Andrew Jackson (1767–1845) was an American soldier, lawyer, statesman, and the seventh president of the United States, serving from 1829 to 1837. Rising from humble origins on the Carolina frontier, he gained national fame as a military commander during the War of 1812, particularly for his victory at the Battle of New Orleans. As president, Jackson expanded popular participation in politics and championed the interests of the common voter, but his legacy remains controversial.

John Quincy Adams (1767 – 1848) was the sixth President of the United States (1825–1829) and the son of second President John Adams. He was a highly educated diplomat who served as minister to multiple European powers and played a key role in negotiating the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812. After his presidency, he served for nearly two decades in the House of Representatives, where he became a leading opponent of slavery and a defender of civil liberties.

Smith Thompson (1768-1843) was a New York lawyer, state judge, secretary of the navy, and Supreme Court justice appointed by President James Monroe. He had already served as Chief Justice of the New York Supreme Court and as Secretary of the Navy when Monroe selected him for the federal Court. Thompson generally supported the Marshall Court's broad understanding of federal judicial authority but sometimes differed from Marshall and Story on constitutional questions.

William Johnson Jr. (1771-1834) was a South Carolina lawyer, state legislator, and judge whom President Thomas Jefferson appointed to the Supreme Court in 1804. He became the first justice to regularly issue substantial dissenting opinions, making him an important counterweight to Chief Justice John Marshall's nationalist jurisprudence. Johnson generally favored a more restrained interpretation of federal power and spent thirty years on the Court before his death in 1834.

William Henry Harrison (1773-1841) was the ninth president of the United States, a military officer and frontier politician who rose to national prominence through his service in the Northwest Indian War and the War of 1812. He won the presidency in 1840 as the Whig candidate that lasted only 31 days before his death in 1841, making it the shortest presidency in American history and establishing the first major precedent for presidential succession.

Daniel D. Tompkins (1774-1825) was a New York lawyer and Democratic-Republican politician who became governor and played a major role in organizing New York's defenses during the War of 1812. He served two terms as James Monroe's vice president from 1817 to 1825.