James MADISON (16 March 1751, Port Conway, Virginia, USA - 28 June 1836, Montpelier, Orange, Virginia, USA)

1809 - March 4 - James Madison (1751-1836) becomes 4th President of the United States

In 1809, Madison succeeded Jefferson as president, defeating Charles C. Pinckney. His wife, Dolley Payne Todd, whom he married in 1794, brought a new social sparkle to the executive mansion. In the meantime, increasing tension with Britain culminated in the War of 1812—a... Read MORE...

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     James MONROE (28 April 1758, , Virginia, USA - 4 July 1831, Manhattan, New York, USA (New York City) (New Amsterdam) (Washington Heights))

1817 - March 4 - James Monroe (1758-1831) becomes 5th President of the United States

Elected president in 1816 over the Federalist Rufus King, and reelected without opposition in 1820, Monroe, the last of the Virginia dynasty, pursued the course of systematic tranquilization that won for his administrations the name “the era of good feeling.” He continued... Read MORE...

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     John Qunicy ADAMS (11 July 1767, Braintree, Massachusetts, USA - 23 February 1848, Washington, DC, USA)

1825 - March 4 - John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) becomes 6th President of the United States

When no presidential candidate received a majority of electoral votes in 1824, Adams, with the support of Henry Clay, was elected by the House in 1825 over Andrew Jackson, who had the original plurality. Adams had ambitious plans of government activity to foster internal... Read MORE...

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     Andrew JACKSON (15 March 1767, Lancaster, Waxhaws, South Carolina, USA - 8 June 1845, Nashville, Tennessee, USA)

1829 - March 4 - Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) becomes 7th President of the United States.

As president, Jackson greatly expanded the power and prestige of the presidential office and carried through an unprecedented program of domestic reform, vetoing the bill to extend the United States Bank, moving toward a hard-money currency policy, and checking the program... Read MORE...

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     Martin VAN BUREN (5 December 1782, Kinderhook, New York, USA - 24 July 1862, Kinderhook, New York, USA)

1837 - March 4 - Martin Van Buren (1782-1862) becomes 8th President of the United States

In 1832, Van Buren became vice president; in 1836, president. The Panic of 1837 overshadowed his term. He attributed it to the overexpansion of the credit and favored the establishment of an independent treasury as repository for the federal funds. In 1840, he established a ... Read MORE...

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     William Henry HARRISON (9 February 1773, Charles City, Virginia, USA - 4 April 1841, Washington, DC, USA)

1841 - March 4 - William Henry Harrison (1773-1841) becomes 9th President of the United States - dies one month after assuming the office.

Nominated for president in 1835 as a military hero whom the conservative politicians hoped to be able to control, he ran surprisingly well against Van Buren in 1836. Four years later, he defeated Van Buren but caught pneumonia and died in Washington on April 4, 1841, a... Read MORE...

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     John TYLER (29 March 1790, Charles City, Virginia, USA - 18 January 1862, Richmond, Virginia, USA)

1841 - April 4 - John Tyler (1790-1862) becomes 10th President of the United States.

Elected vice president on the Whig ticket in 1840, Tyler succeeded to the presidency on Harrison's death. His strict-constructionist views soon caused a split with the Henry Clay wing of the Whig party and a stalemate on domestic questions. Tyler's more considerable... Read MORE...

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     James Knox POLK (2 November 1795, Pineville, Mecklenburg, North Carolina, USA - 15 June 1849, Nashville, Tennessee, USA)

1845 - March 4 - James K. Polk (1795-1849) becomes 11th President of the United States

When James K. Polk accepted the Democratic Party's nomination for the presidency, he was not very well known. The Whig opposition party played on his obscurity, sniping, "Who is James K. Polk?" An experienced speaker, Polk surprised everyone when he campaigned vigorously... Read MORE...

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     Zachary TAYLOR (24 November 1784, Barboursville, Montebello, Orange County, Virginia, USA - 9 July 1850, Washington, DC, USA)

1849 - March 4 - Zachary Taylor (1784-1850) becomes 12th President of the United States. He dies in office after 16 months.

During the revival of the slavery controversy, which was to result in the Compromise of 1850, Taylor began to take an increasingly firm stand against appeasing the South; but he died in Washington on July 9, 1850, during the fight over the Compromise.

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     Millard FILLMORE (7 January 1800, Locke, Cayuga, New York, USA - 8 March 1874, Buffalo, New York, USA)

1850 - July 9 - Millard Fillmore (1800-1874) becomes 13th President of the United States

As president, Fillmore associated himself with the pro-Southern Whigs, supporting the Compromise of 1850. Defeated for the Whig nomination in 1852, he ran for president in 1856 as candidate of the American, or Know-Nothing, Party, which sought to unite the country against... Read MORE...

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     Franklin PIERCE (23 November 1804, , New Hampshire, USA - 8 October 1869, Concord, New Hampshire, USA)

1853 - March 4 - Franklin Pierce (1804-1869) becomes 14th President of the United States

As president, Pierce followed a course of appeasing the South at home and of playing with schemes of territorial expansion abroad. The failure of his foreign and domestic policies prevented his renomination.

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     James BUCHANAN (23 April 1791, Cove Gap, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, USA - 1 June 1868, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA)

1857 - March 4 - James Buchanan (1791-1868) becomes 15th President of the United States - the only bachelor to be President.

He was elected president in 1856, defeating John C. Frémont, the Republican candidate, and former President Millard Fillmore of the American Party. The growing crisis over slavery presented Buchanan with problems he lacked the will to tackle. His appeasement of the South... Read MORE...

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     Abraham LINCOLN (12 February 1809, , Kentucky, USA - 15 April 1865, Washington, DC, USA)

1861 - March 4 - Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) becomes 16th President of the United States.

Lincoln's inaugural address was stirring. He appealed for the preservation of the Union. To retain his support in the North without further alienating the South, he called for compromise. He promised he would not initiate force to maintain the Union or interfere with... Read MORE...

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