US PRESIDENTS
The United States is a superpower, dominating global affairs. The nation’s head of state, the president, is regarded as one of the most powerful people in the world. Presidential elections are followed closely by other countries, as political decisions made by the US president can impact the rest of the world. The president serves a term of four years, and today can hold office for a maximum of two terms.
- ABRAHAM LINCOLN
A passionate opponent of slavery, Lincoln led the Union States to victory in the Civil War of 1860-65. His speech at Gettysburg, on the principles of human equality, is one of the greatest in American history.
- JAMES GARFIELD
The twentieth US president was James Garfield, an army general. In 1881, he was assassinated after less than four months in office.
- GROVER CLEVELAND
Grover Cleveland is the only president to have served two non-consecutive terms in office, 1885-89 and 1893-97. His second term was plagued by industrial strikes.
- BENJAMIN HARRISON
Electricity was first installed in the White House during the Harrison presidency (1889–93) – his wife would not touch the switches, fearing electrocution.
- HERBERT HOOVER
The Hoover presidency saw the Great Depression of 1929, and public opposition to prohibition (the banning of alcohol). He did not win a second term.
- GERALD FORD
Called to office after Nixon’s resignation in 1974, Gerald Ford is the only president not to have been elected either president or vice-president.
- FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT
“FDR” served a record four terms in office from 1933–1945. He brought an end to the Depression with a “New Deal” to bring relief to the unemployed, and took the USA into World War II.
- JIMMY CARTER
During Carter’s term of office, the USA was beset by crises. At home, there was recession. Abroad, US citizens were taken hostage in Iran.
- HARRY TRUMAN
Truman saw the USA through a difficult postwar period. The Cold War (period of tension with communist Russia) began and the country went to war with Korea (1950-53).
- RONALD REAGAN
Shortly after taking office in 1981, former Hollywood actor Ronald Reagan survived an assassination attempt. He went on to cut taxes, increase national defence, and improve relations with Russia.
- WILLIAM McKINLEY
The first to campaign using advertising techniques, McKinley won the 1896 election promising to tax foreign goods.
- THEODORE ROOSEVELT
A reformer, Roosevelt promised a “Square Deal” for all. The teddy bear is named after Roosevelt, who refused to shoot a bear on a hunting trip.
- CALVIN COOLIDGE
Coolidge believed the government should not control too many aspects of people’s lives. A man of few words, he was nicknamed “Silent Cal”.
- DWIGHT EISENHOWER
Known as “Ike”, Eisenhower launched the race between the USA and Russia to explore outer space.
- JOHN F KENNEDY
In 1961, “JFK” became the youngest elected US president, aged 44. Kennedy’s leadership inspired hope. His assassination in 1963 left the country shattered.
- RICHARD NIXON
In 1974, Nixon became the only president to resign, because of his involvement in the Watergate scandal (illegal spying in the opposition party’s headquarters).
- GEORGE BUSH
George Bush became president in 1989. From 1990-91, he led an alliance of troops in the Gulf War, in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.
- BILL CLINTON
A long period of economic growth meant that, despite allegations of scandals, Bill Clinton always remained popular.
- BARACK OBAMA
The 44th president of the USA, Obama was the first African-American to hold the office and served for two continuous terms.
George Washington 1789-97
John Adams 1797-1801
Thomas Jefferson 1801-09
James Madison 1809-17
James Monroe 1817-25
John Quincy Adams 1825-29
Andrew Jackson 1829-37
Martin Van Buren 1837-41
William Harrison 1841
John Tyler 1841-45
James Knox Polk 1845-49
Zachary Taylor 1849-50
Millard Fillmore 1850-53
Franklin Pierce 1853-57
James Buchanan 1857-61
Abraham Lincoln 1861-65
Andrew Johnson 1865-69
Ulysses S Grant 1869-77
Rutherford Hayes 1877-81
James Garfield. 1881
Chester Arthur 1881-85
Grover Cleveland 1885-89
Benjamin Harrison 1889-93
Grover Cleveland 1893-97
William McKinley 1897-1901
Theodore Roosevelt 1901-09
William Taft 1909-13
Woodrow Wilson 1913-21
Warren Harding 1921-23
Calvin Coolidge 1923-29
Herbert Hoover 1929-33
Franklin D Roosevelt 1933-45
Harry Truman 1945-53
Dwight Eisenhower 1953-61
John F Kennedy 1961-63
Lyndon B Johnson 1963-69
Richard Nixon 1969-74
Gerald Ford 1974-77
James Carter 1977-81
Ronald Reagan 1981-89
George Bush 1989-93
William Clinton 1993-2001
George W Bush 2001-09
Barack Obama 2009-17
Donald Trump 2017
Picture Credit : Google
