16 most significant figures for APUSH

Study these guys to know all the figures APUSH expects you to know.

Benjamin Franklin Period 3 (1754–1800)

• Key Founding Father and Enlightenment thinker

• Proposed Albany Plan of Union (1754) → early call for colonial unity (rejected)

• Helped write the Declaration of Independence (1776)

• Served as U.S. diplomat to France during the American Revolution → helped secure French alliance

• Attended the Constitutional Convention (1787)

Thomas Paine (1776)

• Wrote Common Sense (1776) → urged colonists to declare independence from Britain

• Used Enlightenment ideas (natural rights, consent of the governed)

• Common Sense was widely read and convinced many ordinary colonists to support independence

• Later wrote The American Crisis (motivational for troops during war)

George Washington Period 3 (1754–1800)

• Commander of Continental Army during American Revolution

• Presided over the Constitutional Convention (1787)

• Became 1st U.S. President (1789–1797)

• Established key precedents: 2-term limit, creation of a cabinet, neutral foreign policy

• Issued Farewell Address (1796):

  • Warned against political parties

  • Warned against foreign entanglements

John Adams (1797–1801)

• 2nd president of the U.S.; Federalist

• Passed Alien and Sedition Acts → restricted immigration & speech against gov’t → angered Democratic-Republicans

• Faced XYZ Affair → nearly went to war with France, but avoided it = strengthened executive diplomacy

• Lost to Jefferson in Election of 1800 → peaceful transfer = “Revolution of 1800”

Thomas Jefferson (1801–1809)

• 3rd U.S. president; Democratic-Republican

• Elected in the Revolution of 1800 → peaceful party transfer of power

• Louisiana Purchase (1803) → doubled U.S. land (used loose interpretation despite strict views)

• Sent Lewis and Clark to explore west

• Passed Embargo Act (1807) → stopped U.S. trade to avoid war with Britain/France → hurt U.S. economy

James Madison (1809–1817)

• 4th U.S. president; Democratic-Republican

• Known as “Father of the Constitution” (helped write it + Federalist Papers)

• Led U.S. through the War of 1812 vs. Britain

• War sparked by British impressment, trade interference, and Native conflicts

• War ended with Treaty of Ghent (1814) → no land gained or lost

Alexander Hamilton Period 3 (1754–1800)

• Federalist leader; 1st Secretary of the Treasury

• Wrote most of The Federalist Papers (supported Constitution)

• Created financial plan: federal assumption of state debt, national bank, excise tax (e.g. on whiskey)

• His policies favored the elite, merchants, strong central gov’t

• Led to opposition by Jefferson → formed Democratic-Republican Party. Advocated for a strong federal government, had major influence on U.S. financial system.

Andrew Jackson (1829–1837)

• 7th president; founder of the Democratic Party

• Championed the “common man”; expanded white male suffrage

• Used veto power aggressively (e.g., vetoed Bank of the U.S. recharter)

• Indian Removal Act (1830) → led to Trail of Tears

• Fought Nullification Crisis → SC tried to nullify tariff, Jackson threatened force

Henry Clay Period, 4 (1800–1848), Period 5 (1844–1877).

• “The Great Compromiser” – helped delay Civil War through sectional deals

• Creator of the American System:

  • Internal improvements (roads, canals)

  • Protective tariffs

  • National Bank

• Key compromises:

  • Missouri Compromise (1820) – kept slave/free balance

  • Compromise Tariff (1833) – ended Nullification Crisis

  • Compromise of 1850 – tried to settle slavery issue in new territories

Abraham Lincoln (1844–1877)

• 16th president; elected in 1860 → South seceded after his win

• Originally wanted to preserve the Union, not end slavery

• Issued Emancipation Proclamation (1863) → changed Civil War goal to ending slavery

• Gave Gettysburg Address → redefined war as fight for democracy and equality

• Pushed 13th Amendment to abolish slavery

• Assassinated (1865) just after Union victory

Jane Adams Period 7 (1890–1945)

• Leading Progressive Era reformer

• Founded Hull House (1889) in Chicago → helped poor immigrants with housing, education, jobs

• Promoted settlement houses: community centers for the urban poor

• Advocated for women’s suffrage, child labor laws, and peace

• Won Nobel Peace Prize (1931)

Woodrow Wilson (1913–1921)

• 28th president; Progressive Democrat

• Passed Federal Reserve Act → created modern banking system

• Strengthened antitrust laws (Clayton Antitrust Act)

• Led U.S. into World War I in 1917 to “make the world safe for democracy”

• Issued Fourteen Points → plan for peace & League of Nations

• U.S. didn’t join League (Senate rejected Treaty of Versailles)

Franklin D Roosevelt (1933–1945)

• 32nd president; elected during the Great Depression

• Launched the New Deal → government programs to fight unemployment, poverty, and bank failure

  • Examples: Social Security Act, CCC, FDIC, WPA

• Expanded role of the federal government in the economy

• Used fireside chats to build public trust

• Led U.S. during World War II

  • Gave Lend-Lease Aid before joining war

  • Led wartime mobilization at home

Lyndon B Johnson Period 8 (1945–1980).

• Became president after JFK’s assassination (1963)

• Launched the Great Society:

  • Anti-poverty programs: Medicare, Medicaid, Head Start

  • Education, housing, and civil rights reforms

• Signed Civil Rights Act (1964) → banned segregation

• Signed Voting Rights Act (1965) → protected Black voting rights

• Escalated U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War

  • Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave him war powers

Martin Luther King jr. Period 8 → 1945–1980

• Baptist minister and leader of the Civil Rights Movement

• Advocated for nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience

• Led Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–1956) after Rosa Parks' arrest

• Delivered "I Have a Dream" speech during the March on Washington (1963)

• Helped push for:

  • Civil Rights Act (1964) – banned segregation

  • Voting Rights Act (1965) – protected Black voting rights

• Assassinated in 1968

Ronald Reagan Period 9 (1980–Present)

• 40th U.S. President; led a conservative resurgence

• Advocated supply-side economics (“Reaganomics”) → tax cuts, deregulation, reduced social programs

• Increased military spending → escalated Cold War pressure on USSR

• Famous speech: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

• Promoted “traditional values” and appealed to the Religious Right

• Iran-Contra Scandal hurt credibility → U.S. sold arms secretly and funded Nicaraguan rebels