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Harrison's Inaugural address was also his last, coming just weeks before he succumbed to pneumonia. In it he memorializes America's special place in the world while describing how its management by Congress and the government can solve existing problems.

While asking that Congress work to establish better commercial relations with Mexico, Great Britain, and Austria-Hungary, Adams demonstrates how tariffs affect the commerce of the country.

Franklin Delano (January 30, 1882 - April 12, 1945), commonly known by his initials FDR, was an American statesman and political leader who served as the 32nd President of the United States. A Democrat, he won a record four elections and served from March 1933 to his death in April 1945. He was a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic depression and total war.

McKinley led the nation to victory in the Spanish-American War, raised protective tariffs to promote American industry, and maintained the nation on the gold standard in a rejection of inflationary proposals. As an innovator of American interventionism and pro-business sentiment, McKinley's presidency is generally considered above average, though his universally positive public perception was soon overshadowed by Roosevelt.

Jefferson is often cited as an important figure in early American democracy. He envisioned democracy as an expression of society as a whole, and called for national self-determination, cultural uniformity, and education of all the people (or all the males, as he believed at the time). His emphasis on uniformity did not envision a multiracial republic in which some groups were not fully assimilated into the identical republican values.

The Gettysburg Address is the most famous speech of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and one of the most quoted speeches in United States history. It was delivered at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on November 19, 1863, during the American Civil War, four and a half months after the Battle of Gettysburg.

During the American Civil War, he served the Union for most of the war as a colonel and on February 14, 1865 was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as a brevet brigadier general of volunteers to rank from January 23, 1865. Afterwards, he unsuccessfully ran for the governorship of Indiana but was later elected to the U.S. Senate by the Indiana legislature.

Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King, Jr., July 14, 1913-December 26, 2006), was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and was the 40th vice president of the United States, serving from 1973 to 1974 under President Richard Nixon. He was the first person appointed to the vice presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment, after Spiro Agnew resigned.

Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874-October 20, 1964) was the thirty-first president of the United States (1929-1933). Hoover, born to a Quaker family, was a professional mining engineer. He achieved American and international prominence in humanitarian relief efforts in war-time Belgium and served as head of the U.S. Food Administration during World War I.

Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 - April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961. Nixon made his resignation speech to the nation on August 8th, 1974. The following day, before climbing into a helicopter, he addressed the White House staff one last time.

Polk was the last strong pre-Civil War president. Despite his concern that "It may, indeed, be truly said that my Administration has fallen upon eventful times," scholars have ranked him favorably on the list of greatest presidents for his ability to set an agenda and achieve all of it.

In Tyler's final address to Congress he mentions how his administration has brought the country back to prosperity from a time of national paucity. In announcing his coming retirement he asks Congress to accept measures that will ensure the country's continued rise from want.

Before leaving office, Van Buren reminds Congress that he refrained from raising taxes, and kept the national debt in check. He makes no mention of the growing factionalism between pro-slavery and abolitionist groups, once again showing his concern for preserving the union.

Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 - November 18, 1886) was the 21st President of the United States (1881-85); he succeeded James Garfield upon the latter's assassination. At the outset, Arthur struggled to overcome his reputation, stemming from his beginnings in politics as a politician from the New York City Republican political machine. He succeeded by embracing the cause of civil service reform.

Theodore Roosevelt wrote this message on January 3, 1919. Both by its character and the circumstances of its publication, it's considered his final message to the American people. He sent it to the president of the American Defense Society, and it was read at a great mass meeting under the auspices of that organization in the Hippodrome in New York, on the evening of January 5. It was published on the morning of January 6, the day of his death.

The Emancipation Proclamation was a presidential proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, as a war measure during the American Civil War, directed to all of the areas in rebellion and all segments of the Executive branch (including the Army and Navy) of the United States. It proclaimed the freedom of slaves in the eleven states that were still in rebellion, excluding areas controlled by the Union and thus applying to 3 million of the 4 million slaves in the U.S. at the time.

George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd president of the United States, from 2001 to 2009, and the 46th governor of Texas, from 1995 to 2000. The eldest son of Barbara and George H. W. Bush, he was born in New Haven, Connecticut.

George Herbert Walker Bush (born June 12, 1924) is a retired American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States from 1989 to 1993. A Republican, he had previously served as the 43rd vice president of the United States (1981-1989), a congressman, an ambassador, and director of Central Intelligence. He is the oldest living former president and vice president. He is also the last living former president who is a veteran of World War II.

William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857-March 8, 1930) was the twenty-seventh president of the United States (1909-1913) and later the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921-1930). He is the only person to have served in both of these offices. Riding a wave of popular support for fellow Republican Roosevelt, Taft won an easy victory in his 1908 bid for the presidency.

"George Washington's Farewell Address" is a letter written by George Washington to the people of the United States of America. It was Washington's valedictory after 20 years of service to the new nation. It is a classic statement of republicanism, warning Americans of the political dangers they can and must avoid if they are to remain true to their values.