APUSH: Presidents Washington-McKinley

George Washington

2 terms 1789-1797

1. Established the first presidential cabinet. 2. Suppressed the Whiskey Rebellion (1794). 3. Signed the Judiciary Act of 1789. 4. Issued the Proclamation of Neutrality (1793). 5. Delivered his Farewell Address.

John Adams

Federalist

1 term 1797-1801

1. Managed the XYZ Affair. 2. Signed the Alien and Sedition Acts (1798). 3. Led the nation through the Quasi-War with France. 4. Appointed "Midnight Judges." 5. Convention of 1800 resolves the Quasi-War.

Thomas Jefferson

Democratic-Republican

2 terms: 1801-1809

1. Authorized the Louisiana Purchase (1803). 2. Supported the Lewis and Clark Expedition. 3. Marbury v. Madison established judicial review (1803). 4. Signed the Embargo Act of 1807. 5. Fought the First Barbary War.

James Madison

Democratic Republican

2 terms: 1808-1807

1. Led the nation through the War of 1812. 2. The Burning of Washington D.C. (1814). 3. Signed the Treaty of Ghent (1814). 4. Approved the Second Bank of the U.S. (1816). 5. Renewed the prohibition of trade with Great Britain.

James Monroe

Dem-Rep

2 terms: 1817-1825

1. Issued the Monroe Doctrine (1823). 2. Signed the Missouri Compromise (1820). 3. Acquired Florida via the Adams-Onís Treaty (1819). 4. Presided over the "Era of Good Feelings." 5. Settled border disputes with Great Britain (1818).

John quincy Adams

Dem-Republican/Whig

1 term: 1825-1820

1. Won the controversial "Corrupt Bargain" election (1824). 2. Advocated for a national system of internal improvements. 3. Signed the "Tariff of Abominations" (1828). 4. Faced continuous Congressional opposition. 5. Signed the Judiciary Act of 1825.

Andrew Jackson

Democrat

2 terms: 1829-1837

1.Signed the Indian Removal Act (1830). 2. Waged the "Bank War" (vetoed the Bank recharter). 3. Faced down the Nullification Crisis (1832-33). 4. Instituted the "Spoils System." 5. Issued the Specie Circular (1836).

Martin Van Buren

Democrat

1 term: 1837-1841

1. Presidency dominated by the Panic of 1837. 2. Continued the Trail of Tears removals. 3. Rejected the annexation of Texas. 4. Established the Independent Treasury. 5. Faced the Aroostook War (border conflict with Canada).

William henry Harrison

Whig

<1 term (Died):Mar. 4 - Apr. 4, 1841

1. Gave the longest inaugural address. 2. Died after 31 days in office. 3. First president to die in office.

John Tyler

Whig (Expelled)

<1 (Assumed): 1841-1845

1. First VP to assume the presidency. 2. Vetoed national bank bills; cabinet resigned. 3. Signed the Webster-Ashburton Treaty (1842). 4. Successfully pushed through the annexation of Texas (1845). 5. Presided over the completion of the first telegraph line.

James K. Polk

Democrat

1 term: 1845-1849

1. Led the US through the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). 2. Acquired the Mexican Cession. 3. Settled the Oregon border dispute. 4. Signed the Walker Tariff. 5. Achieved all four of his major presidential goals.

Zachory Taylor

Whig

<1 term (Died):1849-1850

1. First career soldier elected president. 2. Urged immediate statehood for California and New Mexico. 3. Opposed early compromise on slavery expansion. 4. Died suddenly in office (July 9, 1850).

Millard FIllmore

Whig

<1 term (Assumed)1850-1853

1. Signed the Compromise of 1850. 2. Signed the Fugitive Slave Act (1850). 3. Launched the mission to open Japan to trade. 4. Term saw the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin. 5. Supported the construction of the transcontinental railroad.

Franklin Pierce

Democrat

1 term: 1853-1857

1. Signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854). 2. Acquired land via the Gadsden Purchase (1853). 3. Presided over the start of "Bleeding Kansas." 4. Finalized the Treaty of Kanagawa with Japan (1854). 5. His entire cabinet remained intact for four years.

James Buchanan

Democrat

1 term: 1857-1861

1. Endorsed the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision (1857). 2. Failed to prevent the secession of seven Southern states. 3. Failed to resolve the Lecompton Constitution crisis. 4. Faced John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry (1859). 5. Argued the government could not legally stop secession.

Abraham Lincoln

Republican

<2 terms (Assassinated):1861-1865

1. Led the Union through the Civil War. 2. Issued the Emancipation Proclamation (1863). 3. Delivered the Gettysburg Address (1863). 4. Signed the Homestead Act (1862). 5. Was assassinated in April 1865.

Andrew Johnson

Democrat (Union Party Ticket)

<1 term (Assumed)1865-1869

1. Clashed with Congress over Reconstruction. 2. Vetoed the Freedmen's Bureau Bill. 3. Was impeached by the House (1868). 4. Purchased Alaska from Russia (1867). 5. The 14th Amendment was ratified despite his opposition.

Ulysses S. Grand

Republican

2 terms: 1869-1877

1. Enforced the 15th Amendment. 2. Used the military to break up the Ku Klux Klan. 3. Presided over the Panic of 1873. 4. Administration plagued by scandals (e.g., Whiskey Ring). 5. Signed the Civil Rights Act of 1871.

Rutherford B. Hayes

Republican

1 term: 1877-1881

1. Won the presidency through the Compromise of 1877. 2. Ended Reconstruction (withdrew federal troops). 3. Used federal troops to break the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. 4. Pushed for civil service reform. 5. Signed the Bland-Allison Act (1878).

James A. Garfield

Republican

<1 term (Assassinated)Mar. 4 - Sept. 19, 1881

1. Was shot by a disgruntled office seeker (1881). 2. Died from complications of the wound. 3. Began to challenge the patronage system.

Chester A .Arthur

Republican

<1 term: (Assumed)1881-1885

1. Signed the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act (1883). 2. Signed the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882). 3. Modernized the U.S. Navy. 4. Oversaw the creation of civilian government in Alaska. 5. Presided over the Civil Rights Cases Supreme Court decision.

Glover Cleveland (22 and 24)

Democrat

2 terms Non-consecutive)1885-1889 (1st) / 1893-1897 (2nd)

1. Only President to serve two non-consecutive terms. 2. Used federal troops to crush the Pullman Strike (1894). 3. Faced the severe Panic of 1893 (2nd term). 4. Repealed the Sherman Silver Purchase Act (2nd term). 5. Resisted the annexation of Hawaii (2nd term).

Benjamin Harrison

Republican

1 term: 1889-18931.

Signed the Sherman Antitrust Act (1890). 2. Signed the McKinley Tariff (1890). 3. Created the national forest reserves. 4. Signed acts admitting six new states. 5. Federal spending reached $1 billion for the first time.

William McKinley

Republican

<2 terms (Assassinated)1897-1901

1. Led the US in the Spanish-American War (1898). 2. Annexed the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico. 3. Signed the Gold Standard Act (1900). 4. Annexed Hawaii (1898). 5. Was assassinated in September 1901.