Thomas Jefferson
One of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America, Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. During the American Revolution, he represented Virginia in the Continental Congress and served as its Governor from 1779 to 1781. In 1785, Jefferson became the Union States Minister to France. From 1790 to 1793, when George Washington was the President of the United States of America, he became the nation’s first Secretary of State. Later, he was elected the second Vice President of the United States, serving under John Adams, and afterward became the third President of the country (1801-1809). The First Barbary War, the purchase of Louisiana, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the Red River Expedition, and the Pike Expedition were some of the important events during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson. He also adopted a national policy to assimilate the American Indians.
Andrew Jackson
Formerly a soldier turned statesman, Andrew Jackson was the Seventh President of the United States of America (1829-1837), mostly known for his efforts to advance the rights of the common man against aristocratic corruption. Previously, Jackson served as a member of the U.S. Senate representing Tennessee, and then as a Justice in the Tennessee Supreme Court. Jackson was also the General of the U.S. and Allied Forces, and the Treaty of Fort Jackson compelled the Creek Confederacy to surrender millions of acres in modern-day Georgia and Alabama. Later, he led the U.S. forces in the First Seminole War and annexed Florida from Spain. He is also remembered for paying off the national debt and signing the Indian Removal Act of 1830 which compelled the indigenous tribes to remain cocooned to the Indian Territory in the South.
John C. Calhoun
The Seventh Vice President of the United States (1825-1832), John C. Calhoun was a strong defender of slavery and conceptualizing minority rights in politics. Calhoun served under John Adams and Andrew Jackson but had a troubled relationship with the latter because of the Nullification Crisis. He was known as the Cast Iron Man for his staunch pro-South stance advocating slavery, which he considered a ‘positive good’ rather than a ‘necessary evil’.
Wendell Phillips
Wendell Phillips was an American Abolitionist who advocated for the complete abolition of slavery from the United States of America, apart from championing the cause of the Native Americans. He was a graduate of the Harvard Law School and was practicing law in Boston when he was initiated into the anti-slavery cause by William Lloyd Garrison, the editor of the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator. This was a life-changing event for Phillips, and he abandoned his practice to devote his full time and energy to the abolitionist cause. He was a frequent speaker in the meetings of the American Anti-Slavery Society and came to be known as ‘Abolition’s Golden Trumpet’ for his oratorical excellence. Phillips also penned an essay entitled “No Union with Slaveholders”, which was published in 1845.
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was the 41st United States Secretary of State when Woodrow Wilson was the President of the country. He was a leader of the Democratic Party, which thrice nominated him for the Presidential Election. This versatile man was an avid advocate of Prohibition, a promoter of Florida real estate during the land boom in the 1920s, and an antagonist of Darwinism on religious grounds. Owing to his faith and support in the common people, he was known as ‘The Great Commoner’.
Woodrow Wilson
Wilson was a doctorate in political science from Johns Hopkins University and was an academician before entering politics. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected the Governor of New Jersey (911-1913). He then contested in the presidential election of 1912 and went on to become the 28th President of the United States, serving the nation from 1913 to 1921 in two successive terms. Wilson is best remembered as a President for his banking reforms and lowering the tariffs, of which he spoke in his inaugural address. He was also an avid advocate of labor legislation. Also, it was during his presidency that the Supreme Court declared child labor unconstitutional in 1918.
Herbert Hoover
An American businessperson and Republican, Herbert Hoover served as the Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s, before becoming the 31st President of the United States (1929-1933). It was during his presidency that the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression occurred, which naturally overshadowed his reforms and programs. Hoover tried his best to restore the economy of the country following the 1929 market crash, but his policy of raising taxes in order to create a balanced budget was, according to economists, not perhaps the best measure to address the Great Depression. Hoover lost to Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1932 election, and since then became a conservation antagonist to Roosevelt’s foreign policies, particularly the New Deal.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
A member of the Democratic Party, Franklin D. Roosevelt was a descendant of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States. He defeated Herbert Hoover in the landslide election of 1932 to become the 32nd President of the country. Roosevelt held the record of winning the presidential election four times and remained the President until he died in 1945. Most of his time in the office was spent fighting the Great Depression, to which he responded by implementing the New Deal and reforming foreign policies. Roosevelt is often considered one of the greatest American presidents of all time, sharing the list with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. In the Second World War, Roosevelt joined hands with the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin, and the Chinese General Chiang Kai-Shek to fight the Axis Powers. He did not live long enough though to see the defeat of the Axis Powers, which surrendered to the Allies a few months after his death, during the presidency of Harry Truman.
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, is renowned for his leadership during the American Civil War, his unwavering commitment to preserving the Union, and his issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, which marked a critical step toward the abolition of slavery. His eloquent Gettysburg Address and his dedication to the principles of democracy have solidified his status as one of America's greatest leaders. Lincoln's tragic assassination in 1865 left a lasting legacy, and he is often celebrated for his role in shaping the nation's history and identity.
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft served as the 27th President of the United States from 1909 to 1913. He was known for his substantial contributions to constitutional law as a judge and for his trust-busting efforts as President, breaking up several monopolies. Taft also expanded the civil service system and advocated for global peace through arbitration. After his presidency, he became the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, making him the only individual to hold both positions in U.S. history.
