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Everything you need to know about everything you need to know.

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Canada Day

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Martin Van Buren

Part of the P.O.T.U.S Series

Who: Martin Van Buren

What: 8th President of the United States, Vice President and Secretary of State, Governor of New York

Where: Born and died in Kinderhook, New York

Why: Served as Andrew Jackson’s Secretary of State and Vice President, but largely underperformed in his one term as President

When: Born December 5, 1782; died July 24, 1862 (aged 79)

“The less…

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Andrew Jackson

Part of the P.O.T.U.S Series

Who: Andrew Jackson

What: 7th President of the United States, General in the War of 1812

Where: Born somewhere between the Carolinas; died Nashville, Tennessee

Why: First Democrat, first (and only) President to have killed in a duel, first President to be an assassination target.

When: Born March 15, 1767; died June 8, 1845 (aged 78)

“There are no necessary evils in…

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John Quincy Adams

Part of the P.O.T.U.S Series

Who: John Quincy Adams

What: 6th President of the United States, diplomat, Senator, member of the House of Representatives

Where: Born Braintree, Massachusetts (now Quincy); died Washington D.C.

Why: First President to have been son of another President, first President elected despite losing the popular vote, first to serve in Congress after serving in the…

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Part of the P.O.T.U.S Series Who: James Monroe What: 5th President of the United States, last…

Part of the P.O.T.U.S Series

Who: James Monroe

What: 5th President of the United States, last president to have been a Founding Father

Where: Born Monroe Hall, Virginia; died New York City, New York

Why: Presided over the First Seminole War, the Missouri Compromise and the Monroe Doctrine and America’s first economic depression

When: Born April 28, 1758; died July 4, 1831

“Our country may be…

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James Madison

Part of the P.O.T.U.S Series

Who: James Madison, Jr.

What: 4th President of the United States (1809-17), ‘Father of the Constitution’, champion of the Bill of Rights

Where: Born Port Conway, Virginia Colony; died Orange, Virginia

Why: One of the three authors of the Federalist Papers, co-author of the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, considered the Father of the Constitution, President during…

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Thomas Jefferson

Who: Thomas Jefferson

What: 3rd President of the United States, 2nd Vice President of the United States, 1st United States Secretary of State, Founding Father, principal author of the Declaration of Independence, architect, agriculturalist, astronomer, writer, palaeontologist and polymath

Where: Born Shadwell, Virginia; died Charlottesville, Virginia

Why: Presided over the Louisiana Purchase, the…

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John Adams

Who: John Adams

What: 2nd President of the United States (1797-1801), 1st Vice President of the United States (1789-1797), signatory of the Declaration of Independence, statesman, diplomat and Founding Father

Where: Born Braintree (now Quincy, Massachusetts); died Quincy, Massachusetts

Why: First one-term president, first Ivy League president (Harvard), member of the influential Adams political…

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George Washington

Who: George Washington

What: 1st President of the United States (1789-1797), commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and Founding Father of the United States

Where: Born Westmoreland County, Virginia; died Mount Vernon, Virginia.

Why: First and only President to be elected unanimously (twice), first and only sitting President to command a standing field…

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The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

Who: Led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, self-appointed Commander of the Faithful

What: Jihadist militant terrorist group

Where: Founded in Iraq, current sphere of influence extends into Syria

Why: Claims the status of an independent caliphate for its territory in Iraq and Syria

When: Founded at Jama’at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad in 1999, became known as al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) in 2004, proclaimed the formation…

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The President of the United States of America

The President of the United States

The President of the United States

Who: Currently Barack Obama, see full list below

What: Head of state and head of government of the United States of America

Where: 6 New Yorkers, 6 Ohioans, 5 Virginians, 4 Massachusites, 3 Californians, 3 Illinoisans, 3 Tennesseans, 3 Texans and 1 each from Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey and…

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The Second Battle of Fort Wagner

Who: Robert Gould Shaw and Quincy Gillmore (Union) vs P.G.T Beauregard and William B. Taliaferro (Confederacy)

What: Confederate victory

Where: Fort Wagner, Morris Island, South Carolina

Why: Fort Wagner was crucial to the naval defense of Charleston; the battle heralded the acceptance of African-American soldiers in the war

When: July 18, 1863

“The old flag never touched the ground” – Sgt.…

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George Armstrong Custer

Who: George Armstrong Custer

What: United States Army officer

Where: Born New Rumley, Ohio; died Little Bighorn, Montana

Why: His service in the American Civil War overshadowed by his Last Stand at Little Bighorn

When: Born December 5, 1839; died June 25, 1876

“I would be willing, yes glad, to see a battle every day during my life” – George Armstrong Custer

George Armstrong Custer had a busy life…

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The Battle of the Wilderness

Who: Ulysses S Grant and George Meade (Union) vs Robert E Lee (Confederacy)

What: Confederate tactical victory, Union strategy victory. Actual battle inconclusive.

Where: Spotsylvania County, Virginia

Why: Part of Grant’s Overland Campaign to take Richmond

When: May 5-7, 1864

“As desperate fighting as the world has ever witnessed” – Ulysses S Grant

In March 1864, Ulysses S Granthad been promoted…

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The Second Battle of Bull Run

Who: Robert E Lee (Confederacy) vs John Pope (Union)

What: Confederate victory

Where: Prince William County, Virginia – the same ground as The First Battle of Bull Run in 1861

Why: After defeating McClellan’s Army of the Potomac, Lee moved north toward John Pope’s Army of Virginia

When: August 28-30, 1862

After defeating George McClellan’s Army of the Potomac in the Seven Days Battles, and the…

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