Presidents of the United States 1. George Washington (1789-1797) Set the tone for presidents Stepped down after 2 terms Put down several rebellions Supported the 1 st Bank of the United States 2. John Adams (1797-1801) Worked well with critics and opponents Built up modern navy Made John Marshall Chief Justice of Supreme Court Alien & Sedition Acts limited freedom of speech Fought undeclared naval war with France 3. Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809) Louisiana Purchase doubled size of nation Created Embargo Acts that lead to War of 1812 Authorized Lewis & Clark Expedition Slave-owner/Had 6 children with one of them Won war with Barbary Pirates Tried to defy US Supreme Court Fought for a small military 4. James Madison (1809-1817) Lead nation competently during War of 1812 Embargo Acts lead to War of 1812 War of 1812 ends in stalemate, but US survives High tariffs to protect US industry 5. James Monroe (1817-1825)
Presided over 1 Party System Economic problems in 1819 Era of Feelings Missouri Compromise temporarily ended debate Over expansion of slavery Monroe Doctrine declares US dominance over Central America 6. John Quincy Adams (1825-1829) Opposed slavery Grumpy & made lots of enemies Supported building national roads 7. Andrew Jackson (1829-1837) Supported the common person Fought for national supremacy over states Created modern Democratic Party Fought against National Bank Expanded power of the President Created spoils system rewarding friends with political jobs Indian Removal Act caused the Trail of Tears 8. Martin Van Buren (1837-1841) Anti-slavery Refused to annex Texas Increased tensions with Britain Inaction during Panic of 1837 crashed economy 9. William Henry Harrison (1841) Died a month into presidency 10. John Tyler (1841-1845)
Annexed Texas Sec of State settled US-Canada border in NE Defied his own party had nothing but enemies Vetoed bills to fix Panic of 1837 Problems 11. James K. Polk (1845-1849) Settled US-Canada Border dispute w/ Britain Established a treasury system Lead sweeping victory in Mexican-American War M-A War was an obvious war of aggression Purchased CA, AZ, NM Voluntarily served one term Accomplished his goals 12. Zachary Taylor (1849-1850) Gold Rush Begins Dies in office 13. Millard Fillmore (1850-1853) Compromise includes Fugitive Slave Law Compromise of 1850 delays Civil War by splitting slavery issue 14. Franklin Pierce (1853-1857) Kansas-Nebraska Act divides nation further Bleeding Kansas Pro & Anti Slavery terrorism Diplomats try to justify war to seize Cuba 15. James Buchanan (1857-1861)
16. Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865) Presides over Civil War victory Emancipation Proclamation Preserved the Union 17. Andrew Johnson (1865-1869) Waffling helped hasten the Civil War Supreme Court affirms right to slavery Panic of 1857 cripples Northern economy for some time Suspended Habeas Corpus Unconstitutional Worked so poorly with Congress that he was almost impeached Conciliatory Reconstruction policies 18. Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877) Enforced civil rights laws & crushed KKK Had incredibly corrupt cabinet & friends Panic of 1873 crushes economy 19. Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881) Modest civil service reform Lost Popular Vote Crushed Railroad Strike in 1877 Compromise of 1877 ended Reconstruction Lead to Jim Crow Laws 20. James A. Garfield (1881)
Proposed end to the spoils system Assassinated 200 days into presidency 21. Chester A. Arthur (1881-1884) Pendleton Act cut corruption Chinese Exclusion Act extremely racist & unconstitutional 22. Grover Cleveland (1885-1889) Anti-Corruption Proposed lower tariff that cost his party the next election 23. Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893) Sherman Anti-Trust Act makes monopolies illegal Raised tariffs Never was able to enforce law Silver policies led to Panic of 1893 24. Grover Cleveland (1893-1897) Anti-Corruption Panic of 1893 leads to depression Used power to crush Pullman Strike 25. William McKinley (1897-1901) Led through Spanish-American War Overwhelming victory Returned economy to good shape Annexed Hawaii America establishes an empire 26. Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) Refuses Filipino self-determination Leads to Philippine-American War Basically stolen from Native Hawaiians
Worked hard for common people Barely avoided Stock Market Crash in 1907 Broke up monopolies Conservation programs Helped individual minorities Put Oliver Wendell Holmes on the Supreme Court Built Panama Canal Heavy regulation of economy to help the people Intervened in Latin America often After stealing it from Colombia 27. William Howard Taft (1909-1913) Broke up lots of monopolies Not a very good politician Got stuck in presidential bathtub Cut back on conservation programs 28. Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921) Guided US through World War I Created Federal Reserve System Anti-trust laws minorities/immigrants Creates League of Nations Prohibition is a failure Undoes all civil rights progress made by Teddy & Taft Red Scare causes discrimination against Sedition Act violates freedom of speech Women s Suffrage is guaranteed, but he opposed it for a long time Failed to get the US into the League of Nations Invaded Mexico to remove non-threatening dictator, later again to chase a bandit 29. Warren G. Harding (1921-1923) Presides over good times WWII Created none of them Laissez Faire policies set up Stock Market Crash Insanely corrupt cabinet & friends Signed Washington Naval Treaty that helped lead to
30. Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929) Restored trust to White House after Harding scandals Signs Kellogg-Briand Pact making war illegal Nice work! Didn t do much uninspiring leader Laissez Faire policies set up Stock Market Crash 31. Herbert Hoover (1929-1933) Nice guy Started some public works programs 32. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) Returned hope & confidence to economy & nation Guided nation marvelously through WWII Provided work for thousands & thousands Laid groundwork for Post-WWII world Regulatory bodies reformed aspects of economy Stock Market collapses on him Starts them too late Raiseed tariffs, deepening Great Depression Waited for economy to improve It didn t New Deal didn t end Depression Japanese-American Internment Camps Court Packing Plan skirted Constitution Elected 4 times Tons of social programs Social Security
33. Harry S Truman (1945-1953) GI Bill Failed to see Stalin aggressive dictator until too late Containment Policy eventually won Cold War Saved South Korea from Northern aggression Joined United Nations NATO formed Marshall Plan rebuilds Europe, preventing dictators/communism Berlin Airlift ends Soviet blockade Desegregates US military Used atomic bombs against Japan Limited the War in Korea Stops funding Chinese Nationalists after they waste money 34. Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961) Signs armistice ending Korean War Eventually ends McCarthyism Tried to disarm & thaw Cold War Economic prosperity Sends US troops to integrate Little Rock Central High Allows McCarthyism to worsen Arms Race spirals out of control U-2 Incident ends peace opportunities NASA created after Soviets beat us to space Decides not to help Hungarian Revolt against Communism 35. John F. Kennedy (1961-1963) Peace Corps helps impoverished nations Bay of Pigs Operation fails - hard Supports civil rights Starts moon mission Succeeds in avoiding WWIII in Cuban Missile Crisis After helping cause it in the first place 1 st Catholic President Cuts taxes Operation Mongoose basically US sponsored terrorism against Castro Starts direct US involvement in Vietnam
36. Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969) Tries to fight War on Poverty Signs many HUGE civil rights bills Medicare Medicaid Greatly deepens US involvement in Vietnam Only partially successful Civil unrest in US caused by Vietnam & civil rights protests Doesn t realize Vietnam strategies weren t working 37. Richard Nixon (1969-1974) Détente with the Soviet Union Opened relations with China SALT I Treaty Ended Termination Policy towards Native-Americans Played Hawks & Doves against each other for political gain Supported racist policies to win Southern votes Watergate Scandal destroyed the presidency forever Invaded Cambodia, widening the Vietnam Conflict Gradually turned Vietnam over to the Vietnamese 38. Gerald Ford (1974-1977) Restored a degree of trust to the White House Helsinki Accords improves relations with Soviets Moved country forwards from Vietnam & Watergate Inflation & recession Refused to send troops to rescue South Vietnam Pardoned Nixon Pardoned Vietnam draft dodgers
39. Jimmy Carter (1977-1981) Camp David Accords brings lasting peace Between Egypt and Israel Last president to really worry about human rights Aided Afghans against Soviet Invasion Osama is one of them Stagnant economy & rising inflation Oil crisis causes gas prices to skyrocket Iranians take US citizens hostage Rescue fails, we look weak 40. Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) Eventually becomes very friendly with Soviets After some tense early years Hastens end of the Cold War by outspending Soviets Massive federal deficit & national debt Supply side economics great for business owners Not so much for others Successful Invasion of Grenada Supported many anti-communist dictators INF Treaty gets rid of many nukes Iran-Contra Scandal greatest constitutional scandal since Nixon Cut taxes & cut spending on social programs, increased military spending 41. George H. W. Bush (1989-1993) Successful Invasion of Panama Operation Desert Storm liberates Kuwait from Saddam Americans with Disabilities Act good for civil rights Struggling economy 42. Bill Clinton (1993-2001) Welfare reform Lewinsky Scandal a major, major distraction Great economy Ordered government agencies to use internet to spread information NATO ends ethnic cleansing in the Balkans NAFTA creates free trade with Canada & Mexico Don t Ask, Don t Tell Policy a compromise Humanitarian intervention in Somalia ends with US casualties
43. George W. Bush (2001-2009) Firm leadership through 9/11 Attacks Built coalition to invade Afghanistan Removed Taliban from power Patriot Act limits civil liberties to increase security Invaded Iraq, removing a dictator, but finding little trace of WMDs Federal bailout of failing banking & automotive companies 44. Barack H. Obama (2009-current) Economic stimulus has helped economy Repealed Don t Ask, Don t Tell Arms control treaty with Russia Removed US from Kyoto Protocol Failed to build coalition for Iraq Failed to plan for post-invasion Poor handling of Hurricane Katrina Removal of economic regulation led to current recession But still struggling with recession 1 st African-American president Federal bailout of failing banking & automotive companies Decreasing troop levels in Afghanistan Health Care Reform Supported anti-dictator forces in Libya, while refusing to send troops Pulled combat troops out of Iraq Justice Department helped crack down on Occupy Protests