America's Greatest 19th Century Presidents

*Includes dozens of pictures of the presidents and important people, places, and events in their lives.

The 19th century was the pivotal era in American history, determining how a new nation would overcome its most divisive issues and become a superpower in the 20th century. To get there, the nation needed the leadership of American legends of different stripes and ideologies to guide the United States toward its destiny.

The first of the 19th century presidents was one of its most celebrated Founding Fathers. Thomas Jefferson was instrumental in all of the aforementioned debates, authoring the Declaration of Independence, laying out the ideological groundwork of the notion of states' rights, leading one of the first political parties, and overseeing the expansion of the United States during his presidency.

Jefferson was followed by his protege, James Madison. A lifelong statesman, Madison was the youngest delegate at the Continental Congress from 1780-83, and at 36 he was one of the youngest men who headed to Philadelphia for the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Despite his age, he was the Convention's most influential thinker, and the man most responsible for the final draft of the U.S. Constitution. Along with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, Madison was one of the most persuasive advocates for ratifying the Constitution, authoring some of the most famous Federalist Papers, and he drafted the Bill of Rights that was later added to the Constitution.During his own presidency, he oversaw the War of 1812.

the president with the most controversial legacy might be "Old Hickory," Andrew Jackson. In his lifetime, Jackson came to represent what middle class Americans viewed as the quintessential American. Jackson had a modest upbringing, served as a teenager during the American Revolution, became a war hero during the War of 1812, and championed populism and the common American during his presidency. He also embodied courage and manliness, famously carrying a bullet from a duel in his body for decades until his death. On the other hand, critics continue to charge that Jackson's legacy is irreversibly stained by his stances on slavery and Native Americans.

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) is one of the most famous Americans in history and one of the country's most revered presidents. Schoolchildren can recite the life story of Lincoln, the "Westerner" who educated himself and became a self made man, rising from lawyer to leader of the new Republican Party before becoming the 16th President of the United States. Lincoln successfully navigated the Union through the Civil War but didn't live to witness his crowning achievement, becoming the first president assassinated when he was shot at Ford's Theater by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865.

In the 19th century, one of the surest ways to rise to prominence in American society was to be a war hero, like Andrew Jackson and William Henry Harrison. But few would have predicted such a destiny for Hiram Ulysses Grant, who had been a career soldier with little experience in combat and a failed businessman when the Civil War broke out in 1861.

Together, these men shaped and secured America's destiny and positioned it for its arrival on a global stage near the end of the 19th century. Along with pictures of the presidents and important people, places, and events in their lives, you will learn about Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, and Ulysses S. Grant like you never have before.