On September, 1837, in London, England, a businessman was walking home. As he went past a cemetery, a creature jumped over the railings and landed in the path of the man. The railings were at least 10 feet high, but this creature effortlessly leaped over them. The shocked man looked at the creature, which he saw as having pointed ears, large glowing eyes, and a large pointed nose. This was the first sighting of the soon-to-be legendary Spring-Heeled Jack. Spring-Heeled Jack is a mysterious...

Finally breaking the solid bloc of unknown presidents, we get to Abraham Lincoln. Do I even have to tell you anything in this introduction paragraph? Well, maybe an anecdote or two. Lincoln was one of the founders of the Republican Party. Lincoln's only son that survived to maturity, Robert Todd Lincoln, was saved from being crushed by a train by John Wilkes Booths' brother. He was the first president to be successfully assassinated. Lincoln served March 4, 1861 to April 15, 1865. By ...

Continuing from Pierce, we reach James Buchanan. Buchanan was the first president to run against the Republican party. During his election, former president Fillmore also ran under the Know-Nothing party. In an ironic twist of fate, the defunct Whig party that refused to nominate Fillmore in 1852 backed him in 1856. Buchanan was one of the few presidents to lose territory during his term. Taking into consideration his unpopularity and the fact he could not solve the sectional crisis, Buc...

We now move on to Franklin Pierce. Pierce was the last president to run against the Whig party when it was a major party. His election marked the last nail in the coffin for a party bitterly and fatally divided over the slavery issue. During the campaign, there was a rather clever Democratic slogan, "We Polked you in 1844; we shall Pierce you in 1852!" Pierce is considered to be the most handsome president of all time. His Secretary of War was Jefferson Davis, who streamlined the army th...

On the unlucky 13th article, there is Millard Fillmore. Fillmore was the last president under the Whig party. He was the second Vice President to ascend from the death of the President. He was also the last to do so until Andrew Johnson. He approved the Compromise of 1850, which cost him Northern Whig support, and with them, the nomination. He had one last hurrah in 1856, when he ran for president under the Know-Nothing party. He served July 10, 1850 to March 3, 1853. In an attempt to...

The next president up is Zachary Taylor. Taylor was the second president to die in office; the first to die in office but actually do something. After him, there was no president from the Deep South again until Jimmy Carter was elected in 1976. He was one of only 4 presidents to serve in the Whig party. Taylor owed his election to the 3rd-party bid of Martin Van Buren, who drew enough anti-slavery Democrats from Democratic nominee Lewis Cass to give the election to Taylor. He served Marc...

First of all, sorry for the delay, I've been busy. Anyway, now is James Knox Polk. Polk is the most expansionist president we ever had. He acquired almost the entire West and some of the Midwest. He is also the first nominee to be nominated unexpectedly, which is known as a dark horse candidate. He was also the first president to only run once. He served March 4, 1845 to March 3, 1849. Both Great Britain and the U.S. had a claim on the Oregon Territory. At first, Polk would settle for...

Reaching the milestone 10th article, it is time for John Tyler. Tyler was the first Vice President to succeed to the presidency. Tyler was never elected in his own right, as his opposition to Whig policies, despite being a Whig, cost him the presidential nomination in 1844. He was the first president to serve without a Vice President. Tyler served April 6, 1841 to March 3, 1845. As the first Vice President to become president because of the death of a president, Tyler began his term a...

Settling in for a long write, the series now reaches William Henry Harrison. Harrison's election is considered the first modern election, complete with songs, themes, and hoopla. Harrison was portrayed as a simple frontiersman, despite being from a grand manor on a plantation in Virginia. In order to convey this appearance, he gave a long Inaugural in the cold without a jacket, which later proved to be his downfall. He was the first president to die in office, and the first president und...

Leaving behind my favorite president, I now type of Martin Van Buren. Van Buren was the handpicked successor of Andrew Jackson. He was the first president to run against the Whig party. The third president to serve only one term, he was defeated by William Henry Harrison in 1840. He was the first former-president to run under a third-party, running under the Free-Soil Party in 1848. Van Buren served March 4, 1837 to March 3, 1841. Two months after the inauguration of Van Buren, banks ...

Going forward with the series, we now approach Andrew Jackson. Jackson was the founder of the Democratic Party, and the first Democratic president. He was the first president from the West, and is often considered the first president of the people. His election was one of the fiercest and bitterest of all time; in fact, attacks on her character even contributed to the death of Rachel Jackson, the president's wife. After Jackson, no president again served 2 full terms until Grant. He serv...

Starting earlier than usual, it is time for John Quincy Adams. Adams was technically elected under no party, because the destruction of the Federalists also meant the dismantling of the Democrat-Republicans. However, his election marked the rebirth of the two-party system, as charges that he and Henry Clay struck a corrupt bargain to win the presidency coalesced around Andrew Jackson and formed the Democratic party. He was the only president to be elected without a majority of the electo...

While running out of different ways to say the series is continuing, we go to James Monroe. Washington was the only president to be elected unanimously, but Monroe came pretty close running for his second term. He got all but 1 electoral vote because an elector cast his vote for John Quincy Adams. He was the last Revolutionary War Officer to become president. Monroe's election marked the end of the Federalist party. A Boston newspaper coined the term for Monroe's presidency, "The Era of Go...

James Madison is up next in my continuing series. Madison was the first president to not be nominated unanimously by his party's caucus. He was also the least physically impressive president of all time. He stood at only 5 ft. 4 in., and weighed a scant 100 pounds. He was the first president to declare a war. He served March 4, 1809 to March 3, 1817. Shortly before leaving office, Jefferson approved the Non-Intercourse Act, but it was left to Madison to enforce it. The Non-Intercourse Act ...

Marching forward with the series, we move on to president number 3, Thomas Jefferson. He was the first president elected under the Democrat-Republican party. He was also the very first Secretary of State, but resigned after numerous clashes with future Federalist Alexander Hamilton. Ironically, it was Hamilton who rallied Federalists to Jefferson in the House when Burr refused to concede the election. He served March 4, 1801 to March 3, 1809. Jefferson's election is often referred to as th...