US Presidents Summary

George Washington (1789–1797)

  • 1st President of the United States.

  • Supported the First Bank of the United States.

  • Served two terms.

John Adams (1797–1801)

  • Federalist.

  • Key events/legislation: Sedition Acts, Alien Laws, XYZ Affair.

  • Served one term.

Thomas Jefferson (1801–1809)

  • Democratic-Republican (Jeffersonian).

  • Key events/legislation: Embargo Act, Non-Intercourse Act.

  • Advocated for a small military.

  • Key events: Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark Expedition.

  • Key figures: John Marshall, James Monroe, Robert Livingston, Meriwether Lewis, William Clark.

  • Served two terms.

James Madison (1809–1817)

  • Democratic-Republican.

  • Key events/legislation: Macon’s Bill No. 2, War of 1812, Treaty of Ghent (1814), Tariff of 1816.

  • Opposed nationally funded roads.

  • Served two terms.

James Monroe (1817–1825)

  • Democratic-Republican.

  • "Era of Good Feelings."

  • Key events/legislation: Panic of 1819, Missouri Compromise, Monroe Doctrine.

  • Served two terms.

John Quincy Adams (1825–1829)

  • Possibly a Democrat, but identified as a strong Nationalist.

  • Opposed slavery.

  • Supported nationally funded roads and canals.

  • Served one term.

Andrew Jackson (1829–1837)

  • Democrat.

  • Key events/legislation: Bank War, Panic of 1837, Trail of Tears.

  • Advocated for the "Common Man."

  • Implemented the Spoils System.

  • Served two terms.

Martin Van Buren (1837–1841)

  • Democrat.

  • Key events/legislation: Divorce Bill, Independent Treasury Bill.

  • Delayed actions prolonged the Panic of 1837.

  • Served one term.

William Henry Harrison (1841)

  • Whig.

  • Died in office (April 4, 1841).

  • Served one term.

John Tyler (1841–1845)

  • Whig (but Democrat at heart).

  • Vetoed the Bank of the United States.

  • Lowered the tariff.

  • Served one term.

James K. Polk (1845–1849)

  • Democrat.

  • Key events/legislation: Oregon Country settlement with Britain, Mexican-American War.

  • Served one term.

Zachary Taylor (1849–1850)

  • Whig.

  • Key events: Underground Railroad, Gold Rush, Congressional Debate of 1850.

  • Died in office (July 9, 1850).

  • Served one term.

Millard Fillmore (1850–1853)

  • Whig.

  • Key events/legislation: Compromise of 1850, Fugitive Slave Law, “2nd Era of Good Feelings”.

  • Served one term.

Franklin Pierce (1853–1857)

  • Democrat.

  • Focused on Cuba/Nicaragua.

  • Key events/legislation: Kansas-Nebraska Act, Lecompton Constitution.

  • Supported the Transcontinental Railroad.

  • Served one term.

James Buchanan (1857–1861)

  • Democrat.

  • Key events: Dred Scott Case, Panic of 1857, John Brown's raid.

  • Served one term.

Abraham Lincoln (1861–1865)

  • Republican.

  • Key events: Civil War, Emancipation Proclamation.

  • Assassinated by John Wilkes Booth (April 14, 1865).

  • Served 2 terms.

Andrew Johnson (1865–1869)

  • Democrat.

  • Key events: Reconstruction, Clashes with Congress.

  • Impeached; survived by 11 vote.

  • Served one term.

Ulysses S. Grant (1869–1877)

  • Republican.

  • Key events/legislation: Political corruption, Credit Mobilier Scandal, Panic of 1873.

  • Served two terms.

Rutherford B. Hayes (1877–1881)

  • Republican.

  • Key events/legislation: Hayes-Tilden Standoff, Electoral Count Act, Civil Rights Act of 1875, Jim Crow Laws.

  • Served one term.

James A. Garfield (1881)

  • Republican.

