Author: Charles River Charles River Editors
Publisher:
Published: 2013-09-05
Total Pages: 314
ISBN-13: 9781492337126
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Includes pictures Every American can easily recite the highlights of the "Father of Our Country". The remarkable Virginian led an under-resourced rag-tag army to ultimate victory in the American Revolution before becoming the nation's first president, setting every precedent for the executive branch of the new government, from forming a "Cabinet" to limiting himself to two terms. Nobody spent more time in the thick of America's political debates than Thomas Jefferson, one of the most famous and revered Americans. Jefferson was instrumental in all of the aforementioned debates, authoring the Declaration of Independence, laying out the ideological groundwork of the notion of states' rights, leading one of the first political parties, and overseeing the expansion of the United States during his presidency. Before the United States of America even existed, the first American celebrity was Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790). Franklin was an author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat, and he used his unique status as an international celebrity to become the colonies' best diplomat. Unfortunately, one of the best known aspects of Hamilton's (1755-1804) life is the manner in which he died, shot and killed in a famous duel with Aaron Burr in 1804. But Hamilton started as an orphaned child in the West Indies before becoming one of the most instrumental Founding Fathers of the United States in that time, not only in helping draft and gain support for the U.S. Constitution but in also leading the Federalist party and building the institutions of the young federal government as Washington's Secretary of Treasury. Today James Madison's legacy mostly pales in comparison to the likes of George Washington, Ben Franklin and his closest colleague, Thomas Jefferson, but Madison's list of important accomplishments is monumental. A lifelong statesman, Madison was the youngest delegate at the Continental Congress from 1780-83, and at 36 he was one of the youngest men who headed to Philadelphia for the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Despite his age, he was the Convention's most influential thinker, and the man most responsible for the final draft of the U.S. Constitution. Schoolchildren can recite the life story of Lincoln, the "Westerner" who educated himself and became a self made man, rising from lawyer to leader of the new Republican Party before becoming the 16th President of the United States. Lincoln successfully navigated the Union through the Civil War but didn't live to witness his crowning achievement, becoming the first president assassinated. Teddy is on Mount Rushmore and might be America's greatest 20th century president, but if he's not it might be because of his own relative. Whether Franklin Delano Roosevelt was America's greatest 20th century president or not, there's no question that he was the most unique. A well-connected relative of Theodore Roosevelt, FDR was groomed for greatness until he was struck down by what was widely believed to be polio at the time. Nevertheless, he persevered, rising through New York politics to reach the White House just as the country faced its greatest challenge since the Civil War, beginning his presidency with one of the most iconic lines ever spoken during an inaugural address. The life and legend of Dr. King have been told to every American, many of whom come away equating King with the Civil Rights Movement as a whole. But King's life was about far more than leading movements and having dreams.
