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Declaration of Independence
in U.S. history, document that was approved by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, and that announced the separation of 13 North American British colonies from Great Britain. It explained why the Congress on July 2 “unanimously” by the votes of 12 colonies (with New York abstaining) had resolved that “these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be Free and Independent States.” -
George Washington
He was born on February 22, 1732, He is from Westmoreland County, Virginia. He died on December 14, 1799.
Term, 1789–1797. The first President unified the new nation and shaped the chief executive's duties. He refused to run for a third term. -
John Adams
He was born on October 30, 1735; Braintree, Massachusetts. He
died on July 4, 1826. Term, 1797–1801. Adams was the first President to live in the White House. Adams had a tough job filling Washington's shoes. His advocacy of the Alien and Sedition Acts allowed him to silence critics, but made him unpopular. He lost reelection to Thomas Jefferson. -
Thomas Jefferson
He was born on April 13, 1743. He is from Albemarle County, Virginia. He died on July 4, 1826. Term, 1801–1809. Considered the most brilliant President, he wrote the Declaration of Independence, founded the University of Virginia, and was an architect, a farmer, and a scientist. Jefferson approved the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, which nearly doubled the size of the U.S. -
James Madison
He was born on March 16, 1751; Port Conway, Virginia. He died on June 28, 1836. Term, 1809–1817. Madison is considered the father of the Bill of Rights. Madison presided over the War of 1812 with Britain, during which the White House was burned. The war ended in a draw. -
James Monroe
He was born on April 28, 1758; Westmoreland County, Virginia. He died on July 4, 1831. Term: 1817–1825. Monroe lived out his retirement in poverty. His term is called the "Era of Good Feeling" because there was little partisan fighting. He formulated the Monroe Doctrine, which declared the Americas off-limits to European meddling. -
John Quincy Adams
He was born on July 11, 1767; Braintree, Massachusetts. He died on February 23, 1848. Term, 1825–1829. John Adams and John Quincy Adams were the first father and son to have served as Presidents.
Accused of winning the White House through corruption, he was plagued by accusations of misdeeds throughout his presidency.
After his presidency, Adams served nine terms in the House of Representatives, until his death in 1848. -
Andrew Jackson
He was born on March 15, 1767; Waxhaw settlement, South Carolina. He died on June 8, 1845. Term, 1829–1837. Jackson was the first President to ride on a train. Though he was a rich planter, Jackson was considered the common people's friend. Dubbed "Old Hickory" because he was so tough, Jackson greatly expanded the powers of the Presidency. -
Martin Van Buren
He was born on December 5, 1782; Kinderhook, New York. He died on July 24, 1862. Term, 1837–1841. Van Buren was the first President to be born an American citizen, rather than a British subject. Van Buren's Presidency was marred by an economic depression that led to bank failures and food riots. He was easily defeated for reelection. -
William Henry Harrison
He was born on February 9, 1773; Berkeley, Virginia. He died on April 4, 1841. Term,1841. Harrison delivered a marathon inaugural speech during which he caught a cold. He died a month later.
Harrison was the first President to die in office and he served the briefest term. -
James Buchanan
He was born on April 23, 1791; near Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. He died on June 1, 1868. Term, 1857–1861. Buchanan was the only bachelor to ever serve in the White House. Buchanan tried in vain to find a compromise to keep the South from seceding from the Union, but failed. -
Abraham Lincoln
He was born on February 12, 1809; near Hodgenville, Kentucky. He died on April 15, 1865. Term, 1861–1865. Lincoln led the Union into the Civil War to preserve the nation and end slavery. He was assassinated just five days after the Confederate armies surrendered. Polls show that Lincoln is the most admired President. -
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American Civil War
American Civil War, also called War Between the States, four-year war (1861–65) between the United States and 11 Southern states that seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America. -
Andrew Johnson
He was born on December 29, 1808; Raleigh, North Carolina. He died on July 31, 1875. Term, 1865–1869. Succeeding Lincoln, Johnson found himself in bitter battles with Congress over Reconstruction. He was impeached and tried by the Senate, but was acquitted by one vote. Johnson was the only southern senator to stay loyal to the Union. -
Ulysses S. Grant
He was born on April 27, 1822; Point Pleasant, Ohio. He died July 23, 1885. Term, 1869–1877. Grant was born Hiram Ulysses Grant, but an error on his application to West Point changed his name to Ulysses Simpson Grant. He liked the initials so much that he kept the name. Grant was the top Union military hero of the Civil War. His two terms were marred by scandals. -
Franklin D. Roosevelt
He was born on January 30, 1882; Hyde Park, New York. He died on April 12, 1945. Term, 1933–1945. Roosevelt led the nation during the Great Depression of the 1930s and to victory in World War II (1941–1945). He also greatly expanded the size and role of the federal government through his New Deal social programs. Roosevelt is the only President elected four times. -
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World War II
On average 27,000 people were killed each day between September 1, 1939, until the formal surrender of Japan on September 2, 1945. Western technological advances had turned upon itself, bringing about the most destructive war in human history. The primary combatants were the Axis nations of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Imperial Japan, and the Allied nations, Great Britain (and its Commonwealth nations), the Soviet Union, and the United States. -
John F. Kennedy
He was born on May 29, 1917; Brookline, Massachusetts. He died on November 22, 1963. Term, 1961–1963. In 1962, the United States and the Soviet Union hovered on the brink of nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy eventually forced the Soviets to back down. He was assassinated in the third year of his term. Kennedy is the only Roman Catholic to become President.
