More nearly than any of his predecessors, Andrew Jackson was elected by popular vote; as President he sought to act as the direct representative of the common man.

Essays and primary documents about early Washington that grew out of my book Through a Fiery Trial: Building Washington 1790-1800, including material on slavery, speculators, events in 1800.

Franklin Pierce became President at a time of apparent tranquillity. The United States, by virtue of the Compromise of 1850, seemed to have weathered its sectional storm. By pursuing the recommendations of southern advisers, Pierce--a New Englander--hoped to prevent still another outbreak of that storm. But his policies, far from preserving calm, hastened the disruption of the Union.

On April 30, 1789, George Washington , standing on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York, took his oath of office as the first President of the United States.

At his inauguration, James Madison , a small, wizened man, appeared old and worn; Washington Irving described him as "but a withered little apple-John."

Early in his administration, Monroe undertook a goodwill tour. At Boston, his visi was hailed as the beginning of an " Era of Good Feelings ." Unfortunately these "good feelings" did not endure, although Monroe, his popularity undiminished, followed nationalist policies.

Often referred to as the first "dark horse" President, James Polk was the last of the Jacksonians to sit in the White House, and the last strong President until the Civil War.

Learned and thoughtful, John Adams was more remarkable as a political philosopher than as a politician.

JFK Tribute Page

The only President who was the son of a President, John Quincy Adams in many respects paralleled the career as well as the temperament and viewpoints of his illustrious father.

Dubbed "His Accidency" by his detractors, John Tyler was the first Vice President to be elevated to the office of President by the death of his predecessor.

Only about 5 feet, 6 inches tall, but trim and erect, Martin Van Buren dressed fastidiously. His impeccable appearance belied his amiability--and his humble background. Of Dutch descent, he was born in 1782, the son of a tavernkeeper and farmer, in Kinderhook, New York.

In his rise from a log cabin to wealth and the White House, Millard Fillmore demonstrated that through methodical industry and some competence an uninspiring man could make the American dream come true.

With the opening of "The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden," the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History brings together for the first time objects that represent the lives and times of the country’s 42 presidents.

In the thick of party conflict in 1800, Thomas Jefferson wrote in a private letter, "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."

President's Biography

"Give him a barrel of hard cider and settle a pension of two thousand a year on him, and my word for it," a Democratic newspaper foolishly gibed, "he will sit ... by the side of a 'sea coal' fire, and study moral philosophy. " The Whigs , seizing on this political misstep, in 1840 presented their candidate William Henry Harrison as a simple frontier Indian fighter, living in a log cabin and drinking cider, in sharp contrast to an aristocratic champagne-sipping Van Buren.

Northerners and Southerners disputed sharply whether the territories wrested from Mexico should be opened to slavery, and some Southerners even threatened secession. Standing firm, Zachary Taylor was prepared to hold the Union together by armed force rather than by compromise.