STAAR Biographies

Colonial America Important People

Thomas Hooker
Founder of Connecticut Connecticut

1586-1647
Founded the colony of Connecticut and helped write the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut which called for the election of officials.

John Locke
British Philosopher England

1632-1704
Promoted the idea of natural law which emphasized individual rights. His idea helped inspire the American Revolution.

Charles de Montesquieu
Social and Political Philosopher France

1689-1755
Montesquieus book The Spirit of the Laws influenced Americas founders. His main idea was that separation of powers was necessary to maintain individual liberty.

William Penn
Founder of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania

1644-1718
Helped establish the Pennsylvania Colony. Promoted religious tolerance because his faith, Quakerism, was often persecuted.

William Blackstone
Expert jurist, professor, and writer. England 1723-1780 Blackstones book Commentaries on the Laws of England was the most read legal book in Colonial America.

American Revolution Important People

Abigail Adams
Second First Lady of the U.S. Massachusetts

1744-1818
Promoted equal education for women before most people.

**John Adams (Early Republic)**

Founding Father, Federalist, Second President of the U.S. Massachusetts

1735-1826 1797-1801 (U.S. President) Adams served as America in the Continental Congress during the American Revolution and became the second President of the U.S.

Samuel Adams
Founding Father Boston, Massachusetts

1722-1803
Samuel Adamss articles in the Boston Gazette, promoted rebellion against the British.

James Armistead
First African-American double spy. Virginia 1760-1830 Armistead was a double spy who worked for the Americans.

Crispus Attucks
Boston Massacre Victim Boston, Massachusetts

1722-1770
First person to die in the Boston Massacre. Viewed by many as the first casualty of the American Revolution.

Wentworth Cheswell
American Revolution Veteran, First African-American to hold public office. New Hampshire 1746-1817 Part of the midnight ride that warned of the British.

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**Benjamin Franklin (Constitution)**

Founding Father, Journalist, Diplomat Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1706-1790 Franklin promoted American unity and independence. He wrote or signed the Albany Plan of Union, Declaration of Independence, Treaty of Paris (1783), and the Constitution.

Bernardo de Glvez
Spanish Administrator, General Spain/Louisiana/Florida

1746-1786
Helped the U.S. during the American Revolution by winning battles in Florida and Mississippi River.

**Patrick Henry (Constitution)**

Founding Father, Anti-Federalist Virginia

1736-1799
Advocate for liberty. Henry was one of the leaders of the American Revolution. Henry opposed Americas Constitution because he feared it would give the government too much power.

King George III

King of England England

1738-1820
Unpopular King of England during the American Revolution.

**Thomas Jefferson (Constitution, Early Republic)**

Founding Father, Anti-Federalist, Third President of the U.S. Virginia

1743-1826 1801-1809 (U.S. President) Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence and as President, Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory.

John Paul Jones

American Naval Officer during the American Revolution. Virginia 1747-1792 Fought well against the Britishs feared navy.

Marquis de Lafayette
French General France/U.S.

1757-1834 1777-1781 (Assisted American Revolution) Convinced France to assist the Americans during the Revolutionary War. Led troops during the war.

Thomas Paine
Journalist England/New Jersey

1737-1809
1776 (Common Sense) Thomas Paine helped inspire the American Revolution with his pamphlet Common Sense.

Haym Salomon
Businessman Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1740-1785
A member of the Sons of Liberty. Salomon helped pay for the American Revolution.

Mercy Otis Warren

Writer, Historian

Massachusetts
1728-1814 Promoted and honored the American Revolution with her writings. Her book, the History of the Rise, Progress, and Termination of the American Revolution is her most famous book.

**George Washington (Constitution, Early Republic)**

Founding Father, Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, First President of the U.S. Virginia 1732-1799 1789-1797 (U.S. President) Washington is known as the Father of the U.S. because he helped the U.S. win independence and served as its first president.

Creation and Ratification of the Constitution Important People

**Alexander Hamilton(Early Republic)**

Federalist, First Secretary of the Treasury New York 1755-1804 Made many arguments for the Constitution in the Federalist Papers. Helped create the first National Bank.

