Presidents 12-14

Margaret Smith

12

Due to 6 pregnancies and poor health, his first lady spent much of her time in the family quarters of the White House

12

Betty served as social hostess in the White House

12

His first lady is rumored to have enjoyed smoking a corn-cob pipe

12

His daughter Sarah married Jefferson Davis

12

Descendant of Mayflower leader William Brewster

12

Second cousin of James Madison

12

Third cousin of Robert E. Lee

12

Old Rough and Ready

12

Nickname was because of his fighting record and lack of fashion sense

12

Fought in the War of 1812, the Second Seminole War, and the Mexican-American War

12

Fame from the Battle of Buena Vista (never lost a battle in his professional career)

12

Quit the army when Polk reassigned his men to Winfield Scott before the big Mexico City invasion

12

First president to NOT serve in Congress or the Continental Congress

12

Won the presidential nomination over Clay but refused to pay the 10-cent postage due on the official notification for several days

12

Department of the Interior was newly created during his administration (og name: Home Department)

12

Defeated Lewis Cass in a close election

12

Postponed the inauguration because it fell on a Sunday - David Rice Atchison covered for the day

12

His horse was named Whitey

12

Dealt with the rising debate over the admission of California and New Mexico

12

One SOTU adress: called for a transcontinental railroad, aid for agriculture, higher tariff (bc of Mexico war) (TAT)

12

Died mysteriously after supervising in the hot sun. some say he died from arsenic poisoning - ate milk and cherries that day - but official death records still say he died from cholera and acute indigestion

12

Civil Disobedience

12

Harriet Tubman escaped along the Underground Railroad

12

Levi Strauss invents blue jeans - sold to miners

12

Named for his mother's maiden name

13

First president to have a stepmother

13

Abigail Powers - avid reader, curved bookshelves, died 1 month after MF left the presidency

13

Caroline Carmichael McIntosh (wealthy widow)

13

Grew up with only one book - the family bible

13

Inspired by Abigail, a schoolteacher, to buy his way out of an apprenticeship to a clothmaker (he was actually an indentured servant)

13

Unsuccessful in his bid to become Governor of New York

13

Helped found the University of Buffalo (First chancellor)

13

Know-Nothing Party after his term

13

In the White House, he installed a bathtub with running water, a cast iron stove for cooking, and a library in the Oval Office

13

Sent Matthew Perry to the Far East to start trade with Japan

13

Supported the Compromise of 1850, which spelled doom for Whig

13

Called for the resignation of Taylor's cabinet because he felt that they steered him the wrong way

13

Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" published

13

Herman Melville's "Moby Dick" published

13

Maine bans alcohol

13

Elisha Otis invents the safety elevator

13

Bowdoin College - lowest grades in his class - with Hawthorne, who would later publish his biography

14

His father, Benjamin, was a lieutenant for the Continental Army in the American Revolution

14

Jane Means Appleton

14

His wife hated Washington and did not like him becoming president - collapsed when she heard the news. This, along with the death of her son, kept her from attending any inaugural or white house events for 2 years

14

Benny died in front of his parents at age 11 in a train accident

14

He was so successful as a lawyer that he turned down the position of Attorney General

14

Won a seat on the New Hampshire state legislature the same year his father was re-elected Governor of New Hampshire

14

2 terms - Hampshire House, 1 term US Senator

14

His wife so disliked Washington that she refused to live with him while he served in Congress

14

Fought in the Mexican-American War under Scott, multiple fainting spells

14

Never even gave a single speech in his campaign

14

Alcoholic and drank himself to death after his wife died

14

His cabinet is the only one in US history to remain unchanged during a four-year term

14

Defeated Winfield Scott

14

Gadsden Purchase

14

Unsuccessful in purchasing Cuba - tried to utilize the Ostend Manifesto (co written by 15)

14

Upset Northerners with the Kansas-Nebraska Act

14

Opened trade with Japan

14

Installed the first coal-burning furnace and central heating in the white house

14

Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper (first weekly newsmagazine in the US)

14

Legendary fight in the Senate - Preston Brooks and Charles Sumner

14

Did not receive the Democratic nomination for re-election mainly because of the Kansas-Nebraska Act

14