Obscure American history trivia

The story is he was riding around the DC area with a fast horse. But some short time before, there was an accident involving a woman (IIRC) getting hit and injured, so they started cracking down on people riding dangerously. So some DC constable pulls Grant over and immediately recognizes him. The guy served under Grant during the war. So the officer lets Grant off with a warning because a) he's the president and b) his respect for him. The next day, Grant is out again riding faster than was safe and gets pulled over by the same officer. This time the officer says he's sorry, but even the president has to obey the law. So Grant gets a $20 fine and pays it.

Now a days with caravans, hyper security and everything else, I can't imagine another president getting pulled over for doing 45 in a school zone.

 

I know from a previous trivia question that Garrow has read quite a bit about Grant. But I don't recall any mention of the speeding tickets in Chernow's recent biography of the general. Too bad, it's a great anecdote.

 

Ha, I didn't recall that either.

 

$20 seems a bit steep in the 1860s-70s.

 

Of all places, I saw this mentioned on a TikTok. It was a fascinating little story when I made sure it was actually real and not one of these too-good-to-be-true things.

 

When was the last time a sitting president drove himself anywhere?

 

The article I looked at said basically that speed limits didn't exist other than "reasonable and prudent." But there was nothing prudent about racing down a city street at full gallop.

IIRC in Chernow's biography, he wrote that instructors at West Point had Grant display his ability at taking jumps on a horse to classmates. This Wikipedia article says he set a high-jump record at the Point that stood for 25 years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horsemanship_of_Ulysses_S._Grant

 

I feel like I should say Teddy because ... well Teddy Roosevelt.

Is this a trivia question or a general musing? If it is the former, I won't spoil it because I looked it up. If it is the later

Spoiler: Last to drive himself

It was LBJ

 

I have a memory of Bush 1 driving to church in Kennebunkport in a Suburban. I assume there was an incredible support convoy and a place like that is likely relatively easy to secure.

 

No, I had no idea. I thought it had to be before Kennedy. I probably would have guessed Ike.

 

Truman was actually stopped by law enforcement not long after he left the presidency. He and Bess decided to give a new car (hers, IIRC) a real tryout and drive it from Independence to Washington D.C. for their first return visit. I believe it was a Pennsylvania state trooper who pulled him over for blocking traffic. Harry apparently got ticked off at people exceeding the speed limit. A book was written, oh, maybe 10 years ago or so about the Trumans' "road trip" back to Washington.

 

In 1776 the Framers declared independence from England and decided to form the United States of America in the name of freedom of (only protestant Christianity) religion.