Information & history on back of plaque:
George Washington was born in Westmoreland County,  Virginia,  in 1732.   His courageous leadership during the American Revolution earned him the title "Father of Our Country."   He was the first president of the United States,  serving from 1789-1797.   He played a key role in the creation of the document on which our democracy was founded,  negotiated treaties,  diffused the Whiskey Rebellion,  and defined the process for choosing Supreme Court justices.   He died in Virginia on December 14,  1799,  at his beloved estate,  Mount Vernon.

Information & history on back of plaque:
John Adams was born in 1735 in Braintree,  Massachusetts,  and took office in 1797.   Times were turbulent during his presidential service.   He refused to declare war against France after the counry enraged Americans by demanding a large sum of cash before beginning diplomatic negotiations.   This was known as the XYZ Affair.   The public also disapproved of his support of the Alien and Sedition Acts,  seeing it as an affront to their civil rights.   Adams served one term, leaving office in 1801.   He died on Independence Day 1826.

Information & history on back of plaque:
Thomas Jefferson served as the third president of the United States from 1801-1809.   Born in 1743 at Shadwell Plantation in Virginia,  Jefferson enjoyed several hobbies outside of politics including architecture,  botany,  animal husbandry,  and meteorology.   He wrote the Declaration of Independence and,  while in the political arena,  he outlawed the importation of slaves to the U.S.A.,  thus taking the first step toward abolition of slavery.   Another of his contributions to American history was the opening and exploration of the West.   He died at Monticello,  his home in Virginia,  on Independence Day 1826.

Information & history on back of plaque:
Known as the "Father of the Constitution,"  James Madison was a leader at the Constitutional Convention and drafted much of the document and the Bill of Rights.   Madison was our fourth president,  serving from 1809-1817.   Born in Virginia in 1751,  James Madison was our smallest president,  at 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing no more than 100 pounds.   After his presidency,  he and his wife Dolly moved to Montpelier where he ran the plantation and continued to be active in Virginia and national politics until his death on June 26,  1836.

Information & history on back of plaque:
James Monroe was born in 1758 in Westmoreland County,  Virginia.   He ascended to the presidency in 1817.   He was a popular president during a peaceful time known as the "Era of Good Feeling."   Some notable events during his service include gaining Florida from Spain in 1818 and the "Monroe Doctrine,"  which proclaimed American hostility to any further European colonization or interference in the Americas.   After he left office in 1825,  Monroe and his wife retired to Virginia.  When his wife died,  Monroe moved in with his daughter in New York City,  where he died on Independence Day 1831.