Guided the Continental Army to victory in the Revolutionary War, presided over the Constitutional Convention, and moved the capitol from New York to Washington DC
John
Adams
Created the Department of the Navy, avoided a full-blown conflict in the Quasi War. Also signed the Alien and Sedition Acts and relocated the official presidential residence to the White House
Thomas
Jefferson
Doubled the size of the US with the Louisiana Purchase, defeated the Tripoli pirates in the First Barbary War, and banned the international slave trade into the US
James
Madison
Guided the nation through the War of 1812, annexed West Florida, fought the Barbary Pirates, and launched a failed effort to invade and annex Canada
James
Monroe
Presided over the Era of Good Feelings, offering post-war nationalism, economic prosperity, and a near total unity due to the collapse of the Federalist Party
John Quincy
Adams
Negotiated the Treaty of Ghent peace deal, authored the Monroe Doctrine, and implemented some components of his American System economy
Andrew
Jackson
Defeated the British in the Battle of New Orleans, broke up the national bank system in the Bank War, and reached a compromise between federal and state authority in the Nullification Crisis
Martin
Van Buren
Created an independent treasury to manage finances during the Panic of 1837, continued the removal of natives from frontier lands, and rejected the annexation of the Republic of Texas
William
Harrison
Beat the British in Detroit during the War of 1812, and ran a captivating, inspiring campaign in 1840
John
Tyler
Opposed the reinstatement of the Bank of the US, and paved the way for the annexation of Texas, but could not avoid partisanship
James
Polk
Massively increased the size of the US with his Manifest Destiny policies, annexed Texas in 1845, and reinstated the Independent Treasury system
Zachary
Taylor
Defeated general Santa Anna in the Battle of Buena Vista during the Mexican-American War, carefully dodged the issue of slavery to appease Southern voters, and signed the Clayton-Bulwer treaty with England
Millard
Fillmore
Passed the Compromise of 1850 which included the Fugitive Slave Act, and initiated diplomatic and trade relations with Japan
Franklin
Pierce
Repealed the Missouri Compromise with the Kansas-Nebraska Act, leading to the Bleeding Kansas conflict. Secured the Gadsden Purchase from Mexico in 1854
James
Buchanan
Supported the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Lecompton Constitution, both of which aggravated political discord. Presided over the John Brown raid and secession
Abraham
Lincoln
Guided the nation through the Civil War, preserved the union, and freed the slaves
Andrew
Johnson
Supported the 13th Amendment and the Alaska Purchase, but frequently battled with Congress over the issue of Reconstruction
Ulysses
Grant
Guided Union forces to victory in the Civil War, protected black civil rights with legislation like the 15th Amendment and the Reconstructions Acts, and established the first US national park with Yellowstone National Park
Rutherford
Hayes
Supported the Compromise of 1877, ending Reconstruction and federal troop deployments in the South, returned US currency to the gold standard, and restored order during the Great Railroad Strike
James
Garfield
Investigated political corruption, advocated for civil service reform, and supported the gold standard for US currency
Chester
Arthur
Ended the spoils system, expanded the US Navy, and cracked down on immigration from abroad
Grover
Cleveland
Signed the Interstate Commerce Act which challenged the railroads, and used the veto to block excessive spending, but lost ground with the Panic of 1893 and the Pullman Strike
Benjamin
Harrison
Signed the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, raised tariffs with the McKinley Tariff, and backed US currency with silver in the Sherman Silver Purchase Act
William
McKinley
Annexed Hawaii, fought the Spanish-American War over Cuban independence, and oversaw rapid economic growth after the Panic of 1893
Theodore
Roosevelt
Earned the nickname "Trust Buster" by prosecuting several monopolies, founded the US Forest Service, and began construction on the Panama Canal
William
Taft
Busted up numerous monopolies under the Sherman Antitrust Act, raised tariffs, and supported the 16th and 17th Amendments
Woodrow
Wilson
Guided the country through World War I, enacted numerous progressive reforms, and proposed his Fourteen Points and the League of Nations to the world
Warren
Harding
Brought laissez-faire business and politics to America, pulled the economy out of recession, and kicked off the Roaring Twenties, but struggled with scandals
Calvin
Coolidge
Lowered taxes and regulations, balanced the budget, restricted immigration, and presided over unprecedented abundance and prosperity during the Roaring Twenties
Herbert
Hoover
Organized a massive relief effort in Europe after World War I, promoted public works programs, and established the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, but could not control the depression
Franklin
Roosevelt
Repealed Prohibition in 1932, battled the prolonged economic downturn known as the Great Depression, and confronted tyranny during World War II
Harry
Truman
Launched the atomic age by dropping two bombs on Japan, reorganized Europe with the Marshall Plan and NATO, and confronted worldwide communism with the Truman Doctrine
Dwight
Eisenhower
Guided the Allied forces to victory in World War II, established NASA and the Interstate Highway System, and ended the Korean War
John F
Kennedy
Increased troop levels in Vietnam in order to combat communism, escaped a nuclear standoff with the USSR during the Cuban Missel Crisis, and created the Apollo Program to put a man on the moon
Lyndon
Johnson
Established the Great Society domestic agenda, advanced the Apollo program, and escalated the Vietnam War
Richard
Nixon
Ended diplomatic isolation with China, withdrew all troops from Vietnam, and created the EPA, but had to resign in 1974 due to the Watergate scandal
Gerald
Ford
Encouraged national healing by pardoning Nixon, fought inflation with the Whip Inflation Now campaign, and curtailed government access to personal data with the Data Privacy Act
Jimmy
Carter
Presided over the Iran Hostage Crisis, negotiated the Camp David Accords and the Panama Canal Treaty, and established the Carter Center to promote humanitarian causes
Ronald
Reagan
Ended the Cold War and implemented Reaganomics which spawned record economic growth, but got sidetracked by the Iran-Contra Affair in his second term
George HW
Bush
Assembled an international coalition to expel Saddam Hussein from Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War, diplomatically negotiated the breakup of the Soviet Union, and signed the Americans with Disabilities Act
Bill
Clinton
Negotiated the Dayton Accords which ended the war in Bosnia, brokered numerous international trade deals, and presided over record economic expansion
George W
Bush
Launched the Afghanistan War and the Iraq War to combat terrorism, signed the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002 which upgraded school testing standards, and lowered prescription drug prices
Barack
Obama
Rescued the banking and financial system with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, signed the Affordable Healthcare Act also known as Obamacare, and authorized the raid on the Osama bin Laden compound
Donald
Trump
Created the Department of Government Efficiency to cut the federal workforce by 10%, locked down the border with Mexico, brokered the Gaza Peace Deal and hostage release in October of 2025, removed dictator Nicolas Maduro from power in Venezuela, and survived an assassination attempt in July of 2024
Joe
Biden
Signed the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021 which provided COVID relief for millions, invested over $1 trillion into infrastructure projects with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and passed climate change and healthcare legislation with the Inflation Reduction Act
