News
Narjas Zatat
Nov 30, 2016
The office of US president has been mired in controversy in recent weeks. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, and those who supported her are now faced with a president who previously made comments which have been perceived as sexist, racist and unbecoming of the leader of a country.
However, before everyone loses their mind, a Kickstarter project might ease you up.
Griffin Gonzales loves American history. In primary school he was sent to the headmaster’s office for reading a book about President Millard Fillmore while his teacher was lecturing about fractions. His interest in American presidents – in the myths surrounding their success, the anecdotes left out of history books - only grew, and when he was sixteen, he designed the first Periodic Table of the Presidents on canvas tiles.
Based on the periodic table of elements, the presidents are organised into eight periods representing different eras, and eleven columns presenting traits.
The colour of each tile represents the president’s party: grey is Independent, orange is Federalist, purple is Democratic-Republican, blue is Democrat, light brown is Whig, Republican is red and National Union is yellow.
I thought it turned out pretty neat, and so I turned it into a poster and looked toward Kickstarter for help. We raised about $5,000 (£4,000) which allowed me to donate many posters to classrooms, and got me started on professional design work.
Now a student at Harvard University, and with the first editions long sold or donated to classrooms, he decided on a part two.
Gonzales, like many Americans, was disappointed with the US elections. He was so sure Hillary Clinton would win, he prematurely created and printed a few posters with the Democrat as the most recent President of the US.
I voted for the first time in this year's presidential election. I was disappointed with the result, but still have a lot of hope for what we can achieve with a Trump presidency. You can imagine that optimism is pretty rare in Massachusetts right now. I'm certain that the folks who voted for Donald Trump are not racists, they're not misogynists, they're not fascists, they're just people who are worried about the future, and didn't think the status quo was working for them. I respect that immensely.
In the first edition, he donated or sold between 200 and 300 posters to schools who have been using it as an education tool. He hopes to have similar success this time around.
Honestly, I just love presidential history, and think this is a neat poster. I love sharing them with teachers and students all over the world, as well as everybody else. This morning a paediatrician emailed me, saying that she had bought a poster to put up in the reception area of her clinic. I think that's so cool!
Gonzales knows the election was painful for many. With the project, he hopes to give people some perspective.
Through forty-five presidents now, we have had great men, and we have had scoundrels, we have had activists, and we have had slave owners. This is to say that democracy endures because our belief in it endures, regardless of whatever political circumstances may be.
He has already raised $1,630 (£1,303) of his $2,000 (£1,600) goal.
You can support his campaign, or purchase a poster here.
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