**James Madison (Early Republic)**

Founding Father, Federalist, Fourth U.S. President Virginia

1751-1836 1809-1817 (U.S. President) Helped write the U.S. Constitution. Promoted and explained the Constitution in the Federalist Papers.

George Mason
Founding Father and Anti-Federalist Virginia 1725-1792 Wrote Virginias Constitution and helped write Americas Constitution. However, Mason felt the new Federal government was too powerful and would damage individual rights.

Early Republic Important People

**John Marshall (The Age of Jackson) **

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Virginia

1755-1835 1801-1803 (Chief Justice) Helped establish Judicial Review as Chief Justice. Ruled over some of the most important cases in U.S. History.

James Monroe
Fifth U.S. President Virginia

1758-1831 1817-1825 (U.S. President)

American President who wrote the Monroe Doctrine which changed American foreign policy.

The Age of Jackson Important People

**John Quincy Adams (Sectionalism and Civil War)**

Secretary of State, Sixth President of U.S., Congressmen Massachusetts 1767-1848 Only President to become a Congressmen. As a Congressmen, Adams fought against slavery.

**John C. Calhoun (Sectionalism and Civil War)**

Senator, Vice President, States Rights Advocate South Carolina

1782-1850 1828-1833 (Nullification Crisis) Calhoun promoted the idea that states had the right to ignore federal laws. His views influenced the Confederacy.

**Henry Clay (Sectionalism and Civil War)**

Speaker of the House, Secretary of State Kentucky

1777-1852
Known as the Great Compromiser, Clay tried to keep the country together before the Civil War with acts such as The Compromise of 1850.

Andrew Jackson
Army General, Seventh President of the U.S. Tennessee 1767-1845 1829-1837 (U.S. President)

Andrew Jacksons election and Presidency was the beginning of the common man.

Reform and Culture Important People

Susan B. Anthony
Woman Suffragist New York and Massachusetts

1820-1906
One of the first and most important fighters for womans rights.

John James Audubon

Painter New York

1785-1851
Audubons artwork focused on nature and helped define the American style of art.

**Frederick Douglass (Civil War)**

Former Slave, Abolitionist, Author, Editor Washington, D.C. 1818-1895 Wrote on of the most impactful biographies of American History. Argued for the rights of AfricanAmericans and women.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Woman Suffragist Seneca Falls, New York 1815-1902 Seneca Falls (1848) Organized the Seneca Falls convention which was viewed as the beginning of the Womens Rights Movement.

**Henry David Thoreau (Westward Expansion) **

Author and pioneer of Civil Disobedience. Massachusetts 1817-1862 Thoreaus ideas about civil disobedience inspired leaders like Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King.

Sectionalism and Civil War Important People

Philip Bazaar
Served in the Union Navy Born in Chile, lived in Massachusetts (1864-1865) Served for the Union

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Won the Medal of Honor for his service during the battle for Fort Fisher.

William Carney
Union Soldier Born in Virginia, but escaped to Massachusetts. 1840-1908 (1863) Battle of Fort Wagner

Won the Medal of Honor for defending the flag while wounded during the Battle of Fort Wagner.

Jefferson Davis
President of the Confederacy Mississippi

1808-1889 (1861-1865) Confederate President Led the Confederacy during the Civil War.

**Ulysses S. Grant (Reconstruction)**

Union General, Eighteenth U.S. President Ohio 1822-1885 1861-1865 (Union General)

Led the Union Army during the Civil War. Grant was the best General of the Union.

Stonewall Jackson
Confederate General Virginia

1824-1863 Battle of Bull Run (1861)

Won many of the early battles of the Civil War and was known as one the Civil Wars great general.

Robert E. Lee
Confederate General Virginia

1807-1870 1861-1865 (Confederate General)

Considered one of the best generals of American History. Lee led the Confederate Army against the Union Army.

Abraham Lincoln
Sixteenth U.S. President Illinois and Washington D.C.

1809-1865 1861-1865 (U.S. President)

Led the U.S. during the Civil War. Wrote some of the best speeches in American History, which helped redefine the country.

Hiram Rhodes
U.S. Senator Mississippi

1827-1901
First African-American to serve in the U.S. Senate.

Daniel Webster
U.S. Senator Massachusetts

1782-1852
As Senator of Massachusetts, Webster promoted the Union against Sectionalism.