Time Period 4 People

Thomas Jefferson

Third president of the US. He favored a limited central government and was chief drafter of the Declaration of Independence. He approved of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and promoted ideals of republicanism. He organized the Lewis and Clark Expedition to explore the Louisiana Territory.

Henry Clay

Whig party leader known for his efforts to keep the US one nation despite sharp controversy among Americans over slavery. He represented Kentucky, first in the House of Representatives and then in the Senate. He was known as the "Great Compromiser" because of his prominent role in producing the Missouri Compromise and Compromise of 1850.

John C. Calhoun

South Carolina Senator and Vice President to Andrew Jackson. He was an advocate for state's rights, limited government, and nullification.

Tecumseh

Shawnee chief who took arms against American settlers moving into the Mid West. He supported the War of 1812, in which he was killed.

The Prophet

Shawnee Native American leader and brother of Tecumseh. He was a religious visionary who called for a return to Native American traditions and founded the community of Prophetstown on Tippecanoe Creek in Indiana.

William Henry Harrison

Hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe and ninth president of the US. As a Whig, he won the Election of 1840 on a "Log Cabin and Hard Cider" campaign, which played up his credentials as a backwoods westerner and Native American fighter. He died of pneumonia just four weeks after his inauguration.

John Marshall

Served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1801-1835. His interpretations of the Constitution in cases such as Marbury vs. Madison served to strengthen the power of the Court and federal government generally.

Aaron Burr

Served as Vice President during Thomas Jefferson's first term. After he killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel, his career declined. He was later involved in a bizarre conspiracy to sever the western states and territories from the Union. He was tried for treason but was acquitted.

James Madison

Fourth president of the US and former Secretary of State who led the nation through the War of 1812. He was a strict constructionist and father of the Constitution.

Andrew Jackson

Seventh president of the US who was a general in the War of 1812 and defeated the British at New Orleans. As president, he opposed the Bank of the US, objected to the right of individual states to nullify disagreeable federal laws, and increased the presidential powers. His presidency was known as the "era of the common man".

Francis Scott Key

Wrote the words of "The Star-Spangled Banner" while watching the British bombardment of Fort McHenry, Maryland in the War of 1812.

James Monroe

Fifth president of the US who began expansionism and the Era of Good Feelings. A leader of the Democratic-Republican Party who issued the Monroe Doctrine in 1823, supporting the independence of Spain's colonies in Central and South America. The Missouri Compromise was also reached in his presidency.

Eli Whitney

American inventor who developed the cotton gin. He also contributed to the concept of interchangeable parts that were exactly alike and easily assembled or exchanged.

Samuel Slater

Opened the first American factory in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

Cyrus McCormick

Irish-American inventor that developed the mechanical reaper in 1831, which made farming more efficient and also allowed for corporate farming.

Daniel Webster

Senator from Massachusetts, who attacked Robert Hayne, and through him John C. Calhoun, for what he considered their challenge to the integrity of the Union. He challenged Robert Hayne to a debate, not on public lands and the tariffs, but on the issue of states' rights and national power.

Nicholas Biddle

President of the Second Bank of the US. He struggled to keep the bank functioning when President Andrew Jackson tried to destroy it. He was in charge during the Bank War, where Andrew Jackson refused to deposit federal funds, which bled the bank dry. He also showed the corruption of the bank.

Martin Van Buren

"Founder of the Democratic Party" and friend of Andrew Jackson. He became president in 1836, right before the Panic of 1837. During the Panic of 1837, he put $37 million to the states but it didn't help. He spent his presidency with bank failures, bankruptcies, and massive unemployment rates.

Dorothea Dix

Activist who helped improve conditions of mental patients.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

American transcendentalist who was against slavery and stressed self-reliance, optimism, self-improvement, self-confidence, and freedom. He was a prime example of a transcendentalist and helped further the movement.

Henry David Thoreau

Heavily influential transcendentalist who criticized American market society in his novel "Walden", where he declared that the economic drive of the US led to moral tyranny and inability to appreciate the true beauty of nature.

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Originally a transcendentalist, but later rejected the teachings and became a leading antitranscendentalist. He wrote "The Scarlet Letter" which shows the hypocrisy of and insensitivity of New England Puritans by showing their cruelty to a woman who was committed adultery and is forced to wear a scarlet "A".

James Fenimore Cooper

American author known for his works set on the American frontier, such as "The Leatherstocking Tales" and "The Last of the Mohicans".

Edgar Allen Poe

Orphaned at a young age, he was an American poet, short story writer, editor, and literary critic. He's considered part of the American Romantic movement. He's best known for his tales of mystery.

Charles Grandison Finney

Presbyterian minister who appealed to his audience's sense of emotion rather than their reason. His "fire and brimstone" sermons became commonplace in Upstate New York, where listeners were instilled with the fear of Satan and an eternity in Hell. He insisted that parishioners could save themselves through good works and a steadfast faith in God.

Brigham Young

Successor of the Mormons after the death of Joseph Smith. He was responsible for the survival of the sect and its establishment in Utah, thereby populating the would-be state.

Horace Mann

Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education, he was a prominent proponent of public school reform and set the standard for public schools throughout the nation.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

With Lucretia Mott, she organized the first convention on women's rights held in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848. She issued the Declaration of Sentiments which declared men and women to be equal and demanded the right to vote for women.

Robert Owen

British cotton manufacturer who believed that humans would reveal their true natural goodness if they lived in a cooperative environment.

Walt Whitman

American poet and transcendentalist who was famous for his beliefs on nature, as demonstrated in his book, "Leaves of Grass".

Emily Dickinson

Massachusetts-born poet who, despite spending her life as a recluse, created a vivid inner world through her poetry, exploring themes of nature, love, death, and immortality. Refusing to publish her work during her lifetime, she left behind nearly two thousand poems, which were published after her death.