President James K. Polk (1849)
Even though he was a pretty obscure figure during the modern era, he is said to be “the most successful President since George Washington in the accomplishment of his goals.” The Miller Center said that James K. Polk “accomplished nearly everything that he said he wanted to accomplish as President and everything he had promised in his party’s platform.” This includes lower tariffs, the settlement of a dispute at the Texas border, a stronger executive branch, the creation of a federal depository, and the acquisition of territories in New Mexico, Oregon, and California.
President James K. Polk (1849)
Confederate President Jefferson Davis (c. 1861)
A Mexican War veteran, a former Secretary of War, and a Mississippi senator, Jefferson Davis is best-known as the Confederacy president during the Civil War. After it surrendered in 1865, he was sent to jail on charges of treason. However, he was not tried. If he went to court, he would have defended the right of states to leave the Union. He did not get the chance to make a case for the legality of secession. The Smithsonian said that President Andrew Johnson pardoned Confederates on Christmas day of 1868.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis (c. 1861)
