Who's buried in Grants Tomb?

1st Question: Who is buried in Grants Tomb?
2nd Question: Where are the other US presidents buried?
3rd Question: Are US presidents now buried at their libraries?

There used to be an old joke since the 1950s used as a low ball/easy question for a contest:

"Who is buried in Grant's Tomb?" The expected answer is Ulysses S. Grant, but he is not buried there technically (he is entombed there). But where are US presidents buried?

Since Hoover, all presidents have been buried at their presidential libraries/ museums except for Franklin Roosevelt (at his home in Hyde Park, NY), John Kennedy (at Arlington National Cemetery) and Lyndon Johnson (at his ranch in Johnson City, TX). Those six are:

• Herbert Hoover - West Branch, IA
• Harry Truman - Independence, MO
• Dwight Eisenhower - Abilene, KS
• Richard Nixon - Yorba Linda, CA
• Gerald Ford - Grand Rapids, MI
• Ronald Reagan - Simi Valley, CA
• George H.W. Bush - College Station, TX

But what about the rest? 

An obvious choice would be to be buried on the grounds of a family estate. For those presidents who had such large estates, this is usually the case for 9 of them:

• George Washington at Mount Vernon (Mount Vernon, VA)
• Thomas Jefferson at Monticello (Charlottesville, VA)
• James Madison at Montpelier (near Orange, VA)
• Andrew Jackson at Hermitage (Hermitage, TN)
• Andrew Johnson at the Andrew Johnson House (Greeneville, TN)
• James Polk at Polk Place (Nashville, TN) but moved to the Tennessee State Capitol
• Rutherford Hayes at Spiegel Grove (Fremont, OH)
• Franklin Roosevelt at Springwood (Hyde Park, NY)
• Lyndon Johnson at LBJ Ranch / Texas White House (Stonewall, TX)

There are other presidents with family estates but were not buried there (James Monroe's Oak Hill, James Buchanan's Wheatland, James Garfield's Lawnfield, Theodore Roosevelt's Sagamore Hill, and John Kennedy's Kennedy Compound). 

Several US presidents were of such importance during their lives that separate tombs and memorials were created. Surprisingly, there are only 5 such Presidents:

• William Henry Harrison - William Henry Harrison Tomb and Monument in North Bend, OH
• Abraham Lincoln - Lincoln Tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, IL
• Ulysses Grant - Grant's Tomb in New York City, NY.
• William McKinley - McKinley National Memorial in Canton, OH
• Warren Harding - Harding Memorial in Marion, OH

Five US presidents have been buried in special locations, mainly churches or Arlington National Cemetery:

• John Adams and John Quincy Adams - United First Parish Church in Quincy, MA
• William Taft - Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA
• Woodrow Wilson - Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC
• John Kennedy - Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA

Nine US Presidents are buried in a cemetery near or in their hometowns. These graves can have monuments, mausoleums, or tombs associated with them:

• Martin Van Buren - Kinderhook Cemetery in Kinderhook, NY
• Zachary Taylor - Zachary Taylor National Cemetery in Louisville, KY
• Millard Fillmore - Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo, NY
• Franklin Pierce - Old North Cemetery in Concord, NH
• James Buchanan - Woodward Hill Cemetery in Lancaster, PA
• James Garfield - Lakeview Cemetery in Cleveland, OH
• Benjamin Harrison - Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, IN
• Theodore Roosevelt - Youngs Memorial Cemetery in Oyster Bay, NY
• Calvin Coolidge: Notch Cemetery in Plymouth Notch, VT. 

There are four US Presidents who are buried in cemeteries somewhat close to their hometowns. 

• James Monroe: Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, VA with a cast iron cage-like tomb. 
• John Tyler: Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, VA next to James Monroe
• Chester Arthur: Family plot in Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands, NY
• Grover Cleveland: Princeton Cemetery in Princeton, NJ (born in NJ but lived in NY)

So what does the future hold? Apparently Jimmy Carter wishes to be buried near his home in Plains, GA and not at the Carter Center. As for the rest, we don't know.

