American Presidents Story Briefs

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.

John F. Kennedy (JFK) was the 35th president of the United States.

The story behind designing and building one of America's greatest civil-engineering accomplishments.

President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act of 1830 into law during that year. Later, in December, he addressed the Congress with reasons w...

Among other items in President Lincoln's pockets, the night he was assassinated, was a Confederate 5-Dollar Bill.

Captain Cecil W. Stoughton took a series of 21 photographs during President Johnson's swearing-in on October 22, 1963.

As police officers were transferring Oswald to another jail, Jack Ruby (a local Dallas businessman) was among the watching crowd. This image depicts R...

James Benjamin Parker saw Leon Czolgosz approach President McKinley with a handkerchief in his hand. He then sprang into action.

When he was 32 years old, James Madison (then a member of the Continental Congress) fell in love with the daughter of a colleague.

James Meredith wants to become the first African-American to enroll at Ole Miss, but segregationists have other ideas. Thus begins a battle between ci...

On the 7th of July, 1793, Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to his friend, James Madison. In it he warned against giving a central (federal) government ...

The so-called "magic bullet," found on a stretcher (reportedly used by Governor Connally at Parkland Memorial Hospital), is shown here at high magnifi...

As huge crowds gathered at the U.S. Capitol, and throughout the Mall, John F. Kennedy delivered his famous inaugural address. It was the beginning of ...

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