Presidents of the United States



First 12 Presidents (1)

George Washington (1789-1797)

Sets precedents; Farewell Address; no party

John Adams (1797-1801)

Federalist; XYZ Affair; Alien and Sedition Acts

Thomas Jefferson (1801-1909)

Louisiana Purchase; Embargo Act

James Madison (1809-1817)

War of 1812; Father of Constitution

James Monroe (1817-1825)

Monroe Doctrine; Era of Good Feelings

John Quincy Adams (1825-1829)

“Corrupt bargain”; Nationalist

Andrew Jackson (1829-1837)

Expanded presidential power; Indian Removal Act

Martin Van Buren (1837-1841)

Panic of 1837; Democrat

William Henry Harrison (1841)

Died after 1 month in office

John Tyler (1841-1845)

Annexed Texas; Clashed with Whigs

James K. Polk (1845-1849)

Mexican-American War; Manifest Destiny

Zachary Taylor (1849-1850)

Died in office; War hero




Second Next 12 Presidents

Millard Fillmore (1850-1853)

Compromise of 1850

Franklin Pierce (1853-1857)

Kansas-Nebraska Act

James Buchanan (1857-1861)

Failed to stop secession

Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)

Led through Civil War; Emancipation; Assassinated

Andrew Johnson (1865-1869)

Reconstruction struggles; Impeached

Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)

Civil War hero; Corruption scandals

Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881)

Ended Reconstruction

James A. Garfield (1881)

Assassinated early

Chester A. Arthur (1881-1885)

Civil service reform

Grover Cleveland (1865-1889)

Only president to serve two non-consecutive terms

Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893)

Sherman Antitrust Act

Grover Cleveland (1893-1897)

Panic of 1893; Conservative





Third Next 12 Presidents

William McKinley (1897-1901)

Spanish-American War; Assassinated

Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)

Trust-buster; Panama Canal; Conservationist

William Howard Taft (1909-1913)

Dollar diplomacy; Later Chief Justice

Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)

WWI; League of Nations; 14 Points

Warren G. Harding (1921-1923)

Teapot Dome Scandal; Died in office

Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)

Laissez-faire economics

Herbert Hoover (1929-1933)

Great Depression began

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945)

New Deal; WWII; Elected 4 times

Harry S. Truman (1945-1953)

Dropped atomic bombs; Cold War begins

Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961)

Interstate Highway System; Cold War era

John F. Kennedy (1961-1963)

Cuban Missile Crisis; Assassinated

Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969)

Great Society; Escalated Vietnam War


Last 9 Presidents

Richard Nixon (1969-1974)

Ended Vietnam War; Watergate; Resigned

Gerald Ford (1974-1977)

Pardoned Nixon

Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)

Camp David Accords; Iran Hostage Crisis

Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)

Conservative revolution; Ended Cold War tensions

George H.W. Bush (1989-1993)

Gulf War; Cold War ends

Bill Clinton (1993-2001)

Economic boom; Impeached

George W. Bush (2001-2009)

9/11; Iraq and Afghanistan wars

Barack Obama (2009-2017)

First Black President; Affordable Care Act (ACA)

Donald Trump (2017-2021)

Populism; Impeached twice

Joe Biden (2021-2025)

COVID-19 recovery; Infrastructure; Climate policy