The Presidents Decoded : A Guide to the Leaders Who Shaped Our Nation

Ever wonder what the President does? Meet the 45* people who have held the job in this important book that showcases how they each led the country in their time—and features their own thoughts and words through their documents, letters, diaries, speeches and so much more.

Some call it the most important job in the world. It's certainly the most powerful. And it's one that every citizen needs to know about because we're the ones who vote to put a president in office. Lively, informative, filled with firsts and facts, big ideas and compelling anecdotes, The Presidents Decoded, is a richly layered guide to the leaders who have shaped our nation.

Featuring over 125 primary sources--including documents, speeches, letters, executive orders and diaries--each leader's time in office is broken down and explained to 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 there's also George Washington’s letter to Martha as he learns that he’s been chosen to be the General of the Continental Army, a letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt from a desperate family during the Great Depression, a letter from baseball legend Jackie Robinson urging John F. Kennedy to do more for civil rights, and the Executive Order limiting the hours of the federal work day, and so many more.

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 our way of life — through inventions like the camera, the telephone, the first metal detector, services like the Navy and the Red Cross, and the rise of social media platforms like Twitter.

As she did in The Constitution Decoded, Katie Kennedy shines a light on American History, this time through the lens of the leaders who shaped our nation.

(*Very clever of you to catch this! the number is off by 1 because Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and the 24th president!)

A MODERN TAKE ON THE US PRESIDENTS: There are lots of presidential biography books for kids, but this is the only one that presents each person in terms of the job they did, the state of the country at the time, and, and backs up the narrative with primary sources.

GET TO KNOW YOUR SOURCES. Primary sources, secondary sources, tertiary sources--what's the difference? This book explains it all, and includes primary sources for each entry to show how and why each president led the country during their time in office. From George Washington's smallpox vaccine mandate to the Espionage Act, the Fugitive Slave act to Barack Obama's election night victory speech, and more. Readers will discover not only the presidents’ legacies through the documents that tell the story of our country, but also how to identify primary sources from fakes, and what to look for when they’re researching.

FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE CONSTITUTION DECODED: A Guide to the Document That Shapes Our Nation? (30,000 copies in print), Katie Kennedy again delivers a gripping narrative and a neutral look at the people, the policies, and the events that have shaped our nation.

Ages 10 And Up