Harry Truman ascended to the presidency in the wake of Franklin Roosevelt’s death in 1945. Over the next seven years, Truman would be faced with the daunting challenges of transitioning a massive wartime economy back to a peacetime footing in addition to

Thomas Jefferson’s election as president in 1800 became the first time in American history power was peacefully transferred from one political party to another. Over his  eight years as president, Jefferson would roll-back a majority of Federalist policie

James Monroe was one of the most qualified men to ever serve as president. His eight years in office marked the beginning of a new, broader American foreign policy within the Western Hemisphere,  and witnessed the transformation of the country from a youn

James K. Polk achieved more success in one term as president then most presidents have in two. But after expanding the nations borders all the way to the Pacific Ocean, Polk voluntarily stepped aside, leaving less-qualified men to try and steer the ship-o

One of the most controversial figures in American history, Andrew Jackson's rise to fame was unprecedented. Rising from orphaned teenager to military hero, Jackson cultivated the image of a man of the people and used it to catapult him into the presi

John Adams was elected as America's second president in 1796 and was given the unenviable task of trying to fill the shoes of George Washington. Though Adams was able to achieve a high degree of success in foreign policy, his domestic policies, notab

John F. Kennedy's election sparked hope that a "new frontier" had dawned for the United States. But after navigating the country through multiple foreign crisis, mostly with regards to Cuba, JFK's life, and presidency, was tragically c

George Bush came into office with expectations he would carry on the legacy of the Ronald Reagan. But despite significant foreign policy successes, domestically, economic worries would prove too costly for Bush to overcome. 

Why is Washington, D.C. not a state? And how did the city that became our nations capital come to be?