Thoughts on the Presidential Walk of Fame

By now, many of you have seen that President Trump and the White House have created a new exhibit for tourists and visitors, “The Presidential Walk of Fame.” The new display features a portrait of each U.S. President, with plaques identifying those in office. It can be speculated that no historians were consulted in the research and interpretation process, given the numerous grammatical and editorial errors. This is corroborated by news outlets reporting that a separate plaque at the front of the exhibit states that it was “conceived, built, and dedicated” by President Trump to honor past Commanders-in-Chief, including the “good, bad, and somewhere in the middle.” By now, the press has covered in heavy detail what these plaques have said about Trump and his recent contemporaries. But when examining the plaques that were to give tribute to those in the Civil War and Reconstruction Era, it can provide an insight, or at least further evidence, as to how the administration remembers that vital moment in our nation’s history.

Below is a transcript of the plaques from Buchanan to Grant (no clear images of Rutherford B. Hayes are available), based on images from news outlets that covered the exhibit’s opening, such as CNN and the Associated Press. Additionally, there is a brief analysis and critique of the plaques with respect to historical accuracy.

James Buchanan

James “Old Buck” Buchanan was a lawyer, diplomat, and career politician, who served as a member of Congress, U.S. Senate, and Secretary of State, playing a key role in seminal events including the Mexican-American War, and Oregon Boundary Settlement. As President, he contended with the Panic of 1857, a financial crisis that affected the entire Nation. At the same time, the National divide over slavery was worsening. Buchanan supported both Kansas becoming a slave state, and the Supreme Court’s pro-slavery Dred Scott decision which exacerbated tensions. By the time he left office, seven States had seceded from the Union.

Abraham Lincoln

Among the greatest American Presidents, Abraham Lincoln was the man who saved the Union, and ended slavery. A successful lawyer, skilled orator, and former member of Congress. Abraham Lincoln won National fame in the celebrated Lincoln-Douglass debates, and his Cooper Union speech of 1860. He was the first Republican ever elected President, and led the Nation through the American Civil War. Lincoln prosecuted the conflict with unyielding determination, and an unflinching dedication to save the Union. During the War, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, delivered what is regarded as the greatest speech in American History, the Gettysburg Address, and championed the passage of the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery. Days after the Confederates surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse, Lincoln was assassinated in Washington, D.C. by John Wilkes Booth. He died a Great President.

Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson served as a Congressmen, Governor, and Senator from the State of Tennessee. During the Civil War, he was the only southern Senator to remain loyal to the Union. Abraham Lincoln selected Johnson as Vice President on a “National Union” ticket to his re-election campaign. As President, Johnson became mired in controversy with Congress over the topics of Reconstruction, and the extent of Executive authority. Congress ultimately impeached him, and came within one vote of removing him from office. Johnson oversaw the purchase of the State of Alaska from Russia for $7.2 Million Dollars. Abraham Lincoln was a very hard act to follow.

Ulysses S. Grant

“Unconditional Surrender Grant” was one of the greatest Generals in American History, who led the Union Army to victory in the Civil War, and was the first ever man since George Washington to hold the rank of General of the Army of the United States. Grant ran for President under the slogan, “Let Us Have Peace,” and championed post-Civil War reconciliation and unification.  He was one of the great civil rights Presidents of our Nation, championing the cause of free slaves, supporting the passage of the 15th Amendment, and directing the Department of Justice to destroy the Ku Klux Klan. As he was dying, Grant wrote a best-selling memoir, saving his family from poverty. He died a Great General, but a President whose Administration was tied to much scandal.

While I admit that a few pieces from these plaques offer some legitimate insight for visitors (national/international leaders and tourists primarily), I do find it troubling, perhaps even disturbing, in its entirety. For example, Buchanan’s plaque showed no mention of his active laxity in the Secession Crisis. Lewis Cass, Secretary of State in the Buchanan administration, resigned and accused the president of not doing enough to protect federal interests along the coast. “It has been my decided opinion,” argued Cass, “that additional troops should be sent to reinforce the forts in the harbor of Charleston, with a view to their better defense should they be attacked.”[1] Rather than saying that his executive power could have prevented the crisis, which occurred anyway, the plaque implied that it simply happened around him and that his hands were tied.

Lincoln’s plaque, in my own personal observation, too heavily emphasized his politics on slavery and its abolition, as it is mentioned more than once. Yes, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation and helped with the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, but the Lincoln of 1865 is not the same as the President-elect of 1860. He was anti-slavery and detested the institution, but did not at first consider himself a man like Fredrick Douglass or John Brown. It wasn’t his devotion to legislation that made him remembered; it was his pragmatism, humility, and ability to take advice that made his character. This is what makes Lincoln, in the plaque’s words, “a Great President.”

Andrew Johnson’s plaque, of the four transcribed, is probably the one with the most significant knowledge gap. Although I’m pleased to see Johnson receive credit for acquiring Alaska, his section on Reconstruction leaves much to be desired. The “controversy” that surrounded Johnson includes, but is not limited to, his attempts to block the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, multiple civil rights bills, and his apathy toward Ku Klux Klan violence against the freemen community. It should also be noted that the plaque’s reference to controversies over “Executive authority” suggests that the authors sought to connect issues from the past with the present, which should be approached with caution. For Grant, I’m pleasantly surprised that his plaque highlights his advocacy for civil rights and his campaign against the Ku Klux Klan. Based on previous plaques, I was half-expecting a mention of Grant’s relationship to alcohol, but it was not stated.

Overall, the Presidential Walk of Fame is frankly partisan and uninformed. With no experts active in the process, the interpretation of our nation’s leaders causes headaches for historians and, worse, is taken as gospel by those who pass by and may not have a grasp of history. Unfortunately, there is no clear alternative to the plaques, whether they be rewritten, removed altogether, or replaced with just portraits and a tour guide. I hope that historians and colleagues will use this as an example of how the Civil War is remembered and to explore the past through detailed, complex conversations about who we are. Because if we do not, who will?

[1] “Resignation Letter of Secretary of State Lewis Cass,” accessed December 28, 2025, https://www.jfepperson.org/SumterCassResign.htm.