  • Assassinated by Charles J. Guiteau (September 19, 1881).

  • Served one term.

Chester A. Arthur (1881–1884)

  • Republican.

  • Key events/legislation: Pendleton Act, Civil Service Reform.

  • Served one term.

Grover Cleveland (1885–1889, 1893–1897)

  • Democrat.

    • 1st Term: Advocated for lower tariffs, lost reelection.

    • 2nd Term: Panic of 1893, Anti-imperialist.

Benjamin Harrison (1889–1893)

  • Republican.

  • Key events/legislation: Billion-Dollar Congress, McKinley Tariff, Sherman Silver Act.

  • Served one term.

William McKinley (1897–1901)

  • Republican.

  • Key events/legislation: Gold Standard Act, Annexation of Hawaii.

  • Assassinated (September 14, 1901).

  • Served one term.

Theodore Roosevelt (1901–1909)

  • Republican.

  • Key events/legislation: Panama Canal, Roosevelt Corollary, Progressivism, Panic of 1907.

  • Served two terms.

William Howard Taft (1909–1913)

  • Republican.

  • Key events: Trust-buster, Progressivism.

  • Served one term.

Woodrow Wilson (1913–1921)

  • Democrat.

  • Key events/legislation: Federal Reserve Act, WWI, League of Nations, 18th & 19th Amendments.

  • "Red Scare," Sacco and Vanzetti trial.

  • Served two terms.

Warren G. Harding (1921–1923)

  • Republican.

  • Key events: Teapot Dome Scandal, Roaring Twenties.

  • Died in office (August 2, 1923).

  • Served one term.

Calvin Coolidge (1923–1929)

  • Republican.

  • Key events/legislation: Capper-Volstead Act, Dawes Plan.

  • Served one term.

Herbert Hoover (1929–1933)

  • Republican.

  • Key events: Great Depression, Hawley-Smoot Tariff, Black Tuesday (1929).

  • Served one term.

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945)

  • Democrat.

  • Key events: New Deal, WWII, Yalta Conference.

  • Died in office (April 12, 1945).

  • Served four terms.

Harry S. Truman (1945–1953)

  • Democrat.

  • Key events: End of WWII, United Nations, GI Bill.

  • Served two terms.

Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961)

  • Republican.

  • Key events: Korean War armistice, McCarthyism, Space Race (NASA, Sputnik).

  • Served two terms.

John F. Kennedy (1961–1963)

  • Democrat.

  • Key events: New Frontier, Cuban Missile Crisis, Bay of Pigs.

  • Assassinated (November 22, 1963).

  • Served one term.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969)

  • Democrat.

  • Key events/legislation: Civil Rights Acts, Vietnam War, “Great Society”.

  • Served two terms.

Richard Nixon (1969–1974)

  • Republican.

  • Key events: Vietnamization, D√©tente, Watergate Scandal.

  • Resigned in 1974.

  • Served two terms.

Gerald Ford (1974–1977)

  • Republican.

  • Key events: Helsinki Accords.

  • Served one term.

Jimmy Carter (1977–1981)

  • Democrat.

  • Key events: Oil Crisis, Iranian Hostage Crisis.

  • Served one term.

Ronald Reagan (1981–1989)

  • Republican.

  • Key events: Supply-side Economics, Military Spending, Soviet Relations.

  • Served two terms.

George Bush (1989–1993)

  • Republican.

  • Key events/legislation: Persian Gulf War, Americans with Disabilities Act.

  • Served one term.

Bill Clinton (1993–2001)

  • Democrat.

  • Key events: NAFTA, Impeachment (perjury).

  • Served two terms.

George W. Bush (2001–2009)

  • Republican.

  • Key events: 9/11 Attacks, War in Afghanistan/Iraq.

  • Served two terms.

Barack Obama (2009–2017)

  • Democrat.

  • Key events/legislation: Affordable Health Care Act.

  • First African American President.

  • Served two terms.