Since five of our last seven presidents were left-handed—Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush are the exceptions—you might expect to find some among the founders. But Ben Franklin seems to be the only one commonly known as a southpaw. (He always was a little different.)
Legend has it that there were sinister connotations attached to being a lefty way back when, though there is little evidence of that being the case in 18th-century Williamsburg. It simply wasn’t much commented on.
And there’s evidence that some accommodations were made for left-handedness when it came to firearms. Since it would have been impractical to make a person shoot from the “wrong” side, many flint lock guns were made for lefties.
Evidence also suggests there were plenty of left-handed writers in those days, so it doesn’t seem that much of an effort was made to force people to learn to be right-handed, either. Stories of coercing right-handedness, especially in schools, began to appear much later in the 19th century.
Although a righty, Thomas Jefferson reportedly taught himself to write with his left hand after dislocating his wrist in France in 1786. While he was serving as the American envoy, he met—and apparently had feelings for—a much younger woman, Maria Cosway. Alas, she was married. The injured Jefferson penned “The Dialogue of the Head vs. the Heart” with his left hand. In the letter Jefferson called himself “the most wretched of all earthly beings” as he apparently tried to make his reason win out over his feelings for an unavailable woman. (Still, left handed. What do you think? Man of seemingly limitless skill, or total showoff?)
Who was the first president to face the indignity of smearing ink with his forearm? Why that designation belongs to none other than James Garfield, our 20th president.
I agree with Scott McAllister’s comment. Being ambidextrous myself, I totally understand the necessity of doing some things with your opposite hand. The only thing I do left-handed is write - a pun, but true. I discovered early on that using my right hand was much easier when using right-handed implements.
(And thanks for mentioning our first left-handed President! I’m a volunteer docent at the James A. Garfield National Historic Site in Mentor, OH.)
“The only thing I do left-handed is write.” Me too! By the time I got my first pair of left-handed scissors I had finally learned to use the right-handed ones. Thanks for commenting, and thanks for helping to keep history alive in Ohio.
As someone who learned to write right handed in high school, to fit the college desk, I say Thomas Jefferson was a man of limitless skill, just solving a problem. Necessity is the mother of invention. 😉
Those desks! I remember often getting stuck in the back of a classroom, or in some wayward corner, just because I couldn’t bear to be stuck with a righty desk.
I believe that sinister comes from the Latin for left….
Nice job picking up the reference! And of course, “right” also means correct in English.