U.S. Presidents Key Facts

George Washington

• Position: Commander of the Continental Army
• Terms: Served two terms as President
• Key Contributions:
  • Warning about the dangers of political parties in his Farewell Address

John Adams

• Political Affiliation: Federalist Party
• Terms: Served one term
• Key Contributions:
  • First President to live in the White House
  • Passed the Alien and Sedition Acts to suppress political opposition

Thomas Jefferson

• Political Affiliation: Democratic-Republican Party
• Terms: Served two terms
• Key Contributions:
  • Authored the Declaration of Independence
  • Initiated the Lewis and Clark Expedition to explore the West
  • Completed the Louisiana Purchase for $15 million, doubling the size of the US
  • Declared war on Tripoli and won against the Barbary Pirates in 1805

James Madison

• Political Affiliation: Democratic-Republican Party
• Terms: Served two terms
• Key Contributions:
  • Known as the Father of the Constitution
  • President during the War of 1812 against Great Britain

James Monroe

• Political Affiliation: Democratic-Republican Party
• Terms: Served two terms
• Key Contributions:
  • Established the Monroe Doctrine to protect Latin America from foreign intervention
  • Oversaw the Missouri Compromise of 1820
  • Erie Canal built to enhance trade between the Midwest and East Coast

John Quincy Adams

• Political Affiliation: Democratic-Republican Party
• Terms: Served one term
• Key Contributions:
  • Advocated for infrastructure improvements and the abolishment of slavery after his presidency

Andrew Jackson

• Political Affiliation: Democratic Party
• Terms: Served two terms
• Key Contributions:
  • Military general; survived an assassination attempt
  • Established the First US Bank
  • Associated with the Trail of Tears
  • Seen in political cartoons as a king, expanding executive power

Martin Van Buren

• Political Affiliation: Democratic Party
• Terms: Served one term
• Key Issues:
  • Presidency affected by the Panic of 1837, an economic collapse resulting from Jackson's policies

William Henry Harrison

• Political Affiliation: Whig Party
• Terms: Served one month (died of pneumonia)
• Notable Fact: First campaign slogan - "Tippecanoe and Tyler too"

John Tyler

• Political Affiliation: Whig Party
• Terms: Served one term
• Key Contributions: Annexed Texas; had no political party affiliation after leaving Whig Party

James Polk

• Political Affiliation: Democrat
• Terms: Served one term
• Key Contributions:
  • Led the Mexican-American War, acquiring new territories (AZ, NM, UT, CO)
  • Advocated for Manifest Destiny to expand US territory from Atlantic to Pacific

Zachary Taylor

• Political Affiliation: Whig Party
• Terms: Served one term (died in office)
• Notable Fact: Military hero in the Mexican-American War

Millard Fillmore

• Political Affiliation: Whig Party
• Terms: Served one term
• Key Contributions:
  • Signed the Compromise of 1850, allowing California to become a free state
  • Endorsed the Fugitive Slave Act

Franklin Pierce

• Political Affiliation: Democratic Party
• Terms: Served one term
• Key Issues:
  • Involvement in Bloody Kansas due to the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854

James Buchanan

• Political Affiliation: Democratic Party
• Terms: Served one term
• Key Contributions:
  • Faced the secession of Southern states from the Union

Abraham Lincoln

• Political Affiliation: Republican Party
• Terms: Served two terms
• Key Contributions:
  • Assassinated by John Wilkes Booth
  • Signed the Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves
  • Led the nation during the Civil War

Andrew Johnson

• Political Affiliation: Democratic Party
• Terms: Served one term
• Key Contributions:
  • First President to face impeachment hearings
  • Initiated Reconstruction of the South post-Civil War
  • Purchased Alaska
  • Oversaw the implementation of Black Codes in the South

Ulysses S. Grant

• Political Affiliation: Republican Party
• Terms: Served two terms
• Key Contributions:
  • General during the Civil War; presidency marred by scandals
  • Established Freedman's Bureau to assist former slaves
  • Passed the 15th Amendment granting African American men the right to vote

Rutherford B. Hayes

• Political Affiliation: Republican Party
• Terms: Served one term
• Key Contributions:
  • Controversially elected in 1876; ending of Reconstruction

James A. Garfield

• Political Affiliation: Republican Party
• Terms: Served one term (assassinated)
• Key Contributions:
  • Advocated for various reforms related to patronage

Chester A. Arthur

• Political Affiliation: Republican Party
• Terms: Served one term
• Key Contributions:
  • Started Civil Service Reform with the Pendleton Act
  • Signed the Chinese Exclusion Act prohibiting Chinese immigration for 10 years

Grover Cleveland

• Political Affiliation: Democratic Party
• Terms: Served two non-consecutive terms

