George Washington (1789-1797)

• Elected first president in 1789

• Oversaw the creation of the Constitution and Bill of Rights

• Established precedents for a strong executive branch and peaceful transition of power

• Managed tensions with Britain and France during his tenure

John Adams (1797-1801)

• Elected president in 1796 after serving as Washington's Vice President

• Oversaw the construction of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Washington D.C. as the new capital

• His Alien and Sedition Acts limited freedoms and hurt his popularity'

• First president to live in the White House

Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809)

• Defeated Adams in 1800 and oversaw peaceful transfer of power between parties

• Oversaw the Louisiana Purchase, doubling the country's size

• Sent Lewis and Clark on an expedition West to map and explore new territories

• Established good relations with Britain and France as their war continued

• Banned import of slaves in 1808 to eventually abolish slavery

James Madison (1809-1817)

• Oversaw the War of 1812 with Britain, Burning of the White House

• Strengthened the economy and promoted free trade

• Expanded country's borders with victories over Natives like Tecumseh

• Established Second National Bank to regulate currency

James Monroe (1817-1825)

• Last Founding Father president, oversaw "Era of Good Feelings"

• Issued Monroe Doctrine opposing more European colonization in Americas

• Acquired Florida from Spain, settled border disputes with Britain over Canada

• Supported growth of American System - infrastructure, industry, national bank

John Quincy Adams (1825-1829)

• First president who was the son of a former president

• Supported growth of infrastructure and exploration

• His "American System" plans faced opposition in Congress

• Lost reelection to Andrew Jackson in 1828

Andrew Jackson (1829-1837)

• First president from the Democratic party

• Signed Indian Removal Act leading to Trail of Tears

• Opposed renewing charter for Second National Bank

• Known as first "populist" president representing common man

Martin Van Buren (1837-1841)

• Served as Secretary of State under Jackson

• Oversaw financial panic and depression of 1837

• Opposed Texas annexation to avoid tensions over slavery

• Lost reelection bid in 1840

William Henry Harrison (1841)

• First president to die in office, only served 31 days

• Known for making lengthy Inaugural Address in cold rain

• Had shortest tenure of any president

John Tyler (1841-1845)

• First vice president to assume presidency due to death

• Clashed with Whigs in Congress over states' rights

• Supported Manifest Destiny and Texas annexation

• First president subject to impeachment proceedings

James K. Polk (1845-1849)

• Expanded country West through Mexican-American War

• Added California and the Southwest as new territories

• Reduced tariffs and supported Independent Treasury system

• Did not seek reelection after achieving his goals

Zachary Taylor (1849-1850)

• Hero of the Mexican-American War elected in 1848

• Died suddenly after 16 months in office

• Last president to own slaves while in office

• Had little impact due to his short time as president

Millard Fillmore (1850-1853)

• Assumed presidency after Taylor's death

• Signed Compromise of 1850 to allow slavery in new territories

• Opposed abolitionists and enforced Fugitive Slave Act

• Lost 1852 Whig nomination to Winfield Scott

Franklin Pierce (1853-1857)

• Signed Kansas-Nebraska Act, leading to bloody clashes over slavery

• His enforcement of Fugitive Slave Act increased sectional tensions

• Supported failed attempts to acquire Cuba from Spain

• Denied renomination by Democrats due to controversies

James Buchanan (1857-1861)

• Failed to address tensions between North and South over slavery

• Allowed Southern states to seize federal property after secession

• Helped divide Democrats at 1860 convention won by Lincoln

• Only president never to marry

Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)

• Issued Emancipation Proclamation and promoted 13th Amendment to abolish slavery

• Led Union through Civil War and ensured Confederate surrender

• Delivered iconic Gettysburg Address defining equal rights

• First president assassinated - shot by John Wilkes Booth

Andrew Johnson (1865-1869)

• Became president after Lincoln's assassination

• Clashed with Radical Republicans in Congress over Reconstruction

• Impeached but acquitted by one vote in Senate

• Granted amnesty to Confederates and opposed civil rights for freed slaves

Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)

• Union general during Civil War elected president in 1868

• Oversaw Reconstruction Era and pushed for citizenship for freed slaves

• Marred by scandals like the Whiskey Ring and Credit Mobilier

• Supported Native American tribes and modernized economy

Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881)

• Won disputed election of 1876 settled by Compromise of 1877

• Ended Reconstruction and withdrew federal troops from South

• Clashed with Congress over patronage and vetoes

• Did not seek reelection after one term

James A. Garfield (1881)

• Assassinated just 200 days into his term by Charles Guiteau

• Supported civil service reform and attempted to unite the Republican Party

• Brief presidency allowed little impact or legacy

Chester A. Arthur (1881-1885)

• Succeeded Garfield and enacted Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act

• Supported modernization of U.S. Navy fleet

• Restricted Chinese immigration via Chinese Exclusion Act

• Failed to win Republican nomination in 1884

Grover Cleveland (1885-1889; 1893-1897)

• Only president to serve two non-consecutive terms

• Supported merit-based civil service and fiscal responsibility

• Vetoed hundreds of pension bills he viewed as unnecessary spending

• Lost 1888 election but won again 4 years later

Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893)

