In addition to having an undeniable impact on America’s history, many presidents have also had the distinction of creating or popularizing common words and phrases that are still used today. George Washington was the first to use the term “administration” as it is currently used in politics. He is also cited with having the first written usage of over thirty words, from “indoors” to “average”. Thomas Jefferson also had his fair share of contributions to the modern English language. He introduced words like “mammoth” and “belittle” to common usage, and he also came up with the word “pedicure” as a way to describe the care and treatment of feet and toenails.
Today, we know the group of men who wrote the Constitution and Declaration of Independence as the Founding Fathers. That term came to be by President Warren G. Harding, when he was a senator representing Ohio. Harding was simply known for using alliteration, which solidified the term for him during his presidential campaign. People had previously referred to the group of men as “framers”. Similarly, before Zachary Taylor, the wife of the president was usually referred to as a “presidentress”. When writing a eulogy for Dolley Madison, Taylor used the term “First Lady”. It caught on and became the eventual official term when referring to the president’s wife.