of democracy, he insisted on restraint in U. S. policy toward the group of new nations.
In other areas of foreign policy, President Bush sent American troops into Panama to overthrow the
corrupt regime of General Manuel Noriega, who was threatening the security of the canal and the
Americans living there. Noriega was brought to the United States for trial as a drug trafficker.
Bush's greatest test came when Iraqi President Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, then threatened to
move into Saudi Arabia. Vowing to free Kuwait, Bush rallied the United Nations, the U. S. people,
and Congress and sent 425,000 American troops. They were joined by 118,000 troops from allied
nations. After weeks of air and missile bombardment, the 100-hour land battle dubbed Desert Storm
routed Iraq's million-man army.
Despite unprecedented popularity from this military and diplomatic triumph, Bush was unable to
withstand discontent at home from a faltering economy, rising violence in inner cities, and continued
high deficit spending. In 1992 he lost his bid for reelection to Democrat William Clinton.
She and Abigale Adm are the only two women to be both a First Lady and presidential mother. Rarely has a First Lady been greeted by the American people and the press with the approbation and warmth accorded to Barbara Pierce Bush. Perhaps this is prompted by the image
she calls "everybody's grandmother." People are comfortable with her white hair, her warm, relaxed manner, and her keen wit. With characteristic directness, she says people like her because they
know "I'm fair and I like children and I adore my husband."
Barbara was born in 1925 to Pauline and Marvin Pierce, who later became president of McCall Corporation. In the suburban town of Rye, New York, she had a happy childhood. She went to boarding school at Ashley Hall in South Carolina, and it was at a dance during Christmas vacation when she was only 16 that she met George Bush, a senior at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. They became engaged a year and a half later, just before he went off to war as a Navy torpedo bomber pilot. By the time George returned on leave, Barbara had dropped out of
Smith College. Two weeks later, on January 6, 1945, they were married.
After the war, George graduated from Yale, and they set out for Texas to start their lives together.
Six children were born to them: George, Robin, Jeb, Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy. Meanwhile,
George built a business in the oil industry. With Texas as home base, he then turned to politics and
public service, serving as a member of Congress, U. S. Ambassador to the United Nations,
Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Chief of the U. S. Liaison Office in the People's
Republic of China, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and later as Vice President. In those
44 years of marriage, Mrs. Bush managed 29 moves of the family.
When her husband was away, she became the family linchpin, providing everything from discipline to
carpools. The death of their daughter Robin from leukemia when she was not quite four left George
and Barbara Bush with a lifelong compassion. She says, "Because of Robin, George and I love
every living human more."
Barbara Bush was always an asset to her husband during his campaigns for public office. Her
friendly, forthright manner won her high marks from the voters and the press. As wife of the Vice
President, she selected the promotion of literacy as her special cause. As First Lady, she called
working for a more literate America the "most important issue we have." Involved with many
organizations devoted to this cause, she became Honorary Chairman of the Barbara Bush
Foundation for Family Literacy. A strong advocate of volunteerism, Mrs. Bush helped many
causes--including the homeless, AIDS, the elderly, and school volunteer programs.
Today Barbara Bush lives in a home she and her husband built in Houston, Texas, where she enjoys
being part of the community. Their children and grandchildren visit them often in Houston and at the
family summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine. Devoted to her family, Mrs. Bush still finds time to
work on an autobiography, serve on the Boards of AmeriCares and the Mayo Clinic, and continue
her prominent role in the Barbara Bush Foundation.
George and Barbara Bush had six children, four boys and two girls.
The Bush's oldest child was born in 1946 while his father was still at Yale. Although not born in Texas, he is the most Texan of all the children and was elected Governor in 199?. He graduate from Yale and Harvard Business School. He won the 2000 election, although he received fewer votes than Vice President Gore, becoming the 43 president. He was the only presidential son to achieve the presidency with the exceotion of John Quincey Adanms. The direction of his presidency was raducally altered by the 9-11 terror attacks.
George W. remembers his parents driving up to Houston Elementary school in 1953. He expected to see his younger sister in the car. She was surprised to see she wasn't there. It was then his parents told him that his younger sister had died. Robin had died of leukemia, 2 months before her 4th birthday. The Bush's were devestated and still recall Robin with great pain and have trouble talking about it. The parents were not yet 30.
John known as Jeb stidied at the University of Texas. He worked as a banker in Texas and real estate developer in Miami. He was appointed as State Secretary of Commerce and then won election as governor. He converted to Catholocism to marry Mexican-born Columba. The Bush's have three children. If his brother is reelected in 2004, Jeb will certainly run for president in 2008.
Neil attended Tulane and entered the oil business. He was a target of investigation in the Davings and Loan crisis of the 1980s concerning the Silverado Savings and Loan. He is now an investment consultant. He has sponsored a reading program for children known as Ignite! which uses the internet. He married Sharon ??? and has three children. He and Sharon are seaparted.
Marvin attended the University of Virginia. He worked for investment banking firms and has sinced foinded his own investment company. He married Margaret ?? and they are raising two children in Alexandria, Virginia.
Dorthy was known as Doro. She was the youngest child in a household with four older brothers. She has worked as a travel agent, bookeeper, and tourism promoter. She also worked with the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, D.C. She married William LeBlond in 181, but they divirced. She then marroed Robert Koch who worked for House Democratic leader Richard Gephardt. They were married at Camp David. They are raising four children.
The boys all seem to have worn short pants suits as boys. George W. wore short pants suits with cowboy boots. The two younger boys wore Eton summer short pants suits. I'm not sure when they began wearing longpants suits, but by age 7 they all appear to have been wearing longs.
Wead, Doug. All the President's Children: Triumph and Tragedy in the Lives of America's First Families (Atria: New York, 2003), 456p.
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