George Washington (1789-1797)
b.1732 Westmoreland County, Virginia d.1799 Mount Vernon, Virginia

• Father of our Country.
• He refused to be King.

John Adams (1797-1801)
b. 1735 Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts d. 1826 Quincy, Massachusetts

• Political adversary of Thomas Jefferson; later in life they became close friends.
• Both died on July 4th of 1826, 50 years to the day after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.

Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809)
b.1743 Goochland (now Albemarle) County, Virginia d. 1826 Monticello, Virginia

• Author of the Declaration of Independence
• Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
• Father of the University of Virginia.

James Madison, Jr. (1809-1817)
b. 1751 King George County, Virginia d. 1836 Montpelier, Virginia

• Helped frame the Bill of Rights.
• Central concept of government was the “separation of powers," a system of checks and balances which pervades the U.S. Constitution.

James Monroe (1817-1825)
b. 1758 Westmoreland County, Virginia d. 1831 New York City, New York

• Established the Monroe Doctrine, which closed America to colonization by foreign nations.

John Quincy Adams (1825-1829)
b. 1767 Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts d. 1848 Washington, D.C.

• Studied in the Netherlands at age 11, went on a diplomatic mission to Russia as a language interpreter at age 14 and negotiated a treaty with Sweden at age 15.
• Fluent in Latin, Greek, French, Dutch, Spanish and English.
• Only president to have a pet alligator.

Andrew Jackson (1829-1837)

• Birth Place: Waxhaw settlement, South Carolina
• Physical Description: 6ft. 1 in., 140lbs
• Education: Attended schools conducted by local educators for 5 years
• Religion: Presbyterian
• First Lady: Rachel Donelson Robards Jackson
• Children: Adopted one of his wife’s nephews as an infant in 1809 and named him Andrew Jackson, Jr.
• Military Service: Distinguished military career from the Revolutionary War to rank of general in the War of 1812, where he commanded U.S. forces in the Battle of New Orleans and in the First Seminole War.
• Political Party: Democratic-Republican for first term; second term as Democratic, because Republican was dropped from the name of the party
• Before The Presidency: Military service; lawyer; public prosecutor; storekeeper; farmer; Member, U.S. House of Representatives; Member, U.S. Senate; Justice of Tennessee Superior Court
• Vice President: First term – John C. Calhoun, Second term – Martin Van Buren
• Salary: $25,000/year
  Nickname: Old Hickory
• Died: June 8, 1845, at his estate, The Hermitage in Nashville, Tennessee
• Buried: The Hermitage, Nashville, Tennessee

Accomplishments & Events:

• The first “common man” and westerner to become president; the only president to have an era of history named after him: The Jacksonian Age.
  
• Staffed government vacancies with his supporters and members of his party. Known as a supporter of the “spoils system”.
  
• Established the precedent that the president can fire members of the cabinet for policy differences, expanding presidential power.
  
• Opposed the Bank of the United States as a tool of business interests.
  
• Signed the Indian Removal Act of 1830 to sell land belonging to the Cherokee Indians in the state of Georgia. The Cherokees called their expulsion from their land as their “trail of tears."
• Defied the U.S. Supreme Court which had ruled in favor of the Cherokees in affirming their rights. Jackson ordered them removed anyway.
• Admitted to the Union: Arkansas & Michigan
  Assassination Attempt: In 1835, while leaving the Capitol Building, Richard Lawrence fired a gun at the president at close range. When it failed, Lawrence fired a second gun, which also failed. The assassin was found not guilty by reason of insanity and confined to a mental institution. The two handguns were found to be in working order. The odds of both guns misfiring were 1 in 125,000.

Interesting Facts & Quotes:

• First president born in a log cabin.
  
• Only president to have been a prisoner of war; survived smallpox as a prisoner during the Revolutionary War.
  
• Came into office as a military hero from victories as a general in the War of 1812, at the Battle of New Orleans, and in the first Seminole War.
  
• Rachel Jackson was buried on Christmas Eve of 1828 just before her husband’s inauguration, her untimely death attributed to results of political attacks over their marriage.
• Duel with Charles Dickinson, May 30, 1806 – Jackson challenged Dickinson, one of the best pistol shots in the U.S., to a duel. They faced off at 8 paces and Dickinson fired the first shot, shooting Jackson near his heart. Jackson remained standing, clutching his chest, and fired at Dickinson. The gun misfired the first time, but he fired again. The bullet struck Dickinson, killing him.
• When inaugurated he had a saber slash down his forehead and two bullets in his body. The one closest to his heart came from fighting a duel, the other one was removed from his shoulder after he took office.
• First president who opened the White House for public receptions.
• First president to ride on a railroad train (1833).
• Used his Constitutional veto power more often than all his predecessors combined.
• "One man with courage makes a majority.”
• "It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their own selfish purposes.”
• Asked if he had any regrets, he said, “I did not shoot Henry Clay or hang J.C. Calhoun”.
  

Martin Van Buren (1837-1841)
b. 1782 Kinderhook, New York d. 1862 Kinderhook, New York

• He was the first president born an American citizen. All earlier presidents were born as British subjects.
• "There is a power in public opinion in this country which will not tolerate an incompetent or unworthy man to hold in his weak or wicked hand the lives and fortunes of his fellow citizens.”