Benjamin Harrison

• Political Affiliation: Republican Party
• Terms: Served one term
• Key Contributions:
  • Grandson of the 9th president; passed the Sherman Anti-Trust Act against monopolies

William McKinley

• Political Affiliation: Republican Party
• Terms: Served two terms (assassinated)
• Key Contributions:
  • Led during the Spanish-American War, gaining territories such as the Philippines
  • Promoted the Open Door Policy in trade with China

Theodore Roosevelt

• Political Affiliation: Republican Party
• Terms: Served two terms
• Key Contributions:
  • Participated as a leader in the Spanish-American War
  • First US President awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating the Russo-Japanese War
  • Oversaw the construction of the Panama Canal
  • Broke up over 40 trusts

William Howard Taft

• Political Affiliation: Republican Party
• Terms: Served one term
• Key Contributions:
  • Passed the 16th Amendment allowing federal income tax
  • First president to own a car; buried in Arlington National Cemetery with JFK

Woodrow Wilson

• Political Affiliation: Democratic Party
• Terms: Served two terms
• Key Contributions:
  • Led during World War I; created the League of Nations post-war which the US did not join
  • Won Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts
  • Gave a significant speech on 14 Points to end WWI

Warren Harding

• Political Affiliation: Republican Party
• Terms: Served one term
• Key Contributions:
  • Promised a “Return to Normalcy” post-WWI
  • Presidency marred by scandals, notably the Teapot Dome Scandal

Herbert Hoover

• Political Affiliation: Republican Party
• Terms: Served one term
• Key Contributions:
  • President during the Stock Market Crash of 1929, marking the start of the Great Depression
  • Associated with "Hooverville's" due to perceived inaction during the crisis

Franklin D. Roosevelt

• Political Affiliation: Democratic Party
• Terms: Served four terms (only President to do so)
• Key Contributions:
  • Led during World War II and the Great Depression; developed the New Deal
  • First woman nominated for a cabinet position (Francis Perkins, Sec of Labor)

Harry S. Truman

• Political Affiliation: Democratic Party
• Terms: Served two terms
• Key Contributions:
  • Made the decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan
  • Established the Truman Doctrine to prevent the spread of communism
  • Led during the Korean War

Dwight D. Eisenhower

• Political Affiliation: Republican Party
• Terms: Served two terms
• Key Contributions:
  • General during D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
  • Oversaw the Little Rock Crisis regarding school integration
  • Created NASA; middle class explosion due to GI Bill

John F. Kennedy

• Political Affiliation: Democratic Party
• Terms: Served one term (assassinated)
• Key Contributions:
  • Led during the Cuban Missile Crisis
  • Advocated for citizenship and civic duty: "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country"
  • Administered the New Frontier

Lyndon B. Johnson

• Political Affiliation: Democratic Party
• Terms: Served one term
• Key Contributions:
  • Enacted the Civil Rights Act
  • Initiated U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War
  • Advocated for the Great Society programs including Medicare and Medicaid
  • First Black Supreme Court Justice nominated (Thurgood Marshall)

Richard M. Nixon

• Political Affiliation: Republican Party
• Terms: Served two terms
• Key Contributions:
  • Only president to resign before impeachment (related to Watergate Scandal)
  • First president to visit Russia and China; signed SALT Treaty (Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty)

Gerald Ford

• Political Affiliation: Republican Party
• Terms: Served one term
• Key Facts:
  • Gave Nixon a presidential pardon
  • Survived assassination attempts; not elected in his previous positions

Jimmy Carter

• Political Affiliation: Democratic Party
• Terms: Served one term
• Key Contributions:
  • President during the Iran hostage crisis
  • Noted for declaring malaise in American society

Ronald Reagan

• Political Affiliation: Republican Party
• Terms: Served two terms
• Key Contributions:
  • Oldest person elected president
  • Appointed the first woman to the Supreme Court (Sandra D. O'Connor)
  • Advocated for military intervention in Grenada and a missile defense strategy

George H. W. Bush

• Political Affiliation: Republican Party
• Terms: Served one term
• Key Contributions:
  • Led during Operation Desert Storm to protect Kuwait
  • Oversaw the fall of communism and the fall of the Berlin Wall

William J. Clinton

• Political Affiliation: Democratic Party
• Terms: Served two terms
• Key Contributions:
  • Second president impeached but acquitted
  • Controversies included the Monica Lewinsky scandal; presided over an economic boom

George W. Bush

• Political Affiliation: Republican Party
• Terms: Served two terms
• Key Contributions:
  • Initiated Operation Iraqi Freedom; served during 9-11 attacks
  • Educational reform under No Child Left Behind
  • Expanded Medicare and Medicaid programs.