About Mast

Harrison delivered the longest presidential inaugural address on record, totaling 8,445 words.

Harrison became the first U.S. president to die in office, creating the nation's first presidential succession.

Before the presidency, Harrison represented the Northwest Territory and served as governor of the Indiana Territory.

Van Buren was the first future president born a citizen of the United States.

Van Buren briefly served as governor of New York before becoming Andrew Jackson's secretary of state.

In 1848, Van Buren ran for president on the Free Soil Party ticket, which opposed the expansion of slavery into western territories.

At 13, Jackson refused to clean a British officer's boots and carried the resulting sword scar for life.

Jackson won the popular vote in 1824 but lost the election when the House chose John Quincy Adams.

He was elected general of the Tennessee militia in 1802 and became a U.S. major general during the War of 1812.

Adams began his diplomatic education at age 10 and became fluent in French, Dutch, and German.

He helped negotiate the Treaty of Ghent and later authored the Monroe Doctrine as secretary of state.

After his presidency, Adams served nearly two decades in the House and won the release of the Amistad captives before the Supreme Court.

Monroe fought in the Revolutionary War and was wounded at the Battle of Trenton.

Monroe left the College of William & Mary to enlist in the Continental Army.

Monroe and Robert Livingston acquired about 828,000 square miles from France for $15 million in the Louisiana Purchase.

At 29, Madison was the youngest delegate to the Continental Congress.

Madison's Virginia Plan laid the foundation for a three-branch federal government with checks and balances.

Madison joined Alexander Hamilton and John Jay in writing the Federalist Papers to support ratification of the Constitution.

Jefferson was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence.

In 1786, Jefferson authored a Virginia bill establishing religious freedom.

The Louisiana Purchase added about 828,000 square miles for $15 million and doubled the size of the United States.

Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826, the Declaration's 50th anniversary.

John Adams became the first vice president of the United States in 1789.

Adams gained fame by defending the British soldiers charged after the Boston Massacre.

Washington remains the only U.S. president unanimously elected by the Electoral College.

At 17, Washington became the surveyor for Culpeper County, Virginia.

After the Revolutionary War, Washington resigned his military commission, a relinquishing of power that made him an international hero.