Name: __________________________________
The Presidents – Quick Facts
#1 ___________________________________________
Years in Office: 1789 – 1797
Term Length: 8 years
Notable historical events as President:
#2 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1797 – 1801
Term Length: 4 years
Notable historical events as President:
The XYZ Affair – demands of French diplomats for bribes and loans to engage in formal negotiations with American diplomats resulted in a political scandal which nearly resulted in war between France & USA.
The Alien and Sedition Acts – acts passed by Congress which changed naturalization requirements for foreigners, gave the President the power to deport any foreigner he thought dangerous to the country, and made it a crime to publish “false, scandalous, and malicious writing” against the government or its officials.
Appointed Chief Justice of the United States John Marshall – under the Marshall court, the US Supreme Court was established as a coequal branch to both the Executive and Legislative Branches.
#3 _____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1801 – 1809
Term Length: 8 years
Notable historical events as President:
First Barbary War – America’s first war on foreign soil. In order to protect US merchant ships from being captured by Barbary pirates of North Africa and paying ransoms to free them, TJ waged war.
Louisiana Purchase – In 1802, TJ negotiated with the French for the purchase of the city of New Orleans and the surrounding territory for $15. The total land purchased led to the creation of 15 US States.
The Embargo of 1807 – Due to American sailors’ impressment – being forced into military service – by the British, TJ created an embargo against the British. However, the embargo backfired and nearly bankrupted the United States and Jefferson’s political party was devastated.
#4 ____________________________________________
Years in Office:
Term Length:
Notable Historical events as President:
#5 ____________________________________________
Years in Office:
Term Length:
Notable Historical events as President:
#6 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1825 - 1829
Term Length: 4 years
Notable Historical events as President:
Faced a bitterly divided Congress, so Adams did not accomplish anything major in regards to foreign policy.
Served for 18 years in the House of Representatives following his defeat in his reelection campaign.
#7 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1829 - 1837
Term Length: 8 years
Notable Historical events as President:
Wanted to change political appointments to a more democratic process and rid the nation of the spoils system – that those who the newly elected president owes favors to get high ranking political offices.
Jackson is well known for his distaste for the Native Americans. The Trail of Tears occurred during the administration of Jackson – the forced removal of many Natives from their homeland.
Eliminated the Bank of the United States due to his perception that it only benefited the wealthy – to which Jackson was accused of waging class warfare to gain support from the common man.
#8 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1837 - 1841
Term Length: 4 years
Notable Historical events as President:
The Panic of 1837 was a major financial crisis in the United States that sparked a recession (economic downturn) and ultimately a depression. Unemployment soared in the United States and wages decreased.
Advocated for harmony between the United States and Mexico and denied admission of Texas into the Union.
#9 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1841 - 1841
Term Length: 32 days
Notable Historical events as President:
Basically nothing because he died 32 days into his presidency from complications of his pneumonia that he developed from giving his speech in a cold rain.
#10 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1841 - 1845
Term Length: 4 years
Notable Historical events as President:
Constitutional crisis occurred upon him becoming President. No one was sure if the Vice President actually became President if the previous one died in office or if the Vice President became just the “acting” President. Ultimately Tyler became President in name and fact.
Believed in limited government.
Texas officially became a part of the United States of America.
#11 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1845 - 1849
Term Length: 4 years
Notable Historical events as President:
Challenged Great Britain over which country owned Oregon Country, then ultimately backed off but gained about half of the territory.
Led the nation through the Mexican-American War, gaining most of what is now the Southwest of the United States.
Opened the US Naval Academy, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Washington Monument.
#12 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1849 - 1850
Term Length: 1 year, 4 months
Notable Historical events as President:
Following the Mexican Cession, when the US gained what are now California, New Mexico, and Utah, he had to determine which would become Free states and which would become slave states, which divided Congress. Ultimately only California would be admitted to avoid answering the question of slave state or not.
Nothing much else because he died so soon in his presidency.
#13 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1849 - 1853
Term Length: 4 years
Notable Historical events as President:
Not a whole lot happened during this presidency.
