American Presidents Documents

U.S. Presidents have varying backgrounds and political persuasions. Only one was unanimously elected. They can have little or lasting influence. These stories are about individuals with the power to make a difference at home and abroad.

Image of George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation which was published in the Massachusetts Centinel on October 14, 1789. Click on the image for ...

President Franklin Roosevelt was in bed, asleep, when he received word during the night that Hitler's troops were invading Poland. This image depicts...

  On the 20th of February, 1962, Brigadier General Edward G. Lansdale prepared a memo addressing how the United States government could "help th...

Click on the image for a larger view. On the 14th of April, 1789, Charles Thomson - the secretary of Congress - had a very important trip to make.&nb...

Nine days after the September 11 attacks, President George W. Bush addresses a joint session of the 107th Congress. He pledges to defend America's fre...

Bookcover image of Gods and Generals: A Novel of the Civil War, by Jeff Shaara.

Image of the letter, signed by Guiteau, in which he details his motives for shooting President Garfield.  This image shows the first two pages of...

Image of the third page of Charles Guiteau's three-page letter in which he explains his motives for shooting President Garfield.

Image of notes by made by Guiteau at trial.

Image of notes by Guiteau at his trial, page 2.

President Truman's staff prepared a daily account of his activities during the Potsdam Conference (in July of 1945).  This image depicts a page f...

Image of the telegram from Ho Chi Minh to President Harry S. Truman dated February 28, 1946.  In this message, he asks the American president to...

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