The Presidents at Sixty years old
“And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.” Genesis 5:27 KJV
The recent outbreak of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) has set the world on edge. Everyday there seems to be more news and more cases. Bitcoins, with their high price tag and ever-increasing value, were the rage a few months ago. Who would have thought toilet paper would replace them in value?
One of the statistics staring me right in the face about Coronavirus is its effect on the elderly. Every warning states that you need to be extra careful if you are over sixty-years-old. Well, that hit me really hard. I only have a few days left and then I will be over sixty. On Sunday, I guess, I’m going to have to be even more careful.
I was thinking about the number 60 this week. Not just because I will be moving past it, but just the number in general. What does the world look like using sixty as a perspective?
A Biblical view on 60+
I decided to gather a few views on the Bible’s version of 60+. In the King James Version of the Bible, the word “sixty” is mentioned 14 times as follows:
- 6 times in Genesis (5:15, 18, 20 21, 23, and 27) – All these were in reference to age. Usually it is not an exact figure, like the verse above about Methuselah being 900 “sixty” 9 years old when he died.
- 2 times in Leviticus (27:3, 7) – I’m confused and not exactly sure what these two verses are even saying.
- 1 time in Numbers (7:88) – This verses uses “sixty” three times and all three times it is the number of animals (rams, goats, and lambs) that need to be sacrificed.
- 1 time in Ezra (2:13) – Here it has to do with counting.
- 2 times in Matthew (13:8, 23) – These verses talk about planting and the blessings being reaped “sixty” (or more) fold.
- 2 times in Mark (4:8, 20) – In almost a repeat of Matthew, these verses again talk about reaping blessings from planting “sixty” (or more) fold.
A Biblical view on 60+ (Part 2)
Strangely, there are only two Books in the Bible with over sixty chapters. Those books are: Psalms (150 chapters) and Isaiah (66 chapters). There are 66 Books in the Bible and 929 chapters.
Of those 929 chapters, there are only 15 of those chapters with 60 or more verses. Only Numbers (chapters 7 and 26) and Luke (chapters 1 and 9) have more than one chapter with over sixty verses in their Book. Here is a list of those chapters:
- Genesis 24 (67 verses)
- Numbers 7 (89 verses)
- Numbers 16 (65 verses)
- Deuteronomy 28 (69 verses)
- Joshua 15 (63 verses)
- I Kings 8 (66 verses)
- I Chronicles 6 (66 verses)
- Psalm 119 (176 verses; the most number of verses in a chapter in the whole Bible)
- Lamentations 3 (66 verses)
- Ezekiel 16 (63 verses)
- Daniel 13 (64 verses)
- Luke 1 (80 verses; the most number of verses of any chapter in the New Testament)
- Luke 9 (62 verses)
- John 6 (71 verses)
- Acts 7 (60 verses; okay, it’s not actually over 60, but I’m still counting it)
The Presidents at 60
So what were the Presidents doing when they hit sixty-years-old? Well, twelve of them were President when they were sixty. Those include: Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Johnson, Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, Truman, Lyndon Johnson, Nixon, and George W. Bush.
Seven other Presidents died before they reached sixty-years-old. Those seven include: Polk (53), Lincoln (56), Garfield (49), Arthur (57), McKinley (58), Harding (57), and Kennedy (46). Two Presidents died at age sixty: Teddy Roosevelt and Coolidge.
Two of the Presidents were Vice President when they were 60-years-old. They were John Adams and George HW Bush. One future President, Ronald Reagan, was a governor. Reagan was Governor of California when he was sixty. Gerald Ford was a Representative in Congress when he was sixty. In fact, he was the House Minority Leader.
James Buchanan was in between his service as Secretary of State (under President Polk) and US Minister to the United Kingdom (under President Pierce). Rutherford B. Hayes, Grover Cleveland, and Benjamin Harrison all celebrated their 60th birthday only a few short weeks or months after leaving the Presidency.
Ulysses S Grant was in the middle of one of his many failed business adventures, the Grant and Ward Investing Firm. Ward would eventually swindle Grant out of almost all his money. Donald Trump was starring in the third season of his hit TV show “The Apprentice.”
Dwight Eisenhower was President of Columbia University when he was sixty. Barack Obama has not turned sixty yet. Obama will turn sixty on August 4, 2021. Currently, he is the only living President under 60-years-old.
At sixty, Taft was chairman of the American Red Cross’ executive committee at the start of World War I. President Polk sent Zachary Taylor to Texas to help guard against a Mexican invasion when Taylor was sixty. A couple of years later General Taylor would be in the middle of the Mexican-American War.
The other Presidents at 60
It was really hard to find out what most of the other Presidents were doing when they were 60-years-old, but here are the results I could find:
Andrew Jackson – He was in the middle of plotting his revenge on John Quincy Adams who he thought stole the previous election from him.
Martin Van Buren – After being defeated for reelection in the election of 1840 by William Henry Harrison, Van Buren was strangely quiet. Hoping to stay out of the controversy on the Tariff of 1842 (when he would be 60) he didn’t voice any opinions. He was hoping to be the party’s choice again in the election of 1844. It didn’t happen as James K. Polk outmaneuvered and won the Democratic nomination on the ninth ballot. Polk would then win the general election and become President.
William Henry Harrison – When Harrison was sixty, he would state: “I am accused of being friendly to slavery. From my earliest youth to the present moment, I have been the ardent friend of Human Liberty. At the age of eighteen, I became a member of an Abolition Society established at Richmond, Virginia; the object of which was to ameliorate the condition of slaves and procure their freedom by every legal means… I have been the means of liberating many slaves, but never placed one in bondage… I was the first person to introduce into Congress the proposition that all the country above [North of] Missouri… should never have slavery admitted into it.”
John Tyler – In his post-presidency, at 60-years-old, Tyler supports the Compromise of 1850.
Millard Fillmore – At sixty, Fillmore voted for Stephen Douglas, over Abraham Lincoln, in the election of 1860. Although he was a Democrat, he was upset with then President Buchanan because Buchanan just let the southern states secede.
Franklin Pierce – Although many Democrats wanted to put his name in for their party’s nomination in the election of 1864, Pierce would have none of it. I guess this 60-year-old had enough of politics.
Herbert Hoover – When he was sixty, Hoover was the only living ex-President. He would stand alone in this category from 1933-1953. Just prior to turning sixty, Hoover published his book “The Challenge to Liberty.”
Jimmy Carter – Jimmy Carter was named an honorary citizen of Peru when he turned sixty.
Bill Clinton – Clinton would tour India, as part of his efforts to fight world AIDS, when he turned sixty.
Closing
The world seems in much turmoil and panic in these days of the coronavirus. Just like when you hit one of those magical birthday numbers, the future doesn’t look as bright as the past. Where have all those days of youth gone?
In those days of doubt and fear, there are so many of those Bible verses that, even in those chapters with less than 60 verses, can bring you hope and peace. Take some time, while you are stuck at home, to read some for yourself. You will find what I’m saying is true.
If you look at our Presidents, you will see that even being as “old” as sixty should not stop you from looking brightly to the future. God has a purpose for each and every one of your days.
