World Leaders and Politicians

John Hay, serving as Secretary of State under McKinley and Roosevelt, issued the Open Door Notes to ensure that all nations had equal access to trade in China.

George Dewey was the Admiral of the U.S. Navy who led the Pacific fleet to victory at Manila Bay. He became a national hero following this decisive engagement.

Thomas Jefferson was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, which was adopted by the Continental Congress in 1776.

Samuel Adams was a key leader in Boston who organized the Committees of Correspondence to facilitate communication and resistance among the colonies against British policies.

George Washington was unanimously elected as the President of the Constitutional Convention in 1787.

The Compromise of 1877 resolved the disputed 1876 presidential election by awarding the presidency to Rutherford B. Hayes in exchange for the withdrawal of federal troops from the South, effectively ending Reconstruction.

The 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote. Eleanor Roosevelt was a prominent political figure and activist whose life and work were significantly shaped by the expanded political role of women in the 20th century.

Chester Nimitz, a native of Texas, was appointed Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Benito Mussolini was the leader of the National Fascist Party in Italy and held the title of Il Duce.

Alfred Thayer Mahan was a naval strategist whose book, The Influence of Sea Power upon History, significantly influenced naval policy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda and the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, was killed during a U.S. military operation in Pakistan in 2011.

In the 1912 election, the Republican vote was split between incumbent William Howard Taft and the Progressive candidate Theodore Roosevelt. This split allowed the Democratic candidate, Woodrow Wilson, to win the presidency.

The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) in the United States during the 1930s to provide relief, recovery, and reform during the Great Depression.