The Presidents Decoded

Ages 10 And Up, Grades 5 to 17

In The Presidents Decoded: A Guide to the Leaders Who Shaped Our Nation, author Katie Kennedy presents the 45 people who have held the role of President of the United States. From George Washington to Joe Biden, each leader’s time in office is broken down and explained through primary sources--documents, letters, policies, and diaries--that show the what, how and why of our leaders’ thoughts, decisions and policies. Familiar documents like the preamble of the Declaration of Independence, The Emancipation Proclamation, and The Fugitive Slave Act — the part of the Compromise of 1850 that set the country on a path to Civil War — are included. But we’ve also included things like George Washington’s letter to Martha as he learns that he’s been chosen to be the General of the Continental Army, the types of letters FDR received from desperate families during the Great Depression, a letter from baseball legend Jackie Robinson urging JFK to do more to push for civil rights, and the Executive Order limiting the hours of the federal work day, are only a handful of the examples included in this book. Full-color illustrations bring each president and their time in office to life on the page in their career-defining moments as history marches forward and changes the job — and the way of life — through inventions like the camera, the telephone, the first metal detector, services like the Navy and the Red Cross begin, and Twitter. As she did in THE CONSTITUTION DECODED, Katie Kennedy shines a light on American History through the lens of the leaders who shaped our nation--good, bad, and everything in between--through the documents that confirm what really happened.

About the Author

Katie Kennedy has taught college history and the American government for thirty years. She currently teaches in Iowa, where she lives with her husband and son. She once caught her then-nine-year-old daughter sneak-reading the Constitution under the covers with a flashlight. She’s never been prouder. She is the author of The Constitution Decoded: A Guide to the Document That Shapes Our Nation, as well as, two young adult novels, Learning to Swear in America and What Goes Up.