The only big thing is that Fillmore broke the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty which forbid the United States and Britain from trying to gain new territories in the Americas.
#14 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1853 - 1857
Term Length: 4 years
Notable Historical events as President:
Completed the Gadsden Purchase – which bought present day Arizona and New Mexico for $10 million.
Nothing else of importance really happened.
#15 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1857 - 1861
Term Length: 4 years
Notable Historical events as President:
The Southern states seceded from the Union.
Unable to bridge peace between the Southern and Northern states.
Ultimately his presidency would be classified as one of the biggest failures out of all the Presidents.
#16 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1861 - 1865
Term Length: 4 years, 1 month
Notable Historical events as President:
Lincoln led the United States through the Civil War, ultimately winning and preserving the Union.
Saw the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
Issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves.
Delivered the Gettysburg Address, which became an iconic statement of America’s dedication to the principles of nationalism, republicanism, equal rights, liberty, and democracy.
Assassinated by John Wilkes Booth.
#17 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1865 - 1869
Term Length: 4 years
Notable Historical events as President:
Impeached by the House of Representatives but ultimately remained in office thanks to winning the Senate by 1 vote.
Oversaw the Reconstruction of the South and the readmission of the Southern states back to the Union.
Engaged in great conflict with the Legislative Branch, prompting acts of Congress designed to limit the power of the President.
#18 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1869 - 1877
Term Length: 8 years
Notable Historical events as President:
Urged the passage of the 15th Amendment to the Constitution.
Further oversaw Reconstruction in the Southern States.
Reversed the national government’s policy of hostility toward the Native Americans, seeking peaceful relations with them. He also quit the policy of Indian Removal.
Championed the Public Credit Act of 1869, which returned the US to the gold standard for our currency.
#19 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1877 - 1881
Term Length: 4 years
Notable Historical events as President:
Hayes removes federal troops from the South as a compromise for election.
Wins the presidency by only one vote.
1877 Desert Land Act gives land deeds to people who settle or irrigate Midwestern lands.
Nothing of note in regards to foreign policy.
#20 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1881 - 1881
Term Length: 6 months
Notable Historical events as President:
Other than proposing civil service reform, no major accomplishments as president due to short stint and assassination.
#21 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1881 - 1885
Term Length: 3 years, 6 months
Notable Historical events as President:
Takes over after Garfield is assassinated.
The Chinese Exclusion Act is passed which prohibited the immigration of China-born Chinese people.
The Pendleton Civil Service Act passes, which prohibits majority party from asking for donations from federal officeholders, creates the Civil Service Commission.
#22 & # 24 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1885 – 1889, 1893 - 1897
Term Length: 4 years, 4 years
Notable Historical events as President:
Haymarket Square bombing occurs, leads to great labor unrest in the United States
Dawes Severality Act passed, giving land back to the Native Americans for renouncement of tribe.
Wilson-Gorman Act of 1894 – reduces tariffs, initiates the federal income tax.
Plessy v Ferguson decision by the Supreme Court leads to segregation of blacks and whites – “separate but equal.”
#23 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1889 - 1893
Term Length: 4 years
Notable Historical events as President:
Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890 – breaks up monopolies in the United States.
Homestead Strike leads to even greater labor unrest in the United States, hindering unionization.
McKinley Tarriff sets tariff rate to 48%, leading to increased prices of consumer goods in the USA
#25 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1897 - 1901
Term Length: 4 years
Notable Historical events as President:
McKinley annexes the Hawaiian Islands in 1898
Massive fluctuation in the value of the US dollar in the 1896 leads to McKinley restoring the gold standard.
Imperialist expansion of the United States.
Open Door policy in China, creating open and equal trade to all nations.
Spanish-American War begins.
Cuba and Philippines come under American control.
Assassinated in office.
#26 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1901 - 1909
Term Length: 8 years
Notable Historical events as President:
During presidency, first time federal government inspects meat in the United States under the USDA.
US gets full control of the Panama Canal.
Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine calls for intervention by the United States in Latin America if necessary.
#27 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1909 - 1913
Term Length: 4 years
Notable Historical events as President:
Nothing of huge significance happens under the Taft Presidency other than new regulations by the federal government of American industries like the railroads and telegraph and telephone industries.
#28 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1913 - 1921
Term Length: 8 years
Notable Historical events as President:
War breaks out in Europe leading to World War I.
16th Amendment is passed, creating the Constitutional basis for the federal income tax.
17th Amendment is passed, changing the election of US Senators from state legislators to directly by the people of each state.
Clayton Anti-Trust Act – legalizes strikes, boycotts and pickets.
Espionage Act of 1917 – makes recruitment, drafting impediments, as well as things detrimental to military morale, illegal.
19th Amendment is passed, granting universal female suffrage.
Creation of the League of Nations, however not approved by the Senate in the US Congress.
#29 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1921 - 1923
Term Length: 2 years
Notable Historical events as President:
Teapot Dome Scandal – accused of bribery.
Immigration to the United States is restricted to 3% of nationality population under the Dillingham Immigration Act of 1921.
Dies in office.
#30 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1923 - 1929
Term Length: 6 years
Notable Historical events as President:
Provides reparation loans to Germany after to help rebuild – at a great cost to Germany.
Changes the immigration law – reducing from 3% - 2 % each year.
Scopes Trial – creation vs evolution.
#31 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1929 - 1933
Term Length: 4 years
Notable Historical events as President:
The Stock Market Crash of 1929 which ushered in the Great Depression, the worst period of economic downturn in the history of the United States and around the World.
Challenged the Japanese aggression of taking over many territories in the Pacific. Had a policy of not recognizing the newly acquired territories gained by force.
Many see Hoover’s presidency as a disaster due to the onset of the Great Depression under his administration.
#32 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1933 - 1945
Term Length: 12 years, 1 month
Notable Historical events as President:
#33 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1945 - 1953
Term Length: 7 years, 10 months
Notable Historical events as President:
#34 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1953 - 1961
Term Length: 8 years
Notable Historical events as President:
#35 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1961 - 1963
Term Length: 2 years, 10 months
Notable Historical events as President:
#36 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1963 - 1969
Term Length: 5 years, 2 months
Notable Historical events as President:
#37 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1969 - 1974
Term Length: 5 years, 7 months
Notable Historical events as President:
Visit to China – Along with Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Nixon sought closer relations with the Chinese as a chance to expand trade and to counter Soviet influence in the region.
Vietnam War – Nixon oversaw the end of the Vietnam War. During Nixon’s administration, nearly 300 American soldiers died daily during the war. The war ended with an American surrender and withdraw.
SALT I – the first comprehensive treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty) and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. The Nixon administration was committed to curbing the growing number of nuclear armed weapons in the world.
Watergate Scandal and Resignation – after listening devices were discovered at the Democratic National Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel, an FBI investigation pointed the finger at Nixon. After months of battling subpoenas by Congress and after learning the House of Representatives would begin impeachment proceedings against him, Nixon became the first president to resign from office.
#38 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1974 - 1977
Term Length: 2 years, 5 months
Notable Historical events as President:
#39 ____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1977 - 1981
Term Length: 4 years
Notable Historical events as President:
Carter’s Presidency is marked by economic turmoil at home, including high inflation, an energy crisis, and a recession.
Signed the treaty that would return control of the Panama Canal to Panama at the end of the century.
Signed SALT II – again to reduce the number of nuclear armed weapons in the world.
Iran Hostage Crisis – The most notable event of Carter’s presidency, in 1979 52 diplomats and citizens were taken hostage for 444 days in Tehran, Iran at the American Embassy. The situation was fueled by perception in Iran that the United States was actively trying to subvert the Iranian Revolution due to American interests in one of the leading Middle Eastern nation.
#40____________________________________________
Years in Office: 1981 - 1989
Term Length: 8 years
Notable Historical events as President:
#41 ____________________________________________