US Presidents and Major Policies: 1789–Present

Theodore Roosevelt

Square Deal; trust-busting; Panama Canal (1901-1909).

Jimmy Carter

Energy crisis; Iran Hostage Crisis (1977-1981).

George W. Bush

9/11; War on Terror; Iraq War (2001-2009).

George Washington

Set precedents; Neutrality Proclamation; Whiskey Rebellion (1789-1797).

John Adams

Alien & Sedition Acts; Quasi-War with France (1797-1801).

Thomas Jefferson

Louisiana Purchase; Lewis & Clark; Embargo Act (1801-1809).

James Madison

War of 1812; national identity grows (1809-1817).

James Monroe

Monroe Doctrine; Era of Good Feelings (1817-1825).

John Quincy Adams

American System support; weak presidency (1825-1829).

Andrew Jackson

Indian Removal Act; Bank War; expanded democracy (1829-1837).

Martin Van Buren

Panic of 1837 economic depression (1837-1841).

William Henry Harrison

Died after 1 month (no major policy) (1841).

John Tyler

Annexation of Texas begins (1841-1845).

James K. Polk

Mexican-American War; Manifest Destiny; Mexican Cession (1845-1849).

Zachary Taylor

Sectional tension over slavery in territories (1849-1850).

Millard Fillmore

Compromise of 1850; Fugitive Slave Act (1850-1853).

Franklin Pierce

Kansas-Nebraska Act; Bleeding Kansas (1853-1857).

James Buchanan

Failed to stop secession crisis (1857-1861).

Abraham Lincoln

Civil War; Emancipation Proclamation; preserved Union (1861-1865).

Andrew Johnson

Impeachment; weak Reconstruction (1865-1869).

Ulysses S. Grant

Reconstruction enforcement; corruption scandals (1869-1877).

Rutherford B. Hayes

End of Reconstruction (Compromise of 1877) (1877-1881).

James A. Garfield

Assassinated; civil service reform begins (1881).

Chester A. Arthur

Pendleton Civil Service Act (1881-1885).

Grover Cleveland

First nonconsecutive president; opposed tariffs (1885-1889).

Benjamin Harrison

Sherman Antitrust Act; high tariffs (1889-1893).

William McKinley

Spanish-American War; U.S. imperial expansion (1897-1901).

Harry S. Truman

Cold War begins; Truman Doctrine; atomic bomb decisions (1945-1953).

George H. W. Bush

Gulf War; end of Cold War (1989-1993).

William Howard Taft

Continued trust-busting; Dollar Diplomacy (1909-1913).

Woodrow Wilson

WWI; League of Nations; New Freedom reforms (1913-1921).

Warren G. Harding

"Return to normalcy"; corruption scandals (1921-1923).

Calvin Coolidge

Pro-business; economic boom of 1920s (1923-1929).

Herbert Hoover

Great Depression begins; limited government response (1929-1933).

Franklin D. Roosevelt

New Deal; WWII leadership; expanded federal government (1933-1945).

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Interstate Highway System; Cold War containment (1953-1961).

John F. Kennedy

Cuban Missile Crisis; Civil Rights support begins (1961-1963).

Lyndon B. Johnson

Great Society; Civil Rights Act; Vietnam escalation (1963-1969).

Richard Nixon

Vietnamization; Watergate scandal; resigned (1969-1974).

Gerald Ford

Pardoned Nixon; post-Watergate recovery (1974-1977).

Ronald Reagan

Reaganomics; Cold War escalation then thaw (1981-1989).

Bill Clinton

Economic boom; NAFTA; impeachment (acquitted) (1993-2001).

Barack Obama

Affordable Care Act; Great Recession recovery (2009-2017).

Donald Trump

Tax cuts; impeachment twice; COVID-19 response (2017-2021).

Joe Biden

COVID recovery; infrastructure bill; inflation response; Ukraine support (2021-present).

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