Presidents

George Washington

Whiskey Rebellion, Neutrality Proclamation

John Adams

Alien and Sedition Acts

Thomas Jefferson

Louisiana Purchase, Embargo Act

James Madison

War of 1812

James Monroe

Monroe Doctrine, Era of Good Feelings

John Quincy Adams

"Corrupt Bargain", Erie Canal completed

Andrew Jackson

Indian Removal Act, Nullification Crisis, Bank War

Martin Van Buren

Panic of 1837

William Henry Harrison

Died 31 days after taking office

John Tyler

Annexation of Texas (set in motion)

James K. Polk

Mexican-American War, Manifest Destiny fulfilled

Zachary Taylor

Died in office, debated Compromise of 1850

Millard Fillmore

Compromise of 1850 signed into law

Franklin Pierce

Kansas-Nebraska Act

James Buchanan

Dred Scott decision, Bleeding Kansas

Abraham Lincoln

Civil War, Emancipation Proclamation

Andrew Johnson

Reconstruction conflicts, Impeachment

Ulysses S. Grant

15th Amendment, Credit Mobilier Scandal

Rutherford B. Hayes

Compromise of 1877, end of Reconstruction

James A. Garfield

Assassinated after 200 days

Chester A. Arthur

Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act

Grover Cleveland (1st term)

Interstate Commerce Act

Benjamin Harrison

Sherman Antitrust Act

Grover Cleveland (2nd term)

Pullman Strike, Panic of 1893

William McKinley

Spanish-American War, annexation of Philippines

Theodore Roosevelt

Trust-busting, Square Deal, Panama Canal

William Howard Taft

Dollar Diplomacy, broke more trusts than Roosevelt

Woodrow Wilson

Federal Reserve Act, WWI, Fourteen Points

Warren G. Harding

Teapot Dome Scandal

Calvin Coolidge

Laissez-faire economics, Roaring Twenties

Herbert Hoover

Stock Market Crash, Great Depression begins

Franklin D. Roosevelt

New Deal, WWII begins, Four Freedoms

Harry S. Truman

Atomic bombs dropped, Truman Doctrine, Korean War

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Interstate Highway Act, Brown v. Board of Education

John F. Kennedy

Cuban Missile Crisis, New Frontier

Lyndon B. Johnson

Civil Rights Act, Great Society, Vietnam escalation

Richard Nixon

Watergate, Détente with USSR/China

Gerald Ford

Pardoned Nixon, Fall of Saigon

Jimmy Carter

Camp David Accords, Iran Hostage Crisis

Ronald Reagan

Reaganomics, End of Cold War (starts), Iran-Contra

George H. W. Bush

Gulf War, Fall of the Berlin Wall

Bill Clinton

NAFTA, Impeachment

George W. Bush

9/11, War on Terror, Patriot Act

Barack Obama

Affordable Care Act, Great Recession recovery

Donald J. Trump

Tax cuts, COVID-19 begins, impeachment (twice)

Joe Biden

COVID recovery, Inflation Reduction Act, Ukraine War support (as of 2025)