Unit 2 · 1825–1861

A Growing Nation

The United States got much bigger. New states joined — and people argued more and more about land, money, and slavery.

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  No. 6John Quincy Adams1825–1829 · Democratic-RepublicanA president's son who became president — then a fierce voice in Congress against slavery.
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  No. 7Andrew Jackson1829–1837 · DemocraticA war hero who opened politics to ordinary men, killed the national bank, and stood for the Union.
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  No. 8Martin Van Buren1837–1841 · DemocraticA clever party builder who walked into a money crash.
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  No. 9William Henry Harrison1841 · WhigHe gave the longest inaugural speech — and served the shortest presidency.
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  No. 10John Tyler1841–1845 · Whig (then Independent)The first VP to finish a president's term — and he insisted he was the real president.
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  No. 11James K. Polk1845–1849 · DemocraticHe promised four big things, did them in one term, and did not run again.
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  No. 12Zachary Taylor1849–1850 · WhigA career soldier who barely began the presidency before he died.
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  No. 13Millard Fillmore1850–1853 · WhigHe signed a famous compromise that delayed the Civil War — and made many people furious.
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  No. 14Franklin Pierce1853–1857 · DemocraticA grieving president whose Kansas policy made the slavery fight worse.
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  No. 15James Buchanan1857–1861 · DemocraticHe thought the Constitution stopped him from stopping secession — and the country split.