John Smith: found Jamestown 

John Rolfe: husband of pocahontas, first settler in Virginia colony to grow tobacco for export 

John Winthrop: Puritan founder of Massachusetts

Anne Hutchinson: puritan spiritual advisor, religious reformer, 

William Penn: Quaker founder of Pennsylvania

King George III: lost the American colonies

Thomas Paine: wrote Common Sense and Crisis papers, helped influence the American Revolution

Thomas Jefferson: 3rd president, led Louisiana Purchase

• Diplomatic approach, prioritizing negotiation 

• Author of declaration of independence 

• Leader of democratic republican party

George Washington: military command of continental army, 1st president and established a lot of presidential precedents 

Alexander Hamilton: wrote 51 federalist papers 

John Marshall: laid foundations for Supreme Court’s role as ultimate interpreter of Constitution

• Paved the way for expansion of the federal government

Patrick Henry: impassioned speech writer that stirred public sentiment towards independence 

• Virginia’s leading advocate 

• Helped create the First Continental Congress 

John Jay: wrote 5 federalist papers, first chief justice of supreme court, “Jay Treaty” with britain to resolve post revolutionary war tensions  

Daniel Webster: supported the tariff of 1828

• Protector of northern industrial interests

• Advocated renewal and opposed Jackson’s financial policy 

James Madison: wrote 29 federalist papers, father of constitution, 4th president, advocated for ratification  

John Quincy Adams: 6th president, negotiated the Treaty of Ghent, strong stance against slavery as a Congressman

• Lost the election to andrew jackson during corrupt bargain accusations 

Andrew Jackson: seventh President of the United States, serving from 1829 to 1837, who is most notably known for his populist appeal, expansion of democracy to include more white men, and his controversial role in the Indian Removal Act

John C. Calhoun: defended states’ rights, nullification (South Carolina), and slavery 

• Leading voice in sectional conflict

Henry Clay: prominent Whig politician who championed the “American System” of economic development 

• Infrastructure improvements 

• Brokered political compromises like the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850

• “The Great Pacificator” but advocated for war with Britain 

• Helped resolve the Nullification Crisis from Jackson

• Corrupt bargain involvement

Lewis and Clark: expedition to explore the louisiana territory, 1804-1806

• Mapped uncharted territory, established trade, recorded information on the nature

James Monroe: issued the Monroe Doctrine, declared US would not tolerate further colonization

• Major turning point in US foreign policy 

• His presidency is referred to as the “Era of Good Feelings”

James Polk: 11th US president who significantly expanded american territory through the annexation of Texas and the Mexican-American War, expansionist agenda

• Acquisition of present-day Southwest 

• Solidified the concept of Manifest Destiny

• Aggressive expansionist policies 

• Aggressive, militaristic expansion strategy, nationalist 

John O’ Sullivan: coined the term manifest destiny to promote annexation of Texas and Oregon Country to the US

Stephen Douglas: championed concept of popular sovereignty, allowed territories to decide for themselves whether to permit slavery

• Escalated tensions leading up to Civil War

• Passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act which repealed the Missouri Compromise

• Heated debates with Abraham Lincoln 

Abraham Lincoln: 16th president, led the union to victory against confederacy, issued the emancipation proclamation to free slaves in rebellious states, aimed to preserve the union 

• His platform against slavery expansion triggered the secession of several southern states

  • Led to the Civil War

Thaddeus Stevens: prominent leader of the Radical Republicans during Reconstruction era

• Advocated for civil rights and equality for formerly enslaved people

• Policies like land redistribution to freed slaves

• Worked to enfranchise black americans through legislation 

  • Civil rights bill of 1866 and 14th amendment 

• Opposition to president johnson, pushed for harsher measures against the South

Charles Sumner: prominent abolitionist senator from Massachusetts, known for fierce anti-slavery rhetoric: “Crime Against Kansas” speech

• Advocated for civil rights for former slaves through 13th and 14th amendments 

• Got caned in the senate chamber which became symbol of growing sectional tensions 

Wyatt Earp: reputation as a gunslinger and lawman in rough frontier towns, engaged in a shootout with the Clanton gang

• Role as lawman in a lawless environment highlights challenges of maintaining order in the wild west

• Shootout was a pivotal event in Western history as example of frontier violence 

• Reputation encapsulates the chaotic and violent aspects of westward expansion 

Sitting Bull: prominent Native American leader who led his tribe against the US at the battle of little bighorn against General George Custer

• Symbol of native american resistance against westward expansion by white settlers 

Daniel Boone: american frontiersman and legendary folk hero who created the Wilderness Road

• Fought in the revolutionary war 

• explored and settled kentucky

Buffalo Bill Cody: famous scout and indian fighter

• Symbolized the wild west myths

• Killed nearly 4300 bison which starved the indians out 

William Jennings Bryan: american lawyer, orator and politician 

• Dominant force in the democratic party

John Brown: of Harper’s Ferry, wanted to create an armed slave rebellion, raided a federal arsenal, got executed and became a martyr