The Not So Famous Guys

Early presidents who have ended up less than revered.

#5 James Monroe

• Monroe was born to a moderately prosperous family of Virginia planters, of Scottish descent.

• He studied at Campbell Town Academy and attended William and Mary, before dropping out to serve in the Revolution.

Revolutionary War

• Monroe dropped out of the College of William and Mary to join the Continental Army in 1776.

• He was eventually promoted to Major.• He was severely wounded in his shoulder at

the Battle of Trenton in 1776, when he was only 18 years old, and spent the winter at Valley Forge.

• He was eventually sent to North Carolina to report on British activity in the area.

Political Career

• Studied Law with Jefferson• 1780 Elected to Virginia Legislature• 1783-1786 Continental Congress• 1786 Admitted to bar• 1788 Delegate to Virginia convention, where

he voted against U.S. Constitution. (Later swore allegiance to it, demonstrating objectivity and patriotism.

• 1794-1796 and 1803 Minister to France

Political Career Continued

• 1799-1803 Governor of Virginia• 1803 Minister to England• 1804 Diplomatic mission to Spain• 1806 Negotiated treaty with Britain.• 1811 Governor of Virginia• 1811-1815 Secretary of State and of War• 1817-1825 President

Monroe As President

• Vetoed bills to make internal improvements (roads, bridges, etc.), reflecting his Democratic-Republican beliefs.

• First Seminole War 1817-1818.• Purchased Florida• Supported Missouri Compromise• Monroe Doctrine (Europeans out of Western

Hemisphere)• Monroe supported the colonization of former slaves

in Africa, and Monrovia, Liberia is named for him

# 6 John Quincy Adams

• The son of Founding Father John Adams.

• Born in Braintree. Massachussetts.

• He spent most of his youth traveling in Europe with his father, where he learned to speak French, Dutch, and German.

• He graduated from Harvard at 20 years old.

J.Q.A. Career• John Quincy Adams was admitted to the bar in 1791,

and practiced law in Boston for a short time, before beginning a careere as a diplomat.

• He served as Minister to the Netherlands (at 26!), Portugal, and Prussia, as we as becoming the first United States Minister to Russia.

• Adams served briefly as a Massachussetts State Representative, and spent five years as a U.S. Senator.

• Adams was a very successful Secretary of State, creating the Monroe Doctrine, and acquired Florida.

J.Q.A. Continued• Adams became president in one of the most controversial elections in

history, being chosen over Andrew Jackson by the House of Representatives.

• Jacksonians believe Adams and Speaker of the House Henry Clay worked out a bargain to keep Jackson out of the White House, which made it difficult for Adams to get legislation passed.

• As president J.Q.A. proposed many internal improvements including the building of many new canals, road, and bridges, which he did accomplish.

• He also proposed creating a national university and a national observatory, which were both blocked by enemies in congress.

• Adams supported high protective tariffs to pay for these projects, which made him even more unpopular in the South.

• Adams was overwhelmed by Jackson in the election of 1828, but went on the serve 17 more years in the House, where he fought against slavery, and famously was the chief council in the Amistad case.

# 8 Martin Van Buren

• Humble origins in upstate NY. His father was a saloon keeper.

• Was a savvy politician, and member of an important political organization in NY.

• Made his way to the U.S. Senate

• Won favor with Jackson as his supporter in the North.

• Van Buren was the true organizer of what is today, the Democratic Party.

Van Buren Continued

• He served as governor of New York, Secretary of State, and Ambassador to Great Britain, before becoming VP to Jackson, becoming the first “coat tail” president.

• During Van Buren’s presidency the economy slipped into a panic, largely due to Jackson’s policies. This was the greatest economic downturn in US history to that point.

• Van Buren could do little to stop the economic problems in that day, and instead, continued to fight a new federal bank, required the use of hard money, and reduced government spending to almost nothing.

• His nickname became “Martin Van Ruin”.• Later he would run as president on the “Free Soil” Party, but

during his time in the presidency he did not challenge slavery.• Van Buren is most remembered as a flashy dresser.

#9 William Henry Harrison

• Harrison was born into an elite Virginia family, and was well educated.

• His intention was to be a doctor, but he was forced to quit medical school when his father died.

• Served in the Regular Army in many Indian Wars, primarily in the Northwest Territory, or what is now Ohio Indiana, and Michigan.

• He was the governor of the Indian Territory in what is now Indiana.

Harrison Continued

• He was the “hero” of the Battle of Tippecanoe, and was successful in the War of 1812.

• The Whigs picked him to be their presidential candidate because they thought he could get the same popular support that Jackson had. They depicted him as a hard drinking, hard fighting, frontiersman, none of which he really was.

• Harrison got sick and died after only a month in office, the first presidential death.

John Tyler

• Tyler was born to an elite Virginia family, and was educated at William and Mary

• Tyler served in the Virginia legislature and as a US Senator.

• He became Harrison’s VP in 1840, when the famous slogan was “Tippecanoe and Tyler too”.

Tyler Continued• Tyler was the first VP to secede the death of a president,

setting the precedent of secession of the VP.• Tyler insisted in running the executive his own way,

vetoing Whig banking bills, making him an enemy of both parties.

• He went on to annex Texas for the US, thus expanding slavery. He also sent envoys to negotiate a treaty of with China, and used the Monroe Doctrine to keep the British out of Hawaii.

• Tyler is most famous for having 8 kids with his first wife, marrying his second wife when she was 22 and he was 52, and a having 7 children with her. Also for taking a position in the Confederacy prior to the Civil War.