James K. Polk (1795–1849) was the 11th President of the United States. His name is perhaps most closely associated with Manifest Destiny, as the term was coined by a fellow Democrat in 1843, the...

General Winfield Scott (1786–1866) was a prominent military figure through three wars and the unsuccessful Whig candidate for president in 1852. He fought in the War of 1812 and the Mexican-Ameri...

General Stephen W. Kearny (1794–1848) was Commander of the Army of the West during the Mexican-American War.In August 1846, Kearny's force of about 1,600 soldiers occupied Santa Fe and organized...

General Zachary Taylor (1784–1850) commanded the northern campaign in the Mexican-American War and later became the 12th President of the United States. President Polk ordered General Taylor...

Captain John C. Frémont (1813–1890) was an American explorer, soldier, and the first—though unsuccessful—Republican Party candidate for the presidency in 1856. With the help of his powerful...

Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) was an author, essayist, naturalist, and poet whose work went on to influence some of the greatest literary figures of the 20th century. Thoreau expounded upo...

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) was a prominent lecturer, poet, and essayist. He was a mentor and friend to Henry David Thoreau. Known as the "Sage of Concord" for his place of residence in...

John Quincy Adams (1767–1848) was the eldest son of President John Adams, and himself the sixth President of the United States. The younger Adams gained a national reputation during his tenu...

Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885) served as Commander in Chief of the Union Army during the Civil War, leading the North to victory over the Confederacy. Grant later became the 18th President of the U...

General Antonio López de Santa Anna (1794–1876) was a Mexican president and general who capitalized on the upheavals of post-independence Mexico by siding with whatever the dominant faction happ...

Henry Clay (1777–1852), who has been called the "Great Pacificator" and the "Great Compromiser," was a U.S. congressman, senator, statesman, and a twice-unsuccessful presidential candidate from t...