Important People in
American History
Important People in
United States History
Thomas Jefferson
• Principal author of the
Declaration of
Independence
• US Ambassador to
France
• Washington’s
Secretary of State
• 3rd President
• Authorized Louisiana
Purchase
Important People in
United States History
George Washington
• Delegate to 1st and
2nd Continental
Congresses
• Commander-in-chief
of the Continental
Army
• Chairman of the
Constitutional
Convention
• 1st President of the
USA-served two
terms
Important People in
United States History
• 16th President of USA
• Helped build the Republican
Party
• Administration
– Civil War
– Gettysburg Address
– Emancipation Proclamation
• Assassinated before he could
implement Reconstruction
Plans
Abraham Lincoln
Important People in
United States History
Theodore Roosevelt
• Rough Rider during the
Spanish American War
• Vice-Pres. For
McKinley; succeeded to
presidency after the
assassination
• Supported
expansionism, Panama
Canal, powerful navy,
national parks,
prosecuted trusts
Important People in
United States History
Clarence Darrow
• Most renowned
defense attorney of his
time
• Argued criminal
conspiracy cases,
union violence, and
labor union cases
• Most famous case:
defense of John T.
Scopes in Tennessee
case of teaching
evolution
Important People in
United States History
• Noted politician and
orator
• Supported reforms
benefiting ordinary
people
• Ran unsuccessfully
for president three
times
• Famous Speech:
Cross of Gold
William Jennings Bryan
Important People in
United States History
• Mass produced the
Model T automobile
• Reduced the price of
the Model T by
refining the assembly
line
• World-wide influence
on the development
of the automobile
industry
Henry Ford
Important People in
United States History
• Set a record flying
The Spirit of St. Louis
non-stop from St.
Louis to Paris on May
20-21, 1927
• Served as a technical
advisor to commercial
airlines and to the US
military following the
attack on Pearl
Harbor
Charles A. Lindbergh
Important People in
United States History
• Social Reformer;
partnered with
Elizabeth Cady
Stanton
• Organized the
Women’s State
Temperance Society
• Outspoken proponent
of Women’s Suffrage
and equal rights for
women
Susan B. Anthony
Important People in
United States History
• 1888 first African American
to earn Ph.D. at Harvard
• Called for immediate
extension of rights to
blacks, opportunities for
education, and equal
access to public facilities
• Believed in the Talented
Tenth
• Active in NAACP
W.E.B. DuBois
Important People in
United States History
• Montgomery, Alabama
minister rose to prominence in
Civil Rights Movement
• 1957 Organized the Southern
Christian Leadership
Conference
• Organized sit-ins, boycotts,
and protest marches
• I Have a Dream Speech
during march on Washington
• Assassinated 1968
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Important People in
United States History
• U.S. Army General
during WWII
– Eisenhower’s “eyes and
ears” in North Africa
– Commanded the First
Army on D-Day
• U.S. Army Chief of Staff
in 1948
• First Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff
Omar Bradley
Important People in
United States History
• Scottish immigrant to US
• Fortune made in production
of steel using the Bessemer
Process
• Shared wealth through a
range of philanthropic
causes, granting more than
$350,000,000 to worthy
causes such as libraries,
research, and education
Andrew Carnegie
Important People in
United States History
• 1964 elected to New York
Legislature without support
of New York political
machines
• 1968 First African-American
woman elected to the U.S.
Congress
• Ran unsuccessfully for
president in 1972
Shirley Chisholm
Important People in
United States History
• Supported unionization and labor
reform, opposed strikes, and
favored negotiations as a means
to improve labor
• Founded the American Railway
Union in 1893, it’s failure
convinced him to call for a
socialist economy
• Joined the Socialist Democratic
Party
• Ran unsuccessfully for president
five times
Eugene V. Debs
Important People in
United States History
• U.S. Military General
– Commanded Allied forces in
Europe during WWII
– Commanded Allied forces on
D-Day
Dwight D. Eisenhower
• 34th President of the United
States (two terms)
• Negotiated peace in the
Korean Conflict
• Cold War grew between the
USA and the USSR during
his administration
Important People in
United States History
• Senator from Massachusetts
• Supported American
expansionism to gain world
power
• Helped Theodore Roosevelt
craft the “large policy”
– American canal through Central
America
– Coaling stations on Pacific
Islands
– Strong Navy to protect the
Merchant Marines
Henry Cabot Lodge
Important People in
United States History
• U.S. Military General
– Commander of U.S. Forces in
the Far East WWII
– Presided over the surrender of
Japan
– Military Governor of Japan
1945-50
– United Nations commander in
Korea
– Relieved from command by
President Truman in conflict
over tactics
Douglas MacArthur
Important People in
United States History
George Marshall
• WWI Veteran
• Organized the Civil
Conservation Corp during the
New Deal
• U.S. Army Chief of Staff
during WWII
• Secretary of State under the
Truman Administration
• Developed the plan to rebuild
the European economy
following WWII
• Nobel Peace Prize 1953
Important People in
United States History
• Most noted representational
expressionist painter in
America
• Famous for painting of the
desert Southwest
Georgia O’Keefe
Important People in
United States History
• Considered one of the most
successful American field
commanders
• WWI-learned tank tactics
• WWII
– Directed amphibious attacks in
North Africa
– Commanded Third Army on
march into Germany
• Strong opponent to
communists
George Patton, Jr.
Important People in
United States History
• Elected to four terms as
President of the United
States
• New Deal reforms were
proposed to counter the
Great Depression in four
areas: finance, industry,
agriculture, and welfare relief
• Supported allies in WWII
• 22nd amendment limited
presidential terms to two
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Important People in
United States History
• Vice-President of USA
• Succeeded to Presidency
following FDR’s death
• Authorized the use of the
atomic bomb in Japan
• Truman Doctrine: pledged U.S.
support to nations opposing
Communism
• Cold War began during his
administration
• Korean Conflict began during
his administration
Harry S. Truman
Important People in
United States History
• Mexican American labor
activist
• Organized the United Farm
Workers of America
• Nonviolent protests: strikes,
fasts, and boycotts to draw
attention to the needs of
migrant farm labor
• Negotiated first industry wide
labor contracts
Cesar Chavez
Important People in
United States History
Woodrow Wilson
• President of Princeton
University; Governor of NJ
• 20th President of the United
States
• Federal Reserve Act and the
Federal Trade Commission
began during his
administration
• WWI Peace Plan known as
14 Points
• Dream of League of Nations
not approved by Congress
Important People in
United States History
John F. Kennedy
• Massachusetts Congressman
• Pulitzer Prize for Profiles in
Courage
• 1st televised presidential debate vs.
Richard Nixon
• Administration
– Peace Corp
– Bay of Pigs
– Cuban Missile Crisis
– Civil Rights emphasis
• Assassinated Nov. 22, 1963
• “Ask not what your country can do
for you—ask what you can do for
your country.”
Important People in
United States History
• 12/11/1955 she was arrested
for not giving up her bus seat
to a white man
• Prompted the Montgomery
Bus Boycott
• Led to Supreme Court ruling
that segregated public
transportation was illegal
• Civil Rights advocate
Rosa Parks
Important People in
United States History
• Senator that contributed to
the Red Scare by accusing
prominent Americans of being
communists in the 1950s
• In 1954 televised hearings,
he bullied, harassed, and
accused witnesses of unAmerican activities with little
or no evidence
• Senate censured him in
December 1954
Joseph McCarthy