• Grandson of William Henry Harrison

• Expanded U.S. Navy and passed early antitrust laws

• Oversaw addition of 6 new states to the Union

• Lost reelection bid to second Cleveland term

William McKinley (1897-1901)

• Led nation to victory in Spanish-American War

• Pursued American imperialism in Hawaii, Philippines and Cuba

• Promoted high tariffs and maintained gold standard

• Assassinated by anarchist Leon Czolgosz in 1901

Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)

• Became president after McKinley's death at 42, youngest ever

• Pursued Square Deal domestic policies like antitrust lawsuits

• Supported conservation and establishing national parks

• Brokered end to Russo-Japanese War, earning Nobel Peace Prize

William Howard Taft (1909-1913)

• Appointed by TR, drifted away from his policies

• Broke up monopolies more than Roosevelt

• Established federal income tax with 16th Amendment

• Alienated Progressives, lost 1912 GOP nomination to TR

Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)

• Oversaw passage of Federal Reserve Act, antitrust laws

• Led U.S. in World War I and secured Allied victory

• Helped negotiate Treaty of Versailles and propose League of Nations

• Suffered stroke in office; wife Edith served as de facto president

Warren G. Harding (1921-1923)

• Returned U.S. to "normalcy" after WWI involvement

• Teapot Dome scandal revealed corruption in administration

• Supported bans on immigration from Asia and Southern Europe

• Died suddenly ending hopes for full term

Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)

• Succeeded Harding and restored trust in White House

• Maintained laissez-faire economic policy favoring business

• Signed Indian Citizenship Act granting citizenship to Natives

• Did not seek reelection following death of teenage son

Herbert Hoover (1929-1933)

• Secretary of Commerce before taking office in 1929

• Onset of Great Depression weeks into his term

• Passage of Smoot-Hawley tariffs worsened economic woes

• Crushed by FDR in 1932 election due to Depression handling

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945)

• Oversaw New Deal economic programs during Great Depression

• Led U.S. to victory in World War II as Allied powers

• First and only president elected to more than 2 terms (4)

• Died in office months before end of WWII

Harry S. Truman (1945-1953)

• Became president after FDR's death

• Made decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan

• Oversaw start of Cold War, Marshall Plan, Berlin Airlift

• Desegregated armed forces and recognized Israel

Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961)

• Allied commander in Europe during World War II

• Oversaw programs like Interstate Highway System

• Dispatched federal troops to enforce desegregation

• Warned of military-industrial complex at end of term

John F. Kennedy (1961-1963)

• Youngest man ever elected president

• Handled Cuban Missile Crisis and growing Cold War tensions

• Supported Space Race and proposed Peace Corps creation

• Assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas in 1963

Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969)

• Succeeded Kennedy and won full term in 1964

• Passed extensive Great Society domestic programs

• Signed landmark Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act

• Declined to seek reelection due to unpopularity of Vietnam War

Richard Nixon (1969-1974)

• Ended U.S. involvement in Vietnam War

• Opened relations with China during Ping-Pong Diplomacy

• Created government agencies like EPA and OSHA

• Resigned in disgrace over Watergate scandal cover-up

Gerald Ford (1974-1977)

• Succeeded Nixon and pardoned him over Watergate

• Suffered from a poor economy and energy crisis

• Presided over U.S. bicentennial celebrations

• Lost very close 1976 election to Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)

• Emphasized human rights in foreign policy

• Oversaw energy crisis, recession, and Iran hostage crisis

• Brokered historic Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt

• Lost reelection bid plagued by high inflation and unemployment

Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)

• Implemented supply-side "Reaganomics" economic policy

• Escalated Cold War arms race with USSR

• Survived assassination attempt by John Hinckley

• Publicly appealed for Gorbachev to "tear down" Berlin Wall

George H.W. Bush (1989-1993)

• Oversaw Gulf War victory over Iraq's invasion of Kuwait

• Signed Americans with Disabilities Act into law

• Faced recession and broke "no new taxes" pledge

• Lost reelection to Bill Clinton amid sluggish economy

Bill Clinton (1993-2001)

• Guided 1990s economic expansion and dot-com bubble

• Signed NAFTA agreement, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Defense of Marriage Act

• Impeached but acquitted over lying about Lewinsky affair

• Oversaw federal budgets with surpluses in late 1990s

George W. Bush (2001-2009)

• Battled War on Terror after 9/11 attacks

• Invaded Afghanistan and Iraq, toppling Saddam Hussein

• Passed expansive tax cuts and No Child Left Behind education reforms

• Oversaw creation of Department of Homeland Security

Barack Obama (2009-2017)

• First African American president, elected in 2008

• Signed Affordable Care Act to expand health insurance coverage

• Authorized operation killing Osama bin Laden

• Oversaw legalization of gay marriage and lifting of Cuba embargo

Donald Trump (2017-2021)

• Defeated Hillary Clinton in upset 2016 election

• Passed tax cuts and appointed conservative justices

• Impeached twice but acquitted by Senate

• Promoted "America First" policy and stricter immigration

Joe Biden (2021-present)

• Oldest president ever elected, age 78 in 2020

• Signed major infrastructure and climate change bills

• Has battled high inflation and recession fears

• Oversaw U.S. response supporting Ukraine in war vs. Russia