In the end, there has not been a "standard" presidential burial. Some have small graves in a small cemetery. Others are entombed on their large family estates. Surprisingly, most do not have large monuments or memorials to their memories. The last two US Presidents with a separate memorial may not be considered memorial by today's standards. However, a Presidential Library and Museum today could be considered a separate memorial. I guess we'll be seeing more and more of such monuments to US Presidents in the future. The days of a plain grave in a small cemetery are probably over. Coolidge was the last of them. He was quoted as saying: 

"We draw our Presidents from the people... I came from them. I wish to be one of them again."

What was THE only Confederate Territory of America?

1st Question: How many states were in the Confederate States of America?
2nd Question: How many territories were in the CSA?
3rd Question: Did Arizona really want to be part of the CSA?

At the end of 1861, the first provisional Congress of the Confederate States of America met. The seal and flag of the CSA had 13 stars which include the 11 states who officially voted to secede from the Union (VA, NC, SC, GA, FL, Al, MS, TN, AR, LA, and TX) as well as MO and KY who never seceded but had factions in them that were pro-CSA.

So the Confederacy that most of us know about is this:

But something odd happened down in the southwestern part of the US, in the New Mexico Territory. That territory was the only region in the "South" that the Confederate States of America could try to claim. But things were already brewing in that territory, back in 1854. Governing large territories like New Mexico can be difficult as populations are spread out. The populous town of Tucson was far the capital, Santa Fe, and without governmental support. Therefore, New Mexico wanted to create a separate territory. They petitioned Congress to act but nothing was done.

Several version of how to divide New Mexico were created. The New Mexico Legislature wanted a north-south border at the 109 deg W meridian. The people around Tucson pushed for an east-west border at the 33 deg 45 minute line from California to Texas. But these suggestions were not accepted by the US Congress. As the Civil War began, frustration with the federal government had been on going for at least 10 years. In Mesilla, they voted to seceded from the US and join the CSA. Their "Ordinance of Secession" lists their greivances: failure to provide protection against savages, denied them the right to form a government to administer laws, and loss of mail service. But official recognition from the CSA would take an invading Confederate army lead by John Baylor to remove Union forces near Mesilla. On August 1, 1861, Baylor proclaimed the area of New Mexico south of the 34th parallel as the Territory of Arizona for the Confederate States of America. It was proclaimed by Jefferson Davis, President of the CSA, on February 14, 1862. 

The US Congress attempted to invalidate the CSA claim to this territory by creating its own Arizona Territory in February 1863 by dividing New Mexico along the 109th deg W meridian. This effectively split the CSA's territory in half and not recognizing it. There were no delegates from Southern states to block its creation. 

The CSA Arizona territory would collapse with Union troops moving back into the area in 1862, the CSA government would flee from Mesilla to San Antonio. However, it did keep its Congressional Delegate. It would "officially" disappear with the collapse of the CSA at the end of the Civil War. 

The Confederacy had hoped to reach California and gain access to its resources and an outlet to the Pacific Ocean. While this plan was not successful, Arizona should be remembered with the other 13 states as being part of the Confederacy as show in this map:

But this odd link with the Confederacy does not stop there. The people of the Arizona Territory were allowed to join the Union as a state with their enabling act in 1910. While forming their state constitution, one contentious topic was the ability of voters to recall judges. The Arizona state constitution with this provision was approved by delegates (on party lines) and the territorial voters. But it was vetoed by President Taft in 1911. By December 1911, an amended state constitution without the judge recall clause was approved. Arizona was then approved for statehood. Apparently, some Arizona settlers hoped to be admitted into the Union on February 12th which was the birthday of President Lincoln who had help create the territory in 1863 (almost 50 years prior). However, Taft was apparently "busy". Internet searches indicate he spoke about the need for national parks,visited the Essex Troop Armory in Newark, NJ, and spoke at a Lincoln Day dinner of the NY Republicans (discussed the dangers of the Progressive movement). Anecdotally, Taft did not want to sign the proclamation of statehood on the 13th as it was bad luck. Therefore, it was signed on February 14, 1912, and Arizona became a state. Rebelliously, these new citizen restored the recall of judges into their constitution in November 1912. 

As for this link with the Confederacy? The date of statehood (February 14, 1912) is fifty years to the day that President Davis proclaimed its existence as a territory of the CSA. An accident, I'm sure...