While some believe that only 44 presidents should be remembered, the other 17 need to be considered as well. The first President of the United States actually took office before the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Don't let that little bit of oddness mess up your mind and don't forget about the other Presidents either. Remember that George Washington didn't take office until 14 years AFTER the Declaration of Independence and the war of independence had started well before that time. Do you think we simply had mob rule up until George Washington came along. No, my friend, we had 17 different Presidents before him and they were just as important and colorful as the others. We also had 3 Constitutions, 3 Declaration of Independences and a large number of Civil Wars. This book fills in some of the gaps.