Harriet Tubman- Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery at the age 29. She went back to her home in Maryland several times to help her family members and others escape slavery. She was a known "conductor" in the Underground Railroad.
Clara Barton- She became a teacher and worked as a nurse during the Civil War. Barton saw the Battle of Fredericksburg firsthand. She took care of soldiers in the Battle of Antietam. Barton later found the Red Cross.
Ulysses S. Grant- He did not earn good grades at school when he was younger. Later, he served under Zachary Taylor in Mexican-American War and began to hate war. He resigned due to the fact that he began drinking. After that, he rejoined the army when the Civil War started and became the eighteenth president.
Andrew Johnson- He was the seventh president and the first vice president to become president. Johnson was racist and when Lincoln died, he allowed ex-Confederates to take public offices. He was close to being impeached by one vote saved him, his reputation was destroyed.
J.P. Morgan- He led one of the leading financial firms in the 1870s. His firm was so powerful that the government asked him for help with a depression. He later created a monopoly in steel and was under investigation by the Pujo committee.
John D. Rockefeller- Due to his business practices, the government passed antimonopoly laws. He founded the Standard Oil Company and later became the richest man. After he retired, he donated a lot of his money, saying that it would be a sin to die rich. He donated about $530 million to many causes.
Mark Twain- He wrote several novels under the pen name "Mark Twain," his real name was Samuel Clemens. Twain was also a lecturer and journalist. He lived through poverty and later married a rich girl.
William McKinley- He served in the Civil War under Rutherford B. Hayes. McKinley was dedicated to his wife when she became ill. He tried to avoid intervention with Spain but then fought against Spain after a ship blew up. McKinley was reelected and then assassinated.
Theodore Roosevelt- He became the youngest man to become president at age 42. Roosevelt is known for his antimonopoly policies and ecological conservation. He became a war hero in the Spanish-American War. Roosevelt became president after McKinley was assassinated.
Florence Kelley- She was homeschooled in her childhood. Kelley saw the death of all her sisters, leaving her as the only daughter of her parents. She was an opponent towards sweatshops and investigates the system.
Victoriano Huerta- He was a Mexican general and fought against several rebels in the Mexican Revolution. He was an alcoholic and despised. Huerta lived in exile for a while and moved around, never returning to Mexico.
Eugene V. Debs- Debs told members of the American Railway Union to refrain from doing anything. Because of this, he was arrested and spent 6 months in jail. Debs formed the Socialist Party and was later arrested for antiwar activities.
Langston Hughes- Hughes was raised by his grandmother before her death and later lived with his mother. He lived with his dad in Mexico for a year and published his poem, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" in the same year (1920). Hughes became a popular poet later on.
Calvin Coolidge- He was known for being quiet, earning the nickname, "Silent Cal." Coolidge married a woman who was completely the opposite of him, but their marriage was successful. He was Harding's vice president and attended cabin meetings and gave speeches. Coolidge became the thirtieth president after Harding died and was president during a time of good economic growth.
Eleanor Roosevelt- She went to school in England after her parents passed away two years from each other. She was the niece of Theodore Roosevelt and he walked her down the aisle when she got married to her distant cousin Franklin D. Roosevelt. Eleanor was active in politics, becoming the first known First Lady to actually do something. She focused on human rights and women issues after life in the White House.