John N. Garner (1868-1967) was a Texas lawyer who spent three decades in the House of Representatives and eventually became Speaker. He served as Franklin D. Roosevelt's vice president for eight years but broke with Roosevelt over important New Deal policies and challenged him for the Democratic nomination in 1940. Garner retired to Texas and lived until 1967, dying shortly before his ninety-ninth birthday.

Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933) was the 30th President of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A staunch advocate of limited government, low taxes, balanced budgets, and business growth, Coolidge became one of the leading symbols of the conservative politics of the 1920s. His legacy remains debated over the role his policies played in the economic conditions that preceded the Great Depression.

Herbert Hoover (1874-1964) was the 31st president of the United States, a self-made mining engineer, businessman, and humanitarian. His presidency was dominated by the onset of the Great Depression, and his mixed policies for stabilizing the economy. After leaving office, Hoover remained an influential critic of the New Deal and devoted much of his later life to humanitarian work, government reform, and defending the principles of limited government and individual responsibility.

Alben W. Barkley (1877-1956) was a Kentucky lawyer and Democrat who served in the House and Senate and became one of the Senate's leading Democratic legislators. He served as Harry Truman's vice president from 1949 to 1953 before returning to the Senate in 1955. Barkley died suddenly in 1956 while delivering a speech at Washington and Lee University.

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) was the 32nd president of the United States, serving an unprecedented four terms from 1933 until his death in 1945. He led the nation through the Great Depression with the New Deal and through most of World War II, greatly expanding the federal government's role in American life and establishing the United States as a leading world power. Roosevelt died in office in April 1945, leaving a lasting legacy as one of the most consequential and influential presidents.

Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, unexpectedly assuming office in 1945 and leading the nation through the final months of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War. He made the decision to use atomic bombs against Japan, the creation of the postwar international order, the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the NATO, and the Korean War. Though controversial, Truman is now widely regarded as one of the most consequential presidents of the post World War world.