Less than two months into his presidency, JFK signed Executive Order 10924, formally creating the Peace Corps as an agency within the U.S. State Department. By the end of 1961, 750 inaugural Peace Corps volunteers had served in 13 countries.

As the southern states are succeeding, Lincoln begins his journey to Washington, D.C., but encounters fierce enemies along the way.

In 1743, Thomas Jefferson was born to one of the most powerful families in the most powerful of Britain's 13 North American colonies.

After retiring as general of the Continental Army in 1783, the future president wrote a letter called “Circular to the States” in which he shared his vision of how America and its citizens could succeed or fail in the years to come.