Category History

Thomas Jefferson was one of the Founding Fathers and the third president of the United States. He was a great thinker, architect, farmer and patriot. Historians generally praise Jefferson’s public achievements, including his advocacy of religious freedom and tolerance in Virginia.

Thomas Jefferson was born into a wealthy plantation family in 1743. Jefferson was gifted with words; he found it easier to write down his thought than to speak them. No wonder, he was entrusted with the responsibility to pen down the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration was signed by the Congressional representatives of thirteen states, including Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams, and was approved on 4 July 1776. Jefferson served as the Secretary of State under President George Washington.

Before becoming the president, Jefferson served as the vice president of the country in 1797. Jefferson made some important decisions for the country during his tenure as the president. It was Jefferson’s idea to create U.S. monetary system on a decimal system with the dollar as the base.

He bought a huge area of land from France that doubled the size of the nation. This is known as the Louisiana Purchase in history. After serving as the president for two terms, Jefferson retired to Monticello, his enormous plantation home, where he continued to write until his death.

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John Adams served as the second president of the United States of America. He was more of a political philosopher than a politician. Adams served as the vice president under George Washington. John Adams was a Harvard-educated lawyer who played an important role in the war of independence. He is one of the Founding Fathers and went on to become the first vice president of the newly independent nation.

It was Adams who worked with Thomas Jefferson on the wording of the Declaration of independence, a document declaring the U.S. to be independent of the British Crown. It is interesting to note that Adams was not formally nominated for presidentship. He became the de facto candidate with the endorsement of retiring President Washington and he won the elections defeating Thomas Jefferson.

His term began in 1797. It was Adams who established the U.S. Navy and ordered the first warships to be built. During his tenure, the war between the French and British caused great difficulties for the U.S. on the high seas. After great efforts, Adams was able to sign a peace treaty with France in 1800. Adams ran for the presidential election again in 1800. He competed against Thomas Jefferson again, but this time, the people favoured Jefferson. Adams died on 4 July, 1826.

The U.S. Presidential Election was one of the much-awaited events of 2020. After a very long poll, Joe Biden was elected the President defeating Donald Trump in November, 2020. He will assume power as the 46th President on 20 January, 2021. Biden was a popular Vice President of the United States from 2009-17 under President Barack Obama.

Born in Pennsylvania on 20 November, 1942, Biden grew up in Scranton and New Castle County. He completed his bachelor’s degree from the University of Delaware in 1965 and took a law degree from the Syracuse University in 1968.

He was elected to the U.S. Senate at the age of 29, in 1972, thus becoming the fifth youngest senator in the history of the country. Biden was re-elected to the Senate six times. He resigned in 2008 to serve as Barack Obama’s Vice President after the 2008 presidential election.

Biden played a major role as the vice president in Obama’s initiatives. He announced his presidential candidacy for the 2020 elections in April, 2019, proving all the speculations true. It was in August, 2020 that he announced his choice of U.S. Senator Kamala Harris of California as his running mate.

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As we already know, Biden served as the Vice President to Obama. Biden played an active role and served his duties with utmost efficiency. Apart from being an influential advisor to Obama, Biden was also entrusted with many notable assignments including shaping the U.S. policy for Iraq.

Biden was an integral part of the holistic development of America. During his term, he made 16 overseas trips in the Americas. This includes four trips each to Brazil and Mexico, and three each to Canada, Colombia, and Guatemala. It was Biden who launched and chaired the U.S. – Mexico High Level Economic Dialogue. This initiative improved trade, investment, and border infrastructure between the two countries.

He also worked with the governments of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to create the Alliance for Prosperity Plan for the Northern Triangle of Central America. He also raised funds for the region.

It was Biden who led efforts to pass the United States – Russia New START treaty for the reduction of nuclear arms. He supported closer economic ties with Russia. He led the Gun Violence Task Force following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. He also supported the NATO-led military intervention in Libya in 2011. Biden’s role was crucial in solving many budget crises as well.

Biden’s efforts and efficiency did not go unnoticed. Both Obama and Biden were re-elected in 2012. In January 2017, Obama awarded Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Obama referred to him as ‘my brother’ while presenting the rarely given honour!

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No one deserves title ‘the father of the United States of America’ more than George Washington, a highly-respected hero of the American Revolution and one of the founders of the nation.

George Washington was one among the leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies and led the war for independence from Great Britain. He was also instrumental in building the framework of the government for the new United States of America upon republican principles, during the latter decades of the 18th century. He set enduring precedents for the office of president, including the title “Mr. President”.

Born in a planter family in Virginia in 1732, George Washington was raised to become a well-mannered Virginian gentleman with all the moral values of the time. He even served with the British army during the French and Indian Wars.

By 1775, the colonies were upset with the British as they had to pay huge amounts of taxes. George Washington was present at the Continental Congresses when leaders came together to discuss what could be done.

A colonial army was formed to fight the British as a result of the Continental Congresses of 1774, 1775 and 1776. George Washington was asked to take the command of the army. He took command on July 3, 1775 and the war lasted for six long years at the end of which he forced the British to surrender in Yorktown, with some help from the French allies.

In 1783, the British gave up their control over the colonies and America became a free country. Five years later, the new Constitution was approved. When the time came to elect a president to the newly formed nation – the United States of America, Washington was the man everybody trusted. George Washington served as the president for two terms from 1789 to